Chapter 7
Happy Birthday to me. Kate rolled over in bed and looked out the window; it was another clear, sunny morning and she could see white puffs of cloud skipping across the sky in the distance. Birds were chirping in the trees out back and a warm breeze pushed its way in through the window, caressing her face. It was a singularly beautiful day, and her birthday besides.
She threw aside the covers and sat on the edge of the bed. It was unusually quiet downstairs; she normally heard her brothers arguing about something or other, or laughter, or the sounds of cooking rising up from the kitchen. This morning, there wasn’t a peep.
She got dressed and went downstairs, finding only her father in the dining room, a coffee cup at his elbow and a piece of paper in front of him.
“Kate, I’m glad you’re up,” he said. “I was just writing you a note. I have to run into town for a little while.”
“Where are the boys?”
“They went out for a walk, I believe,” he said. “I can’t blame them; it’s a gorgeous day.” He rose from his seat and kissed her on the cheek as he went out. “So enjoy your breakfast and relax; I’ll see you this afternoon. What time is Edward coming over?”
“We said four o’clock.”
“Four. Perfect. See you later.”
She watched as he hurried out of the house and down the porch steps to the horses and carriage already waiting outside. Kate sat down at the table and pulled the tray of toast close to her. Cold already. She laid her hand alongside the teapot. Cold too.
“Mary?” she called.
The house was stone quiet. She pushed her chair back and opened the door to the kitchen, revealing only the scrubbed wooden floorboards, the hulking iron stove, the sinks and drainboard. Mary was nowhere to be found. How odd. Kate went inside and opened the stove; there were still a few glowing embers, and she coaxed a flame out of them with a scrap of paper and some kindling shreds. After reheating the toast and water for her tea, she returned to the dining room and ate breakfast alone, each bite of the crusty bread echoing in the room.
Some start to my birthday. She was absolutely sure that something was going on. But what could it be? When she had had enough of her twice-toasted breakfast, she went out to the porch and sat down on the swing. The only other signs of life she could see were a pair of hawks, circling high above the corn, waiting for some poor field mouse to make its last wrong move. There was nobody else to be seen.
Good Lord, they’re not setting something up in the barn, are they? It sounded too farfetched to be true, but then again this was her first birthday on the frontier. Perhaps they did things differently—horribly differently—out here.
She got up from the swing and quickly crossed the grass to peer into the gloom of the barn. Much to her relief, it was as devoid of people as it was of cows; the animals were out in the pasture and the stalls remained thankfully undecorated with anything besides droppings.
Kate went back to the house and returned to the swing, pushing herself back and forth, waiting for somebody to appear, but everybody remained stubbornly away. Finally she decided to quit wasting any more time and she returned to the kitchen, coaxing another fire out of the embers and heating a tubful of water so that she could wash up.
As the hours crept by, she became less and less sure that there was anything to get washed up for, however. By one o’clock she had already gotten dressed, decided that she didn’t like what she was wearing, and changed her clothes entirely. By two, she was back out on the porch swing, writing an indignant letter to Laura detailing the shoddy treatment she was receiving on her birthday, and by three, she had fallen asleep on the sofa in the parlor.
The creak of the front door roused her, and in a moment Becky had entered the hall.
“Miss Taylor, let’s get you ready,” she said, already heading up to Kate’s bedroom.
“Ready for what?” Kate grumbled.
“Oh, don’t be like that,” Becky said as she climbed the stairs. “You know we’re having a party for you; it just took a while to get things situated. And now we’ve got to hurry a bit; Mr. Carter will be here in less than an hour.”
Kate followed her up and sat in front of the mirror while Becky got to work. As much as she tried to shake loose some information about her party, the younger girl refused to divulge the smallest detail, saying only that Kate would find everything out soon.
When her hair was finished—and after a final change into her sky-blue dress—they returned downstairs to wait for Edward. For a moment Kate had suspected that Becky had taken her upstairs not only to do her hair, but to get her out of the way while her family snuck in to decorate. Nevertheless, the house was as prim, proper and serious as it had been when Becky arrived. There was nary a cake nor candle in the place. Kate sighed as she let herself fall heavily onto the sofa while Becky went to busy herself in the kitchen.
As the clock reached four, she heard the familiar squeaks and creaks of the large wagon as it approached; going to the window, she saw Mark driving down from the hill. He pulled up in front of the house just as Edward’s runabout came into view as well up on the main road.
Kate went out to the porch and watched as Edward slowed to turn onto the long drive that ran down to the house.
“Hi Katie,” Mark said. “Happy Birthday!”
“Thank you,” she said. “You know, I was beginning to think I’d been abandoned entirely.”
He gave her a broad grin. “Not at all,” he said. “I think you’ll be suitably impressed once you see what we’ve got planned.”
Becky came out onto the porch as Edward carefully guided his carriage into place alongside the wagon. “Afternoon, everybody,” Carter said. “Happy Birthday, Katherine.”
“Thank you, Edward,” she said. “I’m happy you could make it.”
“Wouldn’t have missed it.” He hopped down from his carriage and climbed the porch steps to give her a kiss on the cheek.
“Well, looks like we’re ready to go,” Mark said. “All aboard!”
“We’re going somewhere?” Edward asked, his eyebrows arched. “I thought we were having a dinner party for you.”
“Don’t ask me,” Kate said as they climbed onto the wagon. “I don’t know a thing about it.”
Becky leaned forward. “Miss Taylor, one last thing,” she said. “You have to wear this.” She thrust out a large handkerchief, folded over. “You know, so you don’t see things ahead of time.”
Kate turned to Edward. “Did you know anything about this?”
He snorted. “This is the first I’ve heard about it.”
Kate slipped the handkerchief over her eyes. Becky tied it in back so that it held tight against her face, and the wagon started to roll.
As they started down the drive, Kate suddenly realized where they were going. We must be headed to the Tilton farm, she thought. That explains it. They were over there decorating all day. She sighed and her shoulders slumped. The Tiltons weren’t bad neighbors; in fact, the one time that they’d been over for dinner, they struck Kate as very, very nice people. Boring, but very nice. Oh well, it’s the thought that counts, I guess.
Almost immediately, however, she felt the wagon make a sharp turn and she had to reach out for Edward as she began to slide on the seat. She could feel his thigh against hers, and he grasped her hand.
“I’ve got you,” Edward said. Kate now realized that Mark had only started down the drive to give himself room to turn around; she could hear that they were now off the gravel and going over the grass, headed up the hill along the narrow strip that ran between the farmland and the forest.
Kate tilted her head way back; there was the smallest gap between the kerchief and her cheek, and she could see a sliver of green as they rolled past the cornfield.
“No peeking now, Miss Taylor,” Becky said, and Kate lowered her head. “We’ll be there shortly.”
So if it’s not in the house, and it’s not at the Tiltons’, then it must be…a picnic. She s
at up a bit straighter. Well, that might be nice. There wasn’t much else on the farm besides the acres of crops; they were almost certainly headed for the creek. It would be perhaps a bit more rustic than she was expecting, but the more she thought about it, it sounded like a fine idea. They would sit on blankets by the side of the stream, in the shade of the tall tree that grew there, and they’d have a nice country lunch. It sounded delightful.
Her dark mood of the morning dissipated entirely, evaporating in the warmth of the late afternoon as they went. In a few minutes she felt them turning to follow the bend in the path, and she knew that they were now in sight of the creek.
“Well, would you look at that,” she heard Carter murmur.
“Don’t say anything, now,” Mark said. “Let’s keep it a surprise.”
In another couple of minutes Kate could hear voices, and then the gurgle of the water as it flowed over the rocks on the streambed.
“Happy birthday, Katie!” she heard her father call.
“Thanks, Papa,” she said. “Can I take this off now?”
“Yep, I think so,” he said.
She almost couldn’t believe her eyes. The grassy area beside the creek was her favorite place on the farm, but she had never seen it like this. Makeshift tables and benches had been put up using sawhorses and planks; the tables were covered with platters of food, drinks and vases of fresh wildflowers. Brightly colored cloth streamers hung from the lowest branches of the tree, slowly fluttering in the breeze. A large sheet cake covered in creamy white frosting was on one of the tables, and she could see that “Happy Birthday Kate” had been written in piped icing.
“This is amazing!” she said. “And here I was thinking you were taking me to the Tilton farm!” she said as she took Edward’s hand and got down from the wagon.
“It was all Sam’s idea,” Becky said. “He had us out here since eight this morning getting things ready. He even had Jake up in the tree hanging streamers.”
“This cake is unbelievable!” she said as she approached it to look more closely. It was as finely detailed as any she had ever seen back home.
“I got it from Larson’s Bakery over in Dodgeville,” Thomas said. “It was a bit of a drive, but they say that he makes the best cakes in the county.”
“Well, it sure looks like it,” Kate said. She gave her father a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you, Papa.”
“Don’t thank me. Like Becky said, it was Sam’s idea; I was just the delivery man.”
Kate turned to Sam, who was standing a bit back from the others, his hands in his pockets and a small smile on his face. “Sam, thank you for arranging all this,” she said. “I couldn’t have asked for a more delightful surprise.”
“No problem, Miss Taylor,” he said. “I’m glad you like it.”
“You know, this food ain’t getting any warmer,” Mary said.
“You’re right, Mary,” Kate said. “Let’s eat!”
Kate didn’t know how they had accomplished it in secret, but Mary and Becky had gone all out for the dinner. The platters were full of every delectable thing she could have asked for: grilled steak, pork chops, green beans, sweet corn, and more. A huge bowl of Mary’s buttermilk biscuits was covered with a cloth to keep them warm, and Kate had to restrain herself from dumping the whole bowl onto her plate. By the time she finished taking just a little of everything that looked good, her plate was already full and she was sure she’d have no room for cake afterwards.
After everybody had been seated, her father went to the stream and pulled a bottle of sparkling wine out of the water where he’d left it to chill. He carefully unwound the wire cage and started to ease the cork out of the bottle.
“Careful, Dad,” Mark said. “Don’t point that at anybody.”
“Remember when he hit Mrs. Greely last New Year’s Eve?” Jake asked, turning to his brother.
“That was an accident,” Thomas said. “Mostly.” He aimed the bottle upwards and pushed the cork out, sending it flying high over their heads into the field behind. He quickly went around and poured the wine, then returned to his place and lifted his glass.
“I can’t believe that we were blessed with you nineteen years ago! There have been four perfect days in my life, four days when I was happiest,” Thomas said. “One was the day I married your mother, and the other three were when you kids were born.” He paused to look closely at Kate and her brothers.
“You know, Katie, I’ve said many times how proud I am of you,” Thomas said. “And the same goes for all my kids,” he added, turning to Mark and Jake. “I’m so proud of you, in fact, that it’s difficult for me to even make a toast like this without getting all worked up.” He paused to take a deep breath.
“Aw, here we go,” Mark muttered.
“Well, before I embarrass myself or anybody else, let me just say that I love you and I wish you the happiest of birthdays, Katie.” He raised his glass to her and drank along with the other guests.
“Thank you, Papa,” Kate said.
“If you all don’t mind, I’ll make another toast,” Carter said, standing and raising his glass. “To Katherine Taylor on her birthday,” he said, smiling broadly at Kate. “Here’s to many more.” He took a sip from his drink and set down his glass, drawing a small square package out of his jacket pocket. “I brought you a gift,” he said, reaching across the table to hand it to Kate.
“Edward, how thoughtful,” she said. The package was wrapped in paper and string, and she carefully undid the wrapping to reveal a small box. When she lifted the lid, she found two silver earrings; the small hoops felt heavy for their size and were etched with an intricate, scrolling design.
“I sure hope you like them,” Carter said. “I had those custom made just for you. Sterling silver.”
“They’re beautiful,” she said. “Now if Mineral Point had more places I could wear them to, we’d be all set,” she added, and a ripple of laughter went around the table. “Thank you.”
“Actually, I brought you a little something too,” Sam said, rising from the bench. He went to one of the wagons and returned in a moment with a long, narrow package tied with string, which he handed to Kate. “I hope you like it.”
“Sam, this is so sweet of you,” she said. “You didn’t have to get me anything.”
“I know, but I wanted to do it,” he said, ignoring the stare that Carter was throwing his way.
Kate untied the package and pulled the paper away to reveal a red silk parasol. “Sam, this is lovely,” she said. She opened it to reveal an Oriental dragon and flowers, delicately printed in gold on the crimson silk.
Jake let out a low whistle. “Pretty fancy,” he said.
“They said this is the latest design,” Sam said. “I figured it was something you could use when you go on trips into town, or if you take a walk out here to the creek.”
“It’s perfect,” Kate said. “This is just what I needed. Thank you, Sam.”
“And we got you something too,” Mark said, pulling a wrapped bundle from underneath the table. He came around and handed it to Kate, who pulled away the string and paper to reveal a hand-tooled leather-bound book.
“Mark, this is gorgeous,” she said. She flipped open the cover to the title page. “Oh, how wonderful! I never did read David Copperfield.”
“Well, I hope you like it,” he said. “I know you’ve been kind of bored around here lately. That’s from me, Dad and Jake, by the way.”
She quickly stood up and kissed him on the cheek. “It’s terrific,” she said. “Thank you everybody. Now I think we should all eat before the food gets absolutely ice-cold.”
As everybody began to eat, she sat down again and turned to Carter. “Aren’t these nice gifts?”
“Yeah, very nice,” he said, staring past her.
“So thoughtful.”
“Very, very thoughtful.”
She followed his gaze to the other table, where Sam and the boys sat talking and joking.
“Is something
wrong?”
Edward now looked at her, his eyes searching hers. “Everything’s fine,” he finally said. “Now let’s eat.” He turned his attention to his plate; in a moment, Kate did the same.
After the delicious meal and a nearly-too-large slice of cake, Kate felt like she needed to move around a bit, and she stood up to stretch. Apparently she wasn’t the only one with the idea; the boys also got up from their bench, then Jake went to the wagon and returned with their fishing rods.
“You’re going fishing at my birthday party?”
“Aw, come on, Kate,” Jake said as the boys walked toward the stream. “As long as we’re here anyway, no reason to waste the opportunity.”
“Miss Taylor, do you want to play graces?” Becky asked.
“You have the game of graces? I haven’t played that in years!” Kate said.
“Come on, it’ll be fun!” Becky went to one of the wagons and reached behind the seat, pulling out four wooden dowels and a hoop decorated with ribbons. “Do you want to go first?” she asked, handing two of the rods to Kate.
“No, I’m out of practice,” Kate said as they walked out away from the tables to give themselves some room. “You go first.”
Becky walked out farther into the grass and, holding both rods in one hand, slipped the hoop over them and then took one dowel in each hand. “Are you ready, Miss Taylor?” she called.
“Go ahead.”
Becky crossed the rods and let the hoop slide down a bit until it was resting at the point where the dowels crossed each other. “Here we go!” she said, and quickly whipped her hands out in either direction, pushing the hoop up and off the rods in a flash. It shot into the air, the ribbons trailing behind, and flew directly toward Kate, who caught it easily on one of her dowels.
The others clapped and shouted as Kate set the hoop up for the return flight. Her aim wasn’t quite as good, but Becky was quick on her feet and dashed over to her left, stabbing the wobbly hoop through the middle before it fell to earth. Their exchanges started out unevenly, with the hoop gliding softly and perfectly through the air for Becky, while diving and swooping like a cross-eyed goose for Kate. Soon, however, Kate began to improve and shortly they were both sending the hoop back and forth like experts.
Between the exercise and the warm weather, however, Kate soon began to tire. “Becky, I’m going to take a break,” she said, catching the hoop and sending it back one last time. “I need to catch my breath.”
“Aw, come on, Miss Taylor,” Becky called. “Just a little bit more.”
“No, I’m winded,” she said. “Let’s see who else would like to play.” She turned and looked for Jake, but he was already wading into the stream, fishing rod in hand. “Edward, how about you?”
He stared at her for a moment as if she had completely lost her wits. “I’m afraid I’ll have to pass,” Carter said. “I’m really not dressed for that.”
“Oh…well, sorry, Becky,” Kate said.
“I’ll play with you, Becky.”
Kate turned to see Sam get up from the bench. “Let me show you all how this game is supposed to be played,” he said, taking the rods from Kate and heading out into the field. Whether intentional or not, Sam’s performance made Kate’s look positively masterful at first. He caught Becky’s hoops effortlessly, but when it came time to return them, he sent half of them flying off into the corn and the other half bounding across the ground toward the stream.
After a few minutes of jeers and catcalls from Mark and Jake, though, Sam seemed to get the hang of it and soon the hoop was soaring between him and Becky with ease.
“There you go, Sam!” Kate called. “Now you’ve got it!”
“Yes, good work, Sam,” Edward muttered. “You’ve mastered a little girls’ game.”
“Edward, it’s all in good fun,” Kate said as she turned to him. “Are you sure you wouldn’t like to play?”
“No, thank you,” he said. “It’s really not something I care to try.”
“Suit yourself,” she said, turning back to watch.
As the sun dropped down toward the horizon, there was more cake, more wine, more partners for Becky to play graces until she herself got tired and was replaced by Thomas, who promptly lodged the hoop in the tree. It was just as well. By that time everybody had eaten and drunk their fill, and between the dying light and the mosquitoes, it was time to head back to the house.
The boys returned from the creek bearing their fishing poles and, in Jake’s hand, a bucket. Water sloshed over the rim as he walked.
“What are you doing with that? Isn’t the well water good enough for you?” Kate asked.
“It’s my fish,” he said. “Take a look.”
The others crowded around to see, and sure enough, a small trout was twisting and wriggling in the water.
“You sure that’s the fish? Looks like the bait,” Sam said.
“I didn’t see you catch any,” Jake said. “I just don’t know what to do with it.”
“Give it here,” Becky piped up, holding out her hand. “I’ll cook it for you tomorrow.”
Jake eagerly handed over the bucket. “Great! Thanks a lot, Becky.”
While the staff remained behind to clean up, Edward drove Kate and her family back in one of the wagons, and she lingered on the porch after her brothers and father had gone inside.
“Well, I hope you had fun today,” Edward said, taking her by the hand and pulling her aside so that they couldn’t be seen from the hall.
Kate let herself be enveloped in his arms. “It was lovely,” she said, resting her head against his chest. “I actually can’t remember a better birthday.” She raised her mouth to his, and kissed him gently, savoring his lips against her own.
“I’m happy to hear that,” he murmured. “And your earrings? You really liked them?”
“I really did,” she said. “They’re beautiful. All of my gifts were so nice.”
“About that,” he said, stepping back a bit and taking her hands in his. “I’m not happy with Sam giving you a present like that.”
“What? I thought it was lovely. And very thoughtful.”
“No, I mean I don’t think it’s appropriate for him to be giving you a gift like that in the first place,” Carter said. “And it’s not appropriate for you to use it.”
“You want me to give it back to him?”
“I don’t care what you do with it. Give it back, throw it away, I don’t care,” he said. “I just don’t want to see you with it. It’s insulting.”
“Edward, it’s only a parasol,” she said. “It’s not like he gave me anything romantic. Certainly nothing like the earrings you gave me.”
“I think I made myself clear.”
“Okay, if it means that much to you, I won’t use it,” she said. She reached up to lay her hand against his cheek. “But I wish you wouldn’t feel that way.”
The creak and rumble of the old wagon coming down the hill interrupted them, and Kate stepped back slightly.
“I should get going,” Edward said. He kissed her on the cheek and lingered a moment, his skin warm against hers. “Happy Birthday, Katherine.” He hugged her quickly and then went down the steps to his carriage, driving away just as the staff arrived in front of the house.
Sam put on the brake and helped the women down from the wagon. They quickly unloaded the leftovers, dirty dishes, linen and other items from the party, parading in and out of the house on their way to and from the kitchen. Kate held the door for them as she gazed out into the evening; Edward had already disappeared from sight by the time the staff was finished and Sam returned outside to move the wagon.
“Good night, Miss Taylor,” he said as he climbed into the seat. “I hope you had a good time at your party.”
“It was the best,” she said. “Thank you, Sam.” Kate stepped inside the house and glanced down at the table in the foyer. Mark had placed her gifts there, and she took another moment to admire the parasol before opening the front closet a
nd placing it high on the shelf.
She walked down the hall to the kitchen, surprising Becky in the middle of her third piece of cake for the day.
“Becky, when you’re finished, I need your help upstairs,” she said. “Good night, you two.”
“Good night, Miss Taylor,” Mary and Sarah said almost in unison as they bustled about, putting things back in place; Becky simply nodded, trying to swallow the huge bite she’d just taken.
While Kate waited for Becky to come help her undress, she moved to the window and stared out. Darkness was arriving in a hurry; the sky had now revealed a star or two, and she could see shadows moving about in Sam’s cabin.
A floorboard creaked behind her and she turned to see Becky, who closed the door and went to the bureau to retrieve Kate’s night clothes.
“Are you really going to cook that fish for Jake?”
“Well, they say that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach,” Becky said as she helped Kate out of her dress.
“When it comes to Jake, that’s the truth,” Kate said. “Get Mary to show you how to bake her pies, and you’ll have him wrapped around your little finger.” She could see the color rise in Becky’s cheeks. “You know, when I first arrived on the farm, I actually thought that you and Sam were sweethearts.”
“Me and Sam?!” Becky threw her head back and laughed heartily; it was the first time Kate had seen the girl let loose like that and it looked good on her. “I’m sorry, Miss Taylor, but I don’t know where you got that notion,” Becky said. “I am fond of Sam, don’t take me wrong. He’s been like kin to me, but nothing more.”
Kate pulled on her nightgown and sat down for Becky to attend to her hair. She watched in the mirror as Becky carefully pulled out the hairpins and let Kate’s hair fall down to her shoulders.
“Well, just shows what I know,” Kate said. “For some reason I always thought that the two of you would make a cute couple.”
Becky laughed again, more softly this time, as she lifted a length of Kate’s hair and began to brush. “No, I never felt anything like that for Sam,” she said. “And I’m sure he doesn’t like me in that way. That I know for a fact.” She paused in her brushing and threw Kate a quick smile in the mirror. “But I know who he does like,” she added, pulling up another length of hair.
“Really?” Kate turned to look directly at Becky. “And who is that?”
Becky’s cheeks flushed again. “Well, maybe I shouldn’t say. Truth be told, he’s never said anything to me about it. I can just tell, though.”
“Well, now you have to tell me,” Kate said. “You can’t just say something like that and then leave me in suspense.”
Becky stared at the floor. “Miss Taylor, he likes you,” she mumbled, almost too quietly to hear.
It was as if a wall had suddenly tumbled down, revealing a landscape that Kate had never seen before. “Can that really be true?” she whispered.
“Please don’t say anything to Sam, Miss Taylor,” Becky said, abandoning the brushing and leaping in front of the chair to look Kate in the face. “He never said anything to me. I’m probably wrong about the whole thing. I don’t want him to think I’m going around telling stories about him.”
Kate reached out and squeezed Becky’s hand. “Don’t worry. This is just between us.”
“And I don’t mean any disrespect to you or Mr. Carter, of course.” Becky picked up the brush and quickly got back to work.
“Don’t worry about it. I think that’s enough for tonight, Becky,” she said, extending her hand for the brush.
Becky handed it to her and departed without saying another word. Once she was alone, Kate went to the closet and found her robe; the night had taken on quite a chill, and she wrapped it tightly around her as she returned to her seat in front of the mirror.
She couldn’t help but think about what Becky had told her. She usually liked to spend these last few minutes every night thinking about Edward, recreating his face in her mind, thinking about the pleasure of his touch, remembering his kisses upon her lips and imagining how nice it would be to have him warm her bed. Tonight, however, her mind refused to stay focused. Every time she tried to imagine Edward’s hands running over her, or his lips leaving a trail of kisses that started at her mouth and led down below, Sam intruded and pushed Edward out of her thoughts.
Well, of course you can’t help thinking about Sam too, she thought. He’s lean, strong, and handsome…almost exotic, in fact. It’s only natural to feel some attraction. It’s human. Still, I’ve already found the man for me, and that’s Edward.
She finished brushing her hair and stared at herself in the mirror. You sound like you’re trying to talk yourself into it, a dark voice in the back of her mind whispered.