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Chapter Six
Back at the house, Mrs. Royal had made three pie crusts, and she smiled at the sheer number of berries. “I’m going to have to send you two out there again. You’re good at berry picking.”
Cassandra smiled. “I love berry picking. My neighbors used to pick apples, climb trees, and throw apples at me while I was picking them though. It feels so much easier doing them without having someone use me for target practice.”
Cameron shook his head. “Where were their parents through all this?”
“They both worked usually. Elizabeth and her older sister, Susan, were the ones in charge of them, but they were impossible to control.” Cassandra shrugged. “The teachers couldn’t control them either. I think that’s why I liked them so much.”
“Does anyone ever call you Cassie?” he asked.
She shook her head. “No one ever has.”
“I think I’m going to start calling you Sassy Cassie. It fits you so well!”
She laughed, not missing Mrs. Royal’s look of excitement that they were getting along. “Do you mind if I go upstairs and get my Sunday dress so I can press it?”
“You’re not a servant here, Cassandra,” Mrs. Royal said. “You go get your pretty dress, and press it, and I’ll make these pies.”
“Shouldn’t I be helping?”
“No, you picked the berries. Go. Think of all the men you’ll meet!” Mrs. Royal cast a sly glance at her son, who scowled.
As soon as Cassandra had disappeared up the stairs, Cameron told his mother what Cassandra had said. “That company you hired to send me a bride? They investigated me!”
Mrs. Royal turned white, putting down the berries she was mixing with sugar. “What? Do you know what they discovered?”
He shook his head. “No, but I seem to have passed their check, because they sent her out here to marry me, and she is friends with the owner of the company.”
“They didn’t tell her anything negative about you?”
“Not that I know of, and I think she would have said something.” He took a deep breath. “Maybe we covered our tracks better than we thought.”
“I certainly hope so.” She picked up the berries and resumed stirring. “I don’t want you to get into any kind of trouble simply because I want some grandbabies.”
“We’re okay right now. I’ll see if the sheriff acts a little odd at the picnic today.” He frowned. “Please do not run around introducing Cassandra to all the men there. She’s agreed to let me and Wade both court her, and she’ll make a decision between us on August first.”
“I’m surprised she forgave you that easily.”
“Well, she did. Now if you’ll just keep your nose out of things, I think we’ll do well.”
“If I’d kept my nose out of things, she wouldn’t be here in the first place,” she said. “But I’ll try. Are you worried about Wade as a competitor for her hand?”
He shrugged. “I know that Wade is probably more well-mannered than I am with her, but I can give her a much better life than he can. She seems smart enough that she’ll take that into account.”
“I hope you’re right. She’s the perfect mother for my grandchildren.”
“She is.” He looked at his mother. “How much longer until you have everything ready to go.”
“A few hours. We’ll have sandwiches here, and then we’ll feast for supper with everything people bring to the potluck.”
“Sounds good. Bacon sandwiches?” The picnic started around five in the evening every year, and they would stay until the sun set and the fireworks were set off. There would be three-legged races, sack races, tug of war, and many other games to keep them busy all day. It was one of his favorite holidays because of the way the town celebrated.
Once it was time to leave, Cassandra walked down the stairs, a vision in a pale blue dress with her hair pulled back, but still tumbling down. “You’re beautiful,” he said without thinking. He wanted to court her, but he didn’t know how to court a woman. The words just slipped out.
Cassandra smiled. “Well, aren’t you kind?” She went to the kitchen and helped Ma get the food carried out to the buggy. They put everything on the back seat and on the floor of the buggy in the back.
Cameron helped her into the backseat, where she insisted upon sitting. It was only right that his mother sat in the front with him. As they drove the opposite way from where they’d come the day before, Cassandra craned her neck looking in every direction. It was such a beautiful valley they were in, and she wanted to live there forever. Perhaps she should claim her own homestead.
