I can read and write well enough, but I never had the advantage of formal schooling beyond basic letters, but I know quality when I see it, and I know that a woman like you, with your courage and your principles, is rarer than gold in these parts. The thought of you getting on that train and disappearing from my life before I even tried to know you has been eating at me for days. Sir, this is highly irregular, the conductor said, approaching them with obvious irritation. The lady needs to board or we will depart without her. Daniel ignored him, his eyes never leaving Willil Homina's face.
I am not asking you to marry me tomorrow, Miss Dalton. I am just asking for a chance. Stay in town. Let me call on you properly, and if after a few weeks you decide I am not worth your time, I will personally buy you a new ticket and drive you to the station myself. But please do not leave without giving us a possibility.
The whistle blew long and shrill. The conductor was climbing back aboard, shaking his head in disgust at young people and their drama. In another moment, the train would begin moving and Wilhelmina would have to make her choice. She thought of Boston, of her mother's disapproving frown in her father's lectures. She thought of Charles Peton and his assumption that she would eventually come to her senses and accept his proposal.
She thought of the life that waited for her there, predictable and safe and utterly suffocating. Then she looked at Daniel Walker, at the hope and vulnerability in his eyes, at the way he was asking rather than demanding, offering rather than expecting. She thought about the fact that he had noticed her kindness to Mrs. Chen, that he had stopped to listen to her read poetry, that he saw value in qualities most men seem to find threatening. Wilhelmina stepped back down from the train. Daniel's face transformed, relief and joy flooding his features as she set her trunk back on the platform.
The train began to move slowly at first and then gathering speed, carrying away her ticket home and her return to the life she had known. " You just made me miss my train, Mr. Walker, " she said, her voice shaking slightly. " I hope you understand the magnitude of what you have done. " " Yes, madam, I do. " He was still holding his hat, clutching it like a lifeline.
And I promise you will not regret it. Where are you staying? I know you lost your rooms at the boarding house when you lost the teaching position. Wilhelmina had not thought that far ahead, and the reality of her situation suddenly hit her. She had just given up her ticket home for a man she did not know, and she had nowhere to sleep tonight.
What had she done? Daniel must have seen the panic in her eyes because he quickly said, "Mrs. Patterson runs a respectable boarding house on Third Street. She is a good woman, fair and honest. I will take you there and pay for a month's lodging, and before you protest, consider it an investment in my own interests. I want you to have a safe, comfortable place to stay while I court you properly. "
I cannot accept such a gift from a stranger, Mr. Walker. It would be completely inappropriate. Even as she said it, Wilhelm realized how ridiculous that sounded given that she had just agreed to let this stranger court her. Then consider it a loan to be repaid when and if you choose. He picked up her trunk as if it weighed nothing.
Miss Dalton, I know this is all highly irregular, and I know you must think I am either crazy or up to no good, but I swear on my mother's grave that my intentions are honorable. I want the chance to know you, to show you what life could be like out here with someone who values you for who you are. " Wilhelmina took a deep breath, watching the train disappear into the distance, carrying away her escape route. She had committed now for better or worse. Very well, Mr. Walker, but I insist on establishing some ground rules for this arrangement.
First, you will call on me no more than three times per week at appropriate hours and always with proper notice. Second, I will seek employment in town to support myself as I will not be dependent on your charity. And third, if at any point I decide this arrangement is not working, you will respect my decision without argument. Agreed to all of it, he said immediately. Though I should warn you that finding employment in Hawthorne may prove difficult given how the school board treated you.
Folks in small towns have long memories and stubborn prejudices. Then I will simply have to change their minds, Wilhelmina said with more confidence than she felt. Now shall we visit this Mrs. Patterson you mentioned? I find myself suddenly without lodging and rather in need of a place to stay. Daniel grinned, and she noticed he had a small dimple in his left cheek.
Right this way, madam. And Miss Dalton, thank you for taking a chance on a cowboy like me. I will do everything in my power to make sure you do not regret it. As they walked through the dusty streets of Hawthorne, Wilhelmina carrying her reticule while Daniel managed her trunk with ease, she could not help but wonder what exactly she had gotten herself into. This was not how she had planned her day or her life, and yet there was something exhilarating about the uncertainty.
For the first time since arriving in Nevada, she felt like the author of her own story rather than a character in someone else's narrative. Mrs. Patterson turned out to be a stout woman in her 50s with sharp eyes and a no-nonsense manner that Wilhelmina immediately appreciated. She looked between Wilhelmina and Daniel with obvious curiosity, but asked no prying questions when Daniel explained that Miss Dalton needed lodging for a month. I have a room on the second floor faces east, so you will get morning sun. Mrs. Patterson said to Wilhelmina, ignoring Daniel entirely now that the business was being discussed.
Breakfast is at 7, dinner at 6, and I do not tolerate drinking, gambling, or improper behavior under my roof. Rent is $15 for the month, including meals. Laundry is extra. Daniel had already pulled out his wallet, but Wilhelmina stopped him with a hand on his arm. I will pay half now from my own funds, and Mr. Walker may loan me the other half to be repaid as soon as I secure employment.
She gave Daniel a look that brooked no argument. He smiled slightly and nodded. " As you wish, Miss Dalton. " The transaction completed. Mrs. Patterson showed Wilhelmina to her room, a small but clean space with a narrow bed, a wash stand, a small desk, and a window that looked out over the street.
It was simple but adequate, and Wilhelmina felt some of her anxiety ease. At least she had a roof over her head. Daniel set her trunk down carefully and then stood awkwardly near the door, clearly uncertain of the proper protocol for this situation. I should let you get settled, he said. But if it would be acceptable, I would like to call on you tomorrow evening, perhaps take you to dinner at the hotel restaurant.
That would be acceptable, Mr. Walker. Shall we say 6:00? Wilhelm removed her bonnet, acutely aware that they were alone in her room, even with the door wide open. It was scandalous by Boston standards. But then again, everything about this day had been scandalous by Boston standards.
6:00, he confirmed. He started to leave, then turned back. Miss Dalton, I want you to know that what I said at the train station was true. I have admired you from afar for weeks now, and I never had the courage to approach you properly. When I heard you were leaving, I knew I would regret it for the rest of my life if I did not at least try.
So, thank you again for giving me this chance. After he left, Wilhelmina sat on the edge of the bed and let out a long, shaky breath. What had she done? She had just committed to being courted by a cowboy she barely knew in a town that had already rejected her once with no job and rapidly dwindling funds. By any rational measure, this was a disaster in the making.