Thursday's Child (Out of Time #5) Read Online Free Page A

right, of course. She'd known that in her heart already. But knowing it didn't make it any easier.
    The rest of dinner was subdued. The thought of what they might face tomorrow preoccupied them both. And things lingered unsaid.
    ~~~
    Simon stood at the window of their hotel room and watched the morning street traffic. Horses and riders varied as much as cars and drivers back home. Instead of a beat-up pickup truck, an old swayback or ancient mule carried a poor tenant farmer. In place of a luxury sports car, a high-strung thoroughbred pranced among the carts and wagons with a wealthy planter astride. The more things changed…he thought.
    A particularly large cart stopped just beneath the window. The driver barked orders to some unseen men who appeared and began to unload the supplies in the back. A large crate was mishandled and dropped to the sidewalk with a thunderous crash.
    Simon spun around to see if the noise had awakened Elizabeth. He smiled to himself and shook his head. She continued to quietly snore away. That woman could sleep through anything. He'd always envied her that. Always a restless sleeper and early riser, he'd gotten used to being up well before she opened her eyes. Those quiet moments in the morning, before the whirlwind that was life with Elizabeth, gave him a chance to reflect and consider. It gave him time to thank the powers that be for sparing him from the life he'd felt sure he was destined for. He could still feel the shadow of that world, but the loneliness that used to pull him under was gone. Never in a thousand years had he thought he could be part of something, or more to the point, want to be part of something outside himself. Now, he couldn't imagine life any other way.
    Elizabeth moaned softly and rolled onto her side. Her arm flopped onto the side of the bed he'd vacated. She must have been expecting to find him there and the shock of finding an empty space instead pulled her from sleep. She blinked against the morning light streaming through the tall window where Simon stood.
    “Good morning,” he said.
    She mumbled something unintelligible and blinked rapidly several times.
    “Natchez,” Simon supplied, having gone through the same confusion an hour earlier when he'd awakened.
    Elizabeth nodded and smiled sleepily.
    Simon turned back to the window. “It's a beautiful day. Not too warm, I hope.”
    He heard Elizabeth slide out of bed and pad over to join him. She leaned against his back and her warm hands slipped inside his half-buttoned-shirt. He covered them with his own, and turned around in the circle of her arms and kissed the crown of her head.
    She nodded sleepily against his chest. “Morning.”
    He chuckled, and led her over to a small table with a pitcher and washbasin. He poured some fresh water into the bowl for her and left her to splash water on her face and come fully awake.
    While she did that, Simon slipped on his vest and took his pocket watch off the wooden stand on the side table. He checked it, as a force of habit, and slipped it and key fob into his vest pocket. “The desk clerk will probably be able to tell us where we can find the priest. If I remember our research correctly, there weren’t many Catholic churches in Natchez, so he shouldn't be hard to find.”
    “Breakfast first,” Elizabeth said as she pulled off her long cotton nightgown and tossed it onto the bed.
    Simon watched her naked form appreciatively for a moment before turning back to the window. They had a long day ahead of them and couldn't afford a late start no matter how tempting.
    He heard her rustle around in her trunk, grumbling as she did. “Crotchless drawers. I feel trapped and half naked at the same time.”
    He didn't envy her. All that clothing must have been incredibly cumbersome. He was grateful all he had to do was wear a three-piece woolen suit.
    “I'm going to need your help with this…thing again,” Elizabeth said, as she held out her corset in front of her like it was