Ecstasy's Promise (Historical Romance) (15 page)

11

The heat continued. The badly needed rain did not come. High, sparse clouds could be seen almost every day, but they moved over the baked land, without dropping their precious moisture.

Victoria's life had settled into an easy routine. She had become acquainted with several of the sons and daughters of nearby ranchers, and found that she liked them very much. Dan had escorted her to many of the functions the community had for its young people. It was so good to feel young and to be with those her own age, but still, when she thought of Farraday Plantation, she was overcome with homesickness, and there was always the desire to see Paul.

That afternoon, there was to be a box supper to raise money for the badly needed schoolhouse. Her grandmother had explained to Victoria that each girl would prepare a box of food, and the men would bid for them at an auction. The man who bid the highest on a certain box would then have not only the contents of the box, but also the young lady's company for the remainder of the day.

"But what if the girl does not care for the man who has bid on her box?" Victoria asked.

Her grandmother smiled. "It is all done in the spirit of fun, and is not to be taken too seriously, although I suspect some girls cheat a bit, and describe their boxes to their sweethearts." Her grandmother's eyes twinkled. "I did once, and as a result, your grandfather proposed to me."

"How perfectly romantic," Victoria said.

"Dan came by this morning while I was preparing your box," her grandmother said meaningfully.

Victoria smiled at her. "So he knows what it looks like?"

Her grandmother looked at Victoria innocently. "I could not help it if he was present when I tied a red ribbon about a box with red hearts on it."

"Oh, Grandmother, you are really something! I am glad, though, for I feel very comfortable with Dan."

"Is that all you feel for him, Victoria?" she asked.

"Yes. He has been a very good friend. He knows I am waiting for Paul."

"Suppose Paul does not return?" her grandmother asked.

"I will not let myself dwell on that possibility. If he is unharmed, he will come to me."

Her grandmother placed her hand on Victoria's shoulder. "If he is what you really want, I will pray for his safe return. Still, child, the war was over some time ago. You may have to face the possibility that he did not return."

"No!" Victoria told her. "I cannot."

"One more thing I would caution you about. I think Dan is beginning to care for you a great deal,
Victoria. I would not like to see him get hurt."

"Oh, no, Grandmother, we are just friends. He has never indicated to me that he felt anything other than friendship."

Her grandmother rose from the chair where she had been sitting. "You had better run along now and get ready. Bodine is driving us today, and you know how he feels if he has to wait around."

Victoria went to her bedroom and started to dress. She pulled a simple blue cotton dress over her head. It buttoned up the front with tiny blue buttons, and the collar fit snugly about her throat. She tied her hair back from her face with a matching blue ribbon.

Victoria thought of Edward Hanover, and wondered if he would attend the box supper. Why did he keep creeping into her consciousness? she wondered. Why could she not put him out of her thoughts? She had not seen him since the evening he had taken Bodine hunting with him.

At the numerous functions to which Dan had taken her, Victoria's eyes had always searched for Edward's dark, handsome face. She supposed it was because his name came up so often. The girls seemed to talk of little else when they were in a group. Victoria remembered Charlotte Baxter's comments at a barn-raising she had attended last week:

"When he looks at me with those dark eyes, I feel positively faint."

"Yes," another girl had said, "he is so big and strong. Once I bumped into him and would have fallen if he had not caught me. It was heavenly when he smiled at me."

Victoria was brought back to the present by Bodine's voice from the bottom of the stairs. "Victoria," he called impatiently, "you are keeping the horses waiting."

She grabbed the blue bonnet that matched her dress, and flew down the stairs.

Bodine helped Victoria and her grandmother from the carriage and carried the boxes toward the waiting tables. The box supper was being held at the same place as the picnic, where Victoria had met Edward Hanover many weeks before.

Victoria was soon surrounded by her many friends. "Come on," Charlotte Baxter told her, linking her arm with Victoria's, "let us watch the shooting contest."

The morning was spent in light-hearted fun. Dan and several of the young men had joined them. They watched the horse races, a greased-pig contest, and a tow-sack race. Victoria did not know when she had had more fun. She cheered Dan on as he entered the horseshoe-throwing contest. He won and presented her with a small wooden clown whose arms and legs moved up and down when she pulled a string. At three, a loud bell rang out as a signal that it was time to bid on the boxes.

"Now," said Dan, smiling at Victoria, "the fun really begins."

The girls were all made to stand in a row. As their boxes were auctioned off, they were to come forward to be claimed by the bidder. The Reverend Blackstone was the auctioneer. He pounded his gavel on the table and called them to order. "As you know," he began, "our church house has doubled
for a schoolhouse during the week, and although I am for education as much as the rest of you, I am
tired of members of my congregation coming to me
after the Sunday service complaining of chewing
gum stuck to their Sunday best." Everyone laughed.
"Let the auction begin." He smiled good-naturedly.

Victoria was laughing along with the rest of the crowd. She noticed that her grandmother had
indeed been correct when she had told her that some
of the girls would inform their beaus which boxes
were theirs. Many a young man walked off with the
girl of his choice.

The reverend picked up Victoria's box. "What am
I bid for this box? It has hearts on it." He made a great show of sniffing the contents as he had with the previous boxes. "Come on, men, speak up."

Dan opened the bidding for five dollars.

Someone else offered six and another seven. Unknown to Victoria, many of the young men had
been waiting for Dan to bid, knowing he would be
bidding on her box.

"Fifteen dollars," Dan said.

"Twenty," said another.

Victoria held her breath. She hoped the price did not get too high for Dan.

"Twenty-five dollars," Dan said.

Victoria waited, hoping the bidding had come to an end.

"Thirty," said a handsome, red-headed man. He had shown Victoria a lot of attention earlier in the
day, and she thought he was very nice, but, still, she
would rather be with Dan.

"Forty dollars," Dan said.

The crowd began to murmur. That was the most anyone had bid so far. Victoria smiled at Dan gratefully.

"Two hundred dollars," said a new voice.

All eyes went to the newcomer. It was Edward Hanover. Victoria looked at him. He stood with his back against a tree, his arms crossed over his chest. The crowd was silent. The reverend asked if there were any more bids. Victoria's eyes flew to Dan, but he knew he could not outbid Edward Hanover. She could see the disappointment on his face. "Sold to Edward Hanover," the Reverend Blackstone said.

Edward walked leisurely up to the table and the reverend presented him with his prize.

"Always happy to contribute to the cause of higher education," Edward said carelessly, paying the price.

The crowd laughed. "Edward, you have done more than that today." The reverend chuckled.

Victoria moved slowly toward Edward. She could feel the crowd's eyes on her. Her face was flushed. Edward extended his arm and she placed her hand on it. They moved away from the crowd. She heard the reverend's voice:

"Come on men. You saw how generous Edward was. Open up your pockets to a good cause. What am I bid on this box?"

Edward was leading her to the spot on the hillside where they had picnicked so long ago it seemed.

"You are very generous," Victoria told him.

"It is one of my good points."

She smiled. "Maybe you were surprised when you found me to be the one you had bid so high on."

He stopped and grinned down at her. "I was not at all surprised, and I was also prepared to go much higher."

"You could not have known that was my box."

He smiled. "I, like all the others who bid, just followed Dan's lead. Are you disappointed?" he asked.

"Yes," she said simply.

He gave a hearty laugh. "You do not do a whole lot for my ego, do you?"

"Your ego does not need any help from me, Mr. Hanover."

"Miss Farraday, you are delightful."

They had reached the hilltop. Victoria stood looking down below. Edward stood beside her. "I wonder what you are thinking?" he asked.

"I was remembering my home."

"You still miss Georgia?"

"I will always miss it." Then she said, turning her thoughts back to the present, "Let us see what the box contains, Mr. Hanover. I hope it will be worth your two hundred dollars."

She seated herself on the grass and opened the box he placed beside her. Edward sat down and crossed his legs lazily. Then he peeked into the box. "Hmm, apple pie, Dan's favorite," he said. "Did you bake it?"

"No, my grandmother did," Victoria told him simply.

"I forgot. You do not cook, do you?"

"I have not in the past, but my grandmother is teaching me." Victoria smiled. "I find the life I led before I came to Texas did not prepare me for a lot of things. I am afraid at times, I feel quite useless."

"Hardly that," he told her. "I am sure you have many other talents besides preparing food, to your credit."

"I was not asking for a compliment, Mr. Hanover: merely stating a fact."

"Do you not like compliments, Miss Farraday?'

"Not really. I find them insincere and shallow for the most part."

He grinned and looked toward the heavens in a mock gesture of thanksgiving. "The world is coming to an end. I have found a woman who does not expect pretty words."

"Oh, I did not say that, Mr. Hanover. I appreciate a compliment if it is sincere and if it comes from the right person."

"How about from me?"

She looked at him for a moment. "You are neither sincere nor the right person."

Edward looked at her, the smile leaving his lips. "Are you always so honest?"

"Always," she told him.

They ate their supper in silence.

Finally, Victoria said, "What happens after we eat?"

"There will be dancing of course," Edward told her shortly.

She laughed. "It would seem your money was not well-spent, Mr. Hanover. You are angry with me."

He looked at her long and hard. "I have never met anyone like you before. Sometimes you seem very young, and at other times, very wise for your young age. You are very well-educated for a woman," he said. "Tell me where you received your education."

She wiped her fingers on a napkin, and putting it into the box, closed the lid. "My father was a great believer that a woman should have the same chance at an education as a man. When I was young, I had an English governess; later, a private tutor. When I was thirteen, I went to the De Leon School for Young Ladies, in Savannah."

Edward had stretched out his long form, lying sideways on the grass, his head propped in his hand. He watched Victoria's face as she talked.

"And did you become a young lady, Miss Farraday?"

"Bess would have said no. I was a hopeless tomboy, and she was forever after me to act like a lady."

Edward noticed that Victoria had lost some of her hostility toward him. He wanted to find out about her past, and thought if he handled it correctly, he would find the information he sought without her being the wiser. Victoria leaned her back against the oak tree. She removed her bonnet and smiled at Edward. He could be pleasant, she thought. She was really enjoying his company.

"Tell me about Rio del Lobo," she said.

"It is a ranch like many others," he told her. "Maybe it has more Spanish influence than most because my mother was Spanish."

"I confess to being very ignorant about ranching. I am finding it very different from farming."

"What sort of crops did you raise?" Edward asked, glad to return the subject to her past.

"Cotton and tobacco, mostly. Although, as you may know, President Davis asked us in the South to convert some of our fields to raise grain. So Bodine had some of the tobacco fields converted to rice."

"Is it still too painful for you to talk about?" Edward asked.