Days of Gold (Edilean 2)

“They started early. It seems there’s one thing Gavin isn’t lazy at. My sister’s had three babes in two years of marriage.”

Edilean couldn’t keep from smiling. It had been a long, boring week, with Angus and she speaking so little.

“About this week,” he said softly. “It’s not been easy for me.”

“Nor for me,” she said.

“But this time has given me a chance to think,” he said. “What could have happened to me there in Scotland? I was where I was going to be. But thanks to you, I have a possibility of a new life.”

“It took you a week to think of that?”

“Three days,” he said, grinning. “Since then I’ve been talking to everyone who’s been to America and asking questions. I think a man could make something of himself in this new land.”

“And what would that be?” she asked.

She saw by Angus’s face that he was about to make some smart retort to her question, but he seemed to change his mind.

“My own home,” he said at last. “My own horses. My own... all of it. Everything owned by me. No more spending my days wet and cold and looking for another man’s missing sheep.”

“But I thought you loved the climate of Scotland. And you hate wearing James’s clothes, but that’s what a landowner wears.”

“Maybe I could grow used to shaving every day,” he said, his eyes twinkling.

She looked back at his sketch. “If this were my house, I know just how I’d make the interior.”

“And how would that be?

She picked up the quill to do the sketching but put it back down. “Few rooms. Tall ceilings. I’ve heard that Virginia has a warm climate, so you’d need height for the hot air to rise. And a big central hallway on both floors so you can open the doors and let the air come through.”

“So you like what you’ve heard of this Virginia?” Angus picked up the quill and began to sketch the floor plan she’d described.

“Captain Inges told me it was a beautiful place. He said that when he retires he plans to live there, and he said the Boston winters are brutal.” She was watching him intently as he drew, and she was glad that he’d decided to quit railing at her that she’d destroyed his life. It was too heavy a burden of guilt to carry.

“What will you do when we get there?” she asked softly.

He was intent on his drawing. “I think I’ll go to this Williamsburg Mr. Jones told me about. It seems to be the center of all that’s about to happen.”

“What does that mean?” she asked quickly. “What’s about to happen?”

“Americans are talking about becoming independent from England.”

“That’s absurd. How can they become independent? How can they do without a king?”

“Bloody well, I’d think.”

“How can you say that? A king is someone who’s born to rule. It’s a God-given right. The king—”

“Do you mean to start another fight between us?”

“No,” she said softly.

“Lass... I mean, Mrs. Harcourt, I’ve had a great deal of time to think this week and I see how different you and I are. Do you think there’s even one subject we agree on?”

“No, I guess not.” She wanted to tell him how afraid she was of being alone in the new country, but she could tell that he had no fear. He was a young man on his way to an adventure, and thanks to her gift of the jewels he’d have a lot of money. For a moment she thought of saying she wanted the diamonds back. If he had no money maybe he wouldn’t run off and leave her alone on the docks as soon as the ship dropped anchor.

“And what is that long face for?” he asked.

“You’re looking forward to arriving in America, aren’t you?”