Christmas With the Colburns (8 page)

Lydia glanced at her brother as he watched Mandy. “She gets
more beautiful with each passing year, doesn’t she?”

“Yes, and she knows it.” Levi looked back at his food.

Lydia decided to let it go. She took the bread roll from her
plate and picked off one bite at a time as she listened to Mandy’s music. One
tune ended and another began. “This is the song she composed for the dance last
year. I like it.”

“It would sound even better if she played it on one of the
new wood violins.”

Lydia smiled and nudged her brother’s knee. She leaned close
to Levi’s ear. “That might be true, but don’t let Aunt Isabella hear you say
it. She has strong opinions about the new wood instruments.” Levi nodded and
continued eating, watching Mandy all the while.

When they finished eating, Lydia set their plates aside. She
relaxed into Levi’s thick shoulder. Though ten months her junior, Levi had been
bigger than her since they were toddlers. People who did not know their family
usually assumed he was older.

“Come with me tomorrow and see the land I selected.” Levi’s
voice held a secretive tone. Lydia shifted and looked at him. His light brown
eyes matched hers. His hair was the same light brown as hers, but his included
lighter strands from days spent working in the sun. “I’m done with the land
survey and I started drawing plans to build.”

She felt happy for him but understood the complication. “Does
Father know?”

Levi looked back at the violinist in the corner. “Of course
he knows, but he doesn’t understand.” He moved his feet on the stairs. “I’m a
grown man. I want to build my own house.”

“And so you should. People just don’t understand why you need
to build a new house. They expect you to inherit this house one day, so it
seems odd for the overseer’s son to break from tradition—especially since
you don’t have a family of your own yet.”

Levi sighed. “Father says the same things. But I can’t live
my life worrying about what other people might think. You are like
Father—you both take comfort in the founders’ traditions. But surely you
can see how much I want to leave this house. I need my own home.”

“I know how Father’s demands affect you.” Lydia thought of
when she began her medical apprenticeship at sixteen. “I had our family’s
support during my training and I had the praise of the village for my choice of
profession. I didn’t have to face resistance like you do. I’m sure you will
build yourself a beautiful house one day, but you should try to find a way to
do it that does not cause strife.”

“It’s not the fact that I want to build my own house that
offends Father. It’s that I want to build my own life.” Levi’s frustration was
palpable.

“This tension between you and Father has been building for
years, and I understand both sides. Father followed Grandfather’s footsteps
gladly. You are his only son. He has always had the same expectations for you.
But you’re right—you’re a grown man. You should be able to decide how to
spend your life and where to live.”

Levi exhaled and pushed his hand through his hair. “Then why
does Father condemn me for not being exactly like him?”

“Father is not questioning your character—only your
choice of profession.”

“I have been told all my life I should be a preacher just as
my father is and his father was before him. But I have never for one moment
felt called to that profession. If I were, I would gladly obey. But I’m not.
Just thinking of it fills me with anxiety.” Levi shook his head. “No. Give me a
hammer instead. I would rather build all day long.”

Lydia appreciated her brother’s determination to lead his own
life and knew she was his sole source of encouragement. She laid a hand on
Levi’s arm. “You are an excellent carpenter, and your work is needed by the
village. You should be proud that you have the strength for building—many
men don’t.”

“Father has the strength for anything.”

“I suppose that’s true to some degree, but he prefers
preaching. Try to remember, Father is peace-loving above all. This friction
between you two will not last forever. I truly believe that.”

Mandy finished her song, and Lydia and Levi clapped. The
sound caused a brief silence in the kitchen, followed by a short applause.
Mandy gently placed the violin in its case like an infant in a bassinet. She
used both hands to corral her curls into a loose bun at the nape of her neck
then lifted her violin to play again.

* * *

Frank Roberts wished there were windows at the back of
Lydia’s cottage. He worked up the nerve to peer into the side window in broad
daylight—a daring feat considering her father had built the cottage
within spitting distance of the Colburn house. Frank folded his body behind the
hedges to remain hidden from any possible passerby on the road. After he lowered
a branch with his fingertips, Frank held his breath as he got a clear view into
Lydia’s window. It would be worth the trouble for one glimpse at the woman he
loved.

Frank had spent the morning in the forest nearby, watching
the property. Lydia was inside the cottage, but when he did not see her in the
downstairs medical office, he assumed she was upstairs in her private room. The
wait frustrated him, and he started to shift his cramped legs, but then she
walked down the stairs and into his view. He held perfectly still and stared.
She was all he had ever wanted.

Frank remembered the first time he saw her. He had only
planned to be in the village a few days to visit his dying uncle. Lydia was
barely thirteen—too young for him then, so they said. But she was sweet
and sad and had just lost her mother. She needed him. Frank decided at that
moment he would stay in Good Springs and someday she would be his. Now she was
twenty-two and the village’s physician. And she avoided him whenever she saw
him.

Lydia stood in her office with her back to the window. As she
dusted and meticulously arranged the knickknacks on a bookshelf, Frank breathed
through his mouth and watched her. He imagined what it would be like to have
her. She would never be willing. She was chaste and would never waive her
precious morals—morals Frank was sure were forced on her by her
self-righteous father. The overseer preached ridiculous rules. Frank had
feigned interest in their religion once as an attempt to get Lydia’s approval.
He had been certain she would fall for his charade, but her overprotective
brother interfered. Frank’s lip twitched in anger at the thought of Levi.

Frank stayed at the window and took in every motion of
Lydia’s body. He memorized the angles of her features as she moved around the
room: her oval face, her symmetrical brows, her high cheeks that rounded into
perfect mounds when she smiled.

Someone stepped out of the Colburn house and Frank ducked
beneath the hedges. The door to Lydia’s cottage opened then banged shut. Frank
peeked into the window and as soon as he saw it was Levi, he plunged back into
the shrubs. Crawling along the edge of the cottage, Frank tried to stay out of
sight. He scampered to his feet and ran away, but before he made it to the back
of the Colburn property, he heard a woman’s angry voice yelling from the road.

“That’s right! Run away you filthy miscreant! Lydia wants
nothing to do with you!”

Frank did not need to look back; he recognized the shrill
voice. Mandy Foster stormed toward the cottage from the road. She scolded and
ridiculed him at the top of her lungs until he was at the edge of the forest.
He ripped a gray leaf from a tree and chewed it while he walked back to his
cabin near the bluffs.

* * *

Startled by the yelling outside, Lydia rushed to the door as
Levi yanked it open. She stood on her tiptoes behind her brother and craned her
neck trying to see the commotion. Auburn curls bounced as Mandy stomped to the
cottage. Levi held the door open with the same courtesy he gave every woman,
but he didn’t leave the doorway. Lydia moved back to give her friend plenty of
clearance.

Levi furrowed his brow at Mandy. “What are you yelling about,
woman?”

Mandy brushed his shoulder as she passed him. She looked at
Lydia. “I could see that little rat from the road! He had his head at your
window, peeping in, you know?”

Lydia felt instant mortification and put her palm over her
stomach as she lowered herself into the chair at her desk. “No, I did not
know.”

Levi threw his hands into the air. “Who?”

“Who do you think?” Mandy spat the question at him.

“Frank?” Levi’s nostrils flared. “I’d like to teach that
degenerate a lesson!”

“Levi!” Lydia scolded. “You will do no such thing.”

“It would serve him right!” Levi fumed.

Lydia propped her elbows on her desk and pressed her fingers
to her temples. She cringed at the thought of Frank Roberts paying her
attention, let alone in a way that others might notice. Levi and Mandy knew her
and loved her, but did they think less of her because of Frank’s behavior?

The wooden floorboards creaked as Mandy paced them. “It would
put Frank right here inside Lydia’s home because she would have to stitch his
battered face. Oh, he’d love that! Go ahead, Levi, give Frank exactly what he’s
after—Lydia’s attention!”

Mandy and Levi exchanged a fiery glance. At least they were
angry at the same person and not at each other. Levi marched to Lydia’s desk
and dropped into the chair beside it. He drummed one finger on the top of the
desk with rapid thumps.

Lydia wanted to diffuse their anger and hoped they would
forget about the incident. “I have dealt with Frank for years,” she said,
forcing her voice to sound unaffected. Though certain she had caused Frank’s
unrelenting attraction to her, she would never admit it to anyone. “He’s
harmless.”

“Harmless?” Levi raked his hand through his hair. “Lydia, the
man was just staring in your window. Frank is a pervert, and he has become
bolder in his depraved behavior since you moved out here last year. You should
move back into the house.”

Lydia’s embarrassment increased. She shouldn’t have confided
in Frank all those years ago; it had ignited his affection and she felt
responsible for his bad behavior. “Please, stop it, Levi. I feel terrible when
anyone speaks of him. And I will not move back into the house. Since Doctor
Ashton is no longer able to care for himself—let alone others—I’m
now the village’s only physician and it’s important that I’m accessible to the
people.”

Mandy halted her pacing and looked at Lydia. “Levi is right.
You need protection if you’re going to live out here by yourself.” She turned
to sit, but when she only saw the patient cot behind her, she remained
standing. “As long as you’re unmarried you are available for harassment to a
man like that.”

Lydia found Mandy’s suggestion of marriage ironic and smiled.
“You sound like Aunt Isabella.” She looked at Levi when he snickered then she
turned back to Mandy. “I have yet to encounter a danger great enough to give up
my medical practice and get married. And even if I did marry, I doubt it would
deter a man like Frank. I will put curtains over the windows.” She stood and
brushed her hands together. “Yes, curtains. Problem solved. That should ease
your minds.”

Mandy reached for a long strand of curl and twirled it in her
fingertips. “Still, I think every woman should at least consider a husband.”
Her green eyes looked at Levi.

Lydia looked at Levi too, but he continued staring out the
window. She thought he was not listening. Then slowly he turned his gaze toward
Mandy and spoke. “This from the woman who prefers to forgo the deep affections
of one man in favor of the distant admiration of many men.”

Mandy grinned and lowered her pointed chin. Lydia marveled at
how Mandy’s mood could change from aggressively angry to playfully offended
without a breath in between. Lydia was relieved they were no longer talking
about Frank Roberts and returned to her desk.

Levi blew out a breath and stepped to the door. “Lydia, come
and get me when you are ready to go look at that land we spoke of last night.
I’ll be in the barn.” He left without acknowledging Mandy.

After he closed the door, Lydia grinned at Mandy. “Sometimes
I think you torment him on purpose.”

“What do you mean?” Mandy smiled wickedly as she moved to the
chair left vacant by Levi. She sat and crossed her legs high above the knee.

“Any time you suggest marriage as the solution to a woman’s
problem, I detect insincerity.”

“All right, so I felt like aggravating Levi a bit. He can
handle it. Would you rather I had pointed out that it’s not your singleness
that causes your trouble—it’s your fear?”

“Fear?” She almost laughed. “I’m not afraid of Frank.”

“Maybe not. But you’re afraid of what people think of you
because of Frank.” Mandy nodded once as if confirming her statement.
“See—it is fear. You’re afraid others will think that if someone as
wretched as Frank Roberts loves you, you must be wretched too.”

Lydia remained silent and inwardly cringed at the truth in
her friend’s assessment. Mandy traced her finger along the wood grain on the
top of the desk, and her face became solemn. “After your mother died you went
to great lengths to prove to everyone that you were all right. You still strive
to present yourself as perfect as possible.”

“I’d hardly consider that a fault, Mandy. Father says it is
important for someone in my position to have a good reputation.”

“Your position as the overseer’s daughter?”

“Well, yes, the village has certain expectations of me in
that regard, but I meant as a physician. People won’t feel they can come to me
for help if I appear to be in need of help—which I am not. Besides, I’m
still awaiting the elders’ decision to award me the title of doctor, and I
don’t want anything to jeopardize that honor. If they knew a man like Frank
Roberts follows me around, they might question my aptitude. I studied and
trained for years for this position. I intend to see it through.”