“Jo, these are great. Thank you.”
My stomach turned over as he pulled them over his strong hands. “It’s nothing really.”
He spread his fingers wide, then wriggled them. “Perfect fit. How did you do that?”
I swallowed, dragging my gaze from those long fingers. “I guessed.”
He picked up his tea and took a sip. “I’ve been thinking about something. I’d like to learn to drive the sleigh. I’ve never driven horses before, but now that I live here, I should.”
“Papa can teach you. Or I?”
“I’d prefer you if I’m able to choose.”
“Why do you want to learn to drive?”
“I plan on staying here. A man needs to know how to drive a team of horses. I only hope I’m better suited for it than skating.”
I laughed. “Me too, or we might not live through our first lesson.”
Once a week after school, we had children’s story time for ages four to ten. I usually read a book with pictures as we sat in a circle on the rug. For the past month, I’d been reading chapters from The Jungle Book. The children delighted in the stories, often laughing out loud. Those moments were particularly joyful for me.
Today, as usual, the circle included both my smallest sisters. Even Delphia was quiet and attentive during story hour. Most of the mothers spent the time looking for books to take home while I read, although sometimes they listened, too.
We’d just finished our story time and I’d sent the children off to their mothers to pick out books when I saw Phillip come through the double doors. He took off his hat and looked straight at me, smiling in that way of his that made my stomach flutter. I rose from the small chair where I’d been reading to the children and scurried over to greet him.
“Is it done?” I asked, referring to the table.
“Strapped to the sleigh.” He took both my hands and leaned closer, whispering in my ear, “You’re beautiful and I missed you.”
“Thank you.” His eyes upon me seemed to light a fire from within me. It was all I could do to keep my head when he looked at me this way. “I’m ready to go. I’ll just go put on my things.”
“Harley and the horses and sleigh are waiting out front.” A light dusting of snow covered his coat. He shrugged out of his coat and hung it on the rack near the door. I’d put an old blanket underneath to catch the melted snow that would ruin the dark hardwood floors. “But he’s going home with your father. Harley gave me a lesson about the horses before we set out. He thinks I’m ready to try driving.”
Which meant we would be alone. “I won’t be a minute.”
Phillip
At the house, Harley and I had tied the tabletop to the sleigh with thick ropes. Afterward, he’d taught me how to brush the horses before outfitting them with their bridles and blinders as he rattled off a bunch of terms such as turnback, hames, bearing rein, hip drops, and tug chains until my head swam with all the information.
“Get on up there,” Harley said as I came down the library steps. “It’s now or never.”
I got into the driver’s seat. Josephine, dressed in a red coat and hat, hustled down the steps toward us.
“Don’t worry,” Harley said, helping Josephine into the seat next to me. “You’ll get it after some practice.” He went around the front of the horses and petted their noses. “These two will take good care of you.”
“I’ll make sure you know what to do,” Josephine said, laughing at what must have been a panicked look in my eyes.
Snow began to fall as she took the reins. “I always tuck the excess line under my legs. I don’t want them to get tangled around our feet. I’ll get us out of town and teach you as we go, then you can try.”
“Fine.” I was starting to regret my decision.
“We’ll see you later, Harley,” Josephine called out to him. He gave a wave and headed toward Lord Barnes’s office.
“To get them going, just call out a ‘Let’s go’ and jerk the reins slightly.” She did just that and the horses broke into a trot, taking us down the street. “There are two styles of driving. One is the way the English adapted from Germany called Achenbach. Papa and Jasper taught us all to do it this way, but Harley and Poppy hold a rein in each hand like Americans. We’re all split on our preferred method. I like the American way, but the twins prefer Achenbach. You can decide which you like better after you try them both.”
She demonstrated the Achenbach method, moving the reins all the way to the left. Oz and Willie followed her lead and turned out of town toward the direction of the Cassidys’ farm. “See there. The horses know what to do.” She divided the lines, holding one in each hand. “This way you tug gently on either one, left or right. Same effect.”
A whip dangled to the left, near Oz’s rear. “I won’t have to use that, will I? I don’t want to hurt them.”