She looked appalled. “Oh, no, no, no. I’d never do that. As a matter of fact, I enjoy how you’ve taken it upon yourself to teach all of them the Word of God.”
A blush crept up Olivia’s face.
“I was so impressed when the children told me you were teaching them with the bible. The other two teachers, Annie and Mary, created a timetable to teach the children about God. I’m happy they know more now through you.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Harrison.”
“The marshal is a wonderful man.” Nudging Olivia on the shoulder, she said, “And very handsome, too.”
Olivia wished the matron would stop talking about Adam. Her heart had started fluttering again. She didn’t know if she would be able to hide that talking about Adam always sent her heart beating faster than normal.
“He’s also a very good marshal, too. He takes his work seriously. Word has it that a few days after he resumed work, he went straight to investigating an Indian raid in the area. That’s very impressive to me.”
“Yes,” Olivia simply said.
She didn’t want to start thinking about Adam. She did a lot of that on her narrow bed in her small room every night.
During the day, she tried to keep him out of her mind so that she could focus on her work. And now, the matron kept bringing him up and she couldn’t help missing him.
He hadn’t visited since he brought her to the orphanage a few days ago. She had thought he would have visited by now to at least check how she was doing. That he hadn’t come gave her concern.
Maybe he feels he has done his duty by me and moved on.
The assumption brought pain to her heart. Annie had decided to take a break as her child would be coming anytime soon, so she couldn’t ask about Adam.
“I’ll go inside now.”
Olivia rose with her, grateful that she had stopped talking about Adam.
“I have a lesson with some of the children, too.”
They both walked into the building. Olivia found that the children were already waiting for her, but her thoughts remained on Adam.
Was it possible that she would never see him again? That morning, she had squelched the urge to go into the town to look for him. She had planned that she would pretend as if she was taking a walk, and then just decided to stop by his office.
But not one to be a schemer, she had dropped the idea. She would just have to accept the fact that he had moved on, no matter how painful it was for her.
“Miss Olivia, we’re waiting. “
Olivia jolted and realized that the children were staring at her with eagerness.
She flushed. “I’m so sorry, my darlings. I was lost in thoughts.”
“What were you thinking about, Miss Olivia?” Little Mary asked.
Olivia’s face turned a rosy hue. “Don’t worry about it.”
Flipping open her bible, she said, “What were we talking about in the garden?”
“Adam,” the children chorused.
Olivia blinked. “What?” she quickly turned to the door, thinking Adam was standing there.
“You were telling us about Adam and Eve,” Henry reminded her.
“Oh.” Her color darkened with embarrassment.
She had to get Adam off her mind permanently, or she was going to make an utter cake of herself.
