Maggie read the letter once more, but her eyes kept going back to one word.Courage.She was not a courageous person.Perhaps she could pretend to be courageous, but then she wouldn’t be honest to him or herself.
“I don’t fit his requirements,” Maggie said softly.
Elizabeth frowned.“You can’t cook?”
“Oh, I cook very well.I’m not courageous.I was afraid to even come here.”
“But you did come here.Courage doesn’t mean you never feel fear.It means you face your fears.”
Maggie shook her head.“No, I came here out of desperation.”She quickly described what had happened the previous day.“I have nowhere to go.”
“So, you faced your fears, and you came here anyway.No matter how afraid you were.That’s courage, Maggie.”
“Perhaps.”Maggie wasn’t sure she agreed with Elizabeth, but she could understand her side of the discussion.
“When do you have to be out of the hotel?”Elizabeth asked.“Sorry if I seem to know too much about you...Belle told me you were her friend and talked about you frequently.”
“Today.”
Bernard stepped into the room then with tea and cookies.“Bernard, I’m going to need you to take Miss O’Malley to the hotel where she works and bring her and her things back here.She’ll be staying with us for a bit.”
Bernard didn’t seem to think it was odd that Elizabeth would make a statement like that about a woman he’d just met.“Yes, of course.”
“We’ll talk more when you return.”
Maggie eyed the cookies on the table between her and Elizabeth, and she grabbed one quickly.
Elizabeth’s eyes narrowed.“You haven’t eaten today, have you?”
Maggie looked down with embarrassment, shaking her head.“The hotel only feeds its employees, and I’m no longer employed there.”
“We’ll have tea before you go then,” Elizabeth said.She seemed to think it was perfectly normal to help others.Maggie was impressed by the woman, though she should have expected it with the way Belle had talked about Elizabeth.
They ate their cookies while they talked about the subject of courage.“Do you think you could go to Alaska?I know it’s a long journey, but you would only do the first half of it alone, and then James would meet you.Did you get a letter from Belle about her journey?”
“Yes, and it sounded very difficult.”
“It was difficult, but she did it, and she was pleased she had.Wouldn’t you like to start your family close to Belle?To have your children grow up together?”
Maggie sighed.“It’s something we always talked about.”
“I think you need to consider going.You have a home here for as long as you need it, but you’ll be happier if you’re on your own.”
Maggie nodded.“I suppose I would.I just feel like I’d be deceiving him.Are you certain I wouldn’t?”
Elizabeth nodded.“Very certain.You may be afraid, but you are facing your fears.That means you’re courageous.”
“I’ll do it then.Do I write him a letter?”
“Yes.Thankfully, the mail system is faster than all the twists and turns you’ll be taking to get there.I’ll have my husband set the entire trip up for you.”
“I’d appreciate that.Will I stay with your friend Harriett the same way Belle did?”
“If you’d like to,” Elizabeth said.
“I think I’d like a break in the middle of the journey.”Though the idea of staying with strangers was a bit frightening, she knew it would be all right.Belle had liked the woman.That made it all fine in Maggie’s eyes.She would deal with the new people when she faced them.
She knew the journey would be difficult, but Elizabeth had a great deal of faith in her, and that made her feel more confident herself.She had no idea why, but there was a tingling of anticipation in her gut.She was moving to Alaska, marrying, and reuniting with her dear friend.What more could she ask of life?
