“Surely you could step away from home long enough to join the town.” Burke didn’t mean to push him into anything, he simply wanted to sort out, if he could, what it was that kept Finbarr away. Health, after all, was more than the physical.
Finbarr set the tip of his cane against the ground in front of him. Madra stood, suddenly entirely alert. The positioning of the cane was, apparently, a signal to the dog.
“A pleasure gabbing with you, Miss Kingston. Dr. Jones.” Sweeping his path with the cane, Finbarr walked away.
“What happened to him?” Sophie asked quietly.
“Have the Archers ever mentioned to you a fire here in Hope Springs?”
“Mrs. Archer did. Emma and Ivy lost a friend, and they and Katie nearly lost their lives.”
Burke watched Finbarr disappear into his house. “He tried to save their friend but was caught in the fire. The barn collapsed on the two of them. She was killed, and he was badly burned. He lost nearly all his sight.”
“The reason for the bells and the cane and likely the dog?”
“Yes.”
“And is that why he keeps so much to himself? He’s still hurting from the grief of that?”
Burke sighed. “I wish I knew. He seems less unhappy now than he did when I first arrived. But he’s more isolated.”
“And you, as a doctor, can’t leave that mystery unsolved, since it relates to his wellbeing.”
“You told me, at my infirmary, that you are very good at puzzles.” He met her eye and hoped she saw his sincerity. “If you can solve this one, you’ll have the gratitude of every person in Hope Springs.”
Sophie approached the farm of the elder O’Connors with tremendous excitement the next evening. She had been told thatthisMr. and Mrs. O’Connor were parents to the many Mr. and Mrs. O’Connors throughout Hope Springs. They also had two daughters with different surnames but the same family connection. They were grandparents to many of the area’s children. And they played host to the entire town once a week for the parties termedcéilís.
Though Burke had warned her that this would not be a sophisticated party, she couldn't imagine the warning was truly necessary. She’d always felt tremendously out of place at the fine gatherings in Baltimore. They had required such strict adherence to protocol that she had found herself holding back every instinct she had while at them. And even that had proven insufficient.
Everyone could tell she didn’t truly belong there. She’d struggled to make friends. She’d certainly never been courted. In the end, it had seemed best to remove herself and find a situation that worked better. Life with Mrs. Archer had proven precisely that.
She liked Sophie as she was and didn’t require that she be perfect in her efforts to be properly genteel. When they were out mingling amongst the height of Baltimore society, Sophie was able to rein in her exuberance; she loved Mrs. Archer too much to embarrass her.
Hope Springs was not a large town, but the area surrounding the O’Connors’ home was filled with people. Everyone in Hope Springs must have been there. She’d been told that, out on the outskirts of the valley, there were cattle ranches. Some of those in attendance must have come from there. In Baltimore, when people spoke of cowboys, it was always in romanticized terms. They were more like knights of the round table than real people. But here, among them, they became precisely that to her.
This town of farmers and innkeepers and ranchers and cowboys felt more authentic than any of the fine sitting rooms and concert halls of Baltimore ever had.
Mrs. Archer found a seat on a chair near an open area that Sophie suspected was reserved for dancing. A group of musicians had gathered to one side and were tuning their instruments. With Katie seated beside her mother-in-law, Sophie felt confident she could slip away and explore a little. Her footsteps took her to tables laden with food. Some of it she recognized—cakes and fried chicken and tarts—other things were new to her. She suspected those unfamiliar things were offerings from the Irish families, food they’d eaten in their homeland that was not common in America.
“You are welcome to anything that strikes your fancy,” Eliza O’Connor said, having come to stand next to her. “Everyone brings something, so no one is burdened by it. And everyone eats their fill.”
She struggled to imagine some of the people she knew in Baltimore making such an offering out of sheer kindness. Food at their gatherings was meant to impress, and few of them would be impressed by a pot of bean soup.
Eliza waved someone over. The woman with a small child on her hip smiled as she approached.
“Maura, this is Sophie Kingston. I don’t know if you’ve met her yet.”
She offered a hand in greeting, which Sophie shook enthusiastically. “Welcome to Hope Springs, Sophie. I suspect you’re the Miss Kingston who has come with Mrs. Archer.”
Sophie nodded. “If there’s another Miss Kingston hanging about, I’d surely like to meet her.”
Maura smiled in acknowledgment of the jest. Sophie’s attempts at humor had not always been appreciated back home.
Two other women were waved over. One was Mary Dempsey, who had visited with Mrs. Archer during her first day at the infirmary. The other was introduced to her as Ciara Fulton. The two women were the O’Connors’ daughters. In short order, Sophie was introduced to sisters-in-law, neighbors, and families who lived down what was termed the Red Road. She’d been at this party a matter of minutes and already she was made to feel entirely welcome.
Eliza helped her select a few things from the tables, explaining what those items she didn’t recognize were. And, soon enough, Sophie was seated beside Mrs. Archer again with a small plate. She shared the food eagerly with Mrs. Archer, who also was intrigued.
“Everyone I asked, Katie, said your berry tarts are the highlights of this party each week.”
