Taking the Reins (13 page)

Emma shook her head. Katherine had suggested this before, but something held her back. A frightening image of herself, perched on the horse, racing along with such alarming speed it was impossible to stop. Impossible to remain in the saddle. “Trotting first. Once I master that, I can do anything.”

Katherine pressed her lips together, her brow creased. She leaned forward to pat Liberty, then glanced back at Emma. “Suit yourself.” She took off at a trot.

Emma watched her go. The girl might think she was better than Emma, but Katherine knew how to ride a horse, and that's for certain-sure. She was a good teacher too. For now, Emma needed Katherine and so was careful to do nothing that would make her cross enough to give up. Such as call the horse Liberty. In her own mind, though,
Emma always thought of it as Liberty. That's what the horse meant to her, and that was what she would name it.

Halfway around the field, Katherine urged Liberty into a canter. Emma had to admit, the ride did look a lot smoother, but even so...

She tapped Princess, and they resumed their slow plod around the field. Once around and Emma decided to try trotting again. This time it hurt. Her knee hurt. Her hip hurt. She was tired. But a walk was too easy. Too boring. She needed to do more. She took a deep breath, gathered her courage, and tapped the horse with both heels. Princess snorted, shook her head, and kept on trotting. Emma tapped a little harder, flicked the reins. “Go!” she cried. “Faster, Princess! Canter!” If there was any change in the horse's gait, it was to prance just a little higher and make Emma bounce a little harder with every step.

Hoofbeats, quick and hard, raced up behind her. Princess put her ears back and trotted a little faster. The hoofbeats came closer, thundering up behind them. Princess stretched out her neck, lengthened her stride, and picked up speed.

Emma opened her mouth, tried to cry out, but the sound jammed in her throat. Wind blew into her face. She flew over the ground at a speed no human was meant to go, and that's for certain-sure. Emma gripped the saddlehorn and clung to the horse with her knees. A moment later, she threw back her head and laughed. She was cantering! And she wasn't falling off. Katherine was right, this cantering was all smooth and easy, not like that horrid trotting business. Not at all.

Katherine pulled up beside her, slowing Nugget to keep pace. Emma was doing well, and Katherine smiled to see her. Princess had reacted just the way she hoped, breaking into a canter because she hated to be overtaken by the younger horse. Katherine ignored the little, niggling voice that reminded her Emma would soon be ready to ride Nugget.

“That was splendid!” Emma bubbled over with excitement as they rode back along the path in almost total darkness. “I can hardly wait for tomorrow! You were right, cantering is so much easier. I shall be ready to ride Liberty in no time!”

Katherine grimaced. Her hands twisted around the reins. Liberty. Well, she would need to get used to it, wouldn't she? Not Nugget. No more Nugget. Before long, it would be herself riding Princess and Emma getting used to Liberty, her own horse. Her throat ached. She leaned forward to pat Nugget's warm neck. “You'll always be Nugget to me,” she whispered.

“Miss Harris!” The voice was so loud, so close in the darkness, Katherine almost tumbled from the saddle.

Nugget had stopped without being told. Katherine realized in an instant that, lost in her own concerns, she had strayed beyond the end of the path. She squinted, breathless, into the gloom ahead. The tall, shadowy figure of a man loomed in the clearing near the barn door.

“Mr. Bentley!” Katherine called, louder than necessary. “What a pleasant surprise!” She urged Nugget up the slope, so close the horse almost tromped on Mr. Bentley's toes. Behind him, Katherine caught a quick flicker of movement. On silent feet, a dark shape circled around them, vanishing against the background of dark woods.

“I stopped by to see how Emma is doing with her riding lessons,” he explained. “Is she with you?” He leaned sideways in an attempt to see around Nugget.

“Emma is doing very well,” Katherine told him. “She cantered for the first time today and is learning how to trot.”

“I see you are riding the horse?”

“Yes. Well, I'm...”

“Katherine still needs to exercise Nugget,” Emma said, emerging from the path on foot. “And sometimes I get tired from riding and prefer to walk home.”

Katherine slid to the ground. She clutched Nugget's reins and began talking, saying anything to keep Mr. Bentley's attention away from the dark figure behind them. “Emma is learning quickly. Next week, I shall be going home for the Christmas holiday, but in the new year we'll soon have her ready and able to ride with you to that acreage you plan on pre-empting.”

“I'm happy to hear it,” Mr. Bentley said.

The three walked into the barn together, and Katherine led Nugget toward her stall. Behind them a horse snorted, hoofs struck the floor, heavy and slow. She turned to see Edward leading Princess through the door, her head low, a cloud of vapor rising from her nostrils.

“Good evening, sir,” he said, “and ladies.” He nodded politely. “I must have just missed you. I've had Princess out for her exercise, but she tires quickly these days, especially with all my weight on her back.”

“I can imagine,” Emma remarked, “the poor horse!”

Tall Joe laughed. “But not nearly so bad as your poor horse racing under the enormous bulk of Mayor Harris!”

While the men laughed, Emma turned to Katherine, embarrassed that Tall Joe made fun of Mayor Harris in front of her. To her surprise, Katherine was laughing too.

The next day, she got her chance to question Katherine. They were riding side by side at a slow pace, cooling the horses after a hard ride, when Katherine confirmed she would be leaving at the end of the week.

“I don't understand. How can you be going home for Christmas; doesn't your family live right here in Victoria?” Emma asked.

Katherine shook her head. “My family lives on a farm outside the small town of Hope, but right now my parents are running a store up in Yale. They say it is a favor to Mr. Roberts, who owns the store, but I know they're relieved not to spend an entire winter on the farm.”

“Then Mayor Harris is not your father?”

“Mayor Harris? He's no relation at all.”

“And you are not rich and spoiled?”

“Not so's I noticed.” Katherine laughed. “The truth is, I thought you were the rich and spoiled one.”

“Me?” Emma's head jerked toward Katherine. “Whatever gave you that idea?”

“Oh, I don't know. Could be the way you speak so precisely, as if you think I won't understand proper English. Could be the fact that you live with governor and Mrs. Douglas. Or it might even be that fancy ring of yours.” Katherine's eyes wandered to Emma's hand, lightly holding Princess' reins.

Emma glanced down too. Today the ring was no more than a lump inside a warm glove, but she turned her hand away. She searched for something to say, some way to turn the subject away from herself as neatly as she had turned the ring. What happened next took her by surprise, as if something inside her gave way, a dark barrier crumbled to let light shine through. Hearing the truth about Katherine gave her the strength to be honest about herself. “If I speak carefully, it is because I am afraid of making mistakes,” she explained. “I live with the Douglas family because I'm their housemaid, and,” she drew a shaky breath, “my mother gave me this ring the night before she died. The ring once belonged to Tall Joe's grandmother.”

Emma stopped there, thinking she had said too much already but, to her horror, words kept tumbling from her mouth as if she had lost all control over it. “Seems like Tall Joe took off with his cousin to seek his fortune. My mother begged to go along, but Tall Joe was that stubborn and said the gold fields were no place for a lady. He promised to send for her as soon as he struck it rich.” Emma hesitated, then added, “But me mam never did hear from him again. An' it's only because of the ring he knew me once I got here on me own.” Oh, Emma put a hand to her mouth, realizing she had spoken so fast her perfect English slipped away.

Katherine didn't appear to notice. “How dreadful for you! Small wonder you don't trust Tall Joe.” She paused, her brow creased in thought. “So if you're just thirteen, Emma, that must mean Tall Joe ran off back in 1848 after hearing of the gold found at Sutter's Mill? I read all about the California Gold Rush in a book my teacher loaned me.”

Emma nodded. She guessed Katherine was right – somewhere in California was all she knew of it. But she didn't trust herself to speak right now. No telling what words might come flying from her mouth, making her sound like the street urchin she really was. At least she could keep that a secret from Katherine.

They rode on, Nugget gradually outpacing the slower horse, each girl lost in her own thoughts, each needing time to absorb this new information. Emma chided herself for saying so much, for letting Katherine know she was a servant girl and a pauper. And how foolish could she be? She glared at Katherine's back. “Well, an' at least she doesn't know you're a brideship girl,” Emma told herself. “Let that slip and she'll never speak to you again.”

Nugget stopped, and Katherine twisted in the saddle to look back at Emma, her face pale. When she spoke, her voice sounded tortured, as if she felt the pain as deeply as Emma herself. “You must miss her so much!”

Emma nodded. Her eyes stung. The ring lay heavy on her finger.

Katherine waited for Princess to catch up and stop beside Nugget. “Emma,” she said in a croaky voice, “there's something I want to show you.”

Emma waited, but Katherine only sat stock-still on the horse, staring straight ahead as if looking at something that was never there at all. Emma sensed a battle going on in Katherine's mind, so she waited until at last Katherine reached into the pocket of her skirt and pulled out a small cloth bag. She opened the drawstring and turned the bag upside down, letting a large gold nugget fall onto her palm. She held it toward Emma.

“Do you see how it looks like a rose?”

Emma nodded again, blinking because her eyes had gone blurry. She was surprised to see tears in Katherine's eyes too.

“I always keep it with me,” Katherine said. “My sister gave it to me before she died.” Her voice dropped to the faintest of whispers. “I miss her too.”

12

O
h, look!” Katherine grabbed Mrs. Morris' arm. “There they are. See – there's Mother and Father, and...oh! George too. He's come to meet me!” Katherine let go of Mrs. Morris and waved both arms above her head, jumping up and down on the deck of the sternwheeler as it steamed into Hope.

Mrs. Morris brushed her arm where Katherine had held it. “Honestly,” she placed a hand over her chest, “I never saw such a display from a lady!”

“Then I'm glad I'm not one!” Katherine replied, jumping a little higher and waving a little more frantically, more to annoy Mrs. Morris than anything else. Mother spotted her on the crowded deck and waved back, her arm raised high over her head. She grabbed her husband's arm and pointed. A huge smile spread over Father's face. He extended both arms toward Katherine as if to reach up and wrap her in a huge hug. Even George smiled up at her. With a quick wave, he hurried toward the riverbank.

“Well!” Mrs. Morris breathed. “Country life certainly does change some people!”

Yes, and for the better, Katherine thought, but didn't say, because Mrs. Morris was in a bad enough mood already. The woman had not wanted to leave Victoria and miss so many of the parties planned around the Christmas season. But there was no one else to accompany Katherine, and it was out of the question for a young, unmarried girl to travel without an adult. So Mrs. Morris had reluctantly agreed. “If I do not come with you, you will not be able to go at all,” she told Katherine. “We would not want you missing Christmas with your family, now would we?”

“No, of course not.” Katherine had held her tongue in order to appease Mrs. Morris. She knew the truth though. The widow did not want to be stuck with Katherine over Christmas, dragging her along to parties where Katherine would embarrass her by never managing to fit in. Better to take a quick trip up to Hope and get rid of the girl for two weeks than put up with her in Victoria.

The sternwheeler nudged up against shore and Katherine forgot all about Mrs. Morris as she ran to meet George, who was waiting to help her down. She reached for his hand and scrambled to the ground before the ramp could be set in place.

“I'm so happy to see you, George!”

The two climbed up the low bank, where Katherine found herself engulfed in hugs, first by her mother, then her father. “Your mother missed you desperately,” Father said, squeezing her so hard she could scarcely breathe.

“I missed her too,” Katherine said, “and you just as much.”

He squeezed even tighter until Katherine gasped for air. She blinked, looking over his shoulder, blinked again and forgot about breathing altogether.

Not ten yards away stood a tall, strongly built young man dressed in work clothes similar to George's. His clear brown eyes held hers for a moment before he nodded and looked away. William. Katherine wanted to run over, tell him she was going to school in Victoria now and ask if he was doing well.

But Father turned her around with an arm resting on her shoulders. “We must go and greet Mrs. Morris,” he said.

It was only then Katherine realized how heavily he leaned on her. She had almost forgotten about his injured leg. As they walked toward the bank with Mother on her other side, Katherine glanced back, but William had vanished into the milling crowd.

In spite of her joy at homecoming, a deep sadness settled over her. She had not seen William for so long and now, today, he was so very close, and yet she could not speak to him. She wondered why he was here and not with his family up in their village near Lytton.

“We have the wagon waiting.” Father led the way, his hand pressing on Katherine's shoulder while Mother and Mrs. Morris followed close behind. “George is riding Duke back. He'll have the tea ready when we arrive.”

George? Make tea?
Katherine marveled at the thought.

She shivered and pulled her cloak closer as they walked across brittle brown grass near the Fraser. The ground was crunchy underfoot. A wind whisked down the valley, carrying a bite much fiercer than anything in Victoria. Black clouds hung low and threatening over the mountains. “It looks like snow,” her father said. “We must hurry back.”

“Don't tell him I said so,” Mother added, “but your brother is excited about showing you all the work he has done since you left.”

Katherine opened her mouth to ask what horse might be pulling the wagon if George was riding Duke, but was interrupted by Mrs. Morris' high-pitched complaint.

“So that is why you're forcing me to spend a night in the wilderness?”

“We don't mean to force you, Isabelle,” Mother said. “And we're very grateful you agreed to accompany Katherine home. But as the boat doesn't return to Victoria until tomorrow, there isn't a great deal of choice.”

“We could find lodging for you here in Hope if you would prefer,” Katherine suggested.

Father's grip on her shoulder tightened, not quite hurting, but close enough. She said nothing more.

Mrs. Morris may have muttered a reply, but Katherine didn't hear because right then the wagon came into view, a familiar black horse hitched to it. “Coal!” she cried without thinking.

Father stopped abruptly. “How do you know the horse's name?”

She noticed William then, standing beside the wag
on, waiting to help them climb aboard. Katherine was so surprised she could scarcely think. “I, uh, I don't know. He's so black, I guess, he reminds me of coal.”

Her father looked skeptical. “But that's...”

“William here has been helping George around the farm,” Mother interrupted. “Wait until you see the barn they're building. It's almost finished, and the well is too! And they've worked on the cabin – you'll be amazed, Katherine. William is a wonderful influence on George. He is such a hard worker.”

At this, Mrs. Morris gave a loud
Humph
. She stood back with her arms folded across her drooping chest and re
fused to let William hand her up into the wagon. As a result,
Father had to step forward to help her and Katherine stood on his other side to prevent him from falling.

It took both William and Katherine to help Father up into the seat, and then William turned to Katherine. His hand felt warm and strong as it closed around hers. A tingle of happiness surged through her body. She glanced up at him shyly.

He stared down at her, as stern as the last time she saw him – that day at his village with his father looking on, when William told her a man could not be friends with a girl.

She let go of his hand and scrambled up to the seat on her own.

“It certainly is cold enough in this godforsaken country,” Mrs. Morris complained as they bounced along the frozen road toward the Harris farm. She sat beside Mother, sharing a warm blanket, their backs to William, who occupied the small driver's seat at the front. Katherine and her father sat opposite the two women, facing forward, a second blanket over their knees. “And it is such a long way from civilization.”

The wheels dipped into a particularly deep pothole. “Ugh,” Mrs. Morris moaned, “this is a horrid, rough ride.” She placed a gloved hand on Mother's arm. “You must be a saint to cope with all of this, my dear.”

“It's not so bad once you get used to it,” Mother replied. “But I must admit, we do enjoy living in Yale, where we have a little company.”

“Yes, but you are so far from Society,” Mrs. Morris sympathized. “And,” she glanced over her shoulder at William, then leaned closer to Mother but didn't bother to lower her voice, “it is impossible to get any decent sort of help!”

Katherine could tell how angry William was by the way he held his shoulders, all hunched up and stiff. She leaned forward, intending to say a few choice words to Mrs. Morris, but Father pulled her back.

“We make do quite nicely,” Mother said. “And without William's help and others like him, many of us settlers would not survive in this wild colony. I don't expect our George would have accomplished half so much if William had not shown up to offer his services.”

Katherine wondered exactly when William had arrived. She must have just missed him when she set out for Victoria. Did he only show up because he knew she had gone?

William deposited everyone at the cabin's front door and headed for the sturdy little barn to take care of the horses. Katherine watched him go. He and George had certainly done a splendid job on building the barn. More a large shed really, set not far from the house, its roof steeply pitched to prevent snow from accumulating. The wood-plank walls were finished and a wide door set in place. She started toward it, but George appeared at the cabin door just then.

“Tea's ready!” he announced.

Katherine stopped in the doorway. She could scarcely believe what she saw. There was fresh bread on the table, sourdough to be sure, but bread nevertheless. There was cheese and butter, blackberry jam and a big pot of tea, with the table neatly set. Behind the table, instead of the little lean-to kitchen and cramped room beside it where George slept, there was now a real, built-in kitchen and a proper bedroom. She hurried to inspect them.

The bedroom was scarcely large enough for a bed but had an actual door and in the far wall a small, square window. The walls had no cracks between logs to let in the frigid winter wind. There was a proper roof above it and over the kitchen too, not one that looked about to collapse under the weight of the first snowfall.

“This is unbelievable! You've done so much.”

“I couldn't have done it without William,” George admitted as they rejoined the others.

Mrs. Morris clucked her tongue and lowered herself onto their one decent chair. It was Father's, who needed the comfort of it since his injury. But he said nothing and settled on one of the crude blocks of wood.

After tea, Father pushed himself up from the table. “I believe I shall take the newspapers Mrs. Morris so kindly
brought along and read them in the bedroom, out of ev
eryone's way.”

Katherine smiled to herself, knowing he could not abide another minute in Mrs. Morris's company. Likely he would be snoring within five minutes.

“Well, I'm off to the barn,” George said. “There's work to be done before we leave for Yale tomorrow.”

Mother and Mrs. Morris remained at the table to catch up on news of Victoria while Katherine cleared the table and washed the dishes. That done, she bundled into warm clothes and hurried outside.

Tiny, dry pellets of snow floated from a slate-grey sky as Katherine scurried toward the new barn. Inside there was room enough for four stalls, a small storage area, and a loft overflowing with sweet-smelling hay. Duke and Coal took up two of the stalls while their milk cow, Genevieve, watched Katherine lazily from a third. George was busy hammering boards to complete a wall of the storage area.

“You've done a splendid job here too,” Katherine said. “And in such a short time. I still can't believe it!”

George spoke around a mouthful of nails that altered the sounds of his words. “Isn't this why you dragged me home?”

Katherine smiled. “I wasn't certain you would actually do anything. You didn't accomplish much last summer!”

George spit the nails into his hand. “Yes, well, it's not easy to work with Father standing over me explaining what I'm doing wrong every minute.”

“I know!” Katherine laughed briefly, but something else occupied her mind. Should she ask? No... Yes... Now or never. “Did William arrive when Father was still here?”

“No, he showed up after they left. He needed work because there weren't enough salmon caught in the river to last his people until spring. He blames the shortage on the construction of the wagon road.”

“Oh, but George, do you think that could be true?”

Her brother shrugged. “I have no idea. At any rate, we pay him what we can, mostly in food Mother sends from the store up to his family's winter village.”

“That's good then,” Katherine said.

“Wait until you see the well! William's out there now. We had hoped to finish it before you got here as a surprise, since you were the one who complained so much about it.”

“I was the one who had to fetch water in that contraption you and Father built!” she pointed out. George didn't answer but stuffed the nails back into this mouth.

“I guess I shall go have a look at the well then.”

George nodded, already back at his task.

Katherine spotted William working on the framework
above the well. He didn't see her coming, and she chuckled
to herself, remembering the day she first met William. She had been leaning over the riverbank, using a long pole and a pulley system rigged up by Father and George to haul up a bucket of water.

Hey!
William had called, so close behind she had dropped the pole over the bank. Today, she would get even.