from the lines."
That night, as they prepared for rest (three steaming hot-water bottles carried up
ahead of time to warm the feather comforters piled on the bed), Lavinia said, "He seems
to have quite a stock of information. And he's not bad-looking, all in all."
Margaret didn't say anything.
"He did smile at you, Margaret, dear."
"Was I glaring?"
"Why, no. You never glare."
"Mercer told Elizabeth that I glare and make jokes and so fellows are afraid of
me."
"She repeated that?"
"I overheard it."
"We never overhear good of ourselves, and that's a fact."
"But maybe sometimes we overhear what we need to know?"
Lavinia didn't answer that, but said, "Of course, you are a quiet girl. Everyone
knows that. But Captain Early looked at you several times. Four times. Once for quite a
spell."
"As if he were calculating my dimensions?"
"Rather like that, yes. But that isn't necessarily unfavorable."
They didn't say anything after that, but each of them saw what the other was
seeing also--that this third bedroom was furnished in the latest style, that the comforters
were made of satin, and the sheets of linen, and the washstand of mahogany, and the
draperies of velvet, and the carpet of thick wool, that the room was quiet and readily
conducive to a peaceful rest. Heretofore, Lavinia had upheld the Bells' house on
Kingshighway as the most elegant house she knew, and John Gentry's farmhouse as the
most comfortable, but from this house, all questions of expense had been banished.
They had a pleasant breakfast in the morning, but Captain Early was not present-he had stayed up studying the heavens until almost dawn, taking advantage of the clear
weather, and was still abed. They went home that afternoon.
They did see Captain Early one more time before he went away in the spring to
take up a position at the Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. Lavinia, a woman who
did seasonal cleaning for them, Esther Malone, and Margaret were out in the side yard,
washing all the sheets, towels, blankets, curtains, and petticoats from the winter.
Margaret was stirring the clothes in the hot water, and Esther and Lavinia were feeding
them through the wringer. They had already wrung out the less soiled items and hung
them up to dry, when Captain Early, dressed informally in a floppy hat, light-colored
loose trousers, and muddy boots, walked by, carrying a stick. He stopped and stood for a
moment without speaking, then greeted them.
"I've been down to the river," he said.
The Missouri River was three miles and more from where they stood, so that
qualified as an active morning's excursion, Margaret thought.
"It's somewhat higher than I expected it to be, but I understand that the snowpack
upriver was greater than I had heard."
"Goodness," said Lavinia.
"Even so, there's no danger here," he went on. "That's my guess. But it's an
educated guess. What will happen below St. Louis, though, I don't like to think of."
"That's always ...," began Lavinia.
"It's well known that the levee system is jerry-built below Cairo, but people in
general, not just in Missouri, live with their heads in the sand. Not only officials.
Officials aren't entirely to blame if the citizenry is itself indifferent or uneducated. I don't
mind levees per se, but I've got my doubts about willow mats. And about dredging, too, I
must say."
"They're dredging the river?" exclaimed Lavinia. "Around here?"
"No, ma'am. I was referring to the lower Mississippi." He fell silent, and seemed
to watch them, passing his stick from hand to hand. Finally, as Margaret pressed the
clothes down with her paddle, he said, "Did you know that the Romans cleaned their
clothes by having slaves walk about upon them in vats of human urine? Urine was a rich
source of ammonium salts and was sold and taxed in Roman times. I often think we
moderns could take that as an example of how we could make better use of our own
products."
Lavinia
That night, as they prepared for rest (three steaming hot-water bottles carried up
ahead of time to warm the feather comforters piled on the bed), Lavinia said, "He seems
to have quite a stock of information. And he's not bad-looking, all in all."
Margaret didn't say anything.
"He did smile at you, Margaret, dear."
"Was I glaring?"
"Why, no. You never glare."
"Mercer told Elizabeth that I glare and make jokes and so fellows are afraid of
me."
"She repeated that?"
"I overheard it."
"We never overhear good of ourselves, and that's a fact."
"But maybe sometimes we overhear what we need to know?"
Lavinia didn't answer that, but said, "Of course, you are a quiet girl. Everyone
knows that. But Captain Early looked at you several times. Four times. Once for quite a
spell."
"As if he were calculating my dimensions?"
"Rather like that, yes. But that isn't necessarily unfavorable."
They didn't say anything after that, but each of them saw what the other was
seeing also--that this third bedroom was furnished in the latest style, that the comforters
were made of satin, and the sheets of linen, and the washstand of mahogany, and the
draperies of velvet, and the carpet of thick wool, that the room was quiet and readily
conducive to a peaceful rest. Heretofore, Lavinia had upheld the Bells' house on
Kingshighway as the most elegant house she knew, and John Gentry's farmhouse as the
most comfortable, but from this house, all questions of expense had been banished.
They had a pleasant breakfast in the morning, but Captain Early was not present-he had stayed up studying the heavens until almost dawn, taking advantage of the clear
weather, and was still abed. They went home that afternoon.
They did see Captain Early one more time before he went away in the spring to
take up a position at the Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. Lavinia, a woman who
did seasonal cleaning for them, Esther Malone, and Margaret were out in the side yard,
washing all the sheets, towels, blankets, curtains, and petticoats from the winter.
Margaret was stirring the clothes in the hot water, and Esther and Lavinia were feeding
them through the wringer. They had already wrung out the less soiled items and hung
them up to dry, when Captain Early, dressed informally in a floppy hat, light-colored
loose trousers, and muddy boots, walked by, carrying a stick. He stopped and stood for a
moment without speaking, then greeted them.
"I've been down to the river," he said.
The Missouri River was three miles and more from where they stood, so that
qualified as an active morning's excursion, Margaret thought.
"It's somewhat higher than I expected it to be, but I understand that the snowpack
upriver was greater than I had heard."
"Goodness," said Lavinia.
"Even so, there's no danger here," he went on. "That's my guess. But it's an
educated guess. What will happen below St. Louis, though, I don't like to think of."
"That's always ...," began Lavinia.
"It's well known that the levee system is jerry-built below Cairo, but people in
general, not just in Missouri, live with their heads in the sand. Not only officials.
Officials aren't entirely to blame if the citizenry is itself indifferent or uneducated. I don't
mind levees per se, but I've got my doubts about willow mats. And about dredging, too, I
must say."
"They're dredging the river?" exclaimed Lavinia. "Around here?"
"No, ma'am. I was referring to the lower Mississippi." He fell silent, and seemed
to watch them, passing his stick from hand to hand. Finally, as Margaret pressed the
clothes down with her paddle, he said, "Did you know that the Romans cleaned their
clothes by having slaves walk about upon them in vats of human urine? Urine was a rich
source of ammonium salts and was sold and taxed in Roman times. I often think we
moderns could take that as an example of how we could make better use of our own
products."
Lavinia
Similar Books
