“Lily, have you considered that I might not trust myself?” Roen thought her silence was telling. “So you haven’t.”
“But... last night... you didn’t...”
“That’s right. I didn’t but not because I didn’t want to.” He leaned over the bed and yanked the bundling blanket toward him. “It’s going to happen sometime, Lily. You. Me. We will make this our marital bed. I’m giving you time to get used to the idea that the terms you set and the ones I agreed to were mostly nonsense. It doesn’t seem that way to you now, but it will, and you’ll know it and then I’ll know you’re ready.” Roen punctuated this last by snapping the bundling blanket open. He laid it over the others. “Nothing?” he asked Lily when she remained quiet.
“Not yet,” she whispered, falling onto her back. “Maybe never.”
“I doubt that. Good night, Lily.” Roen did not miss the forlorn note in her voice as she murmured the same to him.
•••
Lily didn’t have a lot to say on the ride to Thunder Point. Roen supposed that her silence was a combination of the concentration she needed to stay in the saddle and thoughts from lastnight that she was still mulling over. The progress they made together was slower than what he’d made alone, but that suited him. He was in no hurry, and it was more important to him that Lily had this opportunity to see past the boundary that defined Frost Falls.
He pointed out the cabin that had been Old Man McCauley’s home. “Ben said it was in a sad state before Remington bought this land and made repairs. He also said Remington and his wife still use the place from time to time. Apparently there is some sentiment attached to it.”
Lily nodded but didn’t comment.
Roen said, “We only have a couple of miles to go. Are you still all right?”
“Yes.”
“The animal Mr. Ketchum and Clay chose for you is sure-footed.”
“She’s dainty.”
“I suppose that’s one way of describing how she picks her way around and between the rocks.”
“She also respects her rider’s lack of experience. I have to do very little to guide her.”
“Did Clay tell you her name?”
“Dancer. It’s perfect.”
It was, Roen thought. He smiled to himself and gradually picked up the pace. Dancer had no difficulty keeping up, and Lily managed herself competently. When they reached the site he had marked with a stake and a strip of red fabric, he dismounted and then went around to help Lily. Her legs were wobbly when she touched down and she fell against him.
“Sorry,” she said, placing her palms on his chest and pushing away.
“Don’t try walking until you feel steady.”
It was good advice, and Lily took it while Roen unloaded the packhorse. She had regained her balance and confidence by the time he’d finished, and she led the horses away to tether them. She joined him as he was setting up the tripod.
Looking around at the rocky incline ahead of her and the shallow stream they had crossed to reach this site, she asked, “What makes this place of interest to you?”
“If you’d like to look at a map, you can. You’ll see that it’s one point on a fairly straight line connecting Frost Falls to Stonechurch. The tracks would have to deviate from their current route in several locations, so it’s not ideal, but without clearly establishing who owns the panhandle that I really want, this is a good second choice.”
Lily unrolled the map that Roen presented to her and studied it. She saw Lizzie’s grape jelly smudge in the corner and recognized this was the map Roen had been poring over at the kitchen table. “I can’t tell where we are.”
Roen pointed to the place that identified their location. “This map shows the elevation of those rocks and ridges in front of us. I’ve made some notes and drawings to show topographical features that hadn’t been described before. Today, we’re going to review the work and my calculations.”
“You want this to work,” she said.
“I want this to be right. That panhandle is ideal, but I have no desire to invoke eminent domain. Northeast Rail would lobby for it and they’d get it. They’re about eighteen hundred miles to the east. I’m here. I’ve had to supervise laying track on land seized by the government before. It’s dangerous for everyone. I’d have to create my own security force or hire Pinkertons. There’d be hazard pay for the crew. The supply route would have to be guarded. No town welcomes that kind of conflict, and there’d be folks on both sides of it. So yes, I’d like this to work, but it’s more important that I get it right.”
Lily rolled up the map and tapped it lightly against her leg. “How can I help?”
Roen held out his hand for the map. “First things first.” He slid the map into its leather case and laid it on the ground a few feet from the tripod. “I’ll show you how to use the chains.” He repeated the chain demonstration he’d done for Clay. Lily had no difficulty following directions and she was better at following his calculations than Clay had been. Except for comments by teacher and questions by student, they worked in relative silence. Roen acknowledged to himself that they were more efficient as a pair than he ever was alone, and in spite of the fact that he had to teach her as they went along, she was abetter assistant than the one he had fired and left behind in New York and infinitely less talkative than her son.
It was well into the afternoon when they stopped to unpack the lunch Ellie Madison had provided. Roen’s rumbling stomach provided the prompt. Lily hadn’t said a word about being hungry, but she bit into the ham sandwich with such relish that Roen knew she had been.
