Free Banking on Temperance by Becky Lower

he was ready to settle down with a mistress, but a wife? He was years away from marriage.
    His gaze flitted over her face again. Her color was pale in the early dusk. Understandable, since they’d just lain her father to rest. He could only imagine the terror her family was feeling, being in a strange part of the country without the head of the household. Yes, he wanted to make the way a bit easier for them. Maybe his fate with this family had been sealed the very minute Samuel Jones collapsed in his bank. Or maybe it was the minute Basil gave into temptation and Temperance’s lips scorched his when they kissed.
    Good Lord, listen to him. He was talking as Joseph had done when he referred to his relationship with Ginger. How he had known from the minute they met they were meant to be together. Basil thought it was hogwash then, and his thoughts about Temperance were hogwash now. Sure, she was a tempting little morsel, but he didn’t have to give in to his baser instincts.
    It was much better, for his state of mind, to merely befriend her. After all, he had done that today. He had not had one lustful thought all day. Well, maybe just one, when she was crying on his shoulder, dampening his suit jacket with her tears. And maybe one more, when his eyes fixated on her lips, which had so recently set his on fire.
    That was all. Twice in one day, and only because of the circumstances. Well, possibly one additional time, when he took her hand as she faltered during her recitation of the psalm. All right, three times. But what Temperance, and her entire family, needed right now was a friend, not someone to toy with her affections. They were heading on in the spring, with her beau leading the way, and any involvement with Basil would put that goal in peril. He could ill afford that, and Temperance wouldn’t tolerate it.
    But still, her lips were very tempting.

Chapter Nine
    In the days and weeks that followed, Basil and Temperance settled into a comfortable, friendly routine. She came to the bank three times a week to clean. On the other two weekdays, he would usually end up out at the public house, where they would be able to snatch snippets of conversation in between her duties as a waitress. Basil’s admiration for her intensified as she worked hard to provide for her family. When she told him of Martha’s impending new child, their conversations took a turn from playful to contemplative.
    “Perhaps you should stay in St. Louis for another year, then. Give yourself time to save up the money you’ll need, and give your mother a chance to deliver a baby in civilization rather than in the back of a moving wagon. Besides, Justice has only turned sixteen. He needs at least one more year to be considered the man of the family.”
    Temperance poured some water into the glass on his table. “No, we can’t wait any longer. We can’t continue to be a burden to the Lafontaines, and we certainly can’t consider moving out of the soddy, since we have little money as it is. Besides, Jeremiah will be arriving before winter sets in, and we can be married straight away. Then he can get the wagon and supplies we need for the next leg of our trip. He’ll be the good strong man we need to lead us into the wilderness.”
    “So you’ve gotten a letter from him?” Basil shifted in his seat as he listened to Temperance talk about Jeremiah. He already had made up his mind that he didn’t care much for the man. How could he have let Temperance go off into the wilderness without him, if he cared for her as much as she claimed he did? Crops or no, if Basil had been in that position, he would never have let her go. Any solid upstanding man would have done so, not just Basil. His opinion of Jeremiah was extremely low because of his foolish decision last spring. At least that’s what Basil told himself. It had nothing to do with the place Jeremiah occupied in Temperance’s heart. Absolutely nothing.
    “He wrote about a month ago. I sent him a