Chapter 19May 27, 1889
After supper, Emily slipped out into the courtyard for a respite from the heat. She felt vaguely guilty, leaving the dishes to Angelina, but she simply had to rest for a few minutes. Such breaks had been a rare treat recently, since she’d taken on the management of the boarding house to allow Nellie to concentrate on nursing the marshal.
She sank onto the bench under the rose arbor, feeling as droopy as the rosebush, which clearly suffered from the dry heat. Overhead, sunset turned the scattered clouds to streamers of gold and flame, radiant against the soft turquoise of the evening sky. The sight, though beautiful, looked so much like fire it made her feel even hotter.
Looking back over the past week, she had to marvel that she’d been able to keep everything goin
