Holly shuddered from the cold and fear. If Lydia returned with more evil intentions or neglected to return hoping Holly would die from the cold in the root cellar, Holly needed a plan to protect herself.
When Holly pushed the front door open again, she took a more careful look at the house. There was ample firewood next to the fireplace so she wouldn’t freeze and cans of food in the kitchen along with whatever food Lydia left for her in the root cellar.
A sad smile crossed Holly’s face. Joseph and Charity would worry, but Lydia wouldn’t win. She wasn’t a fancy city girl as Lydia claimed. Her life in the orphanage had taught her how to fight and survive and survive she would. First, a warm fire to ward off the chill in the house and then another cup of tea to warm Holly. Then she’d wait for Lydia to return or for someone to find her. She used four of the five bullets in her gun to escape from the cellar and pantry, but she had one left and one was all she needed if Lydia returned and threatened to shoot her.
Chapter Eight
Joseph walked in the back door of the café carrying an armload of firewood. He looked around and asked Charity, “Where’s Holly? I thought she’d be here this afternoon.”
“She’ll be in later. She and Lydia went to Lydia’s ranch to check on storm damage.”
Joseph’s eyebrows rose, “Lydia? Why in the world would she go anywhere with Lydia?”
Charity turned and placed her hands on her hips. “Lydia can be friendly when she wants to be. She and Holly are close in age and are working on a Christmas dress for Lydia. I know Lydia hoped you’d court her, but she knows you aren’t interested. You need to put your difficulties with Lydia behind you.”
“Difficulties?” Joseph grumbled. “Have you forgotten that she told the preacher we were to be married and when I told her I wouldn’t see her much less marry her she cried at the preacher’s house for an hour and then the preacher lectured me about how to treat a young lady. It took me most of the afternoon to convince him there was never anything between us and it was all in Lydia’s imagination.”
Charity stifled a giggle. “Sorry, I forgot how that affected you, but you have to admit she was determined. She’s over you now and has been friendly with me, too. Forgive, brother dear, and you’ll feel better.”
“Forgive I can do, but I’ll never forget. I’m grateful she didn’t say her virtue was compromised, or she’d be my wife right now.” Joseph frowned and turned to leave to bring in more wood for the stove.
~ * ~
While Joseph gathered the wood, Lydia was putting more of her plan into action. She hurried to her house in town and placed a dozen muffins into a basket and road her wagon over to Ruth Winslow’s boarding house. Once inside after enjoying some coffee and muffins with Ruth, she’d find a way to sneak up to Holly’s room and take her belongings.
Lydia knocked on the front door, and Ruth opened it. A broad smile crossed her face. “Lydia, how good to see you. Come in out of the cold.”
Lydia stepped in and closed the door behind her. She handed the basket to Ruth and hung her coat on one of the hooks along the entryway wall.
“I brought muffins if you have coffee,” Lydia said and smiled. “I thought we could enjoy a visit. With all the ladies here, I thought maybe you heard a bit of gossip about the missing bells.”
“Now, Lydia,” Ruth admonished. “You know I don’t like gossip, but we can talk about what we think happened to them. Come into the kitchen. I have coffee and hot water for tea.”
Lydia and Ruth enjoyed gossip, theories about the missing bells, and numerous other tidbits of life in Belle for well over an hour when Ruth said, “My goodness, I should have started supper, and I still need to take the clean towels upstairs to the rooms.”
Lydia seeing her chance to get into Holly’s room offered, “I’m as much at fault for keeping you from your work as you are. Why don’t you start your supper and I’ll take the towels upstairs?”
“You’re a good friend,” Ruth answered. “Just place two in each room and the rest in the closet at the end of the hall.”
Lydia grabbed the large stack of towels and started up the back stairs. “I’ll do that,” she called back over her shoulder.
Lydia stuffed the entire stack of towels in the closet and hurried to Holly’s room. She pulled the key from her pocket and let herself in the room. It was tidy, and Lydia found the old carpet bag sitting in the corner next to a small, dented green trunk. Lydia pulled open the drawers and stuffed as many of Holly’s personal items into the carpet bag that she could along with two of the four dresses in the closet. She folded the remaining two dresses and dropped them in the open trunk along with the Bible that was sitting on the bedside table.
If I was running, I could buy a new Bible, Lydia thought while adding two other books and a sewing kit along with an old pair of shoes to the trunk. She looked around the room and decided that she took care of Holly’s things. Ruth would assume Holly would send for the trunk later.
Lydia opened the window and dropped the carpet bag out the window. Fortunately, Holly’s window opened on the side of the house and faced an
