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She smiled at him. “Thank you.” She thought he may be coming around to her way of thinking when he followed, but there was no way to be certain. The man confused her regularly.
As she drove to the farm Abigail shared with her husband, she thought hard about her marriage and whether it was the right thing for her. She didn’t believe in divorce, but even though she loved the man, he didn’t seem to take her thoughts and feelings into account. He still didn’t think she should miss her family, which she felt was utter nonsense.
By the time she arrived at Abigail’s, Constance thought maybe she’d figured things out. She needed to have a long talk with Leonard and tell him exactly how she felt about his dismissing her thoughts and feelings. If he did it again, perhaps it would be time for her to buy a train ticket back to Beckham. It would bring shame on her family if she couldn’t make her marriage work, but there was no reason for her to be miserable for the rest of her life with a man who didn’t even try to understand her.
She knocked on the door of Abigail’s farm, thankful her friend had given her explicit instructions on how to get there. Abigail called, “Come in!”
Constance walked inside and found her friend looking as if she hadn’t slept in a week in her rocking chair with the baby. “Boy or girl?” she asked, looking down at the sleeping child.
“Girl. We named her Charlotte.”
“What a beautiful name for a beautiful child.” Constance looked around her. “When did you last eat?” There was a great deal of cleaning to be done, but it was more important for her friend to eat than be in a clean environment.
“Last night?” Abigail looked confused.
“I’ll make a meal first then. Has your husband eaten?”
“Mark? No, I don’t think he has…”
“Then I’ll fix a meal and go outside to call him to see if he’s hungry as well.” Constance looked at how frail Abigail seemed. She was worried about her. “After you’ve eaten, perhaps you should sleep for a while. I can bring you the baby if she cries. I’ll take care of everything else.”
“Thank you.”
Constance hurriedly made a simple meal for her friend and her husband, calling Mark to come in and eat when she was finished. “Aren’t you going to eat with us?” Abigail asked.
“No, I’m not. I’m going to keep cleaning. I had my meal with Leonard before I left town.”
She had no qualms about changing the sheets on the bed and getting it made up properly for her friend’s much needed nap. Once that was finished, she walked into the main room of their small cabin and saw that Abigail was finished eating and nursing the baby. There was a small wooden cradle in one corner of the room, and Constance took the baby and placed her in it while Abigail went to sleep.
As soon as everyone was quiet, Constance rushed around the room, picking up things that had lain where they’d fallen for who knew how long. Abigail obviously hadn’t had the strength to do more than she had.
She wished there was time to get baking, cooking, cleaning, and laundry done before she left, but she knew that a quick clean and food was what was needed most.
Constance made a stew that could be reheated for their noon meal the next day, and even for breakfast if they needed to. She went out and collected eggs from the chickens, and milked the cow. Mark was off in the fields making sure his crops didn’t die, so he hadn’t seen to either of those things as he should have. She guessed it was normally Abigail’s job, so he hadn’t thought to do it. The man looked almost as tired as his wife.
By the time Mark came in for the evening, there were two loaves of fresh bread, a pot of stew, and fresh milk. She’d even made a cake for their dessert that evening. “I think you’re going to have to wake Abigail if you want to eat with her.”
He nodded, going into the bedroom, which was really a small area of the house with a sheet that pulled closed.
Looking around her, Constance mapped out the following day and the chores that would need to be done. Another meal, mopping, and laundry. She thought laundry may just be the most important thing she could do for them. She wasn’t sure how old little Charlotte was, but there was an impressive amount of dirty diapers.
When Mark and Abigail came out, Abigail smiled at her friend. “You have done so much! Thank you.”
“Is there anything else I can do before I head home? I plan to mop, do laundry, and cook more tomorrow.”
“That’s perfect,” Abigail said. “We appreciate your help so much.”
On her way, Constance rehearsed the conversation she wanted to have with her husband that night. She wanted to make him understand that she couldn’t just forget about her family and move on as if his family were hers. She needed him to know that she missed her mother a great deal, and his could never take her place.
She did her chores that night mindlessly, thinking only about trying to talk to Leonard. He’d made things difficult so far, and though she understood he didn’t know better, she needed him to learn to treat her better than he had so far. She wasn’t going to be able to stay married to a man who didn’t at least try to understand her feelings.
She made roast beef and mashed potatoes, which she knew was Leonard’s favorite meal, and a loaf of yesterday’s bread.
When Leonard came in that evening, she could immediately tell it wasn’t the night for their conversation. He’d obviously had a hard day at work. “What happened?” she asked.
He groaned. “What didn’t happen? I broke a wheel and had to change it in the dark, which is never particularly easy, and one of the horses was feeling cantankerous. It was a hard night all together.”
“I’m sorry. Does it help that I made your favorite meal?”
