“I’m not cold.” Mary watched as one of the girls fumbled with the blanket she’d been given. There hadn’t been enough for everyone, but Mary was grateful for even this small shelter.
Polly and Rachel glanced her way, then giggled before turning away. Mary tried not to groan, but enough creaked out that Will caught it.
“I’m sorry. I keep trying to be nice to you, but again, it seems like I’ve stirred up more talk.”
How had she not noticed that he had a decent side to him? If not for his connection to Ben, she could almost imagine herself feeling something for him. They might even be able to be friends.
Will left her side and went to join the others. She watched as he shook his head at whatever Polly said to him. Polly glanced her way again. Mary probably ought to rejoin her friend, but she couldn’t bear the thought of having to endure any more teasing about Will. She offered a smile, then looked around at the others. Emma Jane stood alone at the edge of the fire.
Instead of joining Polly and the others, Mary walked over to Emma Jane. “Are you getting dry?”
“Enough.” Emma Jane shrugged and looked in the direction of Jasper. “He’ll never marry me, will he?”
Given his earlier reaction to Emma Jane, probably not. “Maybe if you got to know him and he got to know you—as people, not as a woman hunting a husband...”
Mary didn’t want to elaborate, lest she give the poor girl false hope.
“I don’t have the luxury of getting to know him. Everyone likes Jasper, so I’m sure I will, too.” A dark look crossed Emma Jane’s face. “Not that it matters. He hates me.”
The group by the fire laughed, a joyful sound that drew Mary’s attention, just in time to see Jasper tug on someone’s deflated curl.
“Why can’t I be pretty like Flora?” The words came out like a half sob.
Mary hadn’t yet gotten to know Flora, so she couldn’t speak to the other girl’s character. “Surely there should be more to a person than their looks. Or, in Jasper’s case, their money. Don’t you want a husband who has qualities you respect and admire? Someone who loves you and you love back?”
Oh, what a mistake she would have made in marrying Ben. Yes, he was handsome and charming, but she couldn’t pinpoint a time when he’d done something she respected and admired. As for love, perhaps she’d been too hasty in claiming such affection for the man.
“That’s easy for you to say,” Emma Jane grumbled. “I heard the other girls talking about how you have a fiancé already, and here you are making eyes at Will. You have options. With your brother’s wealth, you don’t need to marry for money.”
How many times would she have to deny her relationship with Ben before people accepted it? And if they did, would he carry out his threat of blaming her for the theft of her aunt’s brooch?
Oh, to be able to shout out the truth so everyone here would leave her alone. She was not going to marry Ben. She was not involved with Will. Honestly! Though she’d always feared dying a spinster, it would almost be worth it if it came with the blessed silence from gossip.
“Things aren’t always what they seem,” Mary finally told her. “I would gladly trade places with you, only I would never wish my circumstances on anyone. Be grateful for Jasper’s lack of interest and your poverty.”
The irony of her situation wasn’t lost on Mary. If she’d remained poor, Ben wouldn’t be pursuing her so strongly.
“You don’t understand what it’s like to have nothing.” Emma Jane’s face contorted in pain. “My family—”
“I do understand. We’ve only been wealthy for a few months. Before that, we lived with an aunt who forced us to work on her farm in place of hired hands. We were barely fed, barely clothed, and in addition to doing chores for our aunt, I cleaned houses and did laundry for many of the ladies in our town. I worked from sunup to sundown, and for several hours after everyone went to bed for good measure. If my aunt was displeased in any way, she’d beat either me or my siblings.”
Emma Jane looked at her solemnly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”
“Before my brother discovered the mine, no one was interested in me. Do you think Ben likes me for my charming personality or my desire to help my brother raise my siblings? No. He wants my money.”
Emma Jane’s flinch told Mary she was finally on the right track. “Don’t do this to Jasper. He deserves a woman who loves him and cares for him. Just as you deserve the same. Don’t do it to yourself.”
“It doesn’t matter. Jasper won’t have me anyway.” The sadness in Emma Jane’s voice told Mary that her words wouldn’t have convinced the girl otherwise.
“Someone will.” She should add in one of Frank’s platitudes about the Lord providing for their needs, but it wasn’t advice Mary would have accepted while in Aunt Ina’s home. Moreover, Mary wasn’t even sure it was true in her current circumstance.
Instead, she offered Emma Jane a smile. “I know your father won’t accept charity. But my brother needs people to help with the mine. He’s on his honeymoon right now, but Collin MacDonald is running things in the meantime. I’ll put in a good word for your father if he’d like a job.”
At least it was something practical she could do for Emma Jane’s family. And maybe give Emma Jane the hope of a future outside of marrying a man who despised her.
“Collin won’t hire him. My father once fired him for being too drunk.” Emma Jane sniffled as though she was about to start sobbing again. “You see? My life is hopeless.”
“Don’t you dare start crying again.” Mary gave her the same stern look she gave the children. “I heard my brother and Collin talking about your father
