Newton (Prairie Grooms Book 9) (10 page)

She smiled. “Amazing. I know that word.”

“I know you do,” he said with a smile. “And you are. Sometimes I think I don’t deserve you.”

“Deserve me?”

“That means you’re too good for me. Though I dare say, but you’d be too good for most men.”

“Why?” she asked. He could see in her eyes that she didn’t understand.

He thought a moment. “Because you’re so pure of heart.”

“That is a good thing, isn’t it?”

“Yes, Arya, that’s a very good thing. It’s why I am trying so hard to …” His pride wouldn’t let him say
to make you proud of me.

She smiled and gave him a hug. He wrapped his arms around her in response. “I love you, Arya.”

“I love you too, Newton.”

“
I
’m
afraid I don’t have any work for you, son,” Cyrus Van Cleet said sadly. “I wish I did. But until we start getting some actual guests into the hotel, I’m afraid there’s no need for extra help.”

Newton nodded in understanding. “Very well, then, I’ll have to find some other means. I’m grateful for the generosity you’ve shown me thus far, Mr. Van Cleet.”

“Call me Cyrus. And I’m glad to do it. I understand how hard it must be for you to start over like this. Tell you what – Polly and I will put our heads together and see if we can’t come up with something for you. In the meantime, you might check with the Cooke brothers – I hear they’re hiring –”

“I already have.”

“Then what are you asking me about work for?”

“Because we haven’t come to an agreement yet. There’s the issue of my wife, you see.”

“Oh yes, I suppose that would complicate things. She can’t exactly stay in the bunkhouse with you, can she?”

“No, she cannot,” Newton said flatly.

“Have you asked Wilfred and Irene if they need any help in the mercantile?”

Newton inwardly cringed at the thought of working for Irene Dunnigan. “No, but they don’t appear to.”

“Yes, I suppose you’re right,” Cyrus said and studied the ground. “Like I said, Polly and I will try to think of something.” His eyes darted to Newton. “You aren’t thinking of leaving Clear Creek, are you?”

Newton sighed. “If that’s what it takes to support my wife, that’s exactly what I’ll do. But I still consider that a last resort.”

“Good – don’t be too hasty, son. We’ll think of something.”

Newton smiled. “I appreciate that. And everything else you’ve done for me and my sister since our arrival.”

“You know, I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but you’re a changed man, Mr. Whitman.”

“How so?”

Cyrus shrugged. “That’s just it – I can’t quite put my finger on it, but marriage has definitely done something to you.”

Newton chuckled. “I’m happy, for the first time in a very long time. Perhaps I should’ve gotten married sooner. But I wouldn’t be here if I had.”

“True, you’d have married in England. When’s the wedding, by the way? Er … the legal one, I mean.”

“As soon as the women are done with Arya’s dress. Between that and the Duke’s visit, they’re beside themselves.”

“Yes, Polly is very excited too. But who wouldn’t be, knowing Duncan and Cozette are coming? Not that your wedding isn’t a big event, but Duncan is family as well, and we watched him and his brothers go through a lot. Theirs is a very sad story, though thankfully with a happy ending. But their lives were definitely not as happy as they are now.”

“I’ve heard some stories,” Newton said. “It will be nice to see His Grace again. I’d like to thank him for sending Nettie and me here. Because of him we found our happiness.”

Cyrus patted Newton on the shoulder. “All the more reason for you to stay here where you belong, son. This is a good town full of good people, folks that’ll stand by you in a pinch. That’s not as easy to come by in the big cities. Trust me, I know. It’s one of the reasons I settled here.”

“Seth and Ryder have told me about that. You’re a good man, Cyrus. I wish I’d known more men like you in years past. Perhaps then mine and Nettie’s circumstances wouldn’t have become so dire.”

“Not so dire, now, are they son?” Another pat. “Don’t worry, we’ll help you figure things out. We want you here.”

“Thank you, Cyrus. Now I’d best go find my wife.”

“Last I saw, Sally had taken her into the kitchen.”

“Mrs. Upton must be planning on giving Arya a cooking lesson. Maybe I’d better stay away for now.”

“Probably a good idea. You don’t want to make the poor girl nervous. After all, you’re the one she’ll be cooking for.”

Newton’s brow furrowed with worry. “Perhaps I’d better ride out to the Triple-C again. I might be spared.”

Cyrus laughed. “Come now, son. You don’t seem the cowardly type. Besides, if you’re not here, they’ll pick on me.”

“Or Seth,” Newton added with a chuckle. “But I do need to speak with Harrison and Colin again.” He offered Cyrus his hand. The man took it and gave it a healthy shake. “I’ll let you know what I find out.”

Cyrus let go of his hand and nodded. “I’ll be working here at the hotel tomorrow. I’ll see you then.”

“Would you let my wife know where I’ve gone?” he asked. “I dare not interrupt them.”

Cyrus laughed. “Coward.”

“Today I am. After Mrs. Upton gives Arya a few more lessons, I’ll be less inclined to run and hide.” He turned and strode out the hotel’s double doors.

“
Y
ou sift
the flour three times, see – like this,” Mrs. Upton instructed.

Arya watched in fascination as the woman worked. She’d never seen such wondrous contraptions before in her life. And all of them for cooking! She couldn’t wait to see what the woman would teach her next.

“
Some
believe that you don’t need to sift the flour like this, but I’m telling you, sifting it three times makes for the lightest cake in the world!”

“You have made many cakes?”

“You bet I have, honey, more than I can count. My sister Mary Beth makes a decent cake, and Edith – she’s my other sister – makes a better one. But I do believe mine’s the best.”

“They do not sift the flour three times?”

Mrs. Upton smiled at her in satisfaction. “No, they don’t. Neither does Irene Dunnigan!”

Arya shivered at the mention of Mrs. Dunnigan. “I will be sure to sift my flour three times.” She didn’t want her cakes to turn out bad. According to Mrs. Upton, sifting flour was serious business. “Do you think Newton will like what we are baking today?”

“Of course, honey – men love their sweets. If I had been thinking earlier, I’d have taught you to bake molasses cookies today. They’re Newton’s favorites. But he does like his chocolate cake too. Just like the duke.”

“The duke?”
What did he have to do with anything?
Arya thought. Really, she was getting rather tired of hearing about this duke and duchess. They were all anyone talked about.

“Yes, Sadie told me that Duncan loves chocolate cake. He’s got a worse sweet tooth than your husband. I plan on making the duke and duchess the biggest and best chocolate cake ever!”

Arya fought back a sigh. “I want Newton to like my cake. I do not care if Duncan Cooke likes it or not.”

Mrs. Upton stopped what she was doing and looked at her. “Well, of course you do, honey – he’s your husband! No one expects you to bake a cake for Duncan Cooke.”

“Because he is a duke, he is all everyone talks about.”

“Arya, to everyone in this town it doesn’t matter what title Duncan has. We’re excited to see him and his wife Cozette because … well, they’re like family to everyone. That’s how things are when you live in a small town. Everybody knows everybody else. We know their heartaches or when they’re not doing so good. You hear when someone’s sick and you pray for them … it’s how things are.”

Arya picked up a spoon and passed it from one hand to the other. “Mrs. Upton?”

“Yes, honey?”

“It is like that with my people, too.”

“Well, of course it is. And there were probably a lot less people in your tribe than there are in Clear Creek. You’d have to look out for each other.”

“Yes,” Arya said. “Not so many people as Clear Creek. But …”

“What are you trying to tell me, honey?”

Arya hesitated a moment, then said, “I do not feel like I belong here.”

Mrs. Upton set down the flour sifter, wiped her hands on her apron and pulled Arya into a fierce hug. “Aw, honey, I understand how you feel. When my sisters and I first came to Clear Creek it took a while to feel like we belonged too. After all, we didn’t know anyone here – not a soul. But once we got to know the townsfolk, we felt a lot better about our decision to come work for Mr. Van Cleet. If it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t be here. Just like if it wasn’t for Newton, you wouldn’t be here, and I’d never get the chance to teach you how to make the best cake in the world.”

Arya was almost gasping for breath when Mrs. Upton released her. The woman was a lot stronger than she looked. She smiled weakly and nodded. “I think I understand what you say. But it is hard to get to know people.”

“Why is that, honey?”

Arya was surprised at the sudden sting of tears. “Because … I am so different. Some of the other women here, I think they do not like me.”

Mrs. Upton put her hands on her hips. “If you’re talking about that Fanny Fig, pay her no mind. That woman doesn’t know what she’s talking about half of the time, and the other half we’d be better off if she didn’t. It may not be nice to say, but that woman’s the village idiot.” Mrs. Upton picked up the flour sifter and set back to work.

Arya tried not to laugh. She understood every word. “We have someone in my tribe like that. He is not a very smart man and says things that make people angry.”

“And honey, there will always be people like that around. Some folks are just smarter than others, that’s the way of it. Then there are some that are ignorant, and you hope they learn eventually. And then there are the ones that don’t know any better, never will know any better, and never stop showing it.”

“I do not understand. What is … ignorant?”

“ ‘Ignorant’ means ‘lacking knowledge.’ They
can
learn, but they haven’t yet – or don’t want to. Like someone claiming they make the best cake in the world and they don’t know a thing about making cakes. After I teach you how to bake a good cake, then you won’t be ignorant about it anymore. You’ll know how to do it. Do you understand?”

Arya swallowed hard. “Then … I am ignorant of many things.”

“Now don’t go looking at it that way, honey. You are trying to learn, remember? Yes, you’re uneducated about our ways and how we live and do things, but I’m just as ignorant about your people. It’s not a bad thing unless you don’t do something about it. Does that make sense?”

Arya slowly nodded. “I think so. Susara, she is helping me not to be ignorant.”

Mrs. Upton laughed. “You and me both, honey – that there is one smart woman! Now let’s get back to work so we can have this cake made in time for Newton’s lunch.”

Arya smiled and nodded. She didn’t want to be “ignorant” or “lacking knowledge” as Mrs. Upton put it. If she was, no one would accept her and she would never belong.

When Mrs. Upton finished sifting the flour, she showed Arya the rest of the ingredients and had her mix them together herself. It was all she could do not to keep dipping her finger into the batter and sneaking little tastes. The chocolate flavor was wonderful – if she had her way, she’d eat the batter by the spoonful. But after one scold from Mrs. Upton, she thought better of it.

They poured the batter into some baking pans and put them in the oven. Mrs. Upton went on to explain how the oven worked and how to get it at the right temperature for baking. Thankfully, Arya understood most of what she said. She began to wonder what it would be like to have her own stove one day, and then what it would be like to have her own house.

She thought of the Cooke family’s kitchen and all the wondrous things in it, then the parlor and its furnishings, the dining room and study. Belle and Sadie had given her a tour of the ranch house after dinner while the men talked. It was a far cry from the one-room dwellings of her people.

The Cookes must be very rich indeed, for they not only had the grandest home she’d ever seen, but many cattle. She didn’t see any of those while she and Newton were there, but he told her that they owned thousands. They also had enough horses and men working for them to take care of all the cattle they owned. If this was how the Cookes lived, then how did Duncan and his wife live?

Arya thought again of the crude dwellings she’d been raised in. She was but a handful of dirt to these people. What did she deserve from them? Nothing. What could she ever give them? Nothing. The more she thought about it, the smaller she felt, as if everything within her was shrinking.

“Now let me show you how to make a batch of biscuits,” Mrs. Upton said, pulling her from her thoughts.

Arya jumped. “Biscuits? We make biscuits now?”

“Of course, honey. Once you have your morning baking in the oven, you get the next thing ready. What do you think I do all day?”

The tears returned. She really
was
ignorant. “I do not know, Mrs. Upton. I am very sorry.”

“Aw, don’t be sorry, honey. It’s like I said, you just don’t know about everything yet. But you will, I can guarantee that.”

Arya smiled. The woman had a way of making her feel better, fast. “What
do
you do all day?”

“Oh my … you really want me to tell you?”

Arya nodded.

“I’m up at dawn every morning, and the first thing I do is tend the stove. I’ll teach you how to do that later. Then I start getting breakfast ready – rolls or biscuits, or whatever it is I’ve decided to make that day – and try to have the first batch ready by seven. That’s about the time folks start showing up to eat.”

“Where does the food come from?” Arya asked. She and Newton hadn’t gone hunting once since they’d gotten here.

“From Mr. Van Cleet,” Mrs. Upton said. “He buys it, I cook it.”

“Who hunts for it?”

“Hunts for it?” Mrs. Upton stared at her a moment, then burst out laughing. “Oh no – we do things a little differently here. Mr. Van Cleet buys the beef from the Cooke brothers, and the local farmers sell us vegetables and fruits and eggs. The flour comes by stagecoach from a mill in Portland …”

As Mrs. Upton went on, Arya nodded and tried to understand. But it all only seemed to prove how ignorant she was. How was she ever to be accepted by Newton’s people when she knew so little?