Under the Desert Sky by Sara Luck

Author:Sara Luck
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pocket Books

11

“I feel strange riding off without him,” Phoebe said when they were about a hundred yards away.

“You know he’ll have fun. Will seems to like the Bucknells.”

“It’s just that I have a premonition. Something’s going to happen.”

“Don’t think like that. I want you to enjoy this day.”

Phoebe rode in silence for a while, deep in thought.

“I’ve been thinking about the song July taught Will. Is that really the meaning of the words?”

“I think so,” Christian said. “I may be off. The first verse is about going over the Limpopo River to work in the gold fields in search of money, but I believe this is the second verse.”

“ ‘They left us problems—these earthly difficulties.’ ” Phoebe’s voice quavered. “That certainly is a truism where Edwin is concerned.”

“I don’t know why you let those people bother you so much. Just live your own life.”

Phoebe looked down at her hands and began to pick at her nails. “They think I killed Edwin.”

“I thought he was killed by an ostrich.”

Phoebe jerked her head toward Christian. “You know that and you didn’t say anything?”

“I thought it was an accident—just like when the horse kicked you.”

“It was more than that.”

Christian was surprised by Phoebe’s remark and wasn’t sure how to respond. For a long moment the break in their conversation was filled only by the sound of the hoofbeats and the whir of buggy wheels.

Then Phoebe said, “You said the other morning you saw me sitting beside Edwin’s grave. And I believe my response was that I find comfort in visiting Edwin and I tell him everything. That’s not entirely true.”

“Oh?”

“Well, in a way it’s true. I find it’s much easier to talk to him now than it was when he was alive. I think I should tell you how it was between me and Edwin.”

Christian reached over to take Phoebe’s hand in hers. “Phoebe, you don’t have to tell me anything, especially if it makes you uncomfortable.”

“I want to tell you,” Phoebe said resolutely. “Everything is buried so deep inside of me, I need to get it out.”

“All right. I’ll be a good listener.”

“I came to Arizona to be the Sloans’ housekeeper. I thought I knew how to keep a house, but nothing satisfied Mrs. Sloan. Whatever I did wasn’t right, but that wasn’t the hardest part. It was the way I was treated as a person. Other than to demand I do some task, they totally ignored me. They spoke to one another in my presence as if I weren’t there.

“Edwin was the only one who showed any kindness toward me at all; then on the night of Frank and Myra’s engagement party, Frank”—she paused for a moment to come up with the right words—“tried to take liberties with me. I was startled, and I spilled the coffee on Mrs. Sloan’s fine damask cloth. She got very angry with me, and of course I couldn’t explain what had happened. When, finally, my work was done, I took to my bed to cry. A little while later, Edwin came to my room.

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