“Mother! This hotel is expensive,”
“Yes, but your brother’s last wish is priceless. I’ll say it again. Fix this!”
Chapter 11
Savannah rushes from the hotel, forgetting that she doesn’t have a horse waiting on her. As if she could ride in this fancy dress. After ten minutes of attempting to find a coach, she decides to go back inside and seek help.
With a sniff, she turns and smacks straight into a hard chest. “Oh, I beg your pardon,” only to glare when Eli chuckles and steadies her.
“It’s I who should apologize, Miss Ward,” Eli is surprised to feel the tremors running through her body. “Allow us to give you a ride back to your hotel.”
“No, thank you.” Savannah tries to pull away, but Eli is not letting go so easily.
“Miss Ward, you obviously want to get this done and so do I. If I promise to be on my best behavior would you, please, do us the honor of…
“Are you out of your mind?” Savannah shouts, causing him to release her arms and step back in surprise. “After the vile, disgusting, insinuations you made. Give me one reason why I should trust you, Mr. Irwin.”
“Because Oliver told you too.”
Savannah deflates and her anger sifts away at the sincerity of his words. “Damn you for using his memory against me.”
“Again, I’m sorry. Please, Miss Ward, my mother is all the family I have left. My father passed just after Oliver. She needs to see this through to have peace. I promise to be on my best behavior.”
“I suppose I could consider it.” Savannah straightens her posture. “Thank you. I could use an escort back to my hotel.”
Eli nods and guides her to the covered carriage and opens the back to allow her to place the two bags inside. After two attempts to lift them, she turns to him and snaps, “Well, are you going to help me?”
“I wasn’t sure you’d let me.” Eli grabs the bags and hefts them inside. “How in the world did a little bit like you manage to carry those around?” He asks surprised by the weight of them.
“I’m stronger than I look, Mr. Irwin.”
“Duly noted, Miss Ward.”
When she steps inside the carriage, Felicia gasps in relief. “Miss Ward!”
Savannah settles across from Mother and Son and avoids looking at Eli. “This is wonderful! That big farmhouse gets lonely during planting season. Eli works sun up till sundown. We shall have lots of time to get to know each other.”
“Oh, but I didn’t agree…” Savannah tries to say, but Felicia talks over her.
“What does your family do?”
Savannah sighs, “We have a small orchard, but before the war, we were horse breeders. My brother is starting the business back up, in fact.”
“That’s fascinating. You will tell me all about that tonight over dinner. Right, Eli?”
“Whatever you say, Mother.” He sits back with a smile on his lips, and Savannah wishes she could slap him again.
After a quick stop at the Hotel, Eli insists they enjoy lunch in the hotel while he arranges for her bags to be loaded in the carriage. “Do you plan on going through my things, Mr. Irwin?” Savannah asks before he walks away.
“Not today, Miss Ward,” he quips.
Her smile takes him by surprise, and he quickly walks away before he says something else out of turn. This will be an exciting few days.
After lunch, Eli offers each lady an arm and guides them from the Baker House hotel to the carriage. They are laughing and smiling over a story of Oliver and Eli as children when Savannah feels Eli stiffen.
“Eli?” a young woman calls out.
Eli ignores the voice and stops his mother with a sharp, “No!” He opens the carriage door and helps his mother inside without looking at the woman. “Let me help you, Miss Ward.” Strong hands lift her into the carriage, and he dips his hat at her with a smile.
Savannah watches the look of hurt flash over the young maid’s face. Eli hurries to her, and after some heated words, he walks back to the carriage. The poor girl rushes around the back of the hotel in tears.
“Her name is Kristin Fischer. She was Eli’s fiancé until she broke his heart.” Mrs. Irwin says. “To lose his brother, father, and then Kristin, I’m not sure that he will ever recover from the blow.”
Pity stirs in her heart for this man. The thought of losing her brother Glenn, and her Father would be enough to break her. “I will pray for them tonight,” Savannah says and misses the look of surprise on Mrs. Irwin’s face. “Who broke it off?”
“Kristin did. Eli forbids anyone from talking about her.” Savannah glances back to Felicia.
“Does he always get what he wants?”
Felicia grins, “No, he just thinks he does.”
Chapter 12
Pennsylvania
“I need you to look at something for me.” Glenn offers Dayton a cup of coffee after visiting the stables and his new prized pony. He carefully places four tintypes on the table before him.
“Of course. What am I looking at?” Dayton sips the hot brew, before placing it down on the table.
“These are images from the War.” Glenn explains, “Savannah did more than care for sick soldiers, Dayton.”
Dayton’s dark eyes jump to his in surprise, and his voice goes quiet. “What does that mean, exactly?”
Glenn quickly fills him in on the details of her travels during the war. Dayton picks up an image of a church and whistles. “Beautiful, she really has an eye for this.”
“Yes, she does, in fact, Savannah’s been selling the images and making a good profit.”
A smile
