Page 78 of Eleanor’s Earrings

Nathaniel read the pages.

“You calculated all of this?”

“Charlotte did. Twice.”

He handed the pages back. “Then we make the best bargain possible.”

Relief surprised her. “You agree?”

“I do not like it.”

“That is not the same thing.”

“No.” He looked toward the trader. “But you are right.”

Together they returned to the wagon. Nathaniel insisted on a written agreement stating that the earrings were collateral, not a sale. Thomas Reed wrote the terms in clear language and read them aloud before witnesses. The trader agreed that Eleanor could redeem the earrings within thirty days for the stated value of the goods.

Only then did Eleanor remove them.

The air felt cold against her bare ears.

She placed the earrings in the trader's palm. The garnets looked very small there.

“Keep them together,” she said.

“Stones do not become lonely.”

“These might.”

The trader rolled his eyes but wrapped them in cloth.

Nathaniel carried the iron strap while the sisters collected the food. He said nothing until they reached the Whitaker wagons.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

“Of course.”

“That answer has never once meant yes.”

Eleanor lifted a sack of beans.

Nathaniel took it from her before she could protest. “Your ribs.”

“I remember.”

“Do you?”

She looked at him. “I feel as though I gave away my mother.”

His face softened. “You did not.”

“I know that.”

“Knowing does not always help.”

“No.”

They stood beside the wagon while everyone worked around them.