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“Me too,” Rowan said awkwardly as she sat down in front of the mirror, watching Nancy in the reflection as she bit her lower lip again. “Thank you for doing this.”
“I’m sorry for my behavior yesterday,” Nancy blurted out. “It was very childish of me.”
“It’s all right,” Rowan said gently. “I understand.”
Tears shimmered in Nancy’s lovely eyes as she met Rowan’s gaze in the mirror. “I heard my mother and father talking about what happened. How Garret and Edward saved you, and how your brother left you behind. I’m so sorry you had to endure all of that.”
Turning around, she took Nancy’s hand in her own and gave it a squeeze. “Thank you, but please don’t cry.”
Squeezing her hand back, Nancy swallowed hard, then blinked rapidly as she looked at the ceiling. “Don’t worry, I cry over everything. Garret and Edward used to call me crybaby. I guess…I guess I should have realized that they would never see me as anything other than a younger sister.”
Unsure what to say to that, Rowan turned back to the vanity to give the young woman a moment to collect herself.
Nancy leaned over Rowan and picked up a wide toothed comb, a forced smile on her face. “But I am happy they found you, truly. They have never looked at a woman the way they look at you.”
“Not even Cassandra?” Rowan asked with a wry smile.
Nancy made a disgusted face that had Rowan giggling. “Goodness no. One of the maids said she heard that you kicked Cassandra out Garret and Edward’s room. I wish I could have been there to see it.”
Blushing, Rowan toyed with the ribbons on the thick robe that she wore. “It wasn’t my finest moment.”
“I still can’t believe her nerve. Well, then again, yes, I can. Once, she tried to seduce a visiting priest.”
“No!” Rowan gasped.
“Oh, yes.” Nancy began to carefully run her fingers through Rowan’s hair as she told a rather hilarious tale of Cassandra chasing the poor priest around town, and how he’d thrown holy water at her, claiming that she was a demon from hell sent to torment him.
By the time, Nancy finished, Rowan was wiping tears of laughter from her eyes. “Oh, I would have paid to see that.”
“It’s one of my favorite memories,” Nancy said with a giggle as she tucked a pin into Rowan’s hair. “There, I believe that should do it. What do you think?”
Looking in the mirror, Rowan had to admit the girl had a talent for hair. Her curls gl
eamed in the lamplight, darkness having fallen while they chatted. Nancy had managed to tame the unruly mass, and two silver combs embedded with jewels that were either paste or diamonds, she was afraid to ask, glittered as she turned her head.
“You are a miracle worker,” Rowan said in a sincere voice as she lightly ran her fingers over a curl that artfully framed her face. “Thank you.”
“Thank you for letting me play with your hair,” Nancy said with a smile. “It’s stunning, and I’m so jealous. I have this boring, straight as a board black hair. I would kill for your golden curls.”
Rowan was surprised to see that the younger woman meant it. “Nancy, you are gorgeous. I would love to have your hair, it’s so straight and silky.”
Nancy blushed and busied herself putting the hair supplies away while Rowan stood. “Do you need help with your dress?”
“Yes, please.”
Rowan had forgotten about her injuries until Nancy gasped as she dropped her gown. “Holy Mary, Mother of God, they got you good, didn’t they? Those bastards. I hope they…well, I don’t hope they die, because God forgive me for thinking such a thing, but I hope they suffer from the gunshot wounds Edward and Garret gave them.”
Stepping into the skirt that Nancy held for her, Rowan said, “How do you know what happened?”
Nancy gave her a guilty look. “I may have just happened to have been listening to my parents talking last night while they had their nightly libation together. Please don’t tell my mother, because she’ll have me cleaning out the stables for a week by myself for eavesdropping.”
Grinning, Rowan said, “I won’t say anything.”
“Did your brother really leave you behind?” Nancy asked in a soft voice.
It was Rowan’s turn to blink back tears. “He did, but he had to. If he didn’t make it to California in time, they’d give the job he was promised to someone else.”
Nancy’s jaw took on a stubborn jut that reminded Rowan of Mrs. Tibbs, “I never would have left one of my sisters behind, not even if I did have a good job waiting for me. I love them too much.”
