Where Love Dwells by Delia Parr Read Free Book Online Page A

teased as they headed out of the library into the center hallway to the kitchen.
    â€œWas I messy?” he asked, as if troubled by the very thought.
    â€œNot really,” she admitted. “You were never a messy child. You were as quiet and deliberate at mealtimes as you were when you were doing most anything because you were never very far from the books you loved then and love even now.”
    â€œMark?”
    Emma looked up to see Catherine coming down the center staircase with a worried look on her face.
    â€œWhat’s wrong?” her son asked as he hurried to meet his wife at the bottom of the staircase.
    â€œIt’s Wryn. I went up to her room to let her know that we’d found Jonas and to see if she wanted something to eat, but she’s not there. She’s gone.”
    â€œShe’s probably upset that she was sent to her room and wasn’t allowed to help look for Jonas. She couldn’t very well come downstairs, since we were all here, but she may have wandered up to the garret, where Liesel and Ditty have their rooms. I’ll check there for you,” Emma said.
    Catherine let out a sigh. “You can check, but I doubt you’ll find her there,” she insisted before Emma could start up the stairs. “Her cape is missing, along with her reticule. I think she may have run off.”

5
    V ENTURING OUTDOORS AGAIN to look for Wryn, after spending hours riding in the rain, was about as appealing to Emma as eating a warm hunk of bread without a thick layer of butter on top.
    Wearing Mother Garrett’s rain cape that was too big for her, an old pair of boots left behind by a previous guest that were too wide, and a pair of gloves that were too tight did not help Emma’s mood, either. She held on to Mark with one arm as they made their way through the drizzle down the steep hill to Main Street.
    The cobblestones beneath her feet were slick, and her feet slid from side to side inside her boots as she walked, making her feel clumsy.
    â€œIf Wryn has no coin, she won’t get very far,” Emma said, hoping to ease the worry from her son’s face. “She couldn’t leave Candlewood even if she did. The stage doesn’t come through for a few days yet, and the canal won’t be open again for a few weeks.”
    Mark let out a sigh. “To be honest, I’m less worried about Wryn leaving Candlewood than I am about having her stay here.From what I could see when we drove down Main Street earlier today, there are far too many ways for a young woman like Wryn to get herself into trouble.”
    â€œOnce the weather warms a bit more and the canal opens, the town will be brimming with strangers and all sorts of dangers, perhaps, but not now,” Emma countered, hoping to ease his concerns. “Candlewood has grown a great deal since you’ve left. There are more people living here now and the business district is filled with all sorts of new businesses, but I can’t see how any young woman could get into any sort of real trouble here, even Wryn.”
    â€œThat might be true for most young women, but not her,” Mark countered. “You have no idea, no idea at all, of the trouble she can get herself into.”
    When they reached the bottom of the hill, they turned south on Main Street and walked past a number of smaller cross streets, including the one where Zachary lived and worked, which she pointed out to her son. Eventually, they reached the planked sidewalk that lined the business district, which had mushroomed since the building of the canal. Area products could now travel to the East Coast by way of the Erie Canal, and new goods were introduced in return, as well as a huge influx of workers and their families who now called Candlewood their home.
    Main Street itself held little traffic, which was not unusual for late on a Saturday afternoon. Emma assumed that the dreary weather had probably kept most shoppers at home, though