Chapter 25
The coach was small and plain, less than half the size of the one Victoria’s family owned, and painted a dull black. The bright red and green Haversham coach was designed for accommodating full hoop skirts and tall hairdos, with plenty of room for attendants to ride inside and out. This church-owned vehicle barely held four adults on benches not far removed from the hard wooden pews inside the sanctuary.
Father Hall sat with Rob McDuff on one side, leaving Victoria and Jean struggling to arrange piles of black fabric on the other. While the priest and the doctor talked quietly about the work ahead, Rob pretended not to stare at Victoria.
She didn’t bother pretending not to watch him fidget. Adjusting his stiff, high collar, gazing out the small un-curtained window, feigning i
