Chapter 13
CHAPTER 13
S eeing the quick flash of pleasure on Miss Taylor’s face at Dr. Angus’s invitation to explore, with a sour feeling in his stomach, Hank knew he was out of the running for courting the pretty dressmaker. Probably just as well. The doctor can give her a more prosperous life in town.
Remembering his manners, he turned back to his other guest just as a puffy cloud moved across the sun, casting a shadow.
Elsie stared mesmerized at the lake. The cloud split and sent a ray of sunshine to bathe the young woman in golden light. She stretched out her arms and slowly spun, seeming to take in the scenic surroundings from all angles.
She stopped, wrapping her arms around herself and gazing up at Hank, big brown eyes wide. “I’ve never seen any place so beautiful,” she said with a sigh of obvious delight. “Well, I haven’t seen much of anywhere . But I don’t think there is any place in the world prettier then right here.”
“Not being a world traveler—” Hank drawled “—I can’t verify your conclusion. But I certainly can agree with it.”
She gave him the biggest smile he’d ever seen on a grown woman’s face and, flinging out her arms and tilting back her head to the sky, did another spin, faster this time, as if, with childlike glee, wanting to draw the beauty of her surroundings into her body.
Not quite a grown woman , he firmly reminded himself.
But when Elsie stopped, still laughing, he couldn’t resist joining in her infectious joy with some guffaws of his own.
After their laughter eased, Hank gestured toward the house. “Would you like a tour of the place before feeding the swans?”
“I’m bursting with curiosity.” Then her expression fell. “Oh, dear. Burst isn’t ladylike. Ladies aren’t supposed to burst. Please don’t tell Miss Taylor I said ‘burst.’”
Hank chuckled. “I won’t tell her you said ‘burst’ four times .”
Elsie squeaked in dismay. “I tell you, Hank….” She let out a longsuffering sigh. “This business of being a proper lady is sometimes a botheration. Please don’t tell Miss Taylor I said that, either.”
Hank couldn’t resist teasing her. He made himself look properly sober. “You wound me, Elsie.” Dramatically, he placed a hand over his heart. “That you’d think me a tattletale.”
“Oh, no. I didn’t mean that!” Catching sight of his poorly hidden amusement, her expression shifted from dismay to narrow-eyed suspicion. “Stop pulling my lower limb, Hank Canfield.”
This time, he couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped.
She playfully smacked his shoulder. “What?”
He wasn’t about to tell Elsie that ladies didn’t mention the need for privies or acknowledge they had lower limbs , unless in the case of dire emergencies. Nor did they smack or elbow gentlemen. He enjoyed how refreshingly different she was from the young women he’d associated with before he left his grandfather’s home. Stuffy and stuck up, all of them. Not unlike my grandfather.
The tyrant had forced Hank’s older sister into the same rigid mold. Luckily, Macy had married an easygoing man who adored her and, as a wife and mother, she became more like the girl he remembered before she had to grow up and be a lady. When time permitted, she even allowed herself to paint. He wondered what Elsie would think of her art hanging on his walls.
He tilted his head toward the house. “Be my guest.”
She gathered up her skirts and hastened up the steps, across the porch, and inside.
Hank followed more slowly, trying to see the space through her eyes, the big bed in the left corner, the four wooden chairs in front of the fireplace with cushions made from bear fur and stuffed with the insides of cat tails, comfortable for the four denizens of Three Bend Lake. A narrow bookshelf filled with volumes. The kitchen along the right side, with lower cupboards and upper shelves, an icebox, and dry sink. A space for the table remained empty.
Everything seemed fine to him. He removed his hat and hung it on a peg near the door, and then stepped to the side to watch his guest’s reaction.
With a dreamy smile Elsie inhaled a deep breath. She stooped to touch the wooden floor, and then flattened her hand and ran her palm across the planks. “So smooth and shiny.” Standing, she smiled at him.
He gazed at her, flabbergasted. “I never thought a woman would notice, much less admire my floors .”
She fisted her hands on her hips. “Well, maybe a woman who hadn’t lived with a dirt floor for years wouldn’t notice. When Pa could finally afford to put down a wooden floor, why, that was a proud year for us.” She spread out her hands. “But even our floors don’t look like this. How did you get them looking so glossy?”
Glossy, eh? Hank’s chest swelled with pride. “Lots of planing, sanding, and waxing.”
Elsie moved to put her hands on the logs and ran her fingertips along the chinking. She peered out one window and stood still for a moment, staring at the lake. She whirled and almost dance-stepped toward the bed, repeating the touch and palm rub across the top and down the front. “This bed! I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“I made that sleigh bed.”
“It is sort of shaped like a sleigh. Where did you ever get the idea?”
“My parents had one. I was really small when my mother became ill. I’d climb in bed while we cuddled or, when feeling stronger, she read to me.” Remembering his early years and telling Elsie, felt so natural. A surprise, really, for he’d never mentioned those precious times to anyone. “Took a lot of trial and error to figure out how to do those curves.”
With one finger, she traced the curl on the edge of the headboard. “Since I’ve lived with Miss Taylor, I’ve learned how wonderful it is to sleep in a bed—my own bed in my own room. Not a pallet on the hard floor shared with my sister and next to my brother that has to be rolled up every morning. I only slept in a real one—my parents’ bed, that is—when I was sick.” She patted the bedcoverings. “And even their mattress, stuffed with prairie grass, isn’t as comfortable as mine. Sleeping on a horsehair mattress with a down featherbed on top is heavenly.”
As if reading her mind, Hank just knew Miss Bouncy Elsie Bailey wanted to sit on his bed and test out how firm or soft was the mattress. He almost extended an invitation for her to try, and then realized how inappropriate encouragement to bounce on his bed would sound. In fact, discussing mattresses and sleeping arrangements was probably not a topic for unmarried ladies and gentlemen.
The tips of his ears burned, and he hastily stepped back, floundering for what to say.
Elsie didn’t seem to notice his almost faux pas , for she kept on talking. “I love living in town. I’m learning so much. Making my own money.” She gave him a gamin grin. “Making friends. I’m going to work with Miss Taylor for years and years.”
The girl’s enthusiasm for life impressed him, and Hank found himself liking her. He gave her a fond smile. “Sounds like a sensible plan.”
Elsie shrugged. “My parents won’t think so.” She sounded aggrieved. “They think sensible is getting married, so I have a man to take care of me.”
“That is what parents usually want for their daughters.”
She threw up her hands. “What if her man gets injured and can’t work? What if he dies, leaving her alone with children?”
He thought of the faded-looking widow who now kept house for her brother. “I suppose it’s good for a woman to know how to make a living before she settles down. Something to fall back on.”
“What if she wants to keep making that living, even when she settles down?” she demanded.
That possibility hadn’t ever occurred to him. He opened his mouth to refute her idea, when through the open door, he heard his name shouted. Torin! Something’s wrong! His stomach leaped into his chest, and he ran for the door.
Outside, he saw Torin carrying a rifle and running toward the house but without Jewel. That in and of itself wasn’t alarming—Torin occasionally made brief visits while his daughter slept. Sometimes, the girl stayed with Hank or Brian if Torin wanted to go hunting or just have some time to himself. But the panicked expression on his friend’s face told him otherwise.
Elsie rushed out the door after Hank just as a hatless man ran toward them, yelling Hank’s name and carrying a rifle. Had he been hunting? Is a bear chasing him? Panther? Wild pig? Moose? She went on tiptoe to better see behind him but spotted no ravening animal.
He stopped in front of Hank, panting too heavily to speak.
“Torin, what’s wrong?” Hank grabbed his friend’s shoulder.
The stranger looked at Dr. Angus and Miss Taylor, and then at Elsie, fear in his dark blue eyes. He shook his head, obviously holding back from saying more.
“Is it Jewel?” Hank asked. “Torin, we can’t help if you don’t tell us.”
Again, Torin swept a reluctant glance at the three of them.
Hank jerked a finger at Dr. Angus. “He’s a doctor. If something’s wrong with Jewel, now’s not the time for secrecy.”
“She’s gone, and I can’t find her,” Torin blurted, running his hand over his head, making his mink brown hair stick out.
“Brian Bly, do you think?” Hank released the man and glanced at Dr. Angus. “Brian’s our neighbor,” he explained, pointing in the direction of the lake. “Lives the farthest away.”
Torin shook his head, an expression of despair on his face. “I checked with him first. Brian hasn’t seen her, but he’s searching his area.”
Angus needed more information. “If you’d tell us who’s missing…”
“His daughter,” Hank explained. “She’s?—”
“She’s not right,” Torin said in a defiant tone, jutting his chin. His eyes held guilt. “My sweet girl. She’s eleven, but really maybe three. Jewel wanted to go for a walk by the lake. I told her we would later because I was busy weeding the garden. She wasn’t long out of my sight.” Frowning, he shook his head. “I didn’t think Jewel would go off on her own. She never has before.”
Fear clutched at Elsie, and she remembered when her sister was a toddler and had wandered off. How Ma screamed Anna’s name, and Pa ordered Elsie to search the barn and Ricky to run down the road, his frantic tone unlike any she’d ever heard. Luckily, not long after, Ricky had found Anna in a cluster of wildflowers, playing with the blooms.
Hank glanced around, searching. “Jewel can’t be far. She walks too slow.”
“I called and called.” Torin’s voice was ragged. “I’d hoped she’d come here. You know how she loves watching the swans.”
“She might have,” Hank said. “But I was in town.”
“We’ll help you look,” Miss Taylor offered. “What is she wearing?”
Torin glanced at Miss Taylor, and then his gaze sidled away. He appeared torn, as if afraid to trust them. “Red,” he mumbled.
Dr. Angus touched the man’s arm. “What do ye mean by ‘not right’?”
Torin narrowed his eyes and shot Angus a defiant glare, as if expecting judgment.
“It’s all right, Torin,” Hank said, in an encouraging voice. “Go ahead and tell them.”
He nodded, but still didn’t make eye contact. “When Jewel was a few months old, the doctor said she was an idiot .” He spat out the word, and then crossed his arms as if shielding himself from their reaction. “But she’s not! She might not be like other children, but she’s mine.”
“I understand.” Dr. Angus kept his expression sympathetic and his tone compassionate. “Is Jewel afraid of strangers?”
“I have no idea!” Torin said, desperation on his face. He uncrossed his arms. “She only knows Hank and Brian, and they keep our secret.”
“Well, we first must find her,” Dr. Angus said matter-of-factly. “If yer daughter’s afraid when she sees us, we won’t approach her until ye’re there.”
“That would be best.” Torin glanced toward the lake. “What if she’s drowned?”
“We came from along the shore, and she wasn’t ana’where there.” Dr. Angus patted the man’s shoulder. “Ye head back in the direction of yer home in case Jewel returns. Ye can search more carefully in her familiar areas. Ye might have missed her earlier in yer haste.”
“I can do that.”
Dr. Angus continued to snap out orders. “Elsie, if ye’d stay within eyeshot of Hank’s house in case Jewel comes here. Hank, first search yer barn and other places nearby, then move farther afield.” He pointed toward the forest. “I suggest that way, for ye know the place and won’t get lost like we might. No sense making a bad situation worse.” He glanced at Miss Taylor. “We’ll take the opposite direction across the meadow. Set up a shout if ye find her.”
Hank shook his head. “Better to fire three shots. Can hear them farther.”
“Shots, then,” Dr. Angus agreed.
Just having a plan seemed to calm Torin somewhat. “Thank you. All of you.” He turned and trotted back the way he’d come, carrying the rifle and yelling Jewel’s name.
Dr. Angus looked toward the surrey. “Let me get my bag and rifle, just in case.” He hastened to the vehicle, Miss Taylor following him.
Hank glanced at Elsie, his body stiff as if braced for a blow. “Jewel doesn’t look quite like other girls. Not ugly or anything. Just different. But she is the sweetest, happiest child as can be, and she has my heart clutched in her two little hands.” He spoke fiercely, almost glaring at her as if daring her to disagree. “I bought that hat for her, the one you saved.”
“Wearing that boater, I’ll bet she’ll look as cute as a button.” Elsie placed a comforting hand on his arm. “I look forward to meeting her.” She waited until he relaxed, and then gave him a little pat. “Now, where are her favorite places around here?”
“Swans. She likes to feed them. The rest of the animals.”
“Well, then, go look at your pigs and chickens and in your barn. I’ll go look under your bed and such.” She made a shooing motion. “Go on now. After I check the house, I’ll keep watch in front by the lake in case she wanders over to see the swans.”
Without waiting for him to respond, she picked up her skirts, and hurried to the house, up the stairs, and inside. Aside from the bed, there weren’t many places for a child to hide. To be sure, she opened the wardrobe full of more men’s clothing than she’d ever seen in one place outside of the mercantile and brushed them aside to double-check that no little girl crouched amid several pairs of boots, some very worn, and another pair practically new.
Closing the door, she glanced out the window to check for Jewel, and then went to the bed, kneeling to look underneath. No girl. Just one low, narrow chest. But also, no sign of dust balls. Hank’s a good housekeeper. Even in her anxiousness about the child, the thought made Elsie smile.
Rising, she went over to the kitchen and crouched to open the only closed cupboard, revealing several sizes of pots, some empty mason jars, a Dutch oven, a cast iron frying pan, a blue splatterware coffee pot, and some other odds and ends in the back of the shelves.
Elsie couldn’t imagine a child fitting in the icebox, but she checked anyway and saw only food. As sure as could be that Jewel wasn’t in the house, she couldn’t resist a final look around, thinking how charming she found this home, so different from the half-soddy, half dug-into-a-hill, with-an-interior-wall-made-of-logs, Bailey home. Their small house kept them warm and dry and cool in the summer. But it was functional and not at all pretty.
She stepped outside and went to lean over the porch rail, shading her eyes from the sun’s rays glaring off the lake, and looked all directions as far as she could see. But she sighted no red-clad girl. Where could that child be?
Dear Lord, please may we find Jewel soon!
Hank had just finished a visual sweep of the final empty stall when the crack of three gunshots made him sag against the wooden wall, relieved down to the soles of his boots. He inhaled a deep breath of the straw-and-manure smelling air and sent up a fervent prayer. Thank you, thank you, God!!!
Racing from the barn, past the garden and along the side of the house, he reached the front yard just as Elsie caught up her skirts and leaped down the steps.
She sent him a wild smile but didn’t stop.
He slowed his run to keep pace with her, until they neared the rescue party.
Jewel, her face almost overshadowed by Miss Taylor’s hat, rode piggyback on Dr. Angus’s back, one hand holding a peppermint stick.
The dressmaker carried the doctor’s bag and his rifle. “Watch her right leg,” she called as soon as they came close. “Jewel sprained her ankle.”
Hank took the child from Angus and ducked his face under the hat brim to give her a big smacking kiss on the cheek. “Jewel baby, you worried us so.”
“Han, hurt.” Frowning, she pointed to her leg.
“I know, baby. We’ll get you home, and you’ll feel better.”
“Con-nee pretty hat.” Jewel placed a hand on the crown.
“Jewel’s pretty hat,” Miss Taylor corrected with a fond smile.
Dr. Angus gestured in the direction of the surrey. “If you ladies would climb inside, we’ll give Jewel to you while we hitch up Zeus.” He turned toward the pasture.
“Wait!” Elsie held up her hand in a stopping motion. “Let me grab the picnic basket to take along. Jewel’s probably hungry, and we all could use food to settle us.”
Hank nodded his agreement, pleased with her quick thinking. “Grab the chicken and dumplings in the icebox if there’s room in your basket.”
While Elsie fetched the food, Miss Taylor gathered up her skirts to climb into the front seat.
His arms full with the child, Hank couldn’t provide gentlemanly aid. He politely looked away until he heard her slide into the seat, and then handed Jewel to her.
Miss Taylor settled the girl on her lap, careful not to jar her ankle, talking softly in her ear and tilting the hat to a more comfortable angle.
Feeling satisfied Jewel was in safe hands, Hank went to help Dr. Angus with the horse.
Soon, Zeus was hitched to the surrey. The picnic basket and Hank’s food were loaded in the back, for they were all famished. Then they were on their way to reunite Jewel with her frantic father. The swaying of the surrey made the girl’s eyes droop, and she leaned against Miss Taylor.
Moments later, they met Torin on the trail. He ran toward them. “I heard your shots,” he yelled, puffing. “Is she…?”
“The lass is well,” Dr. Angus called.
Torin’s face lit with joy. He loped to the surrey, handing Hank the rifle and reaching for his daughter before Angus even reined Zeus to a halt.
“Her right ankle is sprained,” Miss Taylor cautioned, releasing the child to her father’s arms.
Torin grabbed Jewel in a fierce embrace. He held her tight, weeping with joy and relief.
Watching them brought tears to Hank’s eyes, and he couldn’t be bothered to judge them as unmanly, especially when he saw Dr. Angus make a finger swipe across his cheek, and the two women pull out handkerchiefs to wipe their eyes.
Apparently, the others didn’t mind their tears, for they all exchanged warm smiles.
Miss Taylor shifted closer to Dr. Angus and patted the seat for Torin and Jewel to join them.
Torin squeezed next to her with Jewel on his lap.
Not the way I’d have chosen to expand Torin and Jewel’s social circle. But now that the scare is over, I can’t say I’m sorry.
He looked over at Elsie, watching Torin and Jewel. Seeing her reddened eyes and beatific smile, he remembered his promise at the beginning of the bride search that his potential wife would need to accept and love Jewel. She certainly fits that criteria.
She turned to look up at Hank. Her lips parted, making her look sweet and kissable.
He held her gaze, felt an unfamiliar clench of his heart, and realized that perhaps he didn’t need to rush into a marriage. Now that he’d found someone special, a long, slow courtship might just set the perfect pace to—when she was old enough—eventually win Elsie’s heart.