Page 129 of Eleanor’s Earrings

He hesitated, then pulled the cloth packet from a locked box.

Eleanor opened it.

Both garnets lay together. Nathaniel’s wire still secured the repaired clasp.

She put them on immediately.

The familiar weight brought tears to her eyes.

“Do they make you brave again?” Lucy asked.

Eleanor touched one stone. “No. They remind me I never had to be brave alone.”

*****

THE RAIN KEPT THE COMPANY in camp for a second day.

Nathaniel did not mind. He had spent most of the morning wanting to throw the trader into the creek, and a day without leading wagons gave him time to recover his judgment.

He found Eleanor beneath the Whitaker awning. She was polishing the garnets with a piece of soft cloth while her sisters worked nearby.

“You look like yourself again,” he said.

“Was I someone else without earrings?”

“You touched your ears constantly.”

“I did not.”

All seven sisters looked up.

Eleanor sighed. “Perhaps I did.”

Nathaniel sat beside her. “You handled the trader well.”

“I wanted to strike him.”

“So did I.”

“You appeared ready.”

“I was considering the legal consequences.”

“Were there many?”

“Not if the creek carried him far enough.”

Eleanor laughed.

Nathaniel took her hand. “You accepted everyone's help.”

“It was not easy.”

“I know.”

“Father gave the earrings to me because he trusted me to save the family. I thought that meant I alone had to decide, pay, work, and sacrifice.”

“Your father may have meant that.”