Chapter 11
Lizzy’s heart thudded in her chest. What a kiss that had been. Her head was still reeling from it. She hadn’t been able to calm down enough to fall asleep and had spent a long time lying on her cot, reliving the kiss until she was forced to stop or face the fact that she would never get any rest.
Troy had the most amazing effect on her. Every moment away from him was spent longing for him to return. How could a person live with the constant need to be near another? It was as though she wasn’t whole until he held her in his arms.
At some point Lizzy must have stopped her wandering thoughts of love and marriage and drifted off because when she opened her eyes, it was dawn.
Dawn!
The miners would be heading to work this morning, and she and Troy had to see if they could get the firedamp burned up harmlessly before they entered the mine. It was time for their lantern to shine.
Throwing off the bedcovers, Lizzy hurriedly got dressed. She banged out her shoes to make sure there were no scorpions or spiders in them and drew them on. Lacing them, she looked over at Tim, who was still asleep.
He was young enough to still sleep with that wonderful abandon of the young and carefree.
He lay with one arm outstretched, the other across his chest as though he was serenading a girl in a tower in a play.
His face, which held so many emotions during the day, was peaceful, calm, and serene. He looked like an angel.
Troy was just coming up to her tent as she came out of it. They greeted each other with a smile and a soft, sweetly hesitant kiss that was a little awkward since it was all still so new to them.
“Did you sleep all right?” Troy asked with his usual handsome grin.
Lizzy nodded. “You?”
“I had a short conversation with Emily over a cup of tea. I think it must have been chamomile because I was so relaxed after that when my head hit my pillow, I was gone.”
A little niggle of jealousy wormed in Lizzy’s chest. There was something about Troy spending any time with Emily that made her want to kick up a fuss and force him to swear his love for her. It was silly. She knew Troy cared for her, but Emily had almost split them up by coming to the camp.
“Don’t worry,” Troy said, putting his arm around her shoulders as they walked. “Lizzy, you need to know. I only have eyes for you. You’re in my heart and my mind, and there’s no space for anyone else.”
She blushed—not something she was known for doing. Troy did have that effect on her. “So, what was your conversation about?”
“I asked how she was doing,” Troy said. “She’s settling in. I think she’s still a little surprised at everything that’s going on. I don’t think her life was this full of intrigue and danger when she lived in Washington, DC.”
“Everyone who lives in this camp lives in an endless stream of chaotic events that string together to make a life,” she chuckled. “But I’m glad that my string is interwoven with yours.”
He lifted her fingers to his lips, making her blush all over again.
They reached the new mine entrance and lowered themselves down into the hole. Having set everything up yesterday, the only thing left to do now was to light their contraption.
Troy turned to her. “I guess this is the moment of truth.”
“I guess so,” Lizzy said. “Thank goodness the lantern is in the lower caverns, or I would feel a lot more nervous about lighting this fuse. Do you want to do it?”
“Let’s do it together,” Troy said, pulling a roll of matches from his pocket. He struck one against the sole of his shoe and, with her hand over his, they steered the flame to the end of the fuse that stuck out of the fine mesh cover.
They lit it, and with a hail of little sparks, the fuse caught and disappeared from view in the mesh.
“How long do you think we’ll have to wait?” Lizzy asked. “Should we hoist ourselves back out?”
“I think it should be fine,” Troy said.
There was a rumbling noise, a flash of light as a river of fire rushed overhead, and then the smell of burned dust. Lizzy and Troy looked at each other. Lizzy’s heart was thudding in her chest, her hands shaking slightly.
“Should we go and see?” she asked.
Troy nodded. “What kind of men and women of science would we be if we didn’t?”
It was true. She had to know. So, she followed Troy into the mine.
It was her first time in it. She had gone down into the old entrance once or twice, but she’d never been in the tunnels.
There had been no need, and truthfully, some of the miners kicked up a fuss and said it was bad luck whenever she got too close to their stomping grounds.
It was easier not to upset them if it was not necessary.
They walked along, guided by a lantern that Troy picked up at the entrance. The floor was mostly smooth rock in the caverns where water or lava had carved them eons ago. Where the miners had opened the passageways, the ground was rougher and uneven, and she had to watch her step.
More than once she tripped and stumbled, but Troy, always attentive, caught her before she could fall.
Lizzy, her knees trembling with excitement and fear, was grateful for his strength and nearness.
She wasn’t entirely happy underground. There was something about knowing how many tons of rock were balanced overhead, pressing down on her, that made her feel fragile and very tiny.
The miners wouldn’t have to worry about her coming down here too often, she decided.
The lower cavern was a natural section of the caves with glittering shards of something white and pink in the rock walls.
As the light of the lantern caught them, they seemed to shimmer and glint, filling the air with little sparkles of light.
It was positively enchanting. Here the roof of the cavern showed signs of having been exposed to fire.
This was where Troy had installed the lantern.
The little flame was burning merrily against the wall near the ceiling.
“It works,” Troy said. “Clearly, the gas built up and has been burned away.”
Lizzy nodded. “That’s good news. I think that was a most successful test.”
“Yes, it was,” Troy said, smiling at her. “We make quite a team, Lady Liz.”
She wrapped her arms around him impulsively. “We did it. We work so well together, Troy.”
“We really do,” he murmured, leaning toward her.
The world was a mess of glittering lights and for a while, as Troy’s lips met hers and Lizzy drifted off into a realm of delight, she didn’t care so much about the tons of rock above her head. She didn’t notice anything but the way Troy surrounded her completely, becoming her entire world.
The sound of voices jerked them apart. Miners were coming down into the shaft. Troy smiled and kissed her nose. Then, taking her by the hand, they turned to head out of the cavern as Jeff and several other miners walked in.
“Well, if it isn’t the lovebirds,” Jeff said with a chortle. “Looking for some alone time? This cave is lovely, but I’ll have you know it’s still part of a mine.”
“Oh, stop that, Jeff,” Troy said with a good-natured laugh.
“I guess your experiment worked?” Jeff asked, looking at the little lantern. “Are you going to leave it burning all day?”
“No, you can blow it out,” Troy said. “We’ll restring a fuse and then you can light it tomorrow.”
“Will we have to do it every day?” one of the other miners asked.
Troy nodded. “For safety’s sake, I’d say yes.”
“Until we can work out how quickly the firedamp builds up,” Lizzy added.
They went up to the surface and headed toward the campfire, where they found Kyle waiting for them. He had two bowls of porridge waiting.
“Eat up,” he said. “We’re already behind schedule.”
“What schedule?” Troy asked in surprise as he handed Lizzy a bowl.
“We have to get all the way to San Antonio and back before sundown. Andrew and the other worrywarts, your brother among them, want everyone back in camp before it even begins to get dark,” Kyle said in his usual flippant manner. “We’re taking two of the guns as well.”
“Why only two?” Lizzy asked.
“Because I’m a terrible shot,” Kyle said. “Don’t worry, Liz, I know how good a shot you are. I wouldn’t dream of depriving you of your right to exact some revenge on a bandit should the opportunity arise.”
She smiled. “You’re a good friend, Kyle.”
He grinned. “And don’t you forget it. I’m expecting your firstborn to be Kyle if it’s a boy.
Just so you know.” He waggled his eyebrows and pointed first at Lizzy and then at Troy.
“And by the way, Troy, if you want to tie the knot on the way in or out of town, I’m happy to be both bridesmaid and best man. ”
It could have been mortifying, but luckily Troy just laughed.
“Gee, he’s got our lives planned out for us, doesn’t he?”
“It would seem so,” Lizzy said with a chuckle.
She ate her porridge quickly, avoiding the lumps that indicated Kyle had been the cook. Then she went to gather her things. She caught Tim on his way to the school tent. He looked grumpy.
“Timmy,” Lizzy said. “Are you okay?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I’m just almost late to school.”
“I’m going to town,” she said. “I’ll bring you back some sweets.”
Tim’s face lit up. “Okay. This day just got better.”
She grinned. “Stay out of trouble. I’ve asked Julie to check in on you and make sure you eat a good lunch.”
“Yes, fine. Now go! I’m going to be late!” he said and hurried off, a slate under one arm and a couple of books tied together with string slung over his back.
Lizzy watched him go. He had never been one for attending school without complaining about it. Hmm. She mentally ran through the various school-age children and realized several were attractive young girls. Tim was of the age when he might be starting to take notice. How quickly they grew up.
The men were waiting at the cart for her.
“You took your time,” Kyle commented.
“I had to see Tim off to school,” Lizzy said.
Kyle shook his head. “The boy has been running around the camp like a hooligan for ages, and now you start wanting to mother him. Honestly.”
“I’m big-sistering him,” she said, climbing up to sit beside Troy. “And he needs it. He’s never been one for schooling.”
“Well, Emily seems to have inspired a lot of them to want to learn,” Troy said.
“We spoke about it last night over tea. She said she’s enjoying teaching the children.
They’re bright and want to learn. Perhaps the break in their education has been a good thing.
Nothing like letting a whole lot of questions build up in their minds and then giving them the tools to answer them. ”
Kyle flicked the reins and the horses set off, pulling the cart. It would be a long drive to town, and the horses would be kept at a decent walking pace. There was no need to exhaust them. Kyle wanted to keep them as fresh as possible in case they needed to run.
Lizzy was happy when Troy handed her the pistol.
Metal always felt at home in her hand, regardless of whether it was a tool or a weapon.
Her unique skill had made her mother despair and her father proud.
A girl who could shoot the label off a hat at thirty paces?
Not bad. But then, she’d always been more of her father’s child than her mother’s.
The road to San Antonio was not exciting. There were fields and clumps of trees. Grassland dotted with cacti and cattle rattled past as the cart’s wheels bounced and ground over the little pebbles that made up the ground. Clouds formed and dissipated throughout the drive.
Conversation was spotty. There was something about all that open space that seemed to suck the words out of them.
It happened every time they set off on a journey from the camp.
It was as though there wasn’t anything important enough to talk about under the endless vault of blue heaven that spread above them.
Lizzy’s father used to say that the outside was the best place to have a conversation with God.
He would stand on a rise just a little way from their yard in the evening, his eyes shut, letting the wind blow around him, and he would just listen.
He would become a statue for a few minutes or an hour—it didn’t matter—and he never seemed to get tired.
Listening to the sound of the world was important to him.
He said it kept him calm and made him feel like he was part of something big and loving.
Like there was an angel with its wings around him.
Lizzy had never felt that. She could imagine it quite vividly, but she had never felt those wings around her, holding her.
Not in all the time since her father passed had she felt anything like being safe and secure.
Not until meeting Troy. Now she had an inkling of what that magical feeling was, and she couldn’t get enough of it.
She reached across and discreetly laced her fingers through his, enjoying how he immediately reciprocated.
They all sat in peaceful silence, enjoying the change of pace from their hectic daily lives.
Hours later, Kyle broke the deep silence as they drove into town. “Well, here we are. San Antonio. May it be the answer to our prayers.”
“What are you talking about?” Troy asked with a laugh. “What prayers?”
“Hey, you have your reasons for being here, and I have mine,” Kyle said.
She didn’t have much time to wonder about that because Kyle unhitched the horse and went in one direction, at which point Troy wasted no time in pulling her close.
“I wanted to do this the whole dang ride,” he murmured, and San Antonio faded around them as Lizzy lost herself in his soft, gentle kiss.