A Home at Trail's End (32 page)

“Well, I don't feel that I've had to do much settling in that sense.” Elizabeth took her coat, hanging it on a peg. “Eli thought of just about everything.”

Elizabeth showed Malinda about the house, listening as her friend examined and commented on everything. But something about Malinda's tone made the comments feel more like complaints than compliments. It seemed that everything was either not good enough or too good. Elizabeth could not make heads or tails of her good friend.

“Glass windows in the loft?” Malinda questioned as they stood in Ruth's bedroom. “That seems awfully extravagant.”

“Eli felt the children needed the light.”

Malinda pointed to the bedside table, where Ruth had set her favorite bedtime storybook. “Lanterns provide good light.”

“Yes, well, Eli thought the children might want fresh air in here too,” Elizabeth explained.

“Do the windows
open
?”

“Oh, yes. Eli made wooden latches. See?”

“For a wagon train scout, he seems to know a fair amount about carpentry.” Malinda gave Elizabeth a slightly suspicious look. “Did he learn that on the wagon train?”

“My father and Brady have helped him with some of the woodworking. Eli said he learned a lot while building the house.”

“This ladder is a bit steep,” Malinda said as they scaled down.

“Yes, I must agree. But the children don't mind it at all. They scurry up and down it like little mice. And it takes up so little space down here. I appreciate that.” Now Elizabeth opened the door to their bedroom, and Malinda peered in.

“Another window?” Malinda's brow creased.

“It is awfully nice to have the sunlight coming into the room.”

“Well, windows are lovely, but they don't put food on the table, Elizabeth. Don't forget, this is the frontier. Your priority is to feed your family—not impress people with your house.”

“I'm not concerned for food. Eli is an excellent huntsman. He's providing us with plenty of venison and fish.” Elizabeth almost reminded Malinda of how many times Eli and other members of her family had shared these sources with Malinda's household while Elizabeth and the children stayed with her. Instead, she simply smiled at Malinda. “Besides, as you and I know, God is our provider. We trust in him.”

“Yes, yes, I know that as well as anyone. But I do want my best friend to be practical and wise and frugal. When hard times hit us, we need to be prepared to face them.”

Elizabeth nodded as she removed the teakettle from the stove. “Yes, that's true…” As she poured a bit of hot water in the teapot, swishing it around to warm the china, she wondered why she was being lectured like this. And why was Malinda out of sorts? Surely it didn't have to do with Elizabeth's wedding. That was all over and done, wasn't it?

“When sickness runs through an isolated community such as ours, you realize how vital it is to be prepared for any sort of calamity.”

“I feel that we are fairly well prepared.” Elizabeth poured black tea leaves in the pot and added more hot water.

Malinda was staring at that cookstove now. “Does that little thing really work? It seems much too small to be useful.”

So Elizabeth set the teapot aside and gave Malinda a quick lesson on how the cookstove worked. “The oven is large enough for two big loaves of bread or a large venison roast. And I'm sure it could hold a good-sized goose. Anything larger can always go in a roaster on top. It's actually quite convenient, and it helps to take the chill off the house. Sometimes we don't even use the fireplace. Also, the stove doesn't use very much firewood. Perhaps that's because it's smaller.”

“Well, you don't have a large family to feed. Not like I do,” Malinda smoothed her skirt. “I suppose when I get a cookstove, I will want a larger one.”

“Yes, I can understand that.” As Elizabeth moved to the table, she tried to stifle her irritation. Why was Malinda being so ungracious?

“This is an interesting piece.” Malinda paused to examine the wet sink.

“Yes, it's very handy.”

“Quite rustic. Did Eli make it too?”

Elizabeth almost mentioned that Brady had made it but stopped herself. She did not want Malinda to launch into a lecture about how Brady didn't really belong here and how he wouldn't be allowed to stay. “It was a wedding gift—from my family.”

“Ah, yes. So much for your plans to have no wedding gifts. Honestly, I think you and Eli made off like bandits.”

Elizabeth stared at Malinda. Why was she being so rude? “Would you like to sit now?” she asked in a stiff voice.

“Yes, of course.” Malinda came over and took her seat at the table. “This looks very pretty, Elizabeth. Thank you.” She made what seemed a strained smile.

“Malinda,” Elizabeth began slowly as she filled Malinda's teacup. “Is something bothering you? Have I done something to offend you in some way?”

“No, no, of course not.” Malinda reached for her teaspoon.

“Because you just seem a bit unhappy to me,” Elizabeth said gently. “As if something is troubling you.”

Other than the ticking clock and an occasional sound from the fire, the room grew very quiet. Elizabeth passed the plate of cookies to Malinda and then filled her own teacup with the hot amber liquid.

“I'm sorry,” Malinda said contritely. “I suppose that I was being rather persnickety, wasn't I? Please, forgive my bad manners.”

Elizabeth made an uneasy smile. “Certainly. But I'm concerned. You don't seem yourself today. Are you unwell?”

“No, my health is perfectly fine.” Malinda made a small smile, but her eyes looked sad.

“I know something is troubling you.” Elizabeth leaned forward. “You can tell me, Malinda. I'm your best friend.”

Malinda set down her teacup with a loud clink then shook her head.

“Is it something with the children? No one is ill I hope…”

“The children are all fit as fiddles.”

Elizabeth pondered the situation, wondering how hard she should push. “Does this have to do with Will?”

Malinda nodded sadly. “I'm afraid so.”

“Is he ill?”

“No…but it's all coming apart.”

“What is coming apart?”

“Everything.”

“What do you mean?” Elizabeth peered at her friend with concern. She could see that Malinda was close to tears.

“Will wishes to postpone our wedding.”

“Postpone it? Why?”

“Oh, Elizabeth!” She let out a sob. “I am devastated!”

“You poor dear.” Elizabeth reached across the table and took her hand. “But I don't understand. Why postpone the wedding? I thought you were both eager to marry before Christmas. And you've made so many preparations.”

Malinda retrieved a lace-trimmed hanky from her skirt pocket and dabbed her eyes. “Will is afraid we may have rushed into this without giving it sufficient consideration.”

“Oh, dear.” Elizabeth bit her lip. She had wondered about the same thing after they'd gotten engaged within days of meeting each other. It had seemed overly fast, not to mention that Malinda had not even been widowed for a year. Naturally, these were opinions Elizabeth kept to herself.

“I will admit that we don't know each other terribly well. But I do love him, Elizabeth. I know that I do. I felt it almost from the start. These are not things one imagines.”

“I'm sure you do love him,” she agreed. “And that's how I felt about Eli quite early on too. It just took a while for my heart to convince my head.”

“So tell me, are you enjoying married life?”

“Very much so.” Elizabeth smiled happily. Her first few days of marriage had been wonderful—far better than she'd even imagined. “But we are still newlyweds. I expect we'll have a disagreement before long. But I will not let it trouble me. Two people cannot always agree on everything.”

There was another long silence, and Elizabeth regretted boasting about her marriage. Surely that was not what Malinda needed to hear just now. Elizabeth tried to think of a way to encourage her. “Remember how you encouraged me to consider a spring wedding? Perhaps that's what you will have. I can hardly wait to see how beautiful it will be here in the spring. I'm sure the wildflowers must be blooming profusely by—”

“There's more to this than postponement,” Malinda blurted.

“What is it?” Elizabeth studied Malinda's troubled expression.

“Will feels he is not suited for pioneering.”

“What do you mean
not suited
?”

“It seems that he's been a failure at cabin building. Even Jeremiah, who is only eighteen, has far better carpentry skills than Will. Lavinia confided that Hugh has been going out to help Jeremiah, and he comes home to tell her that poor Will is all thumbs.”

“But that shouldn't matter to you,” Elizabeth assured her. “Your house is already constructed. Your barn as well. You even have most of your fences up. Will won't have to build much of anything.”

“I told him this very thing.” She wiped her nose. “But Will pointed out that he is not a good hunter or fisherman or farmer. He feels that nothing in his life has prepared him for living in the frontier.”

“And yet he was determined to come here.” Elizabeth remembered when she'd first met the Bostonians—right from the beginning she'd been concerned that they would encounter problems. “I wondered whether the Prescotts and the Bramfords would even survive the Oregon Trail,” she confessed. “And yet they did, whereas many did not. Will certainly proved himself a pioneer on the wagon train.”

“Yes, but he had help.”

“There are those who can help him here.” She pointed to Malinda. “You yourself are a fine frontierswoman. You can certainly help him.”

“I'm afraid there's more to it than that, Elizabeth.” She sighed. “Will sees the Prescotts prospering with their store and their lovely home up above. Meanwhile he and Jeremiah have struggled so hard with their cabin—the cabin that Jeremiah and Mahala were supposed to live in after their wedding. But now Will even questions that.”

“What does he question?”

“He's worried that Jeremiah is marrying beneath him.”

“Mahala is a wonderful girl.”

“Yes…but the Flanders…well, they are a bit rough around the edges.”

“They are
good
people, Malinda. And if Jeremiah marries Mahala—and I hope he does—the Flanderses will be your in-laws too. Well, that is if you and Will marry.” She frowned. “You say Will wants to
postpone
the wedding. For how long?”

“I don't know how long. Truly, Elizabeth, it feels as if he is questioning just about everything. He doubts himself and his ability to be a pioneer. He's worried that his choice to come out here has hurt his children. He frets that he has kept them from having a proper education. He is concerned that we made our decision to marry in haste.” She threw up her hands. “Nothing…absolutely nothing seems to be working out for him—or for us.”

“It's no wonder you were feeling a bit negative about my house this morning.”

Malinda looked around the room and sighed. “Your home is perfectly lovely, Elizabeth. You are so very fortunate to have found a man like Mr. Eli Kincaid. I have no doubt that I am severely jealous. I wanted to find fault…just to make myself feel better. But in all honesty, there is nothing wrong with your dear home. The fault lies in me.”

Despite her relief at hearing that her friend approved, Elizabeth felt sad. “What can be done for Will?”

Malinda sadly shook her head. “I don't know. We have talked and talked. It seems to get us nowhere. I suspect that if Will lasts here until springtime, he will be making a plan to move. He has mentioned San Francisco. He feels that attorneys would be welcome there.”

“They will be welcome here too,” Elizabeth declared. “In time.” She almost divulged how she'd been wishing for his legal advice just yesterday, but she knew she couldn't.

“So now, besides feeling heartbroken, I have the additional humiliation of needing to inform everyone that there will be no wedding next week. Do you know how difficult that will be? And I feel so embarrassed when I consider how much trouble I created for you regarding your own wedding.” She blew her nose. “And come to find out, my wedding was nothing more than a pipe dream all along. I am such a fool.”

“Oh, my.” Elizabeth didn't know what to say. “I am so sorry, Malinda.”

“You made a lovely tea party for us,” she said quietly. “A party that I have completely spoiled.”

“You've not spoiled any—”

“Yes, I have! And I should probably just go home because I can't bear to—” She broke into fresh sobs.

Elizabeth went over to wrap her arms around Malinda. “You poor dear,” she soothed. “If there's anything I can do to help, I will.”