“He’ll need an answer soon.”
Olivia exhaled loudly. “I know.” But she didn’t really.
If she waited, would life ever have anything more to offer her?
* * *
“Good evening, Miss Redfield.”Luke Smith’s voice broke into the comfortable silence of the cottage as he removed his coat and hung his cap on the wall. Rust-colored hair stood on end, and his face seemed almost covered in dirt. A rather large man, his presence immediately filled the room. Olivia squirmed at his tentative smile.
“Good evening, Mr. Smith,” she answered him softly before holding one finger to her lips. “The baby is still sleeping.”
Eliza had stayed until shortly after noon, when the boys went down for their nap, leaving Olivia to prepare an evening meal for the family and await either Mrs. Markham to return or the children’s father to come home.
She’d rather hoped Mrs. Markham would arrive first.
When she reached for her bonnet, he lifted a hand. “I was hoping to speak with you for a moment.” And then he added, “alone.”
A chill sidled down Olivia’s spine. She could not do this today. She wasn’t ready. All afternoon, Eliza’s story about her Matthew and her Lord Fairchild had warred with Olivia’s own dreams.
“Perhaps another time, Mr. Smith?” She donned her floppy, rather ill-fitting bonnet and then hurried to collect the empty basket, all the while refusing to meet his eyes. “I’ve an, er, appointment with my mother this evening.” She had nearly made her escape, her back to him and the door halfway open when he stopped her with an alarming statement.
“I spoke with your father today.”
Olivia did not turn around. Was his decision to go to her father an arrogant one or was it considerate? Her father had been a sore spot with her for quite some time now.
“What did he say?” She almost wished he wouldn’t answer. Would her father even care that a man found her “marriageable’? Of course, Luke Smith was not a landed gentleman. But he provided for his family and—
“He gave me his blessing.”
Olivia cringed. Her father had not thought to consult with her, his daughter, before expressing such an opinion. She turned around and finally met Mr. Smith’s steady gaze. He really was quite handsome. “Did he offer you any sort of dowry? Mention a contract?” Would her father even care that much?
Luke Smith shook his head. “He seemed distracted. Wanted to know my opinion on the progress at the mine. But he said he will not stand in your way if…”
Of course, the mine would be foremost in her father’s thoughts. He’d not think half a second as to the well-being of his eldest daughter.
She backed out the door, pushing it open all the way. “There is stew on the stove. Mrs. Markham should be arriving shortly. Will you tell her the baby is eating better today?”
And then she pivoted and took off at a run, as though the hounds of hell themselves were chasing her.
What am I going to do?
Chapter 4
ALift
Workat the mine was progressing steadily. The engineers, along with Mr. Compton, continued to express unwavering confidence in the utmost safety of the structures being put in place. Rather than reassure Gabriel, this bothered him. The opinion didn’t quite meet up with his own calculations.
The gold vein running precariously beneath thousands of tons of earth could lure even the most stoic of men into acting hastily.
Deep in thought, he didn’t see the young girl running like a banshee down the road until she was nearly upon him.
“Ho there!” he shouted before she barreled into his horse. Obviously, her mind was on other matters as well.
Startled, she came to a halt and then, breathing heavily, dropped the basket she’d been carrying and clutched at her side. “My apologies, My Lord.”
Violet eyes. Pulsating energy.
Miss Redfield! Not a young girl. A woman.
