“I have several bags that were not in the car with me.”
“They will be dropped off here in a short time.” The clerk nodded, taking a stub ticket from her. “If you’d care to wait over there, we will have them brought in.”
She nodded. “Thank you.”
She turned and looked around. She didn’t see anyone who looked notable in the room. She had to assume that a man as wealthy as Tom would be constantly surrounded by other people, either his friends or people who wished they were his friends. There didn’t appear to be much wealth in this area of Colorado. There were more men than women; she had noticed that. But otherwise, it looked very similar to the place she’d just left. She moved to a bench and sat down, setting her sewing bag on the floor beside her. She turned to gaze at the huge fireplace set into the wall to her right. She admired the stone carvings that surrounded it and imagined it was quite beautiful when a fire was blazing below it.
A hand on her arm caught her by surprise, and she turned with an, “oh!” She was staring at a young woman with big brown eyes, long eyelashes and brown curls surrounding her slender face. The woman smiled.
“I am so sorry to have frightened you!” The woman said. Joyce stood up. “Are you Joyce Driscoll?”
Joyce nodded. “I am.”
“Oh good!” She looked relieved. “This is Gary Huffman, and I am Anne Huffman. Tom is Gary’s brother. We are here to pick you up.”
“Oh!” Joyce smiled. “Hello! It’s good to meet you.” Anne surprised her again by pulling her into a quick but warm hug.
“We are glad to have you here!” She turned to her husband again, and Gary held out his hand. Joyce shook it but noticed that Gary looked unhappy or anxious. She had already been worried on the train for the last six hours. His demeanor did nothing to change her feelings. She looked back at Anne.
“Has anything happened?”
“Oh no.” Anne shook her head, and her curls danced their own jig. “We just do a lot of things for Tom because he is a very busy man. He is very businesslike and concentrates a good deal of his time to his work.”
“He oversees all of his land?”
Anne nodded. “There are several…Gary, would you fetch her bags, please?”
Gary looked as though he should have thought of that himself first and nodded to her. “Yes, of course.”
“There are several businesses being run on Tom’s land.” Anne continued as Gary walked to the clerk’s desk. “And other threats that he must guard against.”
“I see. Indians and poachers.”
Anne nodded. “Not really the Indians. Their reservation is not as close as it may seem. They do not need to come into town for anything, so we don’t see much of them. They are more friendly than hostile toward our little area.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” When Gary came back carrying Joyce’s bags, the three of them set off for the carriage, which awaited them outside. Joyce was impressed the moment she saw the horses and carriage. The vehicle was drawn by two large majestic horses. The carriage was large, white and a driver was propped up top, holding the reins loosely in his hands. He smiled at her. She smiled back.
“This is very nice,” she said. Anne looked at her.
“I think we begin to lose appreciation for the beauty of things after you get used to them,” she said in a very low voice as if she didn’t want anyone else to hear. Joyce looked down at her, realizing Anne was several inches shorter than she. “I have been riding in this carriage for over a year, and I don’t think I’ve ever really looked closely at it.”
Joyce raised her eyebrows, taking in the whole of the large carriage. It was white – a glowing white that made it seem brand new – trimmed with gold edges. The curtains inside were gold with long, thick tassels on the ends. The steps they were to use to get in the carriage were also gold and made of metal. She had to assume they were gold-plated. She couldn’t imagine spending the kind of money it would take to simply have even one step made out of gold.
At first, their ride was quiet. Joyce was still uncomfortable with the nervous look that Gary couldn’t seem to get rid of. She wondered if he always had that look on his face. Perhaps he was worried about something that was completely unrelated to her arrival.
“So please tell us a little about yourself.” Anne prompted after a short time. “We have about a half hour drive until we reach the house.”
“I was born in Ireland, in Meade County,” she replied. “My family immigrated to America when I was ten. We were in New York for a few years and then traveled to Virginia to live.”