“What do you mean?” Lillian asked.

  “Her mother was . . . the oldest profession in the world,” Mollie said.

  Roland coughed and looked down at his lap.

  “They’re the daughters of—” Mollie pressed her lips together. “Well, you know.”

  A dart of surprise pierced my chest. I hadn’t realized Mollie knew. “How do you know that?”

  “Everyone in town knew,” Mollie said.

  I ached for Luci. How hard it must have been for her in a town where she was shunned.

  “You don’t know enough about her.” Mollie slapped the couch cushion. “That’s all there is to it.”

  “I know her,” Dax said. “There’s no one finer.”

  I nodded as I shot him a grateful smile. “She kept an infant alive when she was a child herself, with no one to help except for Dax.”

  “Toughest little thing I’ve ever known,” Dax said. “Never once complained. Worked that hard piece of land like a man.”

  “I can’t imagine how she did it,” Lillian said. “I would’ve just walked out into the cold with the baby and let us both freeze to death.”

  “Lillian, you would not have done that,” Roland said.

  “Mettle untested.” Lillian looked over at Roland and raised her eyebrows. “Perhaps I’ll be useless as a wife and mother.”

  “Not a chance.” Roland reached over to give my sister’s hand a squeeze.

  Mollie rolled her eyes. “We’ll simply have to pray this doesn’t ruin us all.” She tented her hands as if she was going to begin praying immediately.

  “This will not ruin us,” I said.

  “You’re a grown man. I suppose I’ll have to trust you know your own mind.” Mollie pushed away a curl that had loosened from her bun.

  “Lillian, will you arrange for a seamstress to come? They’re in desperate need of new dresses.”

  “Yes, yes. It’ll be a rush if we’re to get them ready to meet Mother.” Lillian glanced over at Mollie. “We can do it, though.”

  “I’ll tell June to get rooms ready for them,” Mollie said.

  “The question is, where are they?” Roland asked.

  “She’s outside on the porch, and Sadie’s enjoying the swing.” I grimaced as I scratched the back of my neck. “I asked Luci to give us a few minutes to talk.”

  Lillian stood and smoothed her skirt. “I’ll send June down to fetch the dressmaker.” She turned to me. “Wesley, would you like to introduce Roland and me to Luci?”

  Roland and I exchanged a quick glance before following Lillian from the room. When we reached the hallway, my sister whispered, “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

  “I most certainly do not.” I grinned down at her. “But it’s going to be all right. You’ll soon see for yourself.”

  17

  Luci

  * * *

  Not accustomed to sitting during the day, I’d grown sleepy on the covered porch. Sadie was happily swinging with Sugar on her lap. The leaves of the wide oak rustled, and the combination with the happy buzz of bees as they flew from one rhododendron blossom to another provided a soothing lullaby. I startled awake when the front door of the house opened and Wesley appeared with a young woman. I stood and clasped my hands together. Sadie ran from the swing and up the stairs to stand beside me.

  “This is my sister, Lillian,” Wesley said to me. “And my best friend, Roland.”

  “Pleased to meet you,” Roland said. “And you too, Miss Sadie.”

  “So happy to make your acquaintance.” Lillian’s white organza dress contrasted with her neatly pinned ginger hair. Pretty hazel eyes sparkled at me as she took both my hands. “Welcome to the family.” A waft of her perfume smelled of roses and wealth. I hadn’t known a person could smell rich, but Lillian was proof.

  I croaked out a thank-you, as my throat had gone dry. My ugly dress and old boots were suddenly all I could think of as I took in her beauty.

  She dropped my hands and turned to Sadie. “And this angel must be Sadie.”

  Sadie nodded but didn’t speak, clearly as enchanted by her as I.

  “If you ladies will excuse us,” Wesley said. “Roland and I have business to attend to in town, but we’ll be back later.”

  “Yes, we’ll leave you ladies to get acquainted.” Roland kissed Lillian’s hand. “Behave yourself until my return.”

  “How boring,” Lillian said.

  Her gaze followed him as he went down the stairs and into the yard.

  I see, I thought. They’re in love. Perhaps I would get more of the particulars from Lillian? Is that what women did? Talk about love? I didn’t know how to be friends with anyone but Sadie.

  Lillian turned back to Sadie. “Can you believe that old swing was mine when I was your age? Sometimes Wesley would push me. Shall I do the same for you now?”

  Sadie bounced on the tips of her toes. “Yes, yes. I can give you a turn too.”

  “Do you think it will hold me?” Lillian asked as the two of them walked down the stairs.

  Wesley drew closer and brushed a wisp of hair away from my eyes before whispering in my ear, “Will you be all right without me?”

  “I think so.” My breath hitched. I yearned to put my arms around his neck and press close, even to feel his mouth upon my own. Was this what it was to be in love?

  “I’ll only be gone a few hours. Lillian will look after you.”

  “All right.”

  He grazed my unbruised cheek with his knuckle. “Don’t look sad. I’ll always come back to you.”

  “I’ll see you later, then.” My voice trembled. Was I attached to him already?

  He gave me one last smile before turning and bouncing down the steps. “Goodbye, young ladies. We’ll be home soon.”

  “Goodbye, Wesley,” Sadie called out from the swing, where she flew high with her legs straight out in front of her. She was a little girl just then, not scrounging for mushrooms in the dirt or helping me to bring in wood for the stove. With Wesley she might have a chance for a real childhood.

  I wrapped an arm around a post and watched him crank the shaft of the Cadillac. After the motor roared to life, he got in, giving one last wave before the car lurched forward, spewing gravel. I steadied myself for what might come next. Would Lillian be unkind now that he was gone? My experience with women in town told me to expect as much. I crossed over to the large oak to stand near her. Gus had wandered over to a flower bed and was currently digging under a rosebush.

  “Are you hungry?” Lillian asked me. “We can have lunch whenever you’re ready.”

  “Whenever is fine,” I said, unsure of the proper response.

  During the backswing, Lillian wrapped her arms around Sadie’s waist to stop the momentum. “Let’s go now, then.”

  Sadie hopped from the swing onto the grass. “I’m always ready for lunch.”

  Lillian laughed. “I’m so glad to hear that, because Etta makes the most heavenly cucumber-and-ham sandwiches.”

  “Who’s Etta?” Sadie asked as we started across the lawn toward the porch.

  “She’s Mother’s cook. Etta comes from France and makes the most delicious cakes. Do you like cake, Sadie?”

  “Oh yes.” Sadie tromped up the stairs next to Lillian. “We never have cake except on my birthday. Sister makes a small one just for me. Don’t you, Sister?”

  “I do.” Every year I worried I wouldn’t have enough for the cup of sugar. Somehow, I’d always managed.

  “Aren’t you lucky to have such a good sister?” Lillian asked.

  “I know.” Sadie smiled sweetly. “She’s given me everything I’ve ever needed.”

  Lillian halted at the top of the stairs. “We’ll have lunch first. Then, when you’ve had your fill, we’ll show you your rooms. You might enjoy a nice rest this afternoon? I’ll have June prepare a hot bath for you, if you like?”

  “A bath? Do you have a creek like Sister and me?” Sadie asked.

  I inwardly cringed, embarrassed. On the hot afternoons during the summer, Sadie and I bathed in the cold water of the creek. During cold months, I hauled water up from the creek and heated it for sponge baths from a bucket. She wouldn’t understand that people had actual tubs inside bathrooms with running water. That led to my next question. Did we smell bad? I knew we did not give off the scent of roses as Lillian did.

  “Wesley asked if I might help enhance your wardrobes,” Lillian said. “I would simply loan you a dress while yours are being made, but we’re not at all the same size.” Indeed, I was at least five inches taller than petite Lillian. She continued without a pause for a breath. “I’ll have the dressmaker from town come to show us fabric and take your measurements. You’ll need day dresses and a few for evening. One for church, of course.” She turned toward Sadie, smiling. “For you too, little miss.”

  Sadie beamed up at her. Who could blame her? Lillian was like sunshine after a long cloudy spell.

  “Will you mind if I help you choose?” Lillian asked. “Fashion is my obsession.”

  “I suppose not.” I clutched the collar of my shabby dress. A wave of heat rushed over me. Despite her kind ways, Lillian must see us as pitiful. Poor trash who lived on the mercy of the creek and the kindness of strangers.

  Lillian’s eyes widened as she sucked in her bottom lip. “I’ve offended you. I’m sorry. It’s just that being silly myself and in love with clothes, I thought you might be as well.” Her tiny ears reddened. “Do I seem frivolous to you? I’m sure I must. I’ve been spoiled my whole life. The very last thing I want is to hurt you in any way. I want so very much to be friends.”

  “No, no, it’s not that.” Touched at her honesty, I allowed myself the same generosity. “I’m embarrassed by how we might appear to you. Not the other way around.”

  Lillian gave me a long, hard look. “Do you want to know what I see when I look at you?” She didn’t wait for me to answer. “I see grit, determination, and courage. In all truth, I feel diminished in your presence.”

  “Diminished?” Sadie asked. “What does that mean?”

  “Like I’m not good enough to be in your company,” Lillian said. “Because I’ve never done one thing to aid in my own survival, while your sister here has done that and taken care of you too.”

  I warmed again, but this time because I was pleased, not shamed. “That’s kind of you to say. Thank you.”

  “We shall agree to a mutual admiration, then?” Lillian asked. She looked at me and then Sadie. “And leave our feelings of inadequacy out here from here on?” She took one of my hands between hers and gave it a good squeeze. “We’re to be sisters, after all.”

  “Yes, agreed,” I said.

  “We’ve never had a bath in a house,” Sadie said. “But I want to.”

  Lillian smiled down at Sadie. “Darling, you’ll feel like a fresh daisy afterward.”

  That made Sadie giggle, and so we were laughing as we entered the house. Gus, whom I’d completely forgotten about, slipped in behind us.

  My eyes took a moment to adjust to the dim light of the foyer. When I could see clearly, I almost gasped at the splendor of the dark wood trim and whitewashed walls. A crystal chandelier hung from a high ceiling. To our right, a stairway led up to another floor.

  We walked down the hallway past the formal parlor and toward the back of the house. I stole a peek into the stately and formal room, intimidated once more by the ornate furniture and burgundy velvet couches.

  With Gus in the lead, we continued down the hallway until we reached double doors that led out to a screened porch. A table covered with a white cloth was set for three. I stared out to the rolling lawns, flower beds, and a pond that reflected the blue sky. Several ducks floated on the water, occasionally bobbing under the water to eat a bug, their feathery bottoms the only part left to wriggle hello. The scent of flowers and the sound of a bird singing added to the charm. What was it like to have this every day? To never wonder if the next meal was coming or not?

  A fat gray cat rose from his place in a spot of sun and stretched before catching sight of Gus. He wagged his tail and came close, as if greeting a friend. The feline had other ideas. He hissed at Gus, who ran behind Lillian, then sauntered over to Sadie. He meowed and looked up at her with large green eyes. Sadie clapped her hands together, clearly delighted. “Sister, isn’t he pretty?” At these words of encouragement, he fell onto his back and showed her his belly.

  “He’s a she,” Lillian said. “We call her Shadow because you can’t see her until she’s right in front of you. She lives mostly outside and catches awful little creatures for food. The beastly thing won’t set foot in the house. On the coldest and warmest of days, she’ll acquiesce to the screened porch here. Pet her with caution. She’s been known to turn on a person for no reason.”

  Sadie giggled as Shadow pressed against her calves. “She tickles.”

  “There’s Dax out in his vegetable garden.” Lillian pointed toward a vegetable garden at the far end of the yard where Dax, wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat, was bent over a row of tomato plants. I could see the red fruit from here. My stomach growled.

  “Is that all yours?” Sadie asked. “All those vegetables?”

  “They are. Would you like to say hello to Dax before lunch?” Lillian asked.

  I hadn’t thought about Dax until this very moment. What would he think of Wesley and me? He knew me. Understood how we lived. Would he approve? “Does he know we’re here and why?”

  “Yes, he was with us earlier when Wesley made his proclamation,” Lillian said. “He thinks a lot of you. I’m already terribly jealous.”

  “You are?” I squeezed one hand around the other, causing a knuckle to crack.

  Lillian laughed. “Now don’t look like that. I’m only teasing.”

  We walked out across the lawn toward the fenced vegetable garden. Gus, seeming to have forgotten his run-in with Shadow, ran ahead. When we reached the gate, Lillian lifted the latch and let us pass through before following. Dax straightened at the sound of the gate shutting. “Ah now, it’s Luci and Sadie.”

  Sadie ran up to him. “Dax, we’re here to stay with you.”

  He peered down at her. “Isn’t it fine?” He turned to me. “Luci, good to see you, lass.”

  I fought tears at the sight of his dear face under the brim of his straw hat. “You too.” To avoid eye contact, I looked around at the garden. Fat tomatoes ripened on the vines. Pea plants crawled up a trellis, with plump pods ready for picking. My garden wasn’t as robust as this. The soil was hard and rocky. A pang of homesickness washed over me. As ridiculous as the thought was considering where we were, those vegetables were mine. Some days they were my only source of pride. They’d perish within days without water. And what of Pa? Had I assured his death?

  “We’re about to have lunch,” Lillian said. “We wanted to say hello first.”

  “Yes, off with you now,” Dax said. “I’ve rows to hoe.”

  Lillian took Sadie by the hand, and they set off toward the porch. I smiled at Dax and then turned to follow, but he stopped me with a touch on my shoulder. “Lass, one moment.”

  “Yes?”

  “Is this what you want? Wesley?”

  “He didn’t force me. I came because I wanted to.”

  “Is it only because of what he can offer you? He cares for you.”

  I understood then that he was not asking out of concern for me but for Wesley. He didn’t want Wesley to be in an unhappy marriage or taken advantage of because of his wealth. Shy, I looked down at the soft dirt under my boots. “I think I could love him very much.”

  “I see.” He put both hands around his hoe and leaned against it, watching me.

  “Do you disapprove?” I asked. “Because you know how we’ve lived?”

  “Not that, lass. Our Wesley’s a sensitive soul. Romantic. I’d not care for him to get hurt.”

  “I’ve not had much love in my life. I know its value.”

  His face crinkled into one of his warm smiles. “All right then. Very good.”

  “My vegetables will all die.” I looked up, squinting into the sun. “I just left them there.”

  “Sometimes you have to let go of one thing to seize the next.”

  “All that work wasted.”

  A second or two passed before he spoke again. “He’s right to take you out of there. Remember that truth.”

  “Yes.” My cheeks flamed, remembering the way Pa had looked at Sadie. I couldn’t say that out loud, not to gentle Dax, who probably couldn’t fathom such a thing. As close as we’d been through the years, I’d never told him of the violence or my fear for Sadie. Perhaps he knew? “Thank you, Dax.”

  “Go on and have your lunch.”

  I bade him farewell and walked down the dirt row and out the gate. From here, I could see Lillian and Sadie already seated at the table. I hurried across the lawn to meet them.

  Along the side of the porch, climbing roses bloomed pink. Lush beds spilled over with flowers of every color, none of which I knew by name. I walked up the stairs and through the screened door.

  Silverware sparkled in the filtered light. A pitcher of lemonade sweated onto a doily in the middle of the table.

  “Sit, please,” Lillian said. “I’ll pour us a drink while we wait for our sandwiches.”

  I sat in the empty chair next to my sister.

  “Do you like lemonade?” Lillian asked Sadie.

  “I’ve never had it before,” Sadie said. “One time they were selling it at the Fourth of July parade, but we didn’t have any because we have to save our pennies for supplies.”

  I flushed, both guilty and ashamed. I’d have given a lot for her to have had a glass that day, but as she said, that was not possible.

  Lillian lifted her glass and took a dainty sip, then puckered her lips. “It’s a little sour.”

  “May I drink, Sister?”

  “Yes, go ahead,” I said.

  Sadie took her glass in two hands and brought it to her mouth. Her eyes flew open wide at the first taste. “It’s like drinking sunshine.”