Page 70 of The Frozen River

“That’s the standard you have for him? Just someone? And Sarah would be your choice?”

“Sarah would be a great catch for any man, Jonathan or otherwise. But no, I hadn’t thought of pairing them together.”

“Who then?”

“Cyrus.”

This does surprise him. “And what made you think of that?”

“You’d have thought the same if you saw the way he looked at her just now. I suspect he’s been carrying a torch for that girl for some time.”

I tell him about the note. How he threw it in the fire and stormed off.

Ephraim rides in silence for a while. “He won’t appreciate you meddling, Martha.”

“I’m not going to meddle.”

He snorts.

“I am simply going to create an opportunity.”

“For whom? Yourself?”

“For Cyrus.”

“He can’t speak, and Sarah can’t read.”

I smile at my husband. “Yet.”

DAWIN’S WHARF MONDAY, JANUARY 18

Sam Dawin is not happy to see me. I can tell by the set of his mouth and the way he rounds his shoulders as he throws a bale of hay over the fence. A giant red-and-white bull with long, hooked horns begins to tear at it, then he’s muzzle deep, gorging himself. Within seconds, the hay is scattered, and Sam is stomping through the snow toward me.

“I know what you’re here to ask,” he says, “and it’s none of your business.”

The man has never been rude before, not in all the years I have known him, and this, more than anything, stuns me into silence. He can see his misstep though and has the good grace to stop.

“I haven’t come to ask you anything.”

“You haven’t?”

“No. I’ve come to congratulate you on your marriage and to bring a wedding gift. Though I am a month late and I do apologize for that.”

Abashed, color floods his cheeks. “I’m sorry. I assumed….”

“What?”

“I thought you came to ask why May went to see Doctor.”

“That’s no more my business than it is yours to know why I was there.”

“I’m truly sorry. I… that was very rude of me.” Sam looks at the ground. “You have been kind to us, and I had no right to assume anything.”

“You are right to be protective of your bride. No matter the supposed offense.”

Sam darts a quick glance at my face, then returns the steady gaze to his feet. “I’ve already heard the rumors. They’re spreading fast, you know.”

“Rumors do that. And you did go to housekeeping quickly.” I can see Sam stiffen again, can see the defensiveness creep in around the corners of his mouth. “I brought a quilt for May. I make an extra one every winter.” It’s a risk, but I take a step forward and set my hand on his arm. “No woman should go to housekeeping without a proper quilt.”