“You mean, the deal is already made?”
“In a manner of speaking. You still need to sign yourself, of course. But from Anders I had the impression you wanted the land. Since the seller was in a hurry to head back east—he lost his family, wife and infant, recently and thusly his heart for homesteading—I took the liberty of securing it for you.”
“Well, we do want land. But I thought we’d look into all our options.” Lark’s head spun. This seemed to be happening too fast. “What about homesteading ourselves? Wouldn’t that be less expensive?”
“Well, yes. Homestead land is yours with a fee simple title after improving the claim and five years of residence. But only heads of households of majority age are eligible to file.”
“And I’m a woman.” Lark’s voice was flat.
Mr. Caldwell held up a finger. “Actually, that’s not necessarily a barrier. Single women are allowed to file a claim if they are of age. However, since the law defines a husband as the head of household, women seeking to homestead must not marry until the five years are up and they hold their title free and clear.”
Lark didn’t have any entanglements of the heart, though only God knew what the future held. But what about Delphinium? The two of them were the only sisters who had reached twenty-one, and they’d talked about each finding a plot of land. She chewed the inside of her cheek. “So this man, he had completed his five years?”
“No—the Homestead Act has only been in effect for three. But he owns his land now thanks to the commutation clause, which allows a homesteader to acquire final title by purchase after living on the land for six months. That’s the only reason he can sell. If anyone tries to sell or abandons their homestead before the title is legally theirs, the land reverts back to the public domain.”
“I see.” The details whirred through Lark’s mind. “I’m grateful you know all this. Could we go take a look at the land?”
“Certainly.” Mr. Caldwell pushed back his chair and reached for his hat. “Would you like the rest of your family to come along?”
“Yes, please. We’re camped just outside of town, along with a doctor and his nephew who are accompanying us.” She thought of something. “If, ah, you wouldn’t mind not saying anything about my being a woman just yet, I’d be grateful.”
“I see.” Mr. Caldwell quirked a brow and reached for a nearby cane to assist his walk. “Of course, Miss Nielsen. But you may want to consider dropping your masquerade. Once you start a new life here, I imagine you will want it to be as yourself.”
“I’ll think on it.”
On Starbright, Lark led the attorney in his buggy to the campsite and gathered up her sisters. The doctor agreed to keep the children, though Del brought the baby along in his sling. The land was about two miles northeast of the town. Del, Lilac, and Forsythia rode in the carriage with Mr. Caldwell, while Lark rode alongside and filled them in on the details.
“Here we are.” At last the attorney pulled up the reins and nodded to where a sod house rose from the prairie some way to the east, a few spindly trees forming a windbreak alongside it. “That’s the half section you would be buying over that way. And this, from here to that line of trees and west to Salt Creek, is the land you’d homestead.”
Their land. A shiver ran down Lark’s arms as she swung off Starbright’s back. Her sisters climbed down, and together they walked, the prairie grass parting around their ankles.
“How many acres?” Lilac asked.
“One hundred sixty for each half section.” Mr. Caldwell kept up with their pace, his cane and prosthetic leg notwithstanding. “So the full claim is three hundred twenty.”
Was it worth it? “Pretty close to the creek. How is the soil?” Lark asked.
“Nebraska is known for good soil, and as you can see, no rocks or stumps to contend with. Good corn and cattle country. Mr. Skinner already dug a well, for Salt Creek is as it sounds—salty.”
By the time they’d walked to one corner of the land, Forsythia was out of breath. Lark’s heart smote her for pushing her sister too far. Yet Forsythia had wanted to come.
“Let me bring the buggy over,” Caldwell said. “She can rest there till you’re finished.”
“I’ll get it,” Lilac offered.
“True, you can move faster than I, young lady.” He smiled. “Thank you.”
“I’m sorry to cause trouble.” Forsythia leaned on Lark’s arm as Lilac flew across the prairie toward the buggy. “It seems like a good piece of land, though, Lark.”
“It does, doesn’t it?” Lark pushed back her hat and let the wind waving the grasses caress her hair. “I just wish I were sure this was best.”
“What is the price?”
“Two hundred and twenty-five dollars. Mr. Caldwell says that’s reasonable, only a little over what homestead land is valued at, and this has been improved a bit with the sod house and the trees. We have the funds, thanks to my encounter with Ringwald. But would it be a wiser use of our money to just homestead?”
Del looked at her. “We could, as women?”
“You and I could.” Lark hesitated. “If we didn’t marry for five years. You have to be twenty-one to file and then stay single for five years.”
“I see. We talked about all wanting to get adjoining plots of land, but Forsythia and Lilac can’t file yet on account of their age,” Del said. “Purchasing this could give them something, along with a start for all of us while we look for more land and decide what to do. I hear claims are going fast now that the war is
