Chapter 19: One Last TryRita strode from the house. She was dressed in a low cut gown of cream dotted with green flowers, short sleeves, and an unusually tight bodice. Mama was busy sewing, Mina napping, and Lorenz and Daniel off with Martin branding cows again. The afternoon was quiet, and she knew MacDonald was adding to the corral fencing. This time she would succeed in extracting Mama, Mina, and the boys from the clutches of the Thalian. October had changed into an Indian summer and the warm air and bright sun outlined every stone, blade of brown grass, and building in bold light. She smiled to herself as she loosened the top button of the tight bodice. She knew she was beautiful and her figure good. Men stared at her, Rolfe openly gaping when he first met her. Martin had been so tongu
