Free A Most Unsuitable Match by Stephanie Whitson Page B

I’m afraid I’ll talk myself out of it.” In a rush, Fannie related what had gone on at the bank, how she’d ended up on board the Delores , and how she’d decided to head for Montana. “I know it’s . . . a far leap, as you said—”
    “That it is,” Hannah said with a nod. She went back to working the bread dough. “You’ve had yourself quite a day. Let’s just think things through a bit before—”
    “I have thought things through.” Fannie walked to the table. She watched Hannah’s arthritic hands plunge into the dough, kneading, folding, turning, kneading, folding, turning. She sat down. “I’ve thought them through for the last few nights. I’m exhausted from thinking.” Her voice wavered. “I told you. Mr. Vandekamp wouldn’t tell me anything. He forbade me to even try to find Aunt Edith. Talking to him is like talking to someone with cotton in their ears. I might as well not open my mouth at all.” Frustrated tears slid down her cheeks. “He threatened to dismiss you , Hannah.”
    Hannah looked up. “Did he, now?”
    “He said I need someone younger to help me entertain.” She swiped at her tears. “I can’t breathe in this house anymore. Everything I thought I knew has been shaken loose.” She paused. “But in the middle of the falling apart, there’s Aunt Edith. And Captain Busch smiled when he saw her picture. He said all kinds of nice things about her. I want to try to find her. And then I’ll come home and be a good girl.”
    “You’re already a good girl.”
    “Tell that to Mr. Vandekamp.” Fannie forced a laugh. “I am not getting married just because he says I should. And I am not replacing you.” She looked toward the hall and murmured, “Maybe we could take in boarders in the fall.”
    Hannah ignored the comment about taking in boarders. “You know anything about this Fort Benton place?”
    “Nothing very . . . charming.”
    “And how long is the trip?”
    “Could be as much as ten weeks.”
    “There and back?”
    Fannie shook her head. “Just to get there.”
    “So . . . this adventure of ours is going to take all summer and then some.”
    When Fannie nodded, Hannah returned to her bread making. She formed the loaves, then slid them into the waiting bread pans and put them in the oven. Finally, she turned around and, as she was wiping her hands, said, “Walker and Tommy Cooper are out back trying to rescue your mother’s rose garden. I’ll fetch them and send them into the attic after a couple of trunks. I don’t expect you’ll be needing ball gowns, so maybe one of those smaller trunks in the northeast corner will do. I barely need one, but then again, I don’t suppose it would be a bad idea to pack our own bedding and some decent towels. And some books. And our needlework.” She glanced at the oven. “Guess I’ll give the bread to Walker and Tommy. From what I know about steamboats, they do serve decent food.”
    Fannie clasped her hands. “You’ll go?”
    “Can’t see as I have much choice. With Mr. Dandy-VandeKam planning to get rid of me anyway, I might as well hightail it along with you.” She shrugged. “And besides that, I cannot imagine facing your mother on the other side and having to explain how it was that I stood on the levee and watched you float away into the wilderness towards the good Lord only knows what.” Her voice softened. “I’ve had my time of heading into the wilderness, little miss. I was young and as terrified as a body can be, but things worked out. If the good Lord undertakes for us the way he did for me back then, we’ll do all right.”
    Fannie jumped up and threw her arms around Hannah. “Thank you.” She kissed the old woman on the cheek.
    Hannah hugged her back, even as she said, “See if you still want to thank me after we’ve been on that river for a month.”

Abstain from all appearance of evil.
    1  T HESSALONIANS 5:22
    The sun had just begun to streak the horizon with golden bars of light