was a beat of silence and she realized she hadn’t asked a question, but had offered a statement of fact. Thankfully, Gideon seemed willing to follow her lead.
“Anna, April, Addie, Adele, and Adelaide. All five of them are older by several years.”
Lydia couldn’t help laughing. “So why weren’t you named Alfred or Abraham?”
“I think my mother was expecting another girl. She’d chosen the name Augusta. When I was born, she named me after my father instead.”
“He must have been proud.”
Gideon shrugged. “Unfortunately, my father had already passed of diphtheria.”
So, Gideon truly had been raised in a house with nothing but women. No wonder he’d found the arrival of the mail-order brides such a trial.
“Then Bachelor Bottoms must have seemed like a masculine haven when you arrived.”
Gideon shot her a look, and to her surprise, he didn’t offer a pithy answer. “Actually, for a little while, I missed a bit of feminine fussing from my family. I’d spent years in the Army, so I’d had enough of an all-male environment.”
His expression became strangely tight, his eyes shuttered.
“Then why did you come to the territories? Why not stay at home for a little longer?”
He shot her a glance, seeming to weigh whether or not he should confide in her. “By that time, my mother had died as well and my sisters had all married and scattered. I managed to visit them, but... I couldn’t bring myself to be a burden.”
“Family is never a burden, Mr. Gault.”
He eyed her curiously. “That’s not a response that I would expect from a woman fighting for...how do you put it? Female equality and emancipation?”
She sniffed. “Neither of those issues rule out the possibility of a family, Mr. Gault. I believe that women should be given the same rights and opportunities as men. But I also understand that most ladies feel a keen need to be wives and mothers.”
“Most ladies? Does that mean that you have no designs on ensuring such a fate, Miss Tomlinson?”
She opened her mouth, then closed it again. Somehow, they had strayed into perilous territory.
“That is neither here nor there.”
“Mmm. So, you’re afraid to commit one way or the other?”
They’d reached the end of the boardwalk at the edge of town and when Gideon stepped into the lane, she stayed where she was, needing the added height so that she could meet his gaze. Eye to eye. Man to woman. Equals.
“I have committed myself wholeheartedly to the Cause, Mr. Gault. In doing so, I spend most of my time traveling and lecturing. Neither activity lends itself to a happy marriage or family life. Therefore, I have chosen to remain...unfettered.”
He seemed to consider her statement. “An interesting choice of words. Unfettered. Is that how you see marriage and motherhood? As a punishment or an impediment?”
“You’re purposely twisting my words.”
“No, I’m merely trying to understand them.”
She folded her arms tightly in front of her. “There are many women who—”
“We’re not talking about other women. We’re talking about you.”
“I...” She huffed. “I don’t see marriage or motherhood in a negative light. I merely don’t see it as part of my future.”
“Because...”
“Because I doubt there’s a man alive who would have the courage to put up with the likes of me!”
The words blurted from her mouth without any thought. But before she could retrieve them, Gideon Gault laughed.
“You may be right,” he offered.
There was no sting to his voice, no negative inflection. If anything, she sensed that he found the male population lacking in courage rather than the other way around. In any event, he resumed walking, forcing her to trail along behind him.
“So, you’ll be heading to California after this?”
She quick-stepped to catch up to him, nodding. “I begin my tour in San Francisco. Granted, many of my engagements have already passed and will have to be rescheduled, but I’m eager to get underway.” Peering up at him in the darkness, she asked, “Have you been to California, Mr. Gault?”
He shook his head. “No. I’ve always wanted to go there, but so far, I’ve never had the chance.”
“I hear that it’s warm all year round and you can pluck lemons and oranges right from the trees.”
“Will your itinerary allow you such luxuries?”
He was teasing her now, so she responded in kind. “Oh, I’ll make time. I also want to stand on the shore so that I can write to my aunts and tell them that I’ve dipped my toes in the Atlantic and the Pacific.”
“Aunts?”
“Yes. My aunts have been my guardians for nearly a dozen years.”
“That must mean that you’ve lost your parents as well. I’m so sorry.”
Yes, her mother had died soon after she was born. But her father...
He might not be dead, but he was lost to her.
“There’s no need to be sorry. My aunts have been wonderful to me. They saw to it that I had the finest education and a loving home.” Even more importantly, they’d helped her leave her shameful past behind.
They were almost to the door of the Dovecote now and Lydia’s steps unconsciously slowed. For some reason, she felt reluctant to end their walk. Being able to talk to Gideon this way, openly, honestly, had shown her a different side to the man. One that was...companionable.
“Here you are,” Gideon announced needlessly.
“Yes. Thank you.”
“In the future, perhaps you would be so kind as to wait for your guards to escort you around town?”
There was no sting behind the words, only weariness.
“You do realize that there’s no need for you and your men to trail us as if we had designs upon the company’s silver, don’t you?”
“I don’t think the silver is Mr. Batchwell’s main concern.”
“What else could we take? By your account, we only have a few weeks left in the valley at most.”
“Ah, but you and your friends have already stolen the affections of most of the men in Aspen Valley, which is why no one wants you to leave. That fact probably worries
