Inside the kitchen, Charlie stood on a wooden stool, washing her hands at the pump.
The kitchen smelled of cinnamon and fresh bread.
"Clear your school books off the table," Scott told Charlie.
"Alright," Charlie said, and began drying her hands, still standing on the stool. Murdoch must have brought her things
in from the buggy for her.
Maria said something in Spanish that Charlie didn't understand, and she turned to see the older woman with Charlie's lunch
pail. She was holding out the carved wooden horse.
"Is that yours?" Scott asked, looking from the horse to Charlie.
"Yes."
Scott took the carving from Maria, and looked it over. "That's very detailed," he said.
Charlie was still, and Scott looked at her. "It's nice," he said.
"Yes."
"Did you buy it?" Scott asked, assuming that the same as Murdoch had earlier.
"No. Somebody gave it to me." Charlie looked at Maria, as she went back to stirring things on the stove. She didn't want
to do this in Maria's hearing if she didn't have to.
"A present, huh?" Scott asked.
"Yeah. Sort of."
Scott held it out to her, and Charlie took it from him.
"I hope it's not from a boy at school," Scott said, and smiled at her a little. "I'll have to scare him off if it is."
Charlie would have liked to have smiled, or laughed at Scott's humor. Instead, she regarded him with serious wide
eyes.
"What's wrong?" Scott asked.
"Nothing. But, can I tell you about it later?" she asked. "After supper?"
"Alright," Scott said.
Maria told Charlie then to begin setting the table. Charlie gave Scott another look, which puzzled him a bit, and then
went to gather plates and silverware.
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At the supper table, Teresa was full of news from town, since she'd been to a sewing get-together at one of the church
women's homes.
When she began talking about how Miss Susan's mother was ill, Murdoch commented how school had been released early
due to that.
"What's her illness?" Murdoch asked.
"She's been fighting a cold, and it's settled in her lungs," Teresa said.
"That sounds serious," Murdoch said.
From there, Teresa began talking about a break-in at the dress goods shop.
"What was taken?" Johnny asked.
"Some dress materials, scissors, things like that," Teresa said, and Johnny grinned.
"What's funny?" Teresa demanded.
"I just don't know why anybody would want to go to the bother of stealin' some dress goods and a pair of scissors," Johnny said.
"And then Val had his hands full, chasing that old man off," Teresa went on. "He was pilfering thru the barrels behind the café again."
"What old man?" Murdoch asked.
"Charlie's old mysterious man," Teresa specified.
Charlie sat up straight in her chair, her fork paused midway to her mouth.
"He's not my old man," she protested. She didn't need any attention drawn to her about the old man. Not when she had to tell Scott
yet, about the horse carving.
"I'm just teasing," Teresa said.
"Well, it's not funny," Charlie said, and now her stomach felt all churned up.
Teresa was looking surprised at Charlie's upset tone, and all three male Lancers were looking back and forth between she and
Teresa, as well.
"May I be excused?" Charlie asked, looking at Scott.
"You haven't eaten," Scott said.
"I don't feel like eating now," Charlie said.
"You don't have to be like that, Charlie," Teresa said. "I was just teasing."
"Teresa won't tease about it anymore," Murdoch spoke from his end of the table. His voice was calming. "Will you, Teresa?"
Teresa had the grace to look embarrassed. "No. I won't. I'm sorry that I upset you, Charlie."
Under everybody's quizzical scrutiny, Charlie felt her own face get warm. Now they would all be wondering why
she was reacting so strongly to something so trivial.
"Charlie, Teresa's apologizing," Scott prompted, when Charlie was silent.
"It's okay," Charlie said, in a small voice, into Teresa's general direction.
"Finish your supper," Scott told her.
Rather than protest, Charlie ate the rest of her food, or nearly, anyway.
She still felt all funny inside. No matter how many times she told herself that she hadn't done anything wrong, she
kept remembering what Scott had said about trying to hide what she'd been up to.
Would taking the wooden horse be like that?
When Maria brought a cake to the table, though, and Teresa began cutting it, and passing servings around
the table, Charlie said, "I don't want any cake, thank you."
L
Charlie did her small amount of homework, sitting at Murdoch's desk, while the family sat about, talking as they
generally did. When she was finished, Charlie closed her books, and stood up.
"Finished?" Murdoch asked, smiling at Charlie.
"Yes."
She went to the edge of the settee where Scott sat. "I'm going to get ready for bed," she said.
"So soon?" Scott asked. "You have awhile until eight o'clock."
"Yeah, pequeno," Johnny said. "Come and sit with me for awhile."
"I'm tired," Charlie said, and found that she was telling the truth.
"Are you feeling unwell, child?" Murdoch asked, looking concerned.
"I'm not sick," Charlie told him.
"Well, come and give me a goodnight hug, then," Murdoch told her.
Charlie went to him, and he gathered her in his burly arms. "Sleep well," he said.
Charlie gave Johnny a hug, as well, and told Teresa goodnight. Scott watched her head out of the library, and toward
the stairs, his forehead wrinkled in thought.
"Something's on her mind," Murdoch observed quietly.
Scott nodded in agreement. "I think something is always on her mind."
L
When Scott went upstairs later, he took the latest book they were reading together, and a piece of cake.
The door to her bedroom was open, and Charlie was sitting at her window seat, looking out. She'd discovered if the lamp
was turned down low, she could still see the stars out the window.
Scott went to sit down beside her, and turned the lamp up to make the room brighter.
He laid the book on the night stand, and said, "I brought you some cake, in case you changed your mind."
Charlie gave him a long look, and Scott set the cake on the table as well.
"So, before we read, you can tell me what you need to say to me," Scott told her.
Charlie reached under one of the pillows there, on the window seat, and brought out the horse carving.
Rubbing the smoothness with her fingers, Charlie looked at him earnestly.
"Remember I told you that Rebecca and I went to get some candy?"
"I remember."
"Then she had to get on home, and I was walking back to the schoolyard, so I'd be there when you or Murdoch came. And, I
went down the alley, and he was sitting there, carving this."
"Who was?" Scott asked, not following.
"The one-eyed man."
Scott was quiet then, watching her, and Charlie talked quickly on.
"I just talked to him for a couple of minutes. And he was talking all strange again, about flowers without names, and things
like that. And, I told him I had to go, and he gave me the horse," Charlie said, finishing her words in a hurry.
Scott was still quiet, looking as though he was contemplating, thinking things over.
"I didn't ask him for it, Scott. He just gave it to me," Charlie said, earnestly.
"I believe you."
A sense of relief washed over Charlie.
Scott reached over and took the horse from her. "The details really are incredible," he said.
"Yes," Charlie said, leaning closer to him. "The eyes seem as though they're looking right at you."
"They do," Scott said in agreement.
There was something in his tone, a reservation of some sort. Charlie leaned against his arm, and looked
at him. "You're not angry because I took the horse from him, are you?" she asked, anxiously.
"No. I'm not angry." He handed the horse back over to her, and Charlie smiled at him in relief.
"I hope the situation doesn't come up anymore," Scott went on. "But, if it were to happen again, and he offered you
something, I want you to say, 'thank you, but no'."
"How come?" Charlie asked, her smile fading. She had no plans of taking anything more from the old man, but she
wondered at why Scott was setting forth such a thing.
"It's what I think is best," he said. "The reasons are complicated." He turned to look down at her. "You just need to mind
me. Alright?"
Charlie nodded at him.
Scott reached over for the plate with the piece of cake on it, and handed it to her.
"Do you want to eat this, while I read?" he asked.
L
Charlie slipped the horse carving into her lunch pail the next morning, after Maria had packed it nearly full. She planned to
show it to Rebecca, and maybe Jason.
Johnny was the one that took her into school that morning. He let her drive the last of the way. Charlie had only ever driven
in the buggy, so the wagon was a bit different. She found it more difficult to guide.
Going thru the center of town, Johnny pointed to the right, at the figure shuffling slowly along.
"That the fella you keep talkin' about?" he asked Charlie.
Charlie looked, and saw the man, shabbily dressed as always, making his way down towards the stables.
"Yes. That's him," she said. As they watched the man paused, looked upwards at the sky, and then shuffled on.
"He's out and about early this mornin'," Johnny said.
"He's probably looking for something to eat," Charlie said.
"Why do you say that?"
"Why else would he go thru the barrels behind the stores and the café?" Charlie pointed out.
"He could be lookin' for lots of things, not just food," Johnny said, his gaze still following the old man's shuffled walk.
Charlie could see that Johnny was intrigued, at least somewhat by the mystery of the old man. She smiled to herself.
L