Page 2 of The Road to Cavan Town
“This weekend in Cavan,” he said, an earnest excitement in his voice, “I mean to ask Miss Kilchrest if she’ll consider me her exclusive suitor. I mean to see to it we’re on the firm path toward making her my bride.”
With that declaration, Alice Wheatley’s world ended.
Chapter Two
Isaac would never as long as he lived understand the female mind. He’d told Alice of his plans to move quite seriously forward with Miss Kilchrest. Rather than offer immediate congratulations or encouragement, she’d looked shocked.Shocked.
How could she have been even a little surprised? They’d spoken of his pursuit of Miss Kilchrest nearly every weekend since he’d first crossed her path some four months earlier. She knew as much about his plans and thoughts as anyone on earth,moreeven. And yet she clearly hadn’t expected his declaration.
Women will never make the least sense.
They reached Market Square where the weekly crowd of men gathered to jostle for position alongside Miss Kilchrest as she wandered about the vendors’ tables. Isaac had been at the task of courting her for months. He’d planned out his efforts quite meticulously. Those plans seldom needed review or second thoughts.
Alice, on the other hand, was near constantly throwing his understanding of her entirely out the window.
“Have we made good time?” Alice asked that question every Saturday as they came in to Cavan Town. She needed a timepiece of her own, she did.
He checked his pocket watch. “’Tis only just noon. Ye’ve time to reach yer grandparent’s house for luncheon.”
Her nod was one of relief.
“Have they taken a turn for the worse?” She’d spoken often of her grandparents and their failing health. They were the reason she returned to Cavan every weekend, to take over from a cousin the task of caring for them.
“No more than expected. They’re growing old fast is all.” She gave him a sad smile but with more than a hint of her usual optimism. “I’d best not keep ya from yer efforts. There’s a market full of men needing tripping up and pushing aside.”
There was the laughing encouragement he was used to receiving from his friend. Perhaps she’d only been distracted earlier by worries over her family. That would certainly account for her unenthusiastic response to his news. ’Twas a logical explanation, something Isaac far preferred to confusion.
“Is there anything I can do to help with yer grandparents?”
“Bless ya, no. There’s no immediate crisis, only the hardship of waiting and watching them fade.”
He could appreciate that. “Ya know where to find me if ya need anything.”
“Yes, I simply follow the crowd,” she said dryly, with a bit of a twinkle in her eyes.
“Indeed. And ye’ll find me at the very front of it.” He set his eyes in that direction, in fact. ’Twas time and past to get on with the weekend’s goals. “Wish me luck.”
She hesitated the briefest of moments. “I’ll wish the best for ya.”
There was some difference between that and what he’d asked for, though he couldn’t put his finger on just what that difference was.
“Until tomorrow, then. Farnham Street after church.”
She smiled. “I’ll be there.”
He watched her a moment as she made her way down Market Street away from the square. His weekly walk to Cavan had improved drastically with the addition of her company and friendship. Even as the weather had turned colder he’d not minded waiting at the point in the road where she always joined him. Her company was well worth the discomfort. She would certainly be the first person he told when Miss Kilchrest accepted his proposal. Likely only his mother would be happier for him, though she didn’t live close enough for telling in person.
But, he would have nothing to tell either of them if he didn’t focus on his goal. The list of things to accomplish was clear and precise in his mind. He’d purchase a few foodstuffs to eat over the weekend whilst making his way to the coveted position at Miss Kilchrest’s side. Once he had accomplished that, he would speak with her about furthering their connection. After her acceptance, he would take himself to the friend’s house where he stayed each weekend.
’Twould be his most productive trip into Cavan yet.
He purchased a bit of bread and cheese. A few of the men he saw every weekend trailing Miss Kilchrest noticed him there. Their faces fell a bit upon seeing him arrive, a sure sign his progress with Miss Kilchrest had not gone unnoticed. She was a fine catch, to be sure. Her dowry was something any man would wish for, but her kind heart and gentle spirit even more so. That those arguments in her favor were combined with a strikingly pretty face and a fine figure had secured her more suitors than she likely knew what to do with.
She’d not have to worry over that long, though.
His sack upon his back and his eye on the thickest part of the bachelor crowd, Isaac set his mind to the task at hand. Some assertive weaving in and around tables and vendors and spectators, set him within a few feet of his goal and well within sight of the lovely Miss Kilchrest.
He’d thought it a very good sign during his twelve-mile walk from home that the last remaining autumn leaves were a shade of red that quite perfectly matched the color of Miss Kilchrest’s hair. The glimpses of sky he’d spied between the ever-growing clouds reminded him of the brilliant blue of her eyes. A very good sign, indeed.
