Page 81 of Because I Could Not Stop for Death

The bell above the door rang when I went inside. Mr.Milner looked up from a box he was tying with string. “Willa, it’s so good to see you.”

I smiled. “Is there any mail for the Dickinson household? I was walking by and thought I would stop.”

“There is, in fact, some,” he said. “The mail carrier was going to take it out this afternoon, but I will give it to you and save him the trip. Wait right here.” He went into the back room.

A moment later, he returned with a sheath of letters and a small box. “This is all I have for them.”

I accepted the letters and box. “Thank you.”

“It was quite interesting to see you in Washington. Did you have a nice time?”

I thought about the trip to Washington. Overall, I would have called it a unique experience. “I did enjoy seeing the city, and Mount Vernon was very impressive.”

He laughed as he organized a stack of letters on his counter. He worked so fast, he barely looked at them. It was almost as if by feel he knew where the letters were headed. “That was a very political answer of you. It seems that you learned quite a bit in the capital. Please tell Miss Dickinson when she returns that I look forward to seeing her again.”

I turned to go, but then I stopped myself. There was a question that was nagging at me, and with no one else in the post office, this might be my only chance to ask it. “Mr.Milner, did you enjoy the Dickinsons’ dinner party?”

“Very much, but I had to leave early. My conference ended early, so I decided to take the next train home. There were many things I learned during the lectures that I want to implement here in Amherst, so I was eager to get back.”

“Did Em—Miss Dickinson have a chance to speak with you at all the evening of the party?”

His face turned red. “I’m afraid not. She had left the dining room and had not returned by the time I had to leave.”

That was becuase she was with me following Mr.Johnson, but I made a point of not saying that aloud.

“Please give her my apologies. The last thing in the world I want to do is insult such a prominent family. Edward Dickinson has been a great champion of the town and of the post office in particular.”

“How?” I asked.

“Without him, we would only have mail delivery once a day from outside the town. Now, we have it twice a day. Citizens receive this mail quicker because of him, and I’m grateful for that.”

I held up the stack of letters. “Thank you for the mail.”

“You’re welcome, Willa. Remember, working for the Dickinsons is an honor. Do not ruin it.”

I nodded and left the post office. How did he think I would ruin working for the Dickinson family? I felt more confused leaving the post office than I had when I’d entered it.

I was so perplexed over my conversation with Mr.Milner, I didn’t even wave to Holden and his friends when I walked by. I vaguely heard their complaints about my not saying goodbye. They would remind me of the slight when I saw them again, this much I knew. Even so, I was too distracted to give it much thought.

I wished that Emily was home, and that I could tell her what I learned. I seemed to be very good at gathering information. And she was very good at deciphering what I gathered to find out what it really meant. When we were apart, the investigation was quite challenging. It would be another fortnight before she was home.

I was so lost in thought that I must have wandered out into the street on my way to the general store. A cart driver yelled at me, “Get out of the road!”

I yelped and jumped back on the sidewalk.

Chapter Thirty

I stood on the sidewalk with a hand on my beating heart.

“Willa, what were you doing? You could have been killed.”

My heart flipped as I recognized Matthew’s voice. It was the first time I had heard or seen him since leaving Washington.

“Matthew?” I held the Dickinsons’ letters and package close to my body. What did I think would happen, that Matthew would try to take them from me?

“You can’t just wander into the street like that. If that cart driver had not been watching, he would have hit you,” he admonished.

The hair on the back of my neck stood on end. “I’m glad that you were here to remind me of that.”

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