But unless she could find a permanent income, they could not afford to stay. There was no possibility of help from home. She had to find a way to make it work on her own.

Elaine rolled over on the mattress beside her. “I think you should go see the greenhouses,” she said in a soft whisper.

Annabelle shot bolt upright. It was so unexpected that she couldn’t be certain she’d heard right. “You want me to go?”

Elaine sighed. “I don’t want you to go, but you should. And I need to learn how to be on my own for a while.”

It was obviously true, but what a blessing that Elaine had arrived at the conclusion without Annabelle having to press it.

“We’ll give the Hillenbrands a key so they can get in if there is an emergency,” Annabelle said.

Elaine nodded, but it was clear she was terrified. Annabelle couldn’t begin to imagine the fear her sister was willing to endure, and it intensified her determination to succeed.

Five

Annabelle arrived at the boat depot at the appointed time despite hauling an oversized portfolio, an overnight bag, and a heavy box of equipment. Heavy in her skirt pocket was the horseshoe Elaine had given her for luck. So far that horseshoe had brought them both safely here from Kansas, and Annabelle prayed it would continue to serve them well.

Mr. Delacroix’s letter had instructed her to go to boat slip twelve at the Potomac River dock, where someone named Luke would take her by sailboat to the rural Delacroix property. Her boots clicked on dry wooden planking, and the slosh of water on the pilings smelled musty and strange. So many people! Sailors lugged heavy packs, and travelers carried small cases. Huge mechanical cranes lowered cargo onto ships. She paused to watch and nearly jumped out of her skin when a sea gull swooped and hovered over her handbag, apparently sensing the warm muffin she’d been too nervous to eat for breakfast.

No one was waiting for her at the designated boat slip. She set the heavy equipment box on the dock with a thud, wondering what on earth she was to do now.

“Miss Larkin?”

She startled, for the voice came from under the dock. She hunkered down to look beneath the planks and spotted a handsome man sprawled in a boat tied to the pilings. The dock was so high above the water that she hadn’t noticed him down there.

“Are you Luke?”

He sprang to his feet and seemed limber as a monkey as he climbed a rope ladder to the dock. “I’m Luke,” he confirmed with a grin. “Rumor has it my brother has opened his greenhouses to you. I’m not quite sure I believe it, because Gray guards them like he’s got the Holy Grail inside. He doesn’t even let me in.”

“Really?”