Tobias was not blind to the grace with which she stepped down. Sally had developed a certain grace in her movements as she grew up, perhaps because she had become a pretty girl with an elegant form, so that whatever she did seemed graceful. But it was different from what he was seeing in his sister. Sally could jump down from a wagon before Tobias had time to help her down like she was still the wild farmgirl of the past, and still seem gracious and elegant. Her trained muscles would catch the impact and soften the landing. Nimbly she would rise. Her face would catch the sun as she looked up at him and grinned, and the warm light would emphasise everything he admired in her; her good humour, her strong will, her hunger for life. But nothing about that seemed learned. Now for the first time, he saw in his sister’s movements the elegance that he had witnessed in the way wealthy ladies in Whitby and York stepped out of carriages, how they comported themselves in a way that emanated an air of dignity and instilled respect in the onlooker. In that moment, Bess seemed far beyond a farmer’s daughter and a simple school teacher, and Tobias wondered at the transformation.

He watched her go in and then helped Adam bring the cart in. He took his time unbridling the horses and when Adam told him he’d brush them down, so Mr. Appleton could go in, he shook his head and sent to boy to bring Miss Appleton’s things in. Slowly, very slowly, Tobias brushed the creatures down. He wanted to give Bess some alone time. And he dreaded the emotion that might hang in that room. The regular strokes of the brush, the calm breathing of the beasts who trusted his hand, the noise of the other animals in their stalls, and familiar sweet smell of the stable all formed a welcome escape that he preferred to draw out for as long as he could.

Father looked up when he heard his daughter enter and his haggard face lightened up. “My girl. As well as is to be expected. But never mind me, child. You grow prettier by the week out there. What’s your secret?” He lay his hand on hers affectionately.