Free Into the Wilderness by Sara Donati Page B

to be so blunt, as
blunt as she wanted to be. As blunt as a man talking to another man. But
Richard Todd was not put off.
    "That
is very unfortunate," he said calmly. "Because they are meant
sincerely. You do not look like a schoolteacher."
    "You
are wrong," she said. "A schoolteacher is just what I am, and what I
plan will always be."
    Her
father approached them and
Elizabeth
panicked at the idea of carrying on this conversation with her father in
attendance. In a moment she had excused herself and disappeared into the hall
and up the stairs to her room.
    The
sounds of the party rose up to
Elizabeth
where she stood at her window. The winter night was very clear: the moonlight
reflecting on snow let her see almost to the village. In a moment
Elizabeth
had made up her
mind to steal away for a walk, and she made her way back down to the hall,
where she quickly found her heavy cloak and mittens, pushed her feet into her
sturdiest boots, and hurried outside.
    The
night was as cold as it was clear; almost full, the moon hung low over the
mountain, shimmering silver—white and gray, illuminating the snow.
Elizabeth
breathed in
deeply and wrapped the cloak more tightly around herself, pulling the hood up.
Taking note of her direction, she set off on a small path through the snow,
thinking to walk only ten minutes, to clear her head of the party and Richard
Todd.
    She
knew men like him in
England
.
The only difference between Dr.Todd and them, she was forced to acknowledge,
was that in
England
men like the doctor—in possession of fortune and good connections—did not need
bother with young ladies past their prime. He was a confusing man; she could
not reconcile his manner, which was pleasing, with what she knew about him. She
thought again of her earlier conversation with her father and she almost despaired.
    She
had been walking for just five minutes on the path when she entered the first
woods, and there she saw a solitary figure ahead of her.
Elizabeth
stopped and looked about herself,
wondering what to think of a stranger out at this time of the night, when she
recognized that it was Nathaniel Bonner walking toward her. Surprise lodged in
her throat and slid down slowly to rest in her chest.
    He
stopped before her and nodded. "Boots," he greeted her.
    She
bit down on the urge to grin at his name for her.
    "Good
evening," she said. "I thought you would bring your father—and your
daughter."
    If he
was surprised at her mention of his daughter, Nathaniel did not show it.
"They're on their way to the party from our cabin, on the other side of
the lake. I been out checking trap lines for hours."
    Elizabeth
glanced back over her shoulder toward the brightly lit house, just visible from
where she stood.
    "I
didn't see them. Maybe I just missed them."
    "The
party didn't amuse you, then?"
    She
turned away so that he couldn't see her face; she thought she could not hide
her unhappiness from him, and she was uneasy and shy.
    "I
should go back," she said. Then, suddenly resolute, she faced Nathaniel.
    "Well,
I must be honest enough to admit to you that you were right. About my father.
About his plans for me."
    "Richard
Todd," said Nathaniel flatly.
    "Yes,
Richard Todd." Elizabeth drew in a shaky breath.
    "I
don't know why I am telling you this. Two days ago you were a stranger to
me."
    He
was silent.
    "Yes,
I do know," Elizabeth corrected herself. "You have been honest with
me, and I find that honesty is as hard to come by here as it was in
England."
    Nathaniel
looked toward the house and then back to Elizabeth, who stood with her face
averted toward the woods.
    "Are
you too cold to walk for another few minutes?"
    They
set off down the path the way he had come. It wound through the woods for a
quarter mile and then crossed a frozen stream. Here they sat on tree stumps in
a small clearing. The night was very quiet, all the sound in the world
seemingly drawn into the blanket of snow. Elizabeth heard her own breath and
saw it in a hazy