more than an errand boy. Other than polishing lamps, which the children could do, Blackthorn hadn’t let him near any of the equipment. Jesse closed the tower door against the ever-drifting sand.
“What do you want to know about Louise?” Mrs. Blackthorn’s voice made him jump. “Didn’t mean to startle you. I thought you were expecting me.”
“I was?”
“Samuel said it was something about Louise Smythe?”
“Oh. I suppose I did, ma’am.” Jesse couldn’t recall what he’d intended to ask about Louise. Since Blackthorn approved her climbing all over the dunes, Jesse had lost that argument. He searched for something else. “I, uh, understand she’s a teacher.” That sounded pretty feeble.
“Down at the boarding school in the west wing of the hotel.” Mrs. Blackthorn pointed it out, as if he hadn’t noticed the place before.
It hadn’t taken long to ascertain that Singapore was tiny. It boasted few businesses beyond the general store, the boardinghouse and the hotel. There were a few saloons, but Jesse didn’t frequent those, and the church looked like the rest of the bunkhouses used by the lumberjacks and saw operators when they came to town. Boardwalks stretched between businesses so people didn’t have to walk through the sand. The streets served more pedestrians than wheeled transportation. Jesse had yet to see a buggy or horse other than the wagon down at the docks. Then again, the town was only a few blocks long and even fewer deep.
It was a good place to begin remaking his life.
“I hear tell she’s a war widow,” Mrs. Blackthorn said.
The words shot through Jesse like lead. Not the war. He’d done all he could to escape the harrowing memories. A lighthouse offered a chance to get away from the endless war stories and sorrow. He’d hoped to land at a remote island lighthouse but instead was assigned here.
“You all right, Mr. Hammond?”
Jesse managed a smile. “Just lost in thought.”
“Just like her.”
“Like who?”
“Like who?” Mrs. Blackthorn shook her head. “Like Louise. That’s who we’ve been talking about, isn’t it?”
Jesse had to agree that it was, but Mrs. Blackthorn’s description of her didn’t match his experience. “She didn’t seem very quiet to me.”
That made Mrs. Blackthorn smile. “Well now, isn’t that interesting. Might be you managed to catch her eye. She is looking to marry, you know.”
Jesse grimaced. “That’s what your husband said. But I’m not. I need to get established as a keeper first.”
“Isn’t that just like a man.”
Jesse stiffened. “A man needs to be able to provide.”
“Love doesn’t wait for our schedule. Neither does the lighthouse service.”
That was the second Blackthorn who had mentioned marriage in connection with being a keeper. “Why do you say that?”
“Samuel would never have been named keeper if he hadn’t had a wife and family.”
Jesse was still skeptical. The woman could be using it as an excuse to match make. “Are you certain?”
“As certain as day and night. Why, they came right out and asked him if he was married.”
Jesse’s heart sank. He wasn’t ready for marriage. He hadn’t saved nearly enough to support a wife, but if he wanted to get promoted to head keeper, he was going to have to set aside his reservations. This town didn’t look big enough to offer much of a choice, not if men were willing to advertise for a wife.
“Louise would make a fine catch. Did you notice the cut of her clothing?”
Jesse couldn’t say he had.
“Quality,” Mrs. Blackthorn said. “Pure quality. That says something.”
So did the fact that she was a war widow. If he must marry, he would look anywhere else for a wife.
The remainder of the day, Priscilla had remained smugly silent, her gaze boring into Louise with such intensity that she feared the girl was up to no good. To cut off possible problems, Louise went to the headmistress’s office once classes had ended and the girls were upstairs freshening up before supper.
Fiona Evans sat at the desk perusing what appeared to be a ledger. Her brow was furrowed, and she rubbed her temple while eliciting a sigh.
Dread settled in the pit of Louise’s stomach. She’d heard rumors that Fiona and Sawyer’s hotel was not doing well. Since the school was in the same building, her livelihood could be at risk, especially if Priscilla said anything negative to her parents. Though nothing untoward had happened on the dune, Priscilla could twist the truth into something ugly. The Benningtons could do great damage to the school’s reputation. Their approval of the new school had led to Adeline and Esther’s enrollment. At their word, every paying student could leave. That made this conversation both important and difficult.
Louise rapped on the door frame. “You seem worried.”
Fiona looked up and closed the ledger. “More like perplexed. I don’t have a mind for figures. Please come in.” The beautiful redhead motioned to the chair positioned at the side of her desk. “My apologies for the hot room. I had hoped autumn would bring cooler temperatures. I don’t know when I’ve seen so many hot, dry days this time of year.”
“It is unusual.” Louise’s shoes rapped on the waxed wood floor as she crossed the room.
She then settled on the chair. Though she and Fiona had become friends before the school came into existence, it didn’t make this conversation any easier. She searched for a way to begin.
Fiona gave her the opening she needed. “What’s bothering you? Trouble with one of the students?”
“I hope not, but I’m afraid something happened today that might give them a reason to complain.”
“Oh?” Fiona arched one of her perfect eyebrows.
The former star of the New York stage was the most beautiful woman Louise had ever seen. That she chose to marry a lumber mill sawyer and settle in Singapore was surprising. That she called Louise her friend was just as unlikely, but they’d formed a bond during the hardships of last spring, when a steamship foundered on an offshore sandbar and they joined together to care for the stranded passengers.
Louise began slowly, feeling her way through what had happened. “I brought the girls on the dune to survey a particular plant for our science class, but the assistant lighthouse keeper told us we had to leave the property.”
“The assistant keeper joined your class?”
“Unexpectedly.” And unwelcome, Louise thought as she recalled
