Otherwise, I keep my mouth shut and Hall would. The corner of her mouth moved despite herself. You may do slightly more than Hall would. That is generous of you. Do not become pleased with yourself.
At breakfast the next morning, Barnaby tried again. "I have figured the fair from Silvercliffe to Canyon City," he said, tapping a folded paper beside his coffee. "If we leave tomorrow, we can catch the rail coach toward PBLO. Can you spare a team, Jennings?" Wilbur lifted the coffee pot, filled his own cup, and turned his body just enough to leave the question where it belonged.
You will have to ask Miss Hart. It is her trunk and her time. Barnaby looked from him to Adella. Adella set a pan of biscuits on the table. I am staying until my six-w week agreement is finished.
I accepted the trustees money and I intend to earn it. After that, I will decide where I teach and where I live. Aunt Clara may write to me herself if she wants my help. I will answer her myself. Barnaby sat back.
Wilbur said nothing. The restraint cost him more than speaking would have. That surprised him. He had liked the weight of the false role more than he cared to admit. Standing beside Adella on the porch had been easy.
Leaving her answer untouched required discipline. When she passed behind him to collect the empty cups, her fingers brushed the back of his chair once. Light, deliberate, gone before he could turn. A freight wagon arrived from Silvercliffe just as Wilbur's hands were shifting steers away from the lower hay meadow. Two older boys had already abandoned their copy books to watch the unloading.
Adella stepped out of the schoolroom with chalk on one hand. She took in the wagon, the boys, and Wilbur's Bay at the rail. "Take the meadow," she called. "I will keep the boys out of the wagon and see the supplies undercover. Wilbur glanced at the teamster, then at the two boys.
You are sure? I am asking you to handle the cattle. Go. That was different. Wilbur mounted and rode down to the meadow.
He moved the steers with practiced pressure. No wasted shouting, then left one hand to secure the loose fence brace before riding back. When he returned, the freight wagon was empty. The salt was stacked under the leanto. Flower sacks were inside.
And Toby and Samuel were back on the porch copying sums under Adela's eye. She met Wilbur by the trough with a dipper of water. Trouble? She asked. Nothing worth naming, he drank.
You the teamster objected to being ordered around by a school mistress. Wilbur lowered the dipper. Adella's expression remained composed. Then I reminded him the invoice said Jennings Ranch, not Teamsters's Kingdom. He discovered he could stack Flower after all.