that took care of that. Perhaps Rafael would hug her next. Perhaps the family hugged everyone, and she’d overreacted to Daniel’s embrace. Anxious to get inside and see if Rafael was waiting for her there, she peered through the open door. The angle was too much to see inside. Perhaps he was waiting with flowers or candy. That would be exciting and, she supposed, would render his failure to collect her in person forgivable.
“Is Rafael back?” Daniel asked in a very still voice. A cautious voice.
Why was his tone so careful, like a warning? Confused, Anna turned and looked at him. He ducked away as if her scrutiny made him uncomfortable.
“Sí, sí, but he is mucho hurt. He fall from his horse and hurt his shoulder. I have put him to bed.” Mrs. Werner waved her hands wildly. “I give him medicine to sleep.”
“Goodness,” said Anna. She should go to him, but if he was in his bed... No, she was to be his wife. “I will go to him.”
Mother and son seemed to exchange some silent communication, where Mrs. Werner’s brow furrowed, and she gave a tiny shake of her head. “No, no, you must sit. He is sleeping.”
Daniel moved through the room around a long table that seemed as if it were cut from one piece of wood, but much bigger than was possible. Anna stared at the table, not knowing what to do and trying hard not to twist her hands. “Is he badly hurt?”
“No, no,” answered Mrs. Werner. “Just sleeping.”
“Won’t you wake him? Wouldn’t he want to know I am here?” Anna asked. How could he sleep knowing she was arriving today? Did her fiancé feel none of the strange anticipation that was rattling through her?
“Better to let him sleep,” said Daniel.
How would he know that? She looked between Daniel and his mother. “This isn’t right. What are you hiding from me?”
Mrs. Werner spoke in Spanish. A chill ran through Anna, spinning her back to the shouts of the robber. She shook off the odd connection. This was California, and it had been part of Mexico until recently. Probably a lot of the locals spoke Spanish. And not that anyone had said, but Daniel, with his near-black hair and coffee-colored eyes, was at least part Mexican. His mother, with her darker skin and round face, looked completely Mexican.
Daniel frowned. “I’ll take your trunk to your room and see if Rafael can be woken.”
“Thank you,” Anna said tightly.
He went out through the open door opposite where they had entered, which seemed to lead outside. How was that possible? The house looked so much bigger from the outside. Either that or she’d lost all sense of space. She felt a little as if she’d entered one of those crazy tilted houses at a fair. The ones where they could make water run uphill.
Mrs. Werner bustled up to her, her dark skirts rustling. She wrapped an arm around Anna’s shoulders and steered her toward the table. “You sit here. I will feed you.”
Anna fought the urge to fling off the woman’s arm. She didn’t want to eat or sit. She wanted to meet her future husband. “I’m really not hungry, thank you.”
“Sit. Tell me—how was your trip?”
“Long.” She stared at the door Daniel had gone through. How could it have led outside?
Her stomach knotted. Well, she wasn’t just going to wait around forever. She’d been traveling for months. If Rafael was here, she didn’t see any reason she couldn’t meet him now. She got up and stalked toward the door.
Mrs. Werner moved in front of her and put her hands on her hips as if Anna were being rude. “Daniel will tell Rafael to come eat with you, if he is awake. You sit now.”
She sat in the chair she was led to because it didn’t seem she had much choice in the matter. In the low light of tin lamps, she stared at the unending grain of the table. Even that was impossible and made her feel off-kilter.
Mrs. Werner shouted in Spanish, and Anna nearly jumped out of her skin. A few seconds later a girl on the verge of womanhood entered through the open door. The smell of beef and maize wafted through with her. The girl carried several plates, looking as if she might drop them at any time. “This is Juanita. She helps out.”
“How do you do, Juanita?” Anna resisted the urge to spring to her feet and take dishes from the overburdened girl. A genteel lady would be used to being waited upon.
As Juanita moved to set the plates on the table, a big brown glob plopped right on Anna’s chest and slid into her lap, ruining her second-best dress.
Back in Connecticut Olivia had helped her turn the seams and they’d boiled it in borax for hours to rejuvenate the white. Still in places the material was damnably thin and the ruffles along the bottom covered hems that had frayed and worn through. Her hopes were wearing just as thin.
Now with it stained and the green silk filthy, she had little left to wear except a few work dresses. Even those weren’t clean. She’d worn them over the long stage trip and washdays hadn’t been in the schedule.
Mrs. Werner berated the girl in rapid-fire Spanish, while Juanita stared at the floor, her shoulders up around her ears. At least Anna rather suspected she was being berated. Anna just wanted the crazy, disappointing day to end. “That’s enough. It was just an accident.”
Mrs. Werner started. Her eyes narrowed.
Anna started to shake. She had no idea what a woman of breeding would do in this situation, but she was in no mood for any more ugliness. “It has been a long day. I believe I will retire. Juanita, will you show me my room and help me out of my gown?”
Perhaps if she rinsed out the stain soon enough, it wouldn’t set. She had less hope for the green silk. Blood was always difficult to get out.
“She doesn’t speak much English,” said Mrs. Werner.
Anna was torn. She really didn’t want to leave the girl alone with Mrs. Werner.
“Then translate for me.” Anna glanced toward the open door, wondering what was keeping Daniel. She had visions of him going through her trunk, unpacking her unmentionables. Heat washed through her. From mortification, she assured herself.
“You need to eat,” Mrs. Werner insisted.
The girl lifted her gaze from the floor and stared at Anna with dark accusation as if it were Anna’s fault Mrs. Werner was angry with her.
Anna’s stomach churned, protesting. She wasn’t exactly sure of the food that had been set down before her. Long yellowish things with a sort of brown gravy and a plate stacked with round flat bread. “Excuse me, please.”
Really what she wanted was a nice roasted potato dripping with butter or a hot slice of soda bread. Neither of which were likely to appear. Nor apparently was her fiancé.
If neither Mrs. Werner nor Juanita would show her to her room, then she’d find it herself, or find Daniel to guide her. Why had he disappeared for so long? How long did it take to put her trunk and carpetbag in her room and rouse Rafael? Or was Rafael not willing to meet her?
She headed for the door
