Her Independent Spirit by Zina Abbott

Author:Zina Abbott
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: fiction, california, historical, baby, western, prairie rose publications, sierranevada mountains
Publisher: Prairie Rose Publications

CHAPTER 9

Mary Ford minced no words about her disapproval of Beth’s plan for Louisa and Sophie Ann to walk to Gus’s place each morning and be walked home by Gus and Josh each night.

“Nay, ye’ll not be walking the streets alone each morning and ye’ll not taking this sweet babe home at night in the company of two men with no woman beside ye, not even for only the two or three days Mrs. Dodd’s planning to leave ye. Ye’ll be asking for trouble, sure, ye will.”

Louisa clamped her lips shut and let Beth do the talking for her. She knew that the reason their landlady chose to be so strict was because of Louisa’s history. She suspected that Mrs. Ford worried Louisa would fall back to her prior ways and arrange to meet with a man for the purpose of “entertaining” him. Louisa knew nothing could be further from the truth, but there was no point in her trying to persuade Mrs. Ford otherwise.

Mrs. Ford finally agreed to allow Louisa to join her in her kitchen once the male boarders departed for work each morning. There, Louisa would bake enough biscuits and loaves of bread to get Gus by for the day. It was up to Gus to provide the raw ingredients and firewood. Then, early in the afternoon, Mrs. Ford agreed she would escort Louisa to and from the eatery herself. She’d stay long enough for Louisa to get a pot of beans or beans and rice started and seasoned for Gus to offer as a side dish for his steaks. But she insisted she and Louisa had to be back at the boarding house well before the men got off work and returned for their supper.

Gus grumbled about the arrangement, but realized there was no stopping Beth from pursuing her goal of buying land for a farm. He grudgingly agreed Beth could go for no more than three days, as long as Louisa could cook for him, and Beth promised to be back before the busy weekend.

****

Louisa entered Mrs. Ford’s kitchen with trepidation the first day Beth was gone. Her landlady spoke in monosyllables as she showed Louisa where to find bowls and pans. Mrs. Ford frowned as she opened her kitchen door the first time Josh showed up with a load of firewood. However, once it was time to take the breadstuffs Louisa had baked over to the chop shop, without complaint she helped Louisa load everything into sacks so the two of them could carry everything in one trip. While Louisa carried Sophie Ann, Mrs. Ford carried the bowl of biscuit dough Louisa had mixed up for Gus to bake closer to suppertime once her baked biscuits started to run low.

At first, Mrs. Ford held the baby while Louisa drained the water off of the beans and refilled the pot with fresh water to boil for that night. However, as soon as Sophie Ann dozed off for a nap, she washed her hands and pitched in to help.

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