Into the Wilderness by Sara Donati Page A

want to be of help to her she could not
imagine. There must be some other motivation, some good he saw in the idea of
the school, to want to put himself in this position. She looked at him and
tried to puzzle out what it was, but all she saw was Nathaniel's patient and
somewhat amused look.
    "I
must say," she said with an uncertain smile."I didn't expect—I had no
idea. It is very kind of you—"
    Nathaniel
raised an eyebrow. "It's got little to do with kindness and more to do
with cash money. He's paying me."
    Elizabeth
glanced down. "I see."
    "But
money wouldn't be enough to make the job to my liking if it weren't for other
considerations," Nathaniel added.
    When
it was clear that
Elizabeth
did not know how to respond to this, Nathaniel found himself smiling. The woman
had a quick wit, there was no doubt about that, but she was not in the habit of
flirting. He found that this pleased him. He watched
Elizabeth
struggling to formulate some overly
polite response and he was taken by the urge to tease her.
    "I'm
surprised your father didn't tell you himself."
    "I
haven't seen him yet this morning, I wanted to be up and about,"
Elizabeth
said.
    "Ah,"
Nathaniel said softly. "Couldn't wait to see the village, then. Looking
for likely candidates."
    She
rose to this bait neatly. "Just what do you mean, sir?" she asked
sharply.
    "I
meant you are on the lookout for students. What did you think meant?" he
asked, smiling even more broadly.
    Elizabeth
laid
a hand on her hood to set it in place. Her hair had come loose and curls lay on
her cheek; she brushed these back. Nathaniel resisted the urge to step up to
her and pull them back out. He thought about doing it because he knew it would
make her blush, and he found he was developing an appetite for her blushes. But
he was patient, and she was not; he had the advantage, and he would use it. He
admitted to himself that his father was right, he had plans for this woman.
    "Have
you made the acquaintance of the parson yet?" he asked in a kinder tone,
not pushing for an answer to his previous question. "He's got a daughter,
she'd be the person to talk to about the list you wanted. Of the children.Kitty
Witherspoon."
    "Thank
you,"
Elizabeth
said. "That's very helpful." She looked about herself and saw they
were hidden from both the lake and the settlement where they stood.
    "I
suppose I should be going, Mr. —" She paused. "If you are willing, we
could speak this evening about the schoolhouse."
    "Are
you asking me to call on you this evening?"
    Elizabeth
fought with an angry retort, realizing that she must learn new rules of
engagement here that were, at present, beyond her.
    "It
is Christmas Eve. I thought my father had invited all of his friends."
    His
gaze narrowed. "What makes you think I am a friend of your father's?"
    "Whatever
the quarrel between you and my father, it is Christmas Eve,”
Elizabeth
repeated. "And if he has not
invited you, then I shall invite you. And your family." She steadied her
expression and looked him straight in the eye. "You may not be his friend,
but," She paused."You will be mine, will you not?"
    Nathaniel
returned her gaze without a smile. "That I will, Boots," he said.
"For a start."
     

Chapter 5
     
    Elizabeth
arrived back at her father's home exhausted; the distance between the village
and the house which had seemed so little in the sleigh had nearly undone her.
She withdrew to her room after a brief conversation with her father, and although
it was only mid—morning, she fell into a deep sleep without dreams.
    Curiosity
came to wake her in the mid—afternoon.
    "I
let you sleep through lunch but you must be half—starved by this time,"
she said, putting a tray on a small table by the bed. The aroma of chicken and
gravy and potatoes rose from the covered dishes and made
Elizabeth
's stomach cramp with hunger. There
were beans and relish and hot corn bread, as well. She thanked Curiosity and
then fell to her food, noting out loud that the cold air and