Chapter 14
Charlotte woke to the sound of Joshua stirring. She waited to open her eyes until she felt the rush of cold air as he closed the door behind him. She wasn’t ready to face him yet.
She rolled over, edging closer to the fire’s warmth. Her cheeks flushed, and not from the heat of the hearth. Her behavior the night before made her cringe. Mama would have been horrified. All those lessons in respectable, ladylike behavior tossed aside the first time she was alone with a man.
Perhaps she’d been isolated at Edenbrook too long. She’d missed the balls and assemblies and their accompanying flirtations and had her head turned by the first man who’d paid her any attention.
Abruptly, she sat up. This was madness. She dressed in Mrs. Norris’s clothes again, each layer of fabric seeming to renew her focus.
She had a duty to her family and he had one to his.
If anyone had suggested she would let herself be sidetracked by a sullen woodsman—no matter how handsome—she’d have told them they were mad.
She braided her hair and splashed icy water on her face from the bucket by the door. Finally, she set the remaining pieces of turkey over the fire to warm.
Joshua opened the door and peeked his head in. “You about ready?” His voice was cool. Precise. The voice of a hired driver hurrying his passenger along. It chilled her as much as the cold rush of air that swept into the room.
“Don’t you want to eat?” She gestured to the pieces of turkey on the edge of the fire.
He shook his head. “No time for that.” He didn’t meet her eyes. “We need to get miles behind us before it warms up.”
“But—” She couldn’t see them going all day without food.
“Bring it along if you must.” He rummaged around in his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief to toss her way. “It’s clean,” he said in response to her dubious stare. “Now, let’s go.”
Charlotte quickly wrapped the turkey and joined Joshua, who waited beside the wagon, impatience in every line of his body.
Grasping the edge of the seat, she pulled herself up before he could offer a hand.
If Joshua Robertson wanted to pretend that nothing had happened between them, she could do the same.
She felt his gaze on her but kept her back stiff and her eyes on the road.
They hadn’t made it two miles before her stomach protested. Tantalizing whiffs of roasted turkey escaped from her sack. She’d never been one to skip breakfast.
The second time her stomach growled, she gave in and pulled out the neatly tied handkerchief. She bit off a hunk of the meat. It was plain and tough but filled the emptiness in her belly.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Joshua glance at the turkey.
He seemed to force his attention back to the road with some effort.
She smiled to herself. He was just as hungry as she was, but too proud to admit it.
She tossed the bones to the side of the path and handed him the second piece without a word.
He hesitated but then moved the reins to one hand and took the offered meat. “Thank you.” It didn’t sound gracious, but it broke the silence between them.
“You’re quite welcome,” she said crisply, noting with satisfaction that he cleaned his piece with relish. So why hadn’t he broken his fast with her in the cabin?
She pondered the change in him as she daintily cleaned her fingers with his handkerchief before folding it into a neat square and handing it back.
One image from the night before kept appearing before her eyes.
The look in his eyes when she’d pulled away so abruptly.
Confusion. Regret. Could that be what he hid beneath the cool mask he wore today?
Fine with her. If he wanted to forget last night, so did she.
Joshua’s fingers clenched the reins as the wagon jostled over a vicious bump. Charlotte bounced so high off the bench he thought she might fall. His arm snaked around her, pulling her close, awareness tingling through him at the contact.
Earlier, in the cold, frosty dawn, he’d given himself a stern lecture about duty, responsibility, and why he needed to keep his distance from Charlotte Fulton. They couldn’t explore whatever had grown between them. They had obligations to fulfill. They had brothers.
And her brother was proving more complicated than he’d thought.
It didn’t add up to Joshua’s mind. If he stood to inherit a fine house and an even finer sister, he wouldn’t turn his back on his responsibilities.
The more Joshua learned about Charlotte’s family, the harder it was to believe her brother chose to come north and clear a homestead alone.
“Something’s been bothering me,” he said finally. “Maybe you’ll say it’s none of my business, but I reckon it is, since I’m along on this journey. This brother of yours . . . Is he in some kind of trouble?”
“Trouble?” She kept her face averted.
His mouth firmed. “I just can’t figure out why he’d leave a fine inheritance to strike out on his own in the bush. You reckon he’s a . . . rebel?”
She froze. “Don’t be ridiculous. Of course not.” She still avoided his gaze. Curious.
“There’s no ‘of course’ about it. Seems to me I ought to know what I’m heading for.”
She bit her lip and sent him a worried glance. “I didn’t think . . . That is, there’s no proof he’s a rebel.” She sounded as though she was trying to convince herself.
He sighed. “All right. Let’s say your brother isn’t a rebel. I think I should know the facts all the same.”
Charlotte let out a long breath, her back and shoulders relaxing against the hard seat. Did this mean she’d trust him with her story? He hoped so.
“I told you yesterday about Edenbrook.”
He nodded. The way she talked, it was a mighty grand place. He’d seen a few homes like that around the city. Stories tall, with sweeping drives and windows that would cost a year’s wage.
She cleared her throat. “Turns out Edenbrook is quite a valuable property, but not for the crops nor the horses. It’s the clay.”
“The clay?” Clay soil was notoriously hard to farm. How could this be a boon?
“Our neighbor has a brickworks but his clay deposits are running low. It’s a special kind, you see. Edenbrook is full of it.”
Joshua pursed his lips. She really was an heiress. Toronto was growing fast, and no building material was worth more than bricks. “Well, I guess you won’t have to worry about your future. You’ll be set.”
Her head whipped around as though he’d blasphemed. “What do you mean? Our neighbor wants to buy Edenbrook so he can destroy it. Tear down the home and dig up the orchard. Mama’s roses . . . everything. I won’t let it happen.”
“Well, you don’t have to sell it.” It seemed a simple business to him.
“That’s where you’re wrong. Our neighbor is an unscrupulous, conniving—” She broke off and took a breath.
“He’s threatened to tell everyone my brother is a rebel.
He’s not,” she added quickly, “but Papa is a loyalist through and through. The rumors alone would crush him. If I can’t convince my brother to come back and join the militia, Papa will sell Edenbrook to our neighbor, just to keep him quiet.
I can’t let that happen. It’s all we have left of Mama. ”
He knew the importance of home. Wasn’t it the very thing he’d chased all these years?
Not for the first time, he wished he could knock some sense into that brother of hers.
Why would he abandon his home and family for isolation in the bush?
It didn’t make sense. Unless . . . unless he was a rebel.
He wouldn’t be the first young man to get caught up in Mackenzie’s fiery words.
“You think he’ll drop everything and return with you?” Her brother had made a mighty effort to get as far away from his family as he could. What made her think that he’d be so easy to convince?
She stiffened. “When he realizes the danger to Edenbrook, he will do what’s right.”
“What’s right for you.” He didn’t know why he couldn’t drop the subject. It was none of his business what she did. All he had to do was get her to her brother’s doorstep. Yet he couldn’t help but worry that it might not work out as she expected.
She bristled. “It’s not about my brother or me. It’s about what’s best for Edenbrook. For our family. But I suppose you wouldn’t understand that.”
He ought to ignore her. Instead, he was goaded into replying. “Because I don’t have a fancy estate, you mean? Or because I wasn’t born to a family like yours?”
“I didn’t . . . That’s not what I meant.” Her voice was subdued.
“Then what did you mean? I have a home. Might not be as fine as yours, but it’s all I need.” And God willing, he’d have a family again, too, thanks to the money he’d earn. The sooner he got rid of her, the sooner he could fetch Henry. The sooner the hole in his chest could heal.
“You’re right . . . I’m sorry. You have a brother. Wouldn’t you give up anything to make sure Henry was safe?”
“But there’s a difference. A big one.”
“Which is?”
“Your brother is a man grown. He left your home of his own accord. Seems to me he must have had a good reason.” Joshua didn’t want to be the one to make her see hard truths, but she had to face facts. “If he wanted to come home, he’d have done so by now.”