Page 45 of Eleanor’s Earrings

Behind the second wagon, Rebecca whispered much too loudly, “He looks pleased.”

“He looks stunned,” Lydia answered.

Nathaniel decided wagon masters deserved larger tents and much more privacy.

*****

AUTHORITY BROUGHT ELEANOR a new appreciation for how inventive people could be when avoiding simple instructions.

By midafternoon she had used Nathaniel’s whistle so often that Lydia began answering it.

One blast.

“Slow down!” Lydia called.

Two blasts.

“Halt!”

Three quick notes.

“Someone has done something stupid!”

Eleanor lowered the whistle. “That is not what three notes mean.”

“It has been accurate every time.”

Nathaniel, riding past, heard her. “What does three mean?”

“Trouble ahead,” Eleanor said.

Lydia shrugged. “As I said.”

Nathaniel laughed.

Eleanor pointed down the line. “Go check Mrs. Turner’s children.”

“I already did.”

“Then check the cow.”

“The cow is tied.”

“Check whether it regrets its choices.”

Lydia gave Nathaniel a sympathetic look. “She becomes unreasonable with power.”

“I noticed that before the whistle.”

Eleanor lifted it threateningly.

Nathaniel rode away.

Lydia watched him go. “He is learning.”

“So are you. Go.”

That night the sisters debated sleeping arrangements with the solemnity of a military council.