North by Night by Katherine Ayres Read Free Book Online Page B

allow for the snow. And he and the others will need time to break Abraham out of jail. Will five days be enough? I surely hope so. But I should probably expect him to be gone at least six. If he left sometime on Thursday, he could return by Monday or Tuesday. How will I fill my time until then? With stitching, I guess, and more work. And letters too. Since we’re snowbound, I’ll write to everyone. But I’ll have to be careful. I too will have to write some thoughts in code.
    18
January
    Dear Mama and Papa
,
    As I sit here and tend to Widow Mercer on this snowy afternoon, I thank you for sending the letters, my books, and the dried-apple pies you baked, Mama. They disappeared quite rapidly. Your fine cooking would make anyone feel better
.
    Miss Aurelia, as she insists I call her, is a clever woman. I am working at the box of mending you sent, and she had the best idea. Since you sewed William several pairs of trousers from the same cloth, I am taking each pair apart. Will wore out the knees of every pair, ruining the fronts. Miss Aurelia said why not sew the undamaged backs together for a new pair of trousers? They look fine this way and should hold up much better than repeated patches
.
    As you may gather, I keep quite busy. Mama, tending a house is more work than I’d realized. Papa, tell Will and Tom that I also milk and tend to Miss Aurelia’s horses, but if the snow lets up, I will surely invite their help
.
    Dear Miranda, your new friend, Reddie, sounds quitebeautiful I too hope he is well and flying again when I return, for I shall want my share of corn bread back. You have given him a rather ordinary name, however. Had you thought of Horatio? Prince Hal? Tell him “Peep, peep” for me. That’s “hello” in redbird
.
    Isn’t the snow beautiful? I yearn to be outside in it, but Miss Aurelia needs me to stay inside, and so I shall. With such illness abroad in the land, safety and caution must come first. You were right to advise me, Papa
.
    But don’t worry, for I am young and healthy and strong. And I know how to look out for myself. Do you realize that I’ve been away from home for a week? I manage better than I might have expected. Perhaps it is because I’m so busy. Or else maybe I’m growing up. I do miss you all, though. I treasure my brothers’ visits and look forward to returning home soon
.
    May God keep you in His care
.
    Your loving daughter
,
Lucinda
    18
January
    Dear Rebecca
,
    I’m so confused. When the snow melts and my duty here is done, we must visit. I’ll fill your ears with news for two days. Just now I write for guidance. I know you won’t receive this letter before I must decide, but if I pretend to talk with you as I write, perhaps I’ll hear your advice in my mind. I surely need someone, and I don’t know Miss Aurelia well enough. And she’s Mama’s age and may not remember what it feels like to be young and in love
.
    Yes, Rebecca, in love. You must promise to seal my secretsdeep in your heart and press a large lump of wax over the edges, as they did in the old days of kings and queens
.
    I know we’ve talked of this before. But Rebecca, I’m so unsure. Who am I supposed to love? Jonathan Clark? He began kissing me last summer, sweet and gentle kisses. Our romance grew through the fall. Sunday afternoons we’d go for drives in his wagon. With his arm around my waist, with all those kisses, I burned like August in November. I could barely sit through the Reverend’s sermons for thoughts of what the afternoon would bring. Oh, Rebecca! Am I wicked? Surely you feel the same way about Nathaniel. Surely God intends us to love one another. He says as much in the Bible
.
    I am wicked. I admit it. For I love two boys at once. It began at the party. Until then, Jeremiah Strong was just someone I knew. Yes, Jeremiah! Charity’s older brother, too mature for me and a Quaker as well. Oh, Rebecca, he kissed me. And I liked it. What I said before was wrong—he’s not a boy like