Mrs. Darby listened with expressions of both anger and sympathy on her face. When Angel had finished, the woman made a clucking sound, her lips tightened in a straight line.
They turned at the sound of the front door opening and the noisy chattering of Nate and the children. Angel quickly wiped away her tears, and began chewing on a piece of bread that tasted like shoe leather.
Mrs. Darby rose and smoothed the bed covers. “Don’t you worry, we’ll talk again, and I promise everything will be all right, you’ll see.” With that, Angel’s new ally left the bedroom.
Within minutes, Nate’s footsteps sounded on the stairs. Full of life and energy, her husband strode into the room.
“How do you feel?” he asked as he approached the bed.
“Sore,” she said, hanging her head, “and mortified.”
Nate put his finger under her chin, lifting her head. “I’m really sorry you fell.” He gave her a half-smile. “But you shouldn’t be embarrassed. These things happen.”
They stared at each other for a minute. Settling himself gently on the bed, he leaned over and, cupping her face in his hand, kissed her on the mouth. She jerked her head back. The completely unexpected kiss had caused a jolt all the way to her toes.
“What’s the matter?” He dropped his hand.
“Nothing. I, um, I guess I wasn’t expecting that.”
One brow arched as he regarded her intently. “Well, since we can’t do anything about it anyway,” he glanced down at her wrapped ribs, “there’s nothing to concern yourself with.”
The coolness in his voice felt like a slap.
“Papa, Mrs. Darby said to tell you dinner’s ready, and you should help our new mama downstairs so she can join the family.” Luke came skipping into the room, but before he could leap on the bed, Nate scooped him up.
“Okay, son, go tell Mrs. Darby we’ll be right there.”
Angel was still disoriented from the kiss, but apparently Nate’s good humor had been restored. Since he had all these kids to deal with, he seemed able to recover quickly. Probably a very good trait, one she could certainly practice herself, given her new life.
“Can you bring me my dressing robe?” she asked. “I’m afraid it’s somewhere in my trunk. I haven’t been able to unpack anything yet.”
Nate bent over the open trunk, and started taking out dresses. And more dresses, and more dresses. “Honey, these fancy dresses are nice, but I’m afraid you’ll ruin them doing your chores.” He looked over the pile he had tossed onto the bed. “No dressing robe in that trunk. I’ll try the other one.”
He emptied that trunk also, which contained even more fancy dresses, along with gloves, hats, fans, stockings, handkerchiefs, and other fripperies that brought a frown to his face. Finally, toward the bottom of the second trunk he held up a robe.
“Is this it?” He asked, waving the gold and blue flowered silk robe.
“Yes, thank you.”
“This won’t do you much good on cold nights.” He brought the robe and helped her into it. Then, tossing the covers off, he helped her to her feet.
She winced as she took the first step.
“You all right?”
“Yes, I think so. It just hurts when I move.”
He looked at her and winked, and smiled that impish smile as he placed his arm around her waist and walked them toward the door.
Angel hoped he couldn’t feel her heart pounding from just that little contact. You may want to kiss me, but I can guarantee you’re not going to care too much for my cooking.
The table was set for eight places. As Nate sat her carefully in one of the chairs, she noticed none of the dishes matched. The sugar bowl in the center of the table didn’t have a top. The three coffee cups for the adults had mismatched, chipped saucers under them.
Mrs. Darby had certainly put enough food on the table. A large bowl of lentils and rice, carrots, and some type of delicious-smelling baked fish sat alongside pickles, and a smaller bowl of garden greens. As Angel eased into a chair, Mrs. Darby added a basket of steaming biscuits, and a crock of butter next to it.
“Go to the sink and wash up.” Nate spoke to the boys as he settled Julia-Rose on a cushion on her chair. Then he deftly tied a strap around her waist, reached over and took a biscuit out of the basket, and placed it into her chubby hand. She immediately nibbled on it, banging a spoon on the table with her other hand.
The four boys climbed on their chairs as Mrs. Darby placed glasses of milk by their plates. Soon everyone was settled, and Nate bowed his head in prayer. Mrs. Darby and the boys all echoed his “Amen,” and they dug in.