they surviving? Without help, how would she last an entire month?
After a moment, Victoria smiled. She had the perfect solution. Maybe God had brought her here to this forsaken place to solve the problem by hiring someone for them. “Do you know where Tom is this morning?”
“He’s outside making repairs on the lighthouse.” Zelma reached for the teacup near her and took a sip. “He’s been hard at work for a couple of hours, and I’m sure he’s ready for a break so that he can spend time with his bride.”
Victoria started toward the door with a lightness in her step. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Take all the time you need, dear,” Zelma called after her.
Victoria let herself out and crossed the porch into the bright morning sunshine. She hesitated on the front step as the heat of the sun touched her face. She ought to go back for her hat or parasol. She’d religiously kept her skin lily white, and she certainly didn’t want that to change here. But at the sight of Tom on a ladder working on the lighthouse tower that sat a short distance away, she started down a well-worn sandy path toward him.
The wind coming off the ocean was refreshing. The never-ending lap of the waves against the nearby shore reminded her of her family’s cottage in Newport, except that the waves seemed louder here and more constant. Several sandpipers with their skinny legs and long thin beaks waded in the wet sand. In the distance, she caught sight of the sails of fishing boats along with a steamer, its puff of smoke the only cloud in the clear blue sky.
When she reached the broad white tower, she stopped at the base, shielded her eyes with her hand to block out the sun, and looked up at Tom, waiting for him to see her. He was perched at the top of his ladder, a bucket in one hand and a tool of some kind in the other. She hesitated in calling out because she didn’t want to startle him and risk him falling.
After a long minute, with the dampness of perspiration already forming between her shoulder blades, she wondered if she should wait until he was done to discuss the matter. She started to turn away.
“You’re finally awake.” He spoke without glancing at her.
She should have known he’d notice her standing there. In fact, he’d probably seen her coming the second she stepped out of the house. “Yes, I’ve been awake for a little while now.”
“Fifty-five minutes.”
He’d been keeping track? She knew better than to question him. Instead, she watched him work. He dipped his tool into the bucket, removed it, revealing a gray glob on the end, and then smeared the paste on a crack in the bricks. He wasn’t wearing his usual dark suit, but was instead attired in a pair of faded blue trousers and a white linen shirt that was rolled up at the sleeves. His arms were just as thick and muscular as they’d felt through his coat. She supposed he couldn’t very well wear a suit every minute of the day while he was at the lighthouse, and she had to admit, that even in the plain clothes he was still striking.
“I know you didn’t come out just to stare at me.” He scraped his tool along the crack, smoothing the gray paste.
“I’m not staring.” But that’s exactly what she’d been doing. “I came to discuss an urgent matter with you.”
“Urgent?” His tone was skeptical.
“Very. I wouldn’t bother you otherwise.”
He smoothed the tool over the bricks for another moment before finally putting it back in the bucket and starting down the ladder. When his feet were back on the ground, he pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped the moisture from his brow. “What’s wrong?”
She gave him what she hoped was her most enticing smile. “I’d like to hire a housekeeper for your parents.”
“No.”
She’d been prepared for his negativity and had a ready answer, her perfect solution. “I’m prepared to pay the entire cost. It would be my way of saying thank you to your parents for letting us stay with them this month.”
“No.” He leaned down and picked up a leather canteen leaning against the tower.
“Your mother said Ruth took care of everything, and now that she’s gone there’s no one to do the work.”
“There’s someone now.” Tom unscrewed the cap.
“There is?” The news took her by surprise. Maybe Tom had already anticipated her