Page 39 of The Heart of Bennet Hollow

“Where do we stand?” William asked. Just past the stables, he turned toward Lady Light’s trainer to better gauge the man’s response. Behind them, workers loaded straw and hay into a wagon heading for the depot.

“With the skies this clear?” The gray-haired Scotsman looked up from a list that held tallies for sacks of oats, corn, and barley. “She’s set to leave tomorrow for conditioning.”

“Good. She’ll be glad for the sunnier weather.”

“Aye, and she’ll have enough time to get into shape before the season starts.”

“Indeed.” William watched as his jockey guided Lady Light in a gentle exercise.

The track on his estate curved around at eight furlongs and was where the thoroughbred had spent nearly all of her autumn preparing until the snows flew.

“I’m just sorry I won’t be able to accompany her to training this year.

” William patted his vest pocket, which had spent its last raspberry drop.

From now on, Lady Light would only eat what the trainers allowed.

A pristine diet curated for performance.

“She’ll be in good hands.” The trainer pulled on a plaid cap with weathered hands. “And ye won’t miss the races.” He smiled beneath bushy eyebrows.

“Still, I’m questioning my usefulness just now.”

“Ye’ve prepared her and that’s what counts. But we’ll need ’er colors to have the silks made up for the jockey. Have ye decided?”

“I’ve asked my sister for help so that Lady Light looks her best.” He was all thumbs when it came to colors and tastes. Better to leave that sort of thing to someone who had an eye for style. “If you can give me a few more days, I’ll get a swatch sent your way.”

“Aye, that’d do fine. And if all else fails, we’ll default to last year’s colors.”

“Let’s hope not.”

The trainer chuckled and William smiled.

The orange-and-red combination that his aunt had selected had been dreadful.

Besides... it was time he was granted full ownership of the mare who—by heart and dedication—was his own.

Still, it was not his name on the ownership papers.

It was his aunt’s. She’d allowed him to take over the care of Lady Light from the start, since the horse was bred for a life in the spotlight and since Aunt Catherine no longer had the interest nor the energy to navigate the world of professional horse racing.

Since it was William who had walked alongside the broodmare the many months of the pregnancy, and he who sat up with the new mother and foal the night of the birth, Aunt Catherine had given him leave to raise the mare and see her properly trained.

Since then, it had been he who had warmed towels, shoveled stalls, and named the very creature who had won a piece of his heart in the three years that followed.

Even so, every race Lady Light ran was under his aunt’s name.

Buying the horse outright wasn’t a question.

While he had the funds, his aunt didn’t need money.

She needed his commitment and so long as she kept ownership of Lady Light, she had a prime piece of William in the bargain.

A situation that was growing increasingly uncomfortable.

The trainer tucked his ledger beneath his arm. “While we might not get a victory at Belmont Park, we’ll ensure Lady Light enters the arena in all her glory.”

“Agreed.” William shook the trainer’s hand. “I have a copy of the itinerary, and please be in touch as needed. Once I wrap up some business in Chess Creek, I’ll return here, then it’s on to New River, but I intend to be in New York before May.”

The trainer doffed his cap. “Excellent. And your aunt has requested a copy of the itinerary as well. Shall I forward one along?”

“I’m afraid not.”

Bushy brows reached the cap’s bill in surprise.

“It’s time. If she has any qualms with that, please have her be in touch with me.”

“Of course.” The trainer’s smirk lent William courage to finally stand up to his aunt. “Safe travels, sir. We have everything in hand.”

William retreated toward the house and forced himself not to glance back. Besides Anna and Aunt Catherine, Lady Light was the closest kin he had. Soon she would be whisked north and he in the opposite direction. This time, with engineers and electricians in tow.

In the house, William aimed down the corridor to his office where his final preparations sat waiting.

Based on the estimates the electricians had recently made, it could cost him a fortune to equip the coal mine with electricity, but it had to be the way of the future.

It would save on costs in the long run and make procuring coal more efficient for the company as a whole.

The change would increase safety and eliminate child labor.

All crucial to any business he oversaw. It would also reduce if not eliminate the need to force livestock beneath the earth.

Something he knew mattered to Lizbeth, and he was beginning to better understand the freedom it could give to the lowly animals.

But executing the vision remained complex, which was why he needed to get boots on the ground again. And those boots needed to be his own.

He just didn’t know what he would do if he crossed paths with Lizbeth.

He’d behave as a gentleman. He would be a neighbor to her and not ask for more. Easier said than done, but his quest in New River was quickly becoming less and less about his own future and more about hers.

William stacked papers. Lists, sums, and tallies.

All that he needed to make this plan work.

While Callum had scrutinized the details of the sale and drawn up the offer for Mr. Jorgensen, William worked with the operators of his Chess Creek mine to craft a plan on what this endeavor would mean for the miners themselves.

With change came confusion, which brought the risk of chaos.

Avoid the first, and he could eliminate the latter.

That’s why he needed to give the miners of New River a sure vision of what their futures would look like with the addition of electricity.

A change that he intended would bring good, yet with any shift in infrastructure, some change was ill-received, and fairly so.

He meant not to disrupt the community of New River, so he would tread carefully.

His job was to ensure a smooth and peaceful transition.

One that he could hold his head high about, and that the miners could too.

That’s if he managed to solve the riddle himself.

One piece of the puzzle at a time. That’s what he kept telling himself.

A puzzle he had less than thirty days left to solve.

Time was of the essence.

William slipped his pocketbook inside his vest then slid his shoulder holster on, not bothering to fasten it.

“It’s half past noon, sir,” his butler said from the doorway.

“Thank you.” William checked his pocket watch. “And the Pemberley?”

“She’s coupled in place for your travels to Pennsylvania this evening.”

“Excellent.” At the ring of the telephone, the butler retreated.

William donned a wool coat and started for the front doors and the carriage awaiting him just outside. Behind him, two footmen lugged the first trunk across marble flooring.

The butler returned. “It’s a call for you, sir.”

“Can you take a message?”

“The operator said it was urgent.”

“All right.” William entered the alcove where the butler’s telephone resided. He raised the earpiece and gripped the handle of the mouthpiece. “This is Drake.”

“Mr. Drake. I have a caller for you from Pennsylvania. A Mr. Jorgensen. Shall I put him through?”

Why was Jorgensen in Pennsylvania? “Please.”

The line clicked as the operator connected them.

“Mr. Jorgensen?” William held the earpiece nearer.

“Mr. Drake. Good man. I’m calling to—” The line buzzed with static.

“Could you repeat that sir?”

“I’m calling to let you know that I’m in Stroudsburg.”

Scarcely thirty miles from his Chess Creek mine. “I’m heading that way myself. How can I be of service?”

Jorgensen’s static-ridden voice continued to break through. “Yes, I’ve been in touch with the operator at the Chess Creek mine as you advised me to and he mentioned you’re en route as well, which is why I’m telephoning.”

William spoke as clearly as possible. “My train leaves within the hour. How long will you be there?”

“Just over a week.”

“Excellent.” If Jorgensen was travelling with his family, William would need to socialize, but he was learning that it wasn’t so terrible. And he’d have a chance to present his offer—and vision—in person to the man who would make the final decision.

Not that the details mattered much beyond dollars and cents, but he meant to win Jorgensen’s favor with more than money. Give the man the assurance that the company he’d spent a lifetime building would remain in good hands. As would the families.

“I’ll be staying near the depot.” William resisted the urge to check his pocket watch even as his butler tapped him on the shoulder. “Send me a telegram with your location and we’ll arrange a meeting if that suits you.” He needed to leave. Now.

“Most definitely.” Mr. Jorgensen said more, but the connection crackled again.

All William could hear was something about his daughter and some other detail.

Perhaps where the man was staying? He’d heard that Hattie Jorgensen had recently been married but when the butler tapped again, William didn’t have time to find out.

“See you in Pennsylvania,” William said. He handed the earpiece to his butler. “You’ll make sure he understands?” William rushed toward the doorway even as the driver called out to the horses to steady.

“Absolutely. And safe travels, sir!”