August (Prairie Grooms, #1) Read Online Free PDF

all. I will be fine in a moment. You needn’t worry about me.”
    “She’s been saying that throughout the entire journey,” said Constance. “I’m surprised she hasn’t come down with something.”
    Belle looked at Constance and Eloise. “Your sister has had to be very brave to see you this far. I hope you’ve thanked her for it. You’re here safe, and no worse for wear. Your husbands will be very pleased at what she’s accomplished.”
    Constance and Eloise stared at Penelope, who at this point lay upon the mattress with her eyes closed. The two sisters nodded to Belle in understanding before carefully picking up Penelope’s feet and placing them on the bed. In the wink of an eye, she had already fallen fast asleep.
    * * *
    P enelope opened her eyes to the bright light of the sun. She managed to raise her head and glance around. “Constance? Eloise?”
    No answer. She pushed herself up to a sitting position and rubbed her eyes. She was in her nightclothes, but couldn’t remember putting them on. Come to think of it, she couldn’t remember anything after coming up the stairs and being shown the room. She sat up straighter to puzzle over it before she realized the light in the room wasn’t any different from yesterday.
    She glanced around until her eyes landed on a small clock on one of the dressers. “Two o’clock?!” Good heavens – that couldn’t possibly be right! She pulled back the quilt and realized she hadn’t even been under the covers. Someone had placed the quilt over her as she lay on top of the bedding. “What happened?”
    She got up, found her clothes, and donned her grey, tattered traveling dress. It had been a pretty lavender at the start of her journey, but no more. Months at sea had taken their toll on her wardrobe, not to mention that of her sisters. “Constance? Eloise?” she called again, and again without response.
    She found Eloise’s hairbrush on top of a dresser and ran it through her hair. She’d learned over the last half of the long journey to braid her hair, pile it on her head, and pin it in place. Good grief, she must have been tired! She couldn’t remember taking her hair down, either.
    That done, she went downstairs to try and find the others.
    Penelope peeked into the parlor, then found her way down a center hall to the kitchen. The room was huge, with an enormous cook stove against one wall, next to a worktable. The kitchen table itself was closer to the door where she stood. Otherwise, the large room was quite empty. She saw an open door at the other end, walked to it, and gazed out the screen door to the yard outside.
    What she saw made her gasp.
    Constance and Eloise were hanging laundry !
    Penelope stormed out of the kitchen, slamming the door shut behind her. “What’s the meaning of this? What are you two doing?”
    “Laundry,” Constance said. “I must say, it’s terribly hard work. Too bad you missed it.”
    “Terribly hard ... what?” Penelope looked around confused for a moment. “What time is it?”
    “Toward two in the afternoon, I’d say,” Eloise offered.
    Penelope shook her head and took a step back. “You mean the clock upstairs was right? I’ve been asleep for twenty-four hours?”
    Her sisters nodded. Eloise reached for another piece of laundry. “You needed your rest. Sadie told us to let you alone. We did manage to get you into your nightdress, I hated the thought of you sleeping in your clothes. I remember how you loathed the few times we were forced to ...”
    Penelope shut her eyes against the afternoon sun, not to mention the memory. Their journey had gotten quite rough at times, and Mr. Thompson often insisted they not change before going to bed, in case they needed to take leave of their lodgings in a hurry. It wasn’t until later the three women understood why – because dear Mr. Thompson had gambled his way from New Orleans to Colorado, where he met with his abrupt and tragic end. “Thank you, Eloise. You know me all