“It’s fast and light and should get us there on time. Imported all the way from England where they know how to make the finest carriages. Sarah! Kari needs her bonnet and that parasol you picked up for her earlier this morning.”
Caleb’s impatient demand echoing in the high-ceilinged foyer, Kari was astounded at how quickly servants came running, Maria hurrying down the carpeted staircase with bonnet in hand while Sarah came from the back of the house with the frilliest yellow parasol Kari had ever seen.
“You already went into town?” she asked the housekeeper, Sarah’s cheeks bright red from exertion as she bobbed her head.
“Yes, to the mercantile first thing, Miss Hagen—”
“My daughter’s to be calledMiss Walkerunder my roof,” Caleb cut her off, his expression grown ominously dark as he escorted Kari toward the front door. “Make sure all the servants have been informed of my wishes. Am I understood, Miss Murphy?”
The housekeeper glanced from him to Kari, raising a dark brow as if to say “I told you so,” and dropped a brief curtsey to her employer. “Of course, Mr. Walker.”
At once Kari thought to protest, but a quick shaking of Sarah’s head seemed to caution her to remain silent. In truth, she didn’t wish any of the servants to bear the brunt of Caleb’s anger on her account, though she didn’t appreciate him altering her name.
She’d borne the surname Hagen her entire life and she had no intention of changing it, well, unless of course, she married one day.
Yet here she’d made another concession to Caleb Walker and it wasn’t even noon!
Chapter 5
“There, I believe we’re finished for now,” announced the seamstress, an energetic older woman named Mrs. McMaster. “You’ve a lovely figure, Miss Walker. Your new wardrobe will look splendid on you, truly splendid!”
Still dazed by the multicolored array of fine fabrics she’d encountered, silks, satins, and the finest laces and ribbons and bows, Kari murmured her thanks, Caleb’s observation earlier that day that she needed new dresses a complete understatement. She’d thought he had meant two or three, not nearly two dozen!
Even for her wealthiest clientele back home, she’d never seen such extravagance as if money was no object at all. It made her dizzy to think of the cost and the time that would be involved in constructing such a wardrobe, not just dresses but lacey undergarments, too, unlike anything she’d ever worn before. As if reading her mind, Mrs. McMaster squeezed her arm reassuringly.
“Ah, now, don’t you fret about a thing. Mr. Walker said no expense was to be spared to make you one of the most fashionable young ladies in Texas. I’ve asked a host of women in town to help me so it shouldn’t take us long at all! Why, I’ll have the first dresses ready in two days—hmm, it’s Wednesday, so yes, on Friday, you must return for a fitting. Shall we say ten thirty, just like today?”
Kari nodded and re-pinned her bonnet atop her head, while Mrs. McMaster fetched the frilly parasol that looked so woefully incongruous with her simple green dress.
Once again the kindly seamstress seemed to guess her thoughts. With a flourish, she pulled out of a drawer a silk shawl patterned with delicate yellow flowers on a green background and draped the garment over Kari’s shoulders.
“There, it’s very close to the shade of your dress and adds a lovely touch, don’t you think?”
“Yes, thank you,” Kari murmured, never having been one to concern herself with such things before because she’d never owned such a fancy parasol.
She had felt so self-conscious riding in that black four-wheeled phaeton with Caleb at the reins, and him shouting greetings right and left as they drove into Walker Creek.
Her parasol had thankfully shielded her from the sun but shone as bright as a beacon, making Kari wonder if he’d ordered Sarah to choose one that would draw attention to them.
His flurry of introductions as he’d slowed the open, two-seated carriage along the main street had made her head spin: Sheriff Joshua Logan, widowed a year ago and with two young children, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Levinson, both proprietors of the mercantile as stout as pickle barrels, a snowy-haired Reverend James Thomas and his kindly-looking wife, Mildred, on and on—oh dear, she couldn’t remember all the names!
Yet she doubted they would forget hers. Caleb had announced with a booming voice to one and all that his daughter, Miss Kari Walker, had at last come to Texas for a visit and hopefully, to stay.
Who could say how many townspeople already knew the truth behind her unexpected arrival? To Kari, it had appeared the welcoming smiles were genuine though she’d seen more than a few speculative glances and women putting their heads together as she and Caleb rumbled by. From the way Sarah had shared with Caleb, and probably the rest of the household, everything Kari had told her, she hadn’t been surprised at all to see such public gossiping.
Kari sighed and glanced out the paned shop window, wondering when Caleb would arrive to fetch her. He had said he would return at half past noon, but Mrs. McMaster’s ornate clock high atop a shelf had already chimed one o’clock.
Should she venture out by herself for a stroll to become more acquainted with the town? She had no one to accompany her, though, and she wasn’t sure it would be considered proper. Everyone knew her in Faribault and Kari hadn’t hesitated to walk alone, but she surely didn’t want to see another startling altercation as between Seth and that rough-looking man named Dirk—
“Are you ready to leave, Miss Hagen?”
“Seth!” Astonished to see him standing halfway inside the door, Kari blushed to her roots that she had called him by his first name. “F-forgive me, I meant Mr. Davis—”
“Seth’s fine with me. A good day to you, Mrs. McMaster.” Tipping his hat, he grinned at the seamstress, who smiled back at him fondly. “Uncle Caleb got caught up with some business at the Red Dog so he sent a message that I pick up the phaeton and fetch his daughter.”
“Thought as much. Go on with you, then. It’s been a pleasure, Miss…”
“Kari’s fine, Mrs. McMaster, and thank you again. I’ll see you on Friday.”
