The cottage was small. There was the combined living room and kitchen area and nothing more. On the far end of the room was a fireplace. He went to investigate and found there had been a fire, but it had been allowed to die out. He saw the wood stacked to the left and decided it was cold enough to warrant rebuilding the fire.

He had no idea where Scott and Sally might be. Perhaps the baby had come, and she was at the doctor’s house or hospital. But did Duluth even have a hospital? Did women go to the hospital to have a baby? They hadn’t when Scott was born. Most women had their children at home in the comfort of their own beds.

The wood responded quickly to Luke’s attempts and soon blazed with an abundance of light and heat. Luke stood and gave the room a better look. It was impeccably neat. Everything was in its place. Sally had always seemed good at organizing and cleaning.

Spying two doors, Luke picked up the lamp and went to see what might be in those rooms. The first was a bedroom that had been converted to a washroom and storage. He spied the monogrammed luggage Scott had taken from home, so at least he knew he was in the right house. He would have hated to be milling about in a stranger’s home.

Continuing his tour, he found a second bedroom behind the other door. There was a small cradle in one corner and a trunk. On the other side, a neatly made bed was pressed against the wall. At the end of this, someone had strung a rope from one side of the corner wall to the other, and there were several articles of clothing hanging there. Behind these was a small stand with a wash basin. Another trunk sat at the end of the bed.

The room was sparse but clean. Luke couldn’t imagine how hard the adjustment must have been, however. Carson servants lived better than this. How could Scott have found such poverty to be acceptable? How could he have managed without more?

“Because he loves Sally. Nothing else matters,” Luke said to no one.

He had always wanted that kind of love for himself, but it had never come.

“Hello? Who’s in here?” a feminine voice called from the other room. Her tone sounded accusing.

Luke left the bedroom and came face-to-face with a young woman. She looked to be in her twenties and had an abundance of windblown blond curls that even now she was fighting back into place.

She eyed him with suspicion. “What are you doing in here?”

“I’m sorry. I hope I didn’t startle you. I’m Lucas Carson. I’m Scott’s brother. I just arrived,” he hurried to explain. “Mr. Griggs brought me here.”

The woman’s tight expression relaxed. “I see.”

“And you are?”