Every scrape of the fork. Every sip of coffee seemed deafening. When the meal was done, Eli stood up. He walked to a door on the far side of the room. "This is the bedroom," he said.
Maggie followed him. It was a small room dominated by a large iron bed covered in a quilt. A wash stand stood in the corner. "It is nice," she said. Eli did not enter the room.
He stood in the doorway, his hand gripping the frame. "You will sleep here," he said. Maggie turned to him, confusion knitting her brow. "And you? " I will sleep in the bunk house with the hands. Maggie felt a cold flush wash over her.
The bunk house? But we are married. Eli looked at the floor. It is better this way. You need your rest.
You do not know me. It is It is too soon to expect. He trailed off, his face flushing a dark red under the tan. Maggie felt the sting of rejection slap her across the face. She knew what this was.
She had seen it in the eyes of the foreman at the factory, in the eyes of the landlord who had turned her and her sister out. He saw her. He really saw her. He knew she was a woman who had lived in the shadow of a brothel. A woman whose sister had died in a fire of sin.
He thought she was unclean. He had married her for labor, but he would not share a bed with a fallen woman. She stiffened, her spine turning to steel. "I understand, Mr. Mercer," she said, her voice ice cold.
"You need not explain. " Eli looked up, seemingly about to speak. To correct her, but the wall between them was already up. He nodded. "Good night, Maggie. Good night.
He closed the door. She heard his heavy boots cross the main room. Heard the front door open and close. And then silence. Maggie stood in the dark room.
She did not undress. She sat on the edge of the bed, the springs groaning under her weight. The wind outside began to pick up, howling around the corners of the house, rattling the window pane like a thief trying to get in. She reached into her dress pocket and pulled out the locket. It was cheap brass, the metal turning green at the edges.
She clicked it open. A tiny tint type face stared back at her. A girl with laughing eyes and a ribbon in her hair. Her sister. Sarah.