As Florence arranged their knitting work equally Pleasant sat in her room mending her skirt. Seeing her mother again was still heavy on her mind. The woman was so close but she felt farther from her than she had ever.

She finished the stitch then held the dark blue skirt up to the light to be inspected. She had to smile as she thought of Margaret-Gay criticizing her wardrobe. Getting up from the bed she put the skirt away in a drawer. Without a proper place to hang her garments she was required to do more ironing then she had before. Looking around the room she realized this could be the rest of her life.

She heard the front door open downstairs followed quickly by a man's voice which was followed by the sound of Florence running.

"Oh my goodness!" the woman exclaimed. "Pleasant, come quickly!"

Dropping her thoughts Pleasant ran from the room, pausing on the stairs when she saw Dr. Geiger holding his bleeding head.

"Go out to the street and get Cape before he gets away!" Florence shouted as she guided her brother into the observation room.

Pleasant hurried out into the biting night. On the sidewalk she rescued the doctor's hat and bag then approached Cape. The animal seemed calmed and she quickly took hold of him and led him to the stables. Once the horse was away she ran back into the house stopping in the doorway of the observation room.

"I think it might have been a cat," Dr. Geiger said as his sister cleaned up the blood.

"This will never come out of your shirt," she said. "I told you not to travel in your good clothes."

Pleasant slowly entered the room as the sister dabbed at a cut.

"Don't worry, Miss Day," Dr. Geiger said with one hand over his right eye to keep the blood out. "Head wounds bleed a lot. "It's just a scratch. Ow!"

"Hold still."

Pleasant set the hat and bag on the table. "Is there anything I could do?"

"Fill the wash tub," Florence said. "The sooner we get those clothes washed up the better chance we have of saving them." She went over to the glass cupboards and took out a bottle and a clean rag. "I hate to think what would have happened to you had you been unconscious."

"This is why I don't ride Cape," Dr. Geiger said. Dropping his hand he turned to Pleasant. "Is Nike still sore? She is a lot better than that awful stallion of Florence's."

"That's probably why he threw you," Florence said.

Pleasant might have found their exchanges humorous but all of her attention was focused on the exposed right eye. It wasn't missing as she had assumed and though it was clouded over she could make out a distinct brown dash.

"Sorry," Dr. Geiger said putting a rag over his eye. "I forget how much it surprises people." He gave her a smile.

"This is going to sting a little," Florence said.

"I know, nurse..." Dr. Geiger grumbled. "Here, you're being too cautious; I could have been finished by now."

"I'm going to go get the wash tub ready," Pleasant said meekly and left the room. In the back room she filled the wash tub with buckets of water, thankful that she wouldn't have to go out to the pump in the cold. Looking into the water her mind went back to what she had seen in the eye. It was like looking at one of them again.

"I'll get started on washing this," Florence announced loudly as she came into the room with her brother's white shirt. She dropped it into the water and went to the shelf to get the soap. Looking over her shoulder she could see that Pleasant was still standing by the tub. "Is something wrong?"

Pleasant turned to the concerned young woman. "It's nothing I just...I just had a strange thought." She shook her head. "I'll make your brother a plate and put supper away."

"Thank you," Florence said. "If I knew he would be back early I would have waited." She knelt down by the tub and set to scrubbing the blood from the shirt.

Pleasant washed up in the basin in the kitchen then heated up a separate amount of mashed potatoes and meat for Dr. Geiger on the stove. After the food was ready she poured a glass of apple cider and carried it in to the doctor in his office where she found him shifting through news paper clippings and photographs.

"I brought you some supper," she announced from the door. "I hope you don't mind chicken baked."

"Baked is better on cold days," Dr. Geiger said gesturing for her to come in. "I would have come to the table."

Pleasant set the tray before him after he had moved his papers aside. "You're hurt."

"I'll be fine," Dr. Geiger insisted. "And I hope I didn't frighten you too much."

Pleasant shook her head. "I wasn't frightened."

"Your face said otherwise."

"Oh no...I... it just reminded me of someone else."

Dr. Geiger's face paled then he quickly laughed. "A good someone I hope."

Pleasant smiled. "Is there anything else I could get you, Dr. Geiger?"

Dr. Geiger tucked a napkin into his housecoat. "How about calling me Addison? I think it's appropriate seeing as you are one of us now."

Pleasant nodded. "Very well, you may call me Pleasant." She turned to leave only for him to stop her.

"Say," he said. "You wouldn't mind getting all of these articles and photographs into a scrapbook for me would you. You women are so much better at that sort of thing."

"I wouldn't mind at all," Pleasant said going over to the desk and collecting the clippings. "How soon do you need it?"

"There is no rush on it," Addison said. "Take your time."

"I will start on it tomorrow," Pleasant said then left the room. Once upstairs in her bedroom she sat on the bed to unlace her boots. She picked up the pile of papers and shifted through them inking her hands with the print. When she came to the photograph of the cotton field she stopped. "Who are you exactly, Dr. Addison Geiger?"

/

Henry pulled Margaret closer to him as they stepped into the inn. Some of the patrons turned as they entered but most paid them no mind. He found himself wishing they had stayed with the brothers to put the wagon away.

"Henry, you're making a scene," Margaret protested his over protectiveness. "Asmund said this was a good place."

Henry scanned the service desk and the dining area before getting them a room. He wasn't the traveling sort and preferred to go where he was known but there was no way he was going to let Margaret go off on her own. He was certain she would have even if he told her not to.

In the room he checked the closet and the window and then under the bed.

"Henry, darling..." Margaret-Gay shook her head. With a sigh she sank onto the bed and took off her shoes. "Pleasant is sure giving us a run."

"Well at least she can be readily identified by her horse," Henry said removing his jacket. "I just hope we find her in time."

"We will find her in time," Margaret said. "May would want us to have faith so we should."

Henry sat on the bed to unbutton his shirt. "What do you think she'll do once she gets back? Do you think she'll stay? I mean...with what happened with Mr. Monhollen and all."

"You're the one who punched him," Margaret said then removed the pins from her hair.

"I mean what happened between the two of them."

Margaret laughed. "I know, darling I was only teasing you," she said reaching across the bed and patting his hand. She put the pins on the night stand as she pulled them free. "I suppose we will have to leave that up to her. You know the saddest part is Pleasant really looked up to Baldwin. Ever since she came here, it was either Baldwin or Havelock. Baldwin seemed to have a certain affection for her."

Henry got up from the bed and put his folded garments on a table by the window then took his night clothes from their luggage. "Do you think he was in love with her?"

"Baldwin?" Margaret scoffed. "No. Not in the way you are thinking at least. It was something else. Believe me; I tried to push them together."

Henry shook his head at his meddling wife. "It seems to me he viewed her as a sister."

Margaret got up from the bed and changed into her nightdress. "Whatever he viewed her as it's all changed now. I still can't believe what he did. I thought for certain..."

"Don't blame yourself for his action," Henry said.

Margaret got into the bed and rubbed her stomach. "I just hope she is well. And I hope we can find a way to make Dick Crowninshield pay for what he did." She let out a heavy sigh. "This child of yours is giving me a fit."

Henry sank down on the bed and took his wife's hand, getting her attention. "Hey there little one," he spoke to the unborn child. "You let your mother rest." Placing his hand on Margaret's stomach he felt the child kicking around and chuckled.

"You'd think he's running a marathon in there," Margaret laughed.

"Or running from the greater bear," Henry said in a grizzly voice.

"The what?" Margaret giggled.

"The greater bear," Henry said still distracted talking to the infant. "My nanny used to tell us the story to make us behave."

"What a nanny!"

Henry laughed. "She wasn't that bad," he said. "Anyway she used to tell us that on certain nights during the new moon the greater bear would descend from heaven and walk among mankind and if she caught them being wicked she would devour them."

"Well that would scare any child," Margaret said. "Who wants to be consumed by a celestial bear?"

"Oh we were always at our best," Henry said. "I suppose everyone was for we never heard of anyone being eaten on the new moon."

Margaret laughed and touched his face. "Thank you for coming with me," she said. "Really, it means so much."

"I wouldn't have let you go alone," Henry said kissing her fingers.

"Exactly," Margaret said. She smiled as he husband joined her under the covers. To think she could have ended up with a man like Timothy Purefoy. Resting her hands on her stomach she watched him drift off to sleep. Turning to the window she looked through the small gap between the curtains catching a glimpse of the stars Pleasant loved so much.