“Forgive me, Danielle,” Rose managed, shading her eyes with her hand. “How rude of me not to acknowledge your... companion. I mistook him for Amelia’s brother Robert but I see now that it’s... That is—” Rose’s cheeks turned red and she shot a beseeching look at her husband.
“Forgive us,” said Jonathan Stripling, “I don’t believe we’ve made your acquaintance, sir.”
“Don’t apologize,” said Dani, glancing at Captain Bannock. If she expected him to countermand the introductions, she was wrong. He seemed perfectly happy for her to manage on her own. “I’ve been remiss. Mr. and Mrs. Stripling, may I introduce Captain Luke Bannock. Of...”
“Cornwall,” provided the captain. “How do you do?” He removed his hat.
Rose and Jonathan Stripling blinked in confusion at the man in the road. Their smiles were cordial but expectant. Dani knew she should say more, she should provide some reason or relation, but she barely understood her connection to the man. She shrugged and dropped her shoulders, willing her friends to recuse her from saying more.
“How do you do?” the Striplings finally said, speaking in unison.
“What were you saying about Mr. Stripling’s mother, Rose? Better, is she?”
The Striplings looked back and forth between Dani and the captain, saying nothing.
Finally, the captain ventured, “It was a pleasure to meet you.”
“Pleasure,” repeated the Striplings. Jonathan Stripling touched his cap.
“Rose?” prompted Dani. “Mr. Stripling’s mother?”
“Oh, right, sorry,” said Rose Stripling. “She has fully recovered since she began to boil her drinking water, as you suggested.”
“Oh, I’m so glad to hear it,” Dani said. “One reads these little tips and tricks and never knows if they might work. It was worth a try, I thought. If we do not get more rain, we’ll all be boiling water for drinking.”
Jonathan Stripling added, “She didn’t want the bother at first, but we took your advice and challenged her to try it for three days. By the third day, there was no more upset.”
“She should tell her neighbors,” Dani said. “Everyone who draws from that well should likely boil before they drink.”
“Never you fear, she’s become quite the authority,” said Jonathan Stripling.
“Of course she’s done,” said Dani. “I only wish so many of her neighbors in James Road hadn’t moved away. If more families tended to the well, the water might still be fresh.”
“Aye,” said Mr. Stripling. “If another family moves on, we’ll need to relocate Mother to our home, I’m afraid. James Road is too remote for her to live with no close neighbor.”
Rose Stripling spun on the seat and gaped at her husband. “Relocate her to our house?”
The man shrugged. “She’s a widow, love. And James Road has seen so many families go.”
Rose Stripling turned back to Dani, her eyes wide with dread.“Dani,”she implored.
“We are trying, Rose,” Dani told her, fatigue in her voice.
“Yes, of course,” Rose assured. “Forgive me. No one has addressed the problem with more spirit than you. What of the committee meeting this morning?”
“I was actually, er, detained this morning. But I’ll discover the votes soon enough. And I’ll call later in the week, Rose,” Dani promised. “Hopefully Jonathan’s mother will not have taken up residence by then.” She winked.
“Oh, I should like that very much. Not my mother-in-law”—Rose eyed her husband—“but your call.”
“It’s all settled, then,” said Dani. In her head, she added,Off you go.
When no one moved—when everyone literally gaped at each other like people who’d never before encountered other humans on a village road—Captain Bannock reseated his hat, nodded in the direction of the road, and gently touched Dani on the small of the back. Dani shot the Striplings a farewell smile and went.
“Good day,” she called over her shoulder. Strictly speaking, it was not discourteous to amble on.
“Good day,” parroted the Striplings in a dazed, confused singsong.
Dani bit her lip.And so it begins.
