“Let her stay,” Maura said.
Eliza shook her head. “You’re having family dinner.”
“Lydia is like family to Aidan and me. We’ve thought of you both that way ever since we met you. Aidan misses her. And she’s of an age with Ian and Biddy’s little one. They’re becoming fine friends. We’ll look after her.”
Eliza tossed her a smile of gratitude. “That will simplify things. Thank you.”
Maura gave her a quick squeeze. She whispered in her ear, “Don’t endure his sulkiness too long. You deserve better than a grumbly sorehead.”
“He’s not as grumbly with me as he is with the rest of you,” Eliza said.
“You’re a witch, then, aren’t you? I think that might be the only explanation.”
Eliza laughed. “Thank you again for watching Lydia. With a spot of luck, I’ll come back with the perfect location for my inn.”
“For your dreams,” Maura corrected.
“For so, so many of them.”
Eliza found her daughter among them, being watched over by Aidan and gave her a hug and quick explanation of her departure. Lydia held her handkerchief doll in one hand and Patrick’s doll in the other. She simply smiled as Eliza talked, clearly not understanding everything.
“Be a good girl.” Eliza kissed the top of her head. “Patrick and I will be back soon.”
Maura walked beside her through the room and out the door. “I’m so glad you’ve come to Hope Springs. I wish I could have sent for you sooner. The idea of you still stuck in that awful Tower weighed so heavily on me.”
“We’re here now,” Eliza said. “And this is going to be a perfect home for both of us. For all of us.”
Patrick peeked around the back of a pony cart. “Ready when you are, Eliza.”
Maura waved her off, and Eliza moved quickly to the cart, anxious to have the site assessed. Patrick handed her up into the cart, then walked around to the other side and sat himself. They rode at a leisurely pace down the road.
“How far from town is the proposed site?” Patrick asked.
“It’s close to where the stage dropped us off all those weeks ago. A bit of a walk from town, but not terribly far.”
He nodded. “Does the river pass close by?”
“Farther away than I’d prefer, but it’s not miles and miles.”
He made a sound of pondering. “We may have to dig a canal. Having water nearby would be helpful for construction.”
“Could a well be dug, do you think?”
He tipped his head a bit, as if thinking. “That would be ideal. We’ll have to ask around to see what luck the families here about have had reaching ground water.”
“I don’t know as many of them as you do,” she said. “Would you mind asking your brothers and sisters?”
He laughed humorlessly. “You saw for your own self the state of things with my family. I’d do better asking strangers.”
“The ‘state of things,’ Patrick, is awkward, not cold. With a bit of effort, that could be overcome.”
“I suspect you would believe Cain and Abel could set aside their differences ‘with a bit of effort.’”
“Are you planning to murder your brother?” she asked.
“How do you know one of them’s not planning to murderme?”
She shrugged. “I’ve known you for weeks, and I don’t want to murder you. The feeling is bound to be universal.”
