As soon as the image sprang to her mind, Myrtle couldn’t help but giggle.The other ladies all looked at her, and she whispered her thought, not wanting Aaron to hear her.She had no idea if he would share her silly sense of humor.“He’s the mama duck, and we’re the ducklings, waddling along behind him.”
The others all laughed softly—all except Josie, who was closer to Myrtle than any of the others.Josie laughed loudly.“Myrtle, you need to keep those comments to yourself until we’re out of this town.”
Calling Skagway a town was a bit of a stretch of the imagination.Yes, it was an area with people, and it bustled, but from what Myrtle had seen, the buildings seemed to be saloons and brothels.Could an area with only saloons and brothels be called a town?She didn’t know.
Aaron glared at all of them over his shoulder.“Donotcall attention to yourselves.”
Myrtle hung her head in a show of false humility.She would obey the man, as he was her husband, but she would only do so in public.When they were alone, she would let him know what she thought of his orders.
Soon, they were out of Skagway and on their way on a dirt trail away from civilization.Myrtle wondered for a moment if she would ever be able to return to Massachusetts for a visit, but the thought made her sad, and she blocked it out of her mind.She had to look to the future that the man in front of her represented.There was no real choice.
By the time they stopped that evening, Myrtle felt as if her feet would never be able to move so swiftly again.Aaron showed them no mercy as he set the pace that they all must follow.
He made a small campfire and looked around at the women.“I only brought two blankets.”
“We all brought our own,” Ella said.She’d been mostly quiet through the day.Myrtle had never heard her say much, but when Myrtle had needed help with anything, Ella had been there to support her.She was that way with all the waitresses and maids who lived at the hotel.
“Good,” Aaron said as he quickly tied the mules to a tree and removed their burdens from them.“There’s a river a short distance that way.Make sure at least two of you go together if you’re going to leave camp.”He held up the pack of food he’d brought.“This is my food supply.One of you will need to distribute a small amount of jerky and hardtack to everyone in the mornings and again in the evenings.If we make good time every day, we’ll stop for lunch.”
None of the women argued with him, knowing he controlled their fates—at least until they all reached Yeti.“Can we get water from the river?”Myrtle asked.
Aaron nodded.“But we need to boil it before we drink it.Cholera isn’t pretty, and it’s the only known way to prevent it.”
Aaron finally sat down beside the fire, where all four women were rubbing their feet.“Today was difficult, but there won’t be any easy days on this journey.”
All four women nodded.Josie was the only one to respond.“We’ve all read letters from our friends who went before us.The journey sounds like torture, but Yeti...Yeti seems like a land with streets made of gold and food lying on the ground, just waiting for us to pick it up.”
He laughed at that.“Yeti is a frontier town, much like all the others.You’ll be expected to work hard for every meal.I understand the women who have already arrived have found a way to divide the chores among them, so no one is doing everything, but you will not be ladies with maids.”
“We’re used tobeingthe maids.It will be nice to do work we can benefit from,” Myrtle said.
“Why were all of you laughing while we were still in town?”he asked.
Myrtle bit her lip for a moment and then admitted, “It was my fault.I have a rather vivid imagination, and I mentioned something I was imagining, and everyone laughed.I will do better.”
Aaron narrowed his eyes.“What did you say?”
Myrtle thought for a moment about not answering, but that wouldn’t have been right.“I said that you were like a mother duck, and we were all your ducklings waddling behind you.”
For a moment, Aaron looked offended, but then he laughed, a low grumble that started in his belly and soon immersed them all.“Is that the sort of thing I can expect for the rest of my life?”he asked as his laughter—and the women’s—finally subsided.
Myrtle nodded emphatically.“And so much worse, I’m afraid.Not only do I have an extremely vivid imagination, but I seem to be missing something most people have between their minds and their tongues.I blurt out whatever I think.It’s not a favorable trait.”
“At least I will always know where I stand,” he said.He stood up and held his hand out to Myrtle.“We’re going for a short walk.We need to get to know one another better.”He found he was suddenly less angry with her for bringing along her friends.He wanted them to get along, but he knew he needed to let her know what she’d done was unacceptable.
Myrtle took his hand and rose to her feet, casting a quick look over her shoulder where Josie was making a face at her.Oh dear.Bringing her friends had been aterribleidea!
As soon as they were out of earshot of camp, Aaron stopped walking and turned to her.“I wish you’d told me you were thinking of bringing your friends.I thought this would be a time for us to get to know one another and grow close.Instead, I’m escorting four women on a steep, difficult trail.”
Myrtle looked down at her hands, which were fidgeting with her apron.“When it was time to leave, I was...very nervous about meeting you.I told Josie, and the idea grew from there.I know I should have talked to you about it, but it didn’t occur to me you might not be happy about it until we got off the ship.It seemed like such a brilliant idea back in Massachusetts.”
He sighed.“I guess I can understand that, but in the future, I’d like you to talk to me before you make decisions like that.”
She looked up at him and nodded.“I truly am sorry.”
“I forgive you.We’ll both do better at communicating in the future.”
“It was hard only being able to write to you.”She smiled up at him.“It feels odd to be standing in front of you, to be honest.”
