The Heart Answers (Wyoming Series Book 3) by Coble Colleen

Author:Coble, Colleen [Coble, Colleen]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9781937515607
Publisher: Spencerhill Associates, Ltd.
Published: 2012-11-26T05:00:00+00:00

seven

The strong smell of lye and soap hung like a moist veil in the heavy air. Jessica blinked against the sting of the fumes and tried to encourage the fire by poking at it with a stick. It responded momentarily with a flare of flame, then settled down to a dull glow again. How did one go about getting the stupid thing to burn, anyway? She blew a strand of hair out of her eyes and sighed as she turned toward the door to check on Franny.

The little girl still slept, and Jessica breathed another sigh, this one of relief. Since Clay had left an hour ago, she’d piled the logs in the stove and fetched bucket after bucket of water. But the fire refused to burn hot enough to dissolve the soap properly, and her determination was fast deserting her. She felt like bursting into tears at the enormity of the task. She had never washed a single article of clothing in her life and really didn’t know the first thing about how to start. She wasn’t even sure she had put the right amount of soap in the water; she had just dumped until she thought it smelled strong enough to clean. She wished she could consult her mother, but Franny was still asleep, and she couldn’t leave her alone.

How had she let Clay manipulate her into this fix? She poked at the fire again. It responded this time by sending out small flames that began to lick eagerly at the piled wood. She gave a smile of triumph and dumped the first gunny sack of clothing out onto the ground. She’d seen Ellen soak the clothing in the big tub, but other times she’d seen her scrubbing things on an old washboard in the smaller tub. Which came first?

While she stood contemplating her chore, Miriam came by with Anne Dials, the young wife of Lieutenant Billy Dials. Both young women stopped and looked at Jessica in amazement.

“What on earth are you doing?” Miriam demanded, leaning against the fence.

“What does it look like?” Jessica pushed the hair out of her eyes again. “I’m the newest laundress for Fort Bridger. I told you yesterday I was going to do this.”

Miriam’s mouth opened like a fish, but no sound came out. “I didn’t believe you were serious!” she gasped finally.

Jessica looked at her with irritation. “Does it look like I’m joking?”

Anne giggled behind her hand, and Miriam reddened. “Wait until your mother and my father hear about this,” she announced with a toss of her head. “You can’t do this. It’s embarrassing!” She whirled and stalked away. Anne followed with a last pitying glance toward Jessica.

“Tell Mama I need to see her!” Jessica shouted after them. The contempt in Anne’s eyes had stung. Jessica had been too defiant and angry with Clay earlier to remember how lowly a laundress was in the eyes of the women here. Angry heat rose in her face. She didn’t care what someone like Anne Dials thought about her.

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