Her brother said nothing more about the ring, so Bess decided to let the subject go. In truth, she couldn’t really see a farmer’s wife wearing a fancy piece of jewelry. City life is changing me, she thought. Her standards had become higher since moving to Whitby. Whether that was good or bad remained to be seen. Tobias seemed quite content with his simple life. Hopefully, Sally would be too. Bess herself couldn’t imagine living on the farm again. As a child, she had known nothing else, but now she had been accustomed to another way of life.

“I have no intention of quitting my job. I enjoy teaching. It’s very rewarding and the children are quite fond of me. If I get married, I’ll probably have to, but …” She grinned at her brother. “Unlike you, I have not yet found the person I want to spend the rest of my life with.” Actually, she had, but he wasn’t free to wed her.

“So when is the wedding going to take place? I hope you will wait for Nate to come home first.” Her smile faded, thinking of their father’s illness. “Unless there’s not that much time.”