Meg stood beside Will in the church foyer on a snowy December morning with a far different feeling in her heart than she'd experienced their first Sunday at the Grey Harbour church. Then, she had been awkward and nervous, not knowing anybody and feeling overdressed.
Now, she smiled and greeted everyone by name, whispering to Mrs. Murdoch that there was a basket of food on the table in the porch for her, impulsively hugging Miss Beth as she came by, asking Leon Moiret when he was going to take her ice fishing, catching Natalie's eye and waving her over.
"Mrs. Ashton?" Natalie asked.
"Natalie, I wondered if you had any plans for tomorrow," Meg said.
Natalie shook her head, looking puzzled. "No."
"I already asked Miss Beth if she could spare you for the day—if you were so inclined—and I wanted to ask you if you would be willing to accompany me to town for the day."
Now Natalie looked faintly wary as well as puzzled. "You want me to go to town with you?"
"If you want," Meg clarified. She still wasn't sure why she was doing this. True, she did need to get her Christmas shopping done, and she couldn't get everything she needed at Mrs. Callum's general store, and true, Will didn't want her going up by herself and couldn't accompany her himself, but still. Most people would have expected her to ask Aurore—the "good" sister, the one who went out of her way to be polite to Meg and Will every time she saw them, the one who had experienced life in the outside world and could talk to them on their level.
All true, but Meg still didn't like Aurore. It was as simple as that. And despite everything, she did like Natalie. She didn't know why—Natalie was as cold as common courtesy would permit her to be to Meg, and had even stopped flirting with Will to present him with a stony profile every week. Her reputation, though protected somewhat by Miss Beth, was still none too good in the village, as Meg had learned over the last few months. Mrs. Murdoch had shared with her the common opinion of all the women, that Aurore was a saint, and without her and Miss Beth Natalie would be burning in hell right now.
"Aurore has picked up after Natalie their entire lives," Mrs. Murdoch had said. "Even when they were children, it was Natalie who would break one of the other children's toys, and Aurore who would come along later and apologize and offer to replace it. Natalie doesn't deserve her for a sister, and that's a fact. When Aurore left for the war, we all thought Natalie would go completely wild, with her only restraint removed. Thankfully Miss Beth saw the problem and took her in before anything terrible could happen."
With all that, Meg still believed there was something more to Natalie than everyone else believed or saw, and she told herself that she would keep offering friendship until Natalie finally accepted it.
"Besides," she argued neatly to Will when he remonstrated with her about associating with the village Magdalen, "The Lord himself said he came to call not the righteous, but the sinners."
"You're twisting the Scriptures to suit your own ends," Will protested, but he did so laughingly and kissed her. "Admit it; you simply have a soft spot for society's outcasts."
"Somebody has to," Meg answered seriously.
All this ran through her mind in the time it took Natalie to decide whether or not to accept her invitation.
"Very well," Natalie finally said, just when Meg was sure she was going to refuse.
"Wonderful!" Meg said, breathing out a silent sigh of relief. "Miss Beth even said she would lend us her car, since Will and I don't have one yet. Shall we meet at North Wind at nine?"
Natalie nodded.
"I'll see you there," Meg said, and immediately had to turn and speak with one of the older women in the church who wanted to ask why Reverend never preached fire and damnation, like the old Reverend did.
Miss Beth came out to the front porch to bid the girls farewell. She had a shawl wrapped around her shoulders as protection from the sharp wind, and still shivered. "Be careful, girls," she said, a little anxiously. "I smell a storm coming in."
Natalie smiled fondly at the older woman. "Don't fret, Miss Beth. It's not an all-day drive like it was in your day. It should only take us a couple of hours to get to Summerside."
"Well, if the weather takes a turn for the worse while you're there, find a place to stay and wait to come home," Miss Beth ordered. "It would be a nasty early Christmas surprise for your families to find your bodies frozen in a ditch somewhere just because you thought you could out-drive the weather."
"Yes ma'am," Natalie said. She kissed Miss Beth's cheek and slid into the driver's seat next to Meg. "Are you sure you don't want to drive?" she asked.
Meg shook her head. She knew how to drive, but she'd never much cared for it. When she had to keep her focus on the road she couldn't appreciate the beauty of the countryside flying by. "Besides," she said aloud, "I'm sure you're more familiar with Miss Beth's car than I am."
"True," Natalie acknowledged.
With cheery waves to Miss Beth, the girls set off. Natalie was more relaxed than Meg had ever seen her, and for a good hour, they rode in companionable silence. Finally, Meg broke it with a laugh.
"My grandmother always says that if you can sit in silence with someone for half an hour, you can be friends. I guess this means we are doubly friends now." Natalie didn't respond, and Meg, a little hurt, asked, "Are we friends, Natalie?"
When Natalie finally answered, her voice was constrained. "Nobody has ever wanted to be my friend … not a true friend, anyway," she added with a touch of cynicism. "It is difficult for me to see why someone like you would want to be friends with someone like me."
"What do you mean by that—someone like me, and someone like you?" Meg asked gently, sensing she was finally getting close to the real Natalie.
The beautiful woman shrugged, keeping her hands on the wheel and her eyes on the road. "You know, Mrs. Ashton. You are the minister's wife, with a good reputation and … and a husband who loves you … and happy memories. I … well, if my sister hasn't already told you who I am, I'm sure the other village women have. Most respectable people want nothing to do with me."
"Miss Beth does," Meg pointed out.
Natalie's hard profile softened a touch. "Miss Beth is the only person in the world who has ever been kind to me. Everyone else has either scorned me or used me."
Meg paused before speaking, choosing her words with care. "It is easy enough to make empty promises. I could very well tell you that I don't scorn you, and I will not use you, and it would be true. But words don't always mean much, do they? Very little, compared with actions." She stopped, thinking of Hawk Giraud, who had promised her much and offered nothing, and Will, who gave so naturally promises were irrelevant.
"So I can only offer this: try me, Natalie Pichot. Believe it or not, I do want to be your friend, a true friend, and I would value your friendship in return."
Natalie spared her a glance. "I could almost believe you," she said, returning her gaze to the road. "Though I don't understand why you want to be my friend."
"I don't know that I understand that myself," Meg said lightly. "Why do we ever want people for friends? I have found over the years that the people one expects me to like I only tolerate, and I find friends in the most unexpected corners. For that matter, why should you want to be friends with me? I can't think of one reason, yet I very much hope that you give me a chance just the same."
At that, Natalie finally laughed. "Very well, Mrs. Ashton," she said. "I will give this friendship a try. But I make no promises; I am not sure how one goes about being or having a friend."
"Well, in the first place, you have to leave off that 'Mrs. Ashton' bit. Call me Meg, please."
"I think I can do that—Meg."
