Page 21 of The Drifter's Bride
“Oh goodness. Is he alright?”
“I’m sure he just doesn’t want you or your daughter to get sick. My name is Lukas Arkin. I’ll be escorting you to wherever you are going to today. Your luggage is going to be taken to the livery and we’ll collect it there.”
“Oh! That would be lovely. My name is Mrs. Justine McGuthry, and this is my daughter, Hope.” She placed her bag on the ground. “I have this bag, one more, and the two trunks. Is there somewhere we can freshen up while we wait for Mrs. Chapman?”
“Let me take your bags to the buggy; and there are privies at the back of the building.” Lukas gestured with his hat that he’d removed to greet her. “When you are done, if you want to wait on the bench outside the door, I’ll come back and fetch you.”
Mrs. McGuthry thanked him and disappeared around the corner with her daughter. Picking up her two bags, he carried them towards the buggy. As he passed Marmee and Lolly, he clenched his jaw tight and didn’t make eye contact.
“Lukas, when you’re done placing Mrs. McGuthry’s things in the buggy, if you could please have the driver load those bags back on top. I need to get this young lady back on the stage before it pulls out.” Marmee called out, and the sharpness of her tone sent relief flowing through him.
“Yes, ma’am.” Relief flowed through him.
“Lukas? Lukas Arkin?” the woman next to Marmee screeched. “Don’t you recognize me?”
Without looking at the woman, Lukas shrugged. “No, ma’am. I don’t.”
It only took a moment to place the two bags in the buggy and fetch the others to hand to the coach driver. Mrs. McGuthry and her daughter were coming around the corner, so Lukas thought it prudent to remove them from the situation developing on the platform.
He couldn’t hear the words, but Marmee was extremely upset based on the volume alone.
“Is everything alright?” Mrs. McGuthry asked, eyeing the commotion on the platform.
“It’s fine. Mrs. Chapman is just trying to deal with some business. I think we should go wait at the buggy.”
As they walked back to the buggy, Lukas noticed Whitney and the new marshal crossing the street. It wasn’t but a moment later that Marmee came rushing towards them, her face twisted in anger.
“Lukas, we are leaving right now,” Marmee said as she passed him and wasted no time hopping into the buggy.
“Yes, ma’am. Mrs. Chapman, allow me to introduce you to Mrs. McGuthry and her daughter, Hope.” He gave the edges of the buggy one last scan for errant skirts before clicking at the horse. “Are we headed to the livery?”
“Yes, please.”
Lukas would take the opportunity to at least warn Hiram that Lolly was in town. He knew that the stable master would speak to Pete in the event Lukas didn’t make it back to town that night. Trusting that Lolly wasn’t going to make trouble while she was in town would be like trusting a wolf to watch after a flock of sheep. Lolly was definitely a wolf.
“Lukas! I know that’s you!” He heard Lolly’s shouts coming from the platform, but he didn’t even turn his head. The woman wasn’t worth a moment of his time.
“I cannot believe that woman would just come here expecting to take someone’s place like that. The shame of it all.” Marmee grumbled before turning back in the seat to look at her guests sitting in the back. “Hello, I’m Ingrid Chapman, but everyone calls me Marmee. I trust your ride went well?”
“Very well, especially with the marshal riding with us. He kept Hope entertained most of the way. Please call me Justine; and this is my daughter, Hope.”
“Hello Hope,” Marmee said, reaching out to jiggle the little girl’s arm. “I have a granddaughter about your age. Do you like kittens?” The little girl nodded. “Mr. King at the livery has kittens and I’m sure he’ll let you look at them.”
“Why are we going to the livery? Mr. Arkin mentioned something about my luggage being taken there.”
“Well yes. There isn’t a true boarding house in town, but Mr. King’s sister has converted his old apartment into temporary housing. So, she offered it up as a place for you to stay.”
“But I thought we were staying with my cousin at the parsonage.”
“Unfortunately, he is under the weather right now and didn’t want to risk infecting you or Hope. June is a well-respected woman in town, and her brother-in-law owns the livery. It is only for a few days until the Reverend is feeling better.”
“Listen to me. It sounds like I’m complaining.” Mrs. McGuthry laughed, “I’m a planner by nature and I don’t like abrupt changes. I did not mean any offense.”
“None taken. Today is just not turning out as I planned.” Marmee answered and then as if just realizing that she was out of sorts, pulled off her hat and started reworking her hair into some sort of fancy knot.
“Mrs. Chapman, are you by chance the matchmaker in town that my cousin was telling me about in his letters?”
Lukas felt a laugh bubble up inside of him.Things really were not going the way Marmee had expected them to go today,he thought, as they pulled into the alley between the stables and the apartment.
