Alexandra sat up straight. She was sure she heard somebody in the house. It was too soon for Erin to be back.
Her first impulse was to go and investigate, but she thought better of it and instead shook Nathaniel awake.
He ordered her to stay there, while he went to check downstairs, even though he hadn't heard a thing.
Before he could get to the bedroom door, a woman's voice called, "Natty!! Sasha!! Are you two in bed already? What's this I hear about my Ryan going West? Are you coming down, or shall I have to come and get you?"
Nathaniel and Alexandra looked at each other, nearly shouting in unison, "Daphne?!"
Preston sat at a table at Grace's cafe. It had been a long time since he'd felt like mingling with the ordinary townsfolk since his recent financial ruin.
Now, however, there was reason to be hopeful. Dr. Quinn had still not yet returned from Boston, and there was already another doctor working at the Chateau in her stead.
Preston smiled to himself. Things were looking up. Now it was time to start planning to retake the Chateau.
Preston A. Lodge III would not be down for long. Just then, a beautiful young woman with dark hair and green eyes arrived.
Preston was immediately taken by her beauty. He'd seen her before, but hadn't really been looking. He decided to go and introduce himself to the Sullys new governess.
"Don't worry Alexandra, everything will be all right. Why don't you get some rest and I will see you again tomorrow." Colleen said.
"All right, till tomorrow!" Alexandra said.
Then Colleen closed the door behind her. Andrew was talking to Dr. Pennington and then Andrew saw his wife waiting for him.
They said good night to the Penningtons. While Colleen and Andrew were walking home, Colleen was thinking about the first time that she met Andrew when Dr. Mike was going to give birth to Katie.
Thanks to her grandmother she had met Andrew and fell for him when they first met. Then she heard Andrew call her name.
"Colleen, are you all right? You did not hear what I said."
"I am sorry Andrew, I was just thinking about the first time I met you!"
"Ohhh, the first time we met… mmm!" Andrew said.
"What did you say to me? I did not hear you." Colleen said.
"Oh it's nothing. I can tell you later, my love!"
Just then they were home.
Colleen had been going over and over the events of the past few days in her mind.
She was thinking how easily Alexandra could have lost her baby that night...although she was sure Dr. Pennington would have done all that he could if Andrew and Michaela hadn't been there, Colleen was very thankful things had gone the way they did.
"Don't worry, Alexandra, everything will be all right...." went through Colleen's head yet again.
"Oh, I hope I did everything I could do to be a friend to her!" Colleen thought.
And then there was Patrick Collins. He had been awfully quiet lately...at least there had been no mysterious packages or secret meetings in the past day or so.
Andrew regarded Colleen with concern. He recalled there was something he was going to tell her earlier when they had just left the Penningtons. She looked so frightened as she sat writing in her journal. Andrew decided to wait until she finished.
"Daphne!" Nathaniel called, "Come on up! We would come down, but Sasha is not allowed to get out of bed right now!"
Alexandra gave Nathaniel a pleading look, but he would not relent.
"Please come up, Daphne! I'd love to see you!" Alexandra called, as they heard Daphne quickly ascend the staircase.
Daphne Pennington Bell entered the bedroom and greeted her brother and sister-in-law most affectionately.
She looked fabulous, her royal blue satin evening gown and matching hat setting off her silvery hair and bringing out her clear blue eyes most effectively. She carried her spectacles in a beautiful jeweled case, but vanity prevented her from actually wearing them.
This reminded Nathaniel that he wasn't wearing his, and he set about looking for them while trying not to appear so.
Alexandra smiled. "They're on the nightstand, dear.", she whispered.
Nathaniel quickly put his glasses on and said, "So what brings you here tonight, Daph? We certainly weren't expecting you!"
"Well...I was in the neighborhood!...Mother tells me that Ryan has gone West. Did something happen here I should know about?"
Loren Bray watched Dorothy from the saloon porch as Hank Lawson came out.
Hank snorted. "She gone ta see that Injun 'gain," Hank said in complete repulsion.
Loren looked at him doubtfully. At the Cooks' wedding he had pretty much accepted Dorothy and Cloud Dancing as a pair in love. Apparently, his acceptance had not helped Hank out any.
Hank was watching Dorothy carefully, his sarcastic grin present, when wasn't it?, and his cheap cigar in hand. Loren held his shot glass carefully. "Aw, leave her alone, Hank."
Hank turned to the old man. "Ain't goin' soft, are ya, old man?"
"It ain't none of our business what Dorothy does, Hank," Loren defended himself and his reaction.
"She fell for an Injun, Loren, ain't nothin' so bad as that," Hank replied, puffing his cigar and taking an immediate gulp of his unhealthy liquor.
"You're gonna kill yourself with these habits, Hank," Jake said as he approached.
Hank snorted. "Ain't your business, Jake."
"Ya got an odd look on your face," Loren noted curiously.
Jake nodded. "Got some interestin' news yesterday."
"Ain't that wonderful," Hank said caustically.
"Get some manners, Hank," Loren reprimanded the sarcastic saloon owner who only grinned. He enjoyed teasing his buddies.
"What is it?" Loren asked Jake.
Jake grinned widely. "Teresa's pregnant."
Hank nearly spat out his liquor and Loren's eyes grew wide at the idea of Jake being a father. "That's real funny," Hank said.
"I ain't lyin'," Jake said. "She told me last night."
"Hey, this calls for a celebration," Loren said. "Get on inside."
"Sure, Pa, drinks on the house," Hank said, teasingly grinning.
"Drinks are always on the house for me," Jake reminded him.
"I always heard it's the thought that counts," Hank said.
"You ain't got no thoughts put into your invitation," Loren mumbled.
Jake was careful to watch just how much he celebrated. He thought about that. A year or so before he would not have even thought twice about getting drunk. But since he met Teresa he only wanted to please her and go straight. Jake watched his alcohol intake and got plenty of jibes for it. He didn't care. He had Teresa and he would have a baby. He had a family, he had a job, he had a political office. Jake was finally extremely happy.
The train puffed its way down the track, and finally chugged to a stop at the Colorado Springs depot.
Michaela and Sully were the first ones off the train, only instead of passengers flooding an empty platform, they overflowed an already flooded platform. The whole town, it seemed, had come to welcome the couple home after their long absence.
"Ma!! PA!!" Brian shouted, rushing up, with Katie in his arms, to greet his parents.
Michaela swooped Katie up in one arm, and threw the other around Brian. Only instead of her arm going around his waist, it almost hit him in the neck. He'd grown suddenly tall!
"How I've missed you!" She told her children.
"Michaela!" Dorothy called. Michaela looked across the crowd to see Dorothy waving, with Cloud Dancing close behind her.
"Ma! Sully!" Matthew made his way through the crowd, with Emma following at arms length.
"Matthew!" Michaela gave him a one-armed hug.
"And Emma! It's been so long!"
"Welcome back Dr. Mike! Welcome back Sully!" the town said in unison.
"Thank you!" Sully replied. "It's good to be back!"
Just then, Michaela spotted Horace.
"Horace!" she called. "I need to send a telegram!"
"Sure thing, Dr. Mike!" He called. Michaela, carrying Katie, and Sully made their way through the crowd to the office while Matthew and Brian got the luggage.
Michaela waited until no one was in the office except the four of them.
"Now who do you want to send it to?"
"To a Mr. Nicholous Ryan, Zurich, Switzerland."
Michaela replied. "Sully, we're going to find out who Gretta really is."
As Jake, Loren, and Hank were sitting inside the Gold Nugget, Hank leaned over to Jake who was sitting across the table from him and said "You ready to have those dark skinned children running around your house, Senior Slicker?"
Loren laughed with Hank, then he realized that Jake was getting pretty tired of Hank's wise comments.
"Yeah, yeah I am Hank, and I still have that hat you guys gave to me before the wedding too." Commented Jake in a calm tone of voice.
"Loren, what do you really think about Daddy Jake?" asked Hank as he stood up to get a refill on everyone's drinks.
"I think Jake will be a good father. It doesn't matter what color skin they have Hank. Just as long as they are healthy. So, Jake what are you and Teresa hoping to have?"
"We really haven't talked about it. Umm, I would like to have a boy, so maybe one day he can follow my footsteps and become Mayor, just like his pa.
Pa. I like the sound of that Loren." said Jake smiling.
Several days had passed and on Colleen's daily visits to the Penningtons, she saw Alexandra growing stronger and Erin growing calmer.
Early one afternoon, Colleen dropped by to find Alexandra sitting up in a rocking chair in her room, her first time out of bed since the almost-miscarriage. Erin was sitting with her.
"Well, does the doctor know that you're out of bed?" Colleen teased as she settled down next to Erin.
"Which one? Between Andrew, my husband, Erin and you, I'm getting confused as to which one tells me what!" Alexandra laughed.
"But, in answer to your question, yes. I am now supposed to start sitting up and walking around. I should be up and about in a few days. A good thing too, I was starting to go stir-crazy!"
Colleen smiled. "I can only imagine!"
"But, she has been the perfect patient," Erin chimed in.
They talked of general subjects for awhile, until Colleen could contain herself and her news no longer.
She pulled a small envelope from her handbag and handed it to Erin.
"I didn't want to say anything until I was sure, but it seems you have an interview tomorrow about entering the late-start class at the college," Colleen said.
Erin's mouth dropped. "Wha....at? How? Oh my goodness!" she cried.
Alexandra looked over to her sister with a proud smile. "Congratulations, Aria! And thank you, Colleen."
"What will I say? How will I act? What will I wear?" Erin stammered. "Colleen, Sasha, I'm already nervous!"
"Oh, don't worry! Everything will be fine. You'll do so well," Alexandra comforted with a smile. "But, you do bring up a good point. Colleen, will you help me get Aria ready?"
"Of course."
The rest of the afternoon passed quickly. Erin practiced what she was going to say as Alexandra and Colleen quizzed her in a mock interview.
She selected an outfit, and worked on every little detail the three of them could think of.
Finally, Colleen left after telling Erin to meet her at two o'clock the next afternoon by the oak tree and she would direct Erin to the interview.
Colleen returned to the boarding house and discovered that Andrew was not yet back.
As she entered their room, she saw a package on the bed. With a curious smile, she went to open the card on top. It read, simply, "Flowers for my rose."
"Oh, how sweet of Andrew!" she murmured to herself as she opened the box and parted the tissue paper. The sight that greeted her, however was a shock. There were a dozen roses in the box, all dead.
She clamped the lid back on the box and turned away from it with a shudder.
"They must have been sitting here all afternoon. Why, without water, no wonder they all died! Yes, I'm sure that's it. Now, I'll go down for supper, do my work and then take a nice, hot bath," she said aloud.
She ate supper in the dining room with the Whites, whose happy chatter calmed her nerves.
After, she did her work, soaked in a relaxing hot bath, and dressed in her nightdress and robe. As she picked up a book and tried to read, however, her gaze kept reverting to the box, which she had relegated to a remote corner.
Finally, she went to bed, but it was a long time before she fell asleep. When Andrew worked late, she always had a hard time drifting off.
The next morning, she woke up late. There
was a note from Andrew on the dresser, and she smiled as she read it.
"Darling,
Sorry I missed you last night, and this morning.
Meet me for supper at Braxton's Restaurant at five.
Love,
Andrew"
Humming, she dressed in a pretty navy blue gown with plaid trim, fixed her hair and took her books, hat and cloak to the breakfast room. With a smile, she told Mrs. White that they wouldn't be back for dinner that evening. Then, she went on to classes.
At precisely two o'clock, she met Erin, who looked beautiful but nervous in a dark green suit with brown trim and a matching hat. Her hair was tamed and pulled back simply. Colleen directed her to the office of Admissions, and promised to wait while she had her interview.
About half an hour later, Erin emerged from the room with a radiant smile!
"I got in!" she cried. "And not only that, I am receiving a full scholarship!"
"That's wonderful! Congratulations!" The two women hugged.
All during the ride to the Penningtons, Erin glowed. She was met with the same shriek of congratulations by both Clara and Alexandra, and they had a celebration over tea.
Alexandra invited Andrew and Colleen over for a celebratory dinner, but Colleen graciously declined and took her leave. She had her own dinner to get ready for.
A few minutes after Colleen left, Nathaniel arrived home. He congratulated Erin enthusiastically, but pulled Alexandra aside.
"Alex, did Colleen mention anything about Andrew being ill?"
"No, in fact she's meeting him for dinner tonight."
"Well, Andrew left work early yesterday, and then he didn't come in at all today. It seemed very strange that he didn't say anything."
"How very odd indeed. I hope everything's all right," Alexandra said.
"I'm sure it is," Nathaniel said. Still, the couple looked perplexed. How very odd indeed.
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