Free Song of the Spirits by Sarah Lark Page A

all! I still always have the feeling that I’ve traveled back in time and looked in a mirror when I look you in the face.”
    Fleurette laughed. “You don’t look as old as that yet, Mother. I’m just not used to seeing you not riding a horse. Since when do you travel by carriage?”
    Whenever James and Gwyneira visited their daughter together, they liked to just saddle two horses, as they both still enjoyed nights together under a tent of stars. They preferred to travel during the summer, though, after the shearing and herding of the sheep up into mountain pastures, when the weather was considerably more consistent.
    Gwyneira made a face. Fleurette’s observation had reminded her of her rather unpleasant journey.
    “Kura doesn’t ride,” she said, trying not to sound disappointed. “So, where are George and Elaine?”

    Elaine and William’s relationship had solidified in recent weeks. Which was hardly a surprise since they saw each other practically every day. Elaine also helped out in the O’Kay Warehouse, of course.And after work or during their lunch break, there was always one excuse or another to be together. Elaine surprised her mother by suddenly throwing herself into an array of domestic activities. There was always a pie that needed baking so that she could casually offer William something for lunch, or she would invite him to a picnic after Sunday service and spend the entire day before preparing various treats. William now kissed her more often, which did not, however, lessen the kisses’ appeal. Elaine still felt faint with happiness whenever he took her in his arms, and she simply melted into them whenever she felt his tongue in her mouth.
    Ruben and Fleurette tolerated the romance between their new bookkeeper and daughter with mixed feelings. While Ruben viewed the matter with a certain goodwill, Fleurette remained concerned. William had settled seamlessly into his new job. He was intelligent, he knew how to manage accounts and keep books, and he quickly learned the difference between managing a farm and a store. Beyond that, he won customers over with his fine manners. The women in particular were happy to have him wait on them. Ruben would not have had anything against a son-in-law like that—had he appeared a few years later. For the moment, however, Ruben O’Keefe was forced to agree with his wife. Elaine was too young for a more intimate relationship. He had no intention of allowing her to marry yet. As a result, it came down to the young man’s willingness to wait. If William could summon a few years’ patience, all would be well; if not, Elaine would be bitterly disappointed. While this was precisely what Fleurette feared, Ruben saw things more equanimously. With whom exactly was William going to run off? The other respectable girls in town were even younger than Elaine. And any of the new settlers’ daughters from the outlying farms were out of the question: Ruben did not think William the type to fall head over heels for a girl without means, with whom he would have to start from scratch. After all, the young man harbored few illusions about the ways of the world, a faculty to which he owed his position in the O’Kay Warehouse.
    For that reason Ruben loosened the reins—and Fleurette acquiesced with gritted teeth. They both knew from their own experiencethat young love could hardly be controlled. Their own story had been far more complicated than Elaine and William’s dalliance, and their father and grandfather’s resistance had been far greater than Fleurette’s displeasure. In spite of all that, they had come together. This country was large and societal control minimal.
    Early in the morning on the day of Gwyneira’s arrival in Queenstown, Elaine and William had set off on a long errand together. William had offered to take a shipment of goods to a distant farm, and Elaine was accompanying him with a collection of clothing and petty wares from the store’s ladies’