youâve prepared.â
Thora cackled and meandered toward the kitchen with a slight wave of her hand. The womanâs behavior had done little to enhance Marshallâs appetite. For all he knew, sheâd spent the morning dreaming up some way to poison him.
Chapter 7
Much had happened during the past forty-eight hoursâsome of it interesting, some of it perplexing, and some of it downright annoying. The day before, Dr. Wahler and his daughters arrived on the afternoon boatâat least thatâs what Audrey had been told. Thus far sheâd not been introduced to the doctor or his children, an occurrence she had found most perplexing. Though sheâd expected the doctor to stop at Bridal Fair before heading off to his own cottage, she surmised he had likely made a wise decision by settling the children into their new accommodations with as little fanfare as possible. A new home and strange surroundings could certainly overwhelm young children. If time permitted, she would visit the doctorâs cottage this afternoon and offer a proper welcome. For now, she needed to complete breakfast preparations.
While she mixed cream into the eggs for a satisfying Saturday morning breakfast, her thoughts skittered like bacon grease in a hot skillet. Last evening Mr. Morley and Stuart Griggs, his architect, had met in the parlor to discuss drainage problems on the island, and in the midst of their discussion, her father had interrupted them to introduce Marshall Graham to Mr. Morley. Sheâd been surprised when her father rattled off Marshallâs credentials as a talented construction supervisor, but her surprise soon turned to annoyance. Her father had appeared as proud as a peacock. Sheâd briefly considered asking if Mr. Graham carried letters of recommendation to prove all the claims of his success, but she wouldnât embarrass her father. Yet, if Marshall possessed his fatherâs penchant for alcoholâand sheâd been told long ago that all of the Graham men enjoyed their liquor far too muchâhe had likely come south because he could no longer find work up north. Granted, he didnât appear to be a drinker, but he was still relatively young. In a few more years, it would catch up with him, and the physical effects would become apparent, just as they had with her father.
Last evening, the men had agreed to meet after breakfast, and Audrey now worried that her fatherâs recommendation of Mr. Graham could cause trouble. Truth be told, sheâd been hard-pressed to hide her aggravation. She had hoped Marshall Graham would be boarding a boat and departing for Jekyl Island by now. She didnât need the worry of a probable drinker moving into their home. She could only hope that Mr. Morley would realize he had no need of another supervisor for his project. And if he didnât know it, she hoped the conversation during breakfast would prove her correct.
As soon as the men arrived in the dining room and settled at their places, her father offered thanks for breakfast and asked Godâs protection over the workers and a productive day for the men. His prayer gave Audrey the exact opening she wanted. While passing the biscuits, she directed her attention to Mr. Fenton, Mr. Uptegrove, and Mr. Parks. âYouâve been so busy that I havenât heard a progress report regarding your venture into Biscayne the other day. I do hope you were successful.â
Mr. Fenton helped himself to a biscuit, broke it in half, and slathered it with butter. âWe had more men show up than either of us expected. Most of them will start the first of the week.â He peered down the table and met Audreyâs gaze. âMostly single fellas. The married ones arenât so keen on leaving their families behind all week, but I think weâll have those old slave quarters filled with a good crew of workers real soon. Best part is that I found a man who was a cook in the army, and
C. J. Cherryh
Learning to Kill: Stories
John O'Riley
Brenda Sinclair
Christopher George
Stephen Lloyd Jones
Karl Iagnemma
Celya Bowers
Jill Gregory
Aria Cunningham