Lynna Banning - The Courtship

A dull pain pressed near her heart. Her mother was growing frail. Washing the kitchen floor and changing the bed linen, as they had done together each Saturday morning since they’d come west, would soon be out of the question. From now on, Jane would have to manage by herself.

“Mama, I spoke to Mr. Wilder at the bank this afternoon. I—I’m going to start a business.”

“Wilder? I don’t recall the name, dear. Who are his people?”

Jane let an inaudible sigh escape through her lips. As far as she knew, Rydell Wilder had no “people.” Anyway, she didn’t want to think about him.

She moved toward the kitchen. “Finish your tea, Mama, while I fix our supper.”

She concocted a sandwich of sorts using sliced tomatoes and cheese melted on the biscuits left over from breakfast. Jane wasn’t the least bit hungry, and her mother ate both portions.

After washing up the dishes, she opened all the windows and the front door to catch the cooling evening breeze, then pulled the cherrywood sewing cabinet into the front parlor. Tomorrow she’d have to find someone to load it into a wagon and haul it down to her store. But first, she had to scrub the place six ways to Sunday with a bucket of hot soapy water and a broom.

Her mother settled on the settee, propping her feet on a crewelwork-covered hassock to relieve the swelling in her ankles. The kerosene table lamp sent a pool of light over the book open in her lap.

“Jane Charlotte, just listen to what Mr. Tennyson writes. “The old order changeth, yielding place to new…. Whatever does he mean?”

A sob bubbled up from Jane’s throat, and she clamped her jaws tight shut. She thought of Papa, lying cold and still in a grave behind the orchard, of Montclair before the Union army came, the way the sun lit the tupelo tree as they drove the buggy down the drive for the last time. The old order.

“It means that things change,” she murmured. “That we must look forward, not back.”

Right then and there she decided she detested Mr. Tennyson. Things weren’t supposed to change, especially if they were beautiful things—peaceful summer days and evenings so quiet you could hear the darkies singing from their quarters beyond the stables, a father who was strong and brave, a mother like a small exquisite bird entertaining dinner guests dressed in shirred emerald satin and petticoats so wide she had to move sideways through doors. Why, why did such lovely things have to be destroyed?

Worst of all, why did she now find herself beholden to that aggravating know-it-all Mr. Rydell Wilder? Merciful heavens, he looked at her as if he owned her already!

She frowned as something stirred her memory. There was a boy once, who looked something like Mr. Wilder around the eyes. He’d walked her home from school that first day, and she noticed first that he was tall, with a shock of unruly dark hair tumbling over his forehead, second that he was barefoot. He had shoes, he’d told her…. He just didn’t wear them except in winter.

He had a gentle voice, she recalled. He explained about being new in a town and said he would watch out for her. She remembered that his shirt was clean and pressed, but the sleeves were so short his wrists stuck out. When he saw her staring at them, he unbuttoned the cuffs and rolled them up. His knuckles were scraped raw from a fight he’d been in. She wanted to cry at the sight of those bony wrists.

Odd that she’d think of that now. It was so long ago, but for some reason remembering it made her feel warm inside.

“Jane Charlotte, Ah want to read some of this lovely poetry to your father. He is partial to poetry, you recall. Wordsworth and Shelley are his favorites.”

“Mama? Mama, I’ve tried to explain about Papa….” Oh, what was the use? Mama had always refused to acknowledge things that were unpleasant.

Jane stood up, aware that her chest felt tight. The skin over her cheeks burned. She opened her mouth, then snapped it shut. Perhaps it would be wiser to—

“Miss Davis?” A low voice spoke through the front door screen. Jane froze as the tall form of a man loomed on the porch. With the lamplight from inside, she could not see him clearly in the dark. Mercy me, at least she’d latched the screen! Otherwise he could walk right in.

“Who’s there?” she blurted.

Her mother looked up from her volume of poetry. “Jane Charlotte, where are your manners? Is that any way to greet a caller?”

A lazy laugh rumbled from the front porch. “Thank you, Mrs. Davis. It’s Rydell Wilder. May I come in?”

Jane stood as if transfixed. Come in? Few people—and decidedly fewer men—ever crossed their threshold.

“Jane Charlotte.” Her mother’s light, clear voice carried over the thudding of her heart. “Don’t keep your guest standin’ on the porch.”

With reluctance, Jane moved forward and unhooked the latch.

Rydell stepped through the doorway. “I’m obliged, Mrs. Davis. If you hadn’t interceded, I might have frozen to death.” He sent Jane a quick look, amusement dancing in his eyes.

“It’s a warm summer night,” Jane snapped. “People don’t freeze to death in July.”

Her mother stirred on the settee. “Wilder,” she murmured. “Wilder…have we been introduced?”

“Some years back, ma’am. When your husband was associated with the newspaper office.”

“Oh, yes. How nice to see you again, Mr. Wilder.”

Jane stepped forward. “What do you want?”

“Jane Charlotte!” Her mother had not raised her voice, but Jane jerked guiltily just the same.

“Ah expect you wish to see my husband, Mr. Wilder? We were just about to have our afternoon tea, won’t you join us? Jane, go set the kettle on and call your father.”

Rydell’s gaze held hers for a long, long moment, and then he dipped his head in a barely perceptible nod. “Thank you, Mrs. Davis, but my errand concerns your daughter.” He turned to face Jane.

“You left something in my office this afternoon.” He pressed a white envelope into her hand. “The key,” he said in a low voice. “You’ll need it to unlock the store.” He closed her fingers around the stiff paper.

An army of white-hot needles marched along her skin where his hand touched hers.

“Jane Charlotte, do let us have some tea! And call your father.”

Jane fought the urge to scream.

“Please don’t trouble yourself,” Rydell said. He looked straight into Jane’s eyes. “There’s no need to bother Colonel Davis. I’m sure he has pressing business elsewhere this evening.”

He released Jane’s hand, bowed to her mother, and turned toward the door. Jane noticed his leather boots were polished to a shine.

“Lefty Springer’ll be there tomorrow, if you need help,” he said.

“I need no help, thank you.” Her hand still tingled, and the sensation made her slightly dizzy. It felt as if that part of her body didn’t belong to her any longer, but belonged instead to him. Goodness, what if he touched my shoulder? My chin? Would those parts of me feel the same? As if they belonged to a different person?

Rydell grinned at her. “Like I said, Lefty’ll be there. You can fire him if you want, but I warn you, he’s almost as stubborn as his employer.”

It took her a moment to grasp his meaning. By the time she’d thought up a retort, he had disappeared through the doorway. The screen banged shut behind him.

Her mother sighed. “My, what a nice young man.”

“He’s a Yankee, Mama!”

“Is he? Well, fancy that. A Yankee in Marion County.”

“Mama, we’re not in…” Oh, what was the use? Maybe it was better this way. At least Mama was not suffering the awful grief widows usually endured.

Jane’s mind buzzed. Her hands itched to be busy. Part of it was the need to escape rather than watch her mother retreat into her pretend world. The rest…well, she couldn’t bear to think of that just yet. Her skin felt stretched tight along the length of her spine and across her shoulders. The sensation was so intense she half expected her body to split in half. She needed to do something!