Page 59 of Eleanor’s Earrings

Nathaniel bowed his head farther, shoulders shaking.

Eleanor bit the inside of her cheek.

After the prayer, no one seemed ready to return immediately to the wagons.

A man named Mr. Avery brought out a fiddle.

The mood changed at once.

Children gathered around him.

Mrs. Turner clapped. “Play something cheerful.”

Mr. Daugherty smiled. “Worship has concluded. What you do with your feet afterward is between you and your conscience.”

Mrs. Bell raised her stick. “My conscience enjoys dancing.”

Lydia jumped to her feet. “I knew I liked her.”

Eleanor caught Lydia’s skirt. “Do not knock anyone into the fire.”

“That happened once.”

“When?”

“I was nine.”

“You set Father’s trouser cuff on fire.”

“He moved very quickly.”

Rebecca laughed. “Best dancing he ever did.”

Mr. Avery lifted the fiddle and began a lively reel.

The open space between the wagons became a dance floor almost immediately.

Children went first, hopping more than dancing. Married couples followed. Mr. and Mrs. Turner managed three turns before their youngest attached himself to his father’s leg.

Grace clapped in time.

Lucy grabbed her hand. “Come on.”

“I do not know the steps.”

“Neither does Samuel.”

Samuel was spinning alone in a circle.

Grace stood. “That is not reassuring.”

Lucy dragged her into the dance anyway.

Martha refused until Mrs. Bell threatened to strike her ankle with the walking stick.

“You would not,” Martha said.

Mrs. Bell lifted it.