Anna sent word to Emily about meeting the banker, and a week later a dinner had been arranged. She still had feelings for Ben, but it seemed like he wasn’t being entirely forthcoming about his past and old love interests. Anyway, it wouldn’t hurt to have an innocent dinner with a well-off man. Her stomach was bubbly in anticipation for the dinner that evening.
The day flew by, and Anna soon found herself at Emily’s front door, adjusting her hat as she entered. The house smelled of roast duck and baking bread. There were flower arrangements on every surface, and candles glowed throughout the house. Emily came to seat her right away.
“Are the candles too much? I just wanted to set the mood,” she whispered as Anna sat.
“It’s lovely.” And it truly was. She smoothed her napkin onto her lap.
Jonathon Conway had stood when he saw her and waited to sit until she did. “It’s truly a pleasure to meet you, Miss Gallagher.”
He was only slightly taller than her, with reddish brown hair and light brown eyes. Not unattractive.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, too.” She took a sip from the glass of white wine Emily had just poured. “Everything smells absolutely wonderful.”
Emily blushed. “Thank you.”
It was evident she’d worked tirelessly to create a lovely dinner. She went to the kitchen and brought out a platter with four steaming platters.
Not only did the salmon with hollandaise come on the fanciest glass plates Anna had ever seen, it also melted in her mouth.
As they began to eat, Jonathon broke the silence. “Anna, tell me about yourself.”
“I like to read and…I enjoy hiking in the forest. And I’m fond of the mountain.”
Jonathan smiled warmly. “Delightful. I’m not much of an outdoorsman myself, not like Charles here. I mostly stay indoors and work with numbers.”
“He’s very smart,” Emily chimed in.
Anna smiled. “I suppose you’ve been inundated with loan applications after the fire.”
Jonathon nodded. “We have, but we’re starting to catch up. Seattle is booming.”
His voice was soothing. She couldn’t quite figure out why, but there was something about his tone. He seemed like a nice man, and maybe he’d be a supportive partner if she shared her dreams. It was impossible to say from these small interactions, though.
After the main course, Emily stood. “I have plum pudding for dessert.”
She hurried into the kitchen, returning with another tray. “Would anyone like coffee? I can make some?”
Everyone shook their heads politely, then praised her delicious offering.
“Quite possibly the best plum pudding I’ve ever had, ma’am,” Jonathon said.
Anna noticed he had dimples when he grinned like that.
After they finished, Emily stood. “Should we play—”
“Emily,” her husband interrupted sternly. “Jonathon and I would prefer to have our after-dinner cigars now. We’ve gone over this.”
Emily’s face reddened. “Yes of course, Charles, I’m sorry. You fellas must be exhausted from all our chatter.”
Jonathon smirked. “I think they mean well, Charles. It just takes time for women to learn their place.”
Anna’s stomach dropped. She watched the men leave without another word. Emily clumsily stacked dinner plates, and she stood to help.
“Charles is a good man.” Emily knocked a wine glass over as she reached for a plate.
Anna nodded quickly as she put a napkin over the spilled wine. “Of course.”
“Sometimes it’s better not to talk much around your husband, you know?” Emily said, almost to herself.
Anna tilted her head, her eyebrows knit together. “Is it?”
Emily rolled her eyes. “I don’t know. My mother told me it always exhausted Father to hear a woman go on and on all the time. She said in marriage it’s best not to speak unless spoken to.”
She sat back down, giving up on stacking the plates. “I do feel rather lonely sometimes. Visitors make my days more enjoyable, Anna. Thanks for coming.”
Patting her friend’s hand, she smiled. “I understand.”
But she truly did not understand. She feared Emily’s fate would be her own if she married a man who wanted that kind of submission and silence. “Consider meeting up with June sometime. You don’t need to meet at the brothel; invite her here, or what if we all went for a walk in the woods? Or met at my house for tea? It would do you good to be with old friends. The people who know you best.”
“I really don’t know.” Emily rubbed her temples, her elbows on the table. “I’ll think about it.”
At the end of the evening, Anna insisted on walking herself home, and on the way, she thought of Heather. She and her husband had an unusual marriage, but Anna was certain that Heather and Michael talked often. And she got to live in the woods, for goodness’ sake.
Summiting the mountain had seemed like such an epic goal for so long that she hadn’t spent much time thinking about what she would do afterward.
Would she find someone to marry when she returned? Would she be able to keep the trip a secret from potential suitors? She could practically hear the criticism in her head; Emily, Levi, everyone would think her reckless. With their family business failing, she’d have no way to make money of her own. She might become an old, poor spinster by the time she reached her twenty-fifth birthday, and never be able to have children or a family to call her own.
But if her only other option was to marry a man like Jonathon, her future seemed dim. Nevertheless, she couldn’t continue to be a burden on her family.
She shook her head as if to dissipate the fear. The only thing that mattered was seeing if she was even capable of summiting the mountain. Everything else came after.
At home, she pulled out John Muir’s account.
The view we enjoyed from the summit could hardly be surpassed in sublimity and grandeur; but one feels far from home so high in the sky, so much so that one is inclined to guess that, apart from the acquisition of knowledge and the exhilaration of climbing, more pleasure is to be found at the foot of the mountains than on their tops. Doubly happy, however, is the man to whom lofty mountain tops are within reach, for the lights that shine there illumine all that lies below.
She sighed with contentment, dreaming of seeing the city illuminated below her.
The next morning, a heavy frost covered everything outside her bedroom window. The sky was a sheet of dark blue without a cloud for insulation, the temperature below freezing. It would be a good time to try walking on a frozen pond. She hoped to get there early, before anyone might be around to see her look foolish.
Wrapped in her warmest winter cloak, she set off for the pond before breakfast. Mr. Flannaghan had told her to use crampons, but she didn’t have a clue what they were, nor did she have the money to purchase any. When she arrived at the frozen pond, she was pleased to find it surrounded by a thick fog. She was the only one there.
She stepped one foot onto the reasonably sturdy ice. She shuffled her other foot onto the sparkling pond and held out her arms for balance. The outer rim appeared thicker than the middle, and seemed like the safest place to stay, so she took small steps, making her way around. By the time she got back to where she started, a few children had arrived and watched her with interest.
“Be careful children,” she said across the pond. “It’s quite slippery.”
Just as she said “slippery,” she lost her footing, and both feet slid forward, throwing her body backwards onto the ice. Small cracks formed where she sat stunned on the cold pond. The children turned and ran away laughing.
Anna’s face reddened as she struggled to stand. On her hands and knees, she moved the small distance to solid ground and raised herself up on the grass. She laughed, her breath coming out in white puffs. It was a good try, but she needed to get some gear soon. The slow walk home only caused a little pain on her backside.
Just as she was about to open the front door, the sound of footsteps rushed up behind her. She spun around to see a boy of about thirteen at the bottom of the steps.
He came to an abrupt halt in front of her. “Are you Miss Gallagher?”
“I am.”
“Capt’n sent me, miss. He wanted to tell ya he found your friends in our passenger ledger. They came here in January 1880.” He tipped his hat and started back toward town.
“Wait!” she called. “What’s the name of your ship?”
“The Compass Rose, miss.”
She grinned to herself, hardly able to wait until she could tell Ben.