Chapter 15
Elizabeth smiled when she finally saw the house come in to view. They had decided to finally paint the house before Jane arrived and had only finished it a few days ago. The house was painted white and the shutters on the windows were a dark blue. Will had decided to wait on painting the barn, but they did paint the fence white and Elizabeth and Anna painted the gate red.
The wagon rolled in to the yard and she waited for Will to set the brake. He jumped down from the wagon and tied the horse's reins to the hitching rail. Walking around the back, he handed Anna down and then Jane. Striding to the other side of the wagon, he reached up, and grasped Elizabeth's waist.
Lifting her down, Will placed a kiss on her cheek. "I will bring Jane's trunk in and set it in Anna's bedroom. If you need me, I will be down in the barn." He gave her hand a squeeze before walking to the back of the wagon and lifting Jane's trunk out. Holding it on his shoulder, he climbed the porch steps and walked in to the house.
Elizabeth watched him leave, before walking over to Jane and lifting Anna in to her arms. "Jane would you like to see your room, so you can freshen up. We can then take a tour of the farm if you want."
"I would like that." Jane said and gave her sister a smile. She followed Elizabeth up the porch steps and in to the house. Her sister led her to an open door and gestured inside.
"You will be staying in this room. It is also Anna's bedroom and sometimes Scout's whenever he sneaks in here." Elizabeth said and gave Anna a smile. The little puppy followed the little girl around everywhere and was never far from her side.
Jane raised a brow at the mention of Scout. "Who is Scout?"
"Scout is our new puppy. Will gave him to me a few days after we married. I will leave you to freshen up and when you are done, come to the kitchen." She gave her sister a smile before carrying Anna to the kitchen.
Jane walked in to the bedroom that would be hers and looked around. It was smaller than the one she had at home, but looked cozy. Setting her valise on the bed, she walked over to the basin, and washed her hands. She made her way back over to the bed and opened the valise.
Taking out her clothes, she shook them out, and laid them in a pile. She quickly changed in to a fresh dress, and tied her hair in to a bun. I am finally here and get to spend time with Elizabeth. Stepping out of the room, she found herself already in the kitchen.
Looking around she found Elizabeth sitting at the table. She motioned for her to come over and sat down. "Where is Anna?"
Her sister pointed and Jane saw Anna and a little black and white puppy playing on the floor. The little girl was stacking blocks up, while Scout was knocking them down. She looked back at her sister and studied her face.
Elizabeth's eyes were bright and Jane saw a faint pinkness covering her cheeks. "How are you enjoying being a mother?"
"I helped out with our younger sister's when they were little, so I knew what I was doing. I love being a mother to Anna. She is too young to remember her own mother and I am glad I am here for her."
"Are you happy Elizabeth?"
Elizabeth grabbed her sister's hands and gave them a squeeze. "I am happy Jane. I must admit that it wasn't easy at the beginning and most days I was frustrated, but I think we are finally past all that. How is everyone back home?"
"Since you have been gone, I have grown closer to Mary. Before I left, she had a certain young gentleman calling on her. We might have another sister getting married." Jane said. Jake Stevens had called at the house and asked Mary to go for a drive around the country side.
Her eyes widened in surprise, before a smile lit her face. "Is it Jake Stevens?"
Jane nodded and her sister chuckled. "I was wondering when he was going to call on our sister."
Gasping in surprise, Jane covered her mouth. "You knew that Jake liked Mary? Why didn't you tell her or me? I thought we shared everything Elizabeth."
Elizabeth nodded. "He confided in me a few months ago. Jake told me not to tell Mary about how he felt and was asking if she might feel the same way. I told him that she did, but I didn't think it would take him this long to talk to her. He wanted to make sure he had enough to offer her, before courting her." she glanced at the clock for a moment.
"Would you like a tour of the farm? I will put Anna down for a nap and then we can go." Pushing her chair back, she stood to her feet, and walked over to pick up Anna. Carrying her to the bedroom, Elizabeth pried Anna's little hands from around her neck, and laid her down.
Anna looked up at her with pleading eyes. "Where is puppy?"
Sighing Elizabeth picked up Scout from the floor and set him on the bed. "Soon Scout is going to be too big for your little bed." She placed a kiss on her forehead and scratched Scout behind the ears. Anna rolled over to her side, pulled Scout to her chest, and wrapped her little arms around him.
With one last look at the pair sleeping in the bed, she walked out of the room, and quietly closed the door. Motioning for Jane to follow her, Elizabeth grabbed her bonnet, and stepped out on to the porch. Tying the bonnet strings, she turned to her sister. "What would you like to see first?"
"Can we go for a walk? I can see everything as we walk."
Elizabeth linked her arms with her sister and pulled her down the steps. Walking around the side of the house, they started making their way through the tall grass. "How is Lydia? You didn't say much while we were on our way here."
Jane sighed and stared ahead. "Like I said on the way here, she is still causing trouble for our parents. I am afraid that Katie is following Lydia, even if she is a year older that her. I am not sure if she is going to grow out of this phase and I am afraid that Mama is encouraging some of her behavior."
She could see a deep sadness float in to Jane's eyes as she talked about their youngest sister. Squeezing her hand, she asked, "Janie, did Lydia do something to upset you? I am not going to take no for an answer. I can tell something is bothering you."
They came to the garden and laid their hands on the fence. Jane stared at the little plants sprouting in the ground. "Did you plant this all yourself?"
"No, Will helped me and he even put up the fence. Jane, please answer my question."
Taking a deep breath, she spoke, "Lydia told Mr. Mitchell that I was being courted by another gentleman. He believed her and said he wouldn't be calling on me anymore."
"Oh, Jane; I am so sorry." She wrapped her arms around her older sister's shoulders and laid her head on her shoulder.
Jane patted Elizabeth's hand and gave a weak smile. "I am fine. I was upset and sad for a while, but I realized that I didn't love him. I don't want to marry unless I love my husband."
"You will find him one day Jane, I am sure of it. What did Papa do when he found out what Lydia did?" She pushed away from the fence and they started walking towards the barn.
"He said she wouldn't be able to have a suitor until she turned eighteen. She threw a tantrum for a few hours and said it wasn't fair that she had to wait, but Papa wasn't changing his mind. Mama actually agreed with his idea and said there was no way she was changing her mind."
"I am glad Mama is finally realizing that Lydia has been spoiled. I hope now Katie will find her own way and not follow her younger sister around." Jane followed her sister in to the dim lit barn and stopped.
They let their eyes adjust to the sudden change in light, before Elizabeth led her over to one of the stalls. Jane looked over the door and smiled at what she saw. "The baby foal is handsome. Does he have a name?"
Elizabeth reached her hand over the stall door and let the little foal sniff her hand. "His name is Duke. I spent a few days coming up with the perfect name for him."
Jane laid a hand on her shoulder and asked, "Have you told your husband about your fear of horses?"
"No I have not." She petted the Duke's velvet nose, before taking her hand out of the stall, and laying it on the door.
"That might be something you should tell him."
"Don't worry Jane; I will tell him soon." She said and could hear the faint sound of her husband pounding the hammer in the tack room. Turning around, she led the way back out of the barn. "You have seen most of the farm, well except for the fields, but we can see those later."
Jane followed her back to the house and stopped to look at the house. "I really like the blue color on the shutters. Did your husband paint the house before you came?"
"No, we only finished painting the house a few days ago. It was weather grey from the rain, wind, and sun. It looks much better now." She opened the door for Jane and let her walk past. Following her inside, she hung up her bonnet, and washed her hands. Drying her hands on the towel, Elizabeth walked in to the kitchen.
"I will see if Anna is awake. Go ahead and help yourself to the cookies. I will be back in a minute." She walked to Anna's bedroom and found the little girl just waking up. Elizabeth picked her up and placed a kiss to her cheek.
Making her way back out to the kitchen, she heard Scout trotting after her. Placing Anna in her chair, she grabbed a cookie of the plate, and handed it to her. Turning around, she found Jane watching her. "Would you like to help with supper?"
"What are you making?" Jane finished her cookie and smiled at her sister.
"I am going to make fried potatoes, with some fish Will caught this morning. I also made a chocolate cake this morning for dessert. What would you like to do?"
"I will peel and cut the potatoes, while you fry the fish. I would really like to eat that cake right now." She gave her sister an innocent little smile and Elizabeth chuckled. Jane and she had always loved chocolate cake and it was their favorite dessert."
Elizabeth handed Jane the cutting board, a knife, and the potatoes. "You will have to wait until after we eat." Grabbing the frying pan, she placed it on the stove, and set the fish she had grabbed from the ice box in the pan.
Checking to make sure there was enough wood in the stove, she started frying their supper. She glanced over her shoulder, to find Jane peeling the potatoes, and chatting with Anna.
Jane started peeling the potatoes and cut them up. She looked up when she heard the front door open, and close. Hearing footsteps, she saw Elizabeth's husband standing in the doorway. She opened her mouth to greet him, when he held up a hand and placed a finger to his lips.
Giving him a small nod and a smile, she watched him stride across the kitchen, and walk up behind Elizabeth. He placed a hand on her shoulder and she saw her younger sister jump. Elizabeth shook off his hand and turned to face him.
"You could have announced yourself Will. I told you I didn't want you sneaking up on me anymore." She hit him lightly on the chest.
"I know you told me that, but I couldn't resist." He placed a quick kiss to her lips. "Do you need any more help with supper? I see you have your sister helping already and she is supposed to be our guest." He looked over his shoulder and gave Jane a grin.
"I think we have it all covered. You can go and sit with Anna." She gently pushed him towards his chair and turned back to the stove.
Will walked over to his chair and sat down. Looking over at Anna, he found her leaning slightly out of her chair and looking down at the floor. Looking under the table, he found her feeding part of her cookie to Scout. Chuckling, he righted her, and grabbed her hand, "Why were you feeding Scout the rest of your cookie?"
Anna gave him a little smile. "Out hungry." She hadn't learned how to say Scout's name and had started calling him out.
"The puppy will eat his own food later." He placed a kiss to her hand and listened to Elizabeth and her sister talk while they made supper.