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Amelia Sparrow, of course, could always be counted upon to fan her own flames.
    "I swear," she said to Fanny with a soulful sigh. "That dear Maimie Briggs has more to bear than the good Lord should ever have cast upon her."
    Both women gave a half glance in Cora's direction.
    "Yes, dear soul," Fanny agreed.
    "What with having her only son so far from her, and the scandal she's had to live down." Amelia tut-tutted sadly.
    Fanny nodded in agreement.
    "Why, I do declare that the woman is practically a saint."
    "A saint," Fanny echoed, nodding.
    "With all she's had to bear, it just seems like the town ought to do something special for her. Something to lift her spirit from the pit that some have dragged her into. Something to acknowledge that none of us hold her responsible for the sins of others. Something just to show how much the whole town really loves her."
    “What do you have in mind?" Fanny asked.
    Amelia smiled, quite proud of the ingenious way she'd managed to approach the subject that was quickly becoming close to her heart. "I think we should name the town after her."
    "Name the town?" Fanny looked skeptical. "The town already has a name."
    "Certainly not a very good one."
    "I suppose not," Fanny admitted.
    "And certainly not a name that sounds like a county seat," Amelia said. “With statehood coming, we need to be ready to take on whatever responsibilities are thrust our way."
    "Yes, of course." Fanny was gaining enthusiasm for the idea. The only way for the Pennys' business to grow was for the town to grow. And being chosen county seat was a very certain way to do that. “Why, a more prestigious name could be a great boon to the community."
    "It certainly would. And we don't want to call it some unpronounceable native word, or name it after someplace back East—Boston, Oklahoma, just will not do."
    Fanny giggled in agreement. "Oh no, nothing like that."
    "I feel that for all concerned, the community should be named after its first and finest family." Amelia sighed with pleasure. "We should call it Briggston."
    Cora Briggs completely forgot her nonchalant pose and turned, mouth open and eyes horrified, to stare at Amelia Sparrow.
    Amelia glanced at her sharply and raised a disapproving eyebrow. "I've heard that those who are wont to eavesdrop frequently hear ill of themselves," she said sweetly.
    Cora's jaw snapped shut and her face flushed in anger. Words of fury flew through her brain, forcing themselves to her lips, but she bit them back.
    Briggston! Her brain screamed the word. No, no, she just couldn't believe it. It was bad enough that she was ostracized by her community, but to have that community named for that evil old crone who had ruined her life was almost beyond bearing. She wanted to scream, cry, roar the building down, demand to know who was responsible. But then she knew who was responsible: Amelia Sparrow.
    Vicious words formed in Cora's mind, but she was saved from resorting to fisticuffs, not-to mention social impropriety, by the sound of a little girl's black leather shoes beating a hasty gallop from the back of the store.
    "I want a red one! I want a red one!" A cotton-headed child of about five years hurried to the counter, which displayed large colorful jars of hard, brightly colored candies. She jumped up and down in excitement, her thick white blond curls dancing and bobbing around her head. "A red one! A red one!"
    "Maybelle!" Fanny Penny crossed her arms impatiently. "I told you, no more sweets until after lunch."
    The little girl gave her mother a quick, blue-eyed glance. "Daddy said yes," she said with complete confidence in the outcome and returned to her cheerful hopping. "A red one! A red one!"
    "Titus?" Fanny called to her husband as he entered slowly from the stockroom in the back.
    The proprietor of Penny's Grocery and Dry Goods waved away his wife's objection. "Oh, let her have the candy," he said easily as he slipped behind the counter and unscrewed the lid of one of the large