Hagbard shrugged. “I would not have come if the king had not sent me, and I did not think it was the right thing to do. The kingdom will need a strong hand and King Anders’ sons have yet to prove themselves.”
Beti nodded her understanding. “When I put the coronet on I felt the responsibility press the circle to my head.” Tears brimmed the edges of her eyes. She didn’t want to disappoint the man she’d become so fond of. The man who treated her like a granddaughter. “Then I remembered exactly what the angel said. It is not me.”
The big man opened his arms and Beti laid her head on his shoulder. A rough hand rubbed her arm. A comfort engulfed her that she had not felt since her father had held her. She was safe here even if it was for a very short time.
“Yer mama was like a daughter to me. I would not have her give up her happiness and I will not let ye do so either.”
Beti wiped the tears. “I have no happiness here.”
“But ye will have, if that young man has anything to do with it.”
“He doesn’t want me.”
A chuckle rattled deep in his chest. “Aye, he does.”
Beti sat up and looked the man in the face. “He told the entire wagon train that he would not marry me after he’d kissed me in front of all of them.”
The twinkle did not leave the man’s eyes. “Aye. Sometimes a man has to make a wrong turn before he discovers the right road.”
Frustration replaced the comfort she’d felt not a second ago. “I shall leave the wagon train and come back here.” She surveyed the worn sheep pen and the little cabin. “It is a good plan.”
Hagbard slapped hands on his thighs and stood. “Aye. ’Tis a plan.”
Beti secured the door to her cabin before climbing onto Zeke’s horse. He mounted behind her.
She turned to watch the forest hide her old home once more. Peace filled her soul as the sun filtered through the canopy of gray and piney green. The promise of spring budded across barren branches along the sparse trail through the woods.
They waited for Hagbard to lead the way. Once settled on the trail, Beti pulled out her needles and began to work the stitches. The color of the silken yarn, obscured in the firelight, shown the palest of pinks in the clear light of the morning.
“Ye are knitting?”
“Do ye need me to drive the horse?”
“No, but it hardly seems the thing,” he paused. “When do ye leave?”
Zeke’s baritone tickled her ears all the way down to her toes. It was just this side of torture to sit so close to him when in a couple of hours she would part from him forever. She said another prayer for Nellie. Thoughts of her precious companion worked to keep her focus away from the man she loved.
“I am uncertain.” In truth her uncertainty lay only in when the wagon train would leave the tavern. When it left, she would turn aside and come back to this cabin. Her first home. It was small, but she didn’t need much. She’d plenty of practice replacing fence rails. There was enough clearing to add to the house on all sides. This time there would be windows, even if she had to import the glass from England. The area was much more settled than it had been when her parents had built here. Much more than Kentucky. It was close enough to major roads that she could get her cloth to market and far enough away to keep her safe. Yes, it would work.
“Ye’ve been quiet.”
“I have much to think about.”
“I thought ye’d already decided.”
“Mr. Smith—”
“Zeke.”
She turned to look him in the eye. An eye that twinkled in fun. “Do stop whispering in my ear like that.”
“Like what?”
“Mr. Smith.”
“Zeke.”
“Zeke. Ye are whispering in my ear because I have told ye not to kiss me, and ye are trying to provoke my patience.”
“Is it working?”
“Yes.” She answered too quickly. “I mean no. Yes, I do react to ye. How could I not? My feelings do not tend to the hot and cold. I am more like a pot put on to boil.”
She realized the error of her candor too late. The twinkle in his eyes turned tender, and she could fathom all the way to his heart. She placed a hand on his chest to steady herself.
He brought Copper to a pause.
“Beti.” Regret shown from the depths of his ale-colored eyes.
“Is all well, My Lady?” Hagbard bellowed from the front of the line.
“Yes.” She hollered back. “Don’t worry, Zeke. All will be well. Someday ye will find someone worthy to trim ye lamps.” She turned from him to preserve her heart. It took the longest fifteen minutes of her life to hear the tavern in the distance.
The tavern stood amidst the bustle of children playing and parents working. Beti sat quietly taking it all in. She would miss her friends, Aggie the most probably. She couldn’t think of how much she’d mourn the loss of Zeke. Even now he encompassed her in his warmth. His arms as he held the reins a constant reminder of what he had decided for both of them.
The first thing she heard was Nellie. Before they peaked through the bend in the road leading to the tavern the dog swept the corner. Beti slid down to her knees to hold her old friend.
“I missed you.” The dog licked and bounced and wagged until Beti was sitting in the road laughing. Nellie walked over her legs and back again. Beti could barely get a purchase to scrub her fingers into her soft fur. “That’ll do.”
