Her mother’s scowl softened a little. “He is the quickest boy I ever met. Remember when Mr. Brown was kicked in the head by his horse? Johnny ran five miles for the doctor. Saved Mr. Brown’s life.”

“I remember.” Her mother had told the story a dozen times since Johnny left.

The clock on the wall ticked, and when Sadie glanced up at it, she said, “I’ve got to go. Driving Miss Olivia today.”

“You girls sure do get around. You’ve been to Charlottesville and Lynchburg more in the last couple of months than I’ve been in my entire life.”

“She gets restless. Finds it hard to sit in the big house alone. Dr. Carter is always away at the hospital, working.”

Her mother opened the small wooden cigar box and carefully placed Johnny’s letter on top of the dozen others.

“What are you doing today?” her mother asked.

She was not exactly sure what was planned for the day but, for her mother’s sake, said, “Ordering more flowers and orange trees. Miss Olivia wants orange trees in her greenhouse. Says it will be good for the baby.”

“Baby? She in the family way again?”

“I’m not sure,” Sadie said. “But she’s always hoping.” She shrugged on a jacket. The garment was a hand-me-down from Olivia. Nicer than anything she had ever owned, the jacket was the color of a new penny. It fit her body as if it had been made for her, and the fabric was soft and fine. It was nothing like the coarse, worn shirts and socks passed down to Sadie from Johnny and Danny.

Sadie kissed her mother on the cheek. “I’ll see you this evening.”

“Take care of yourself, girl.”

“Always, Mama.”

Sadie drove the old truck down the very familiar road to Woodmont. As she turned onto the property’s main driveway, she now felt like she belonged. She was not worried that the sheriff would arrest her for trespassing or the gardener would chase her off with a pitchfork. Scooting forward in the seat, she downshifted and slowed as she rounded the main house and parked around the side by the kitchen entrance. She straightened her shoulders, stood a little taller, and opened the kitchen door. She had stopped knocking almost a month ago.

Greeted by the scent of rich, buttery biscuits fresh out of the oven, she crossed to the kitchen table and the pile of fluffy biscuits stacked on a blue-and-white plate. She had eaten only half of her mother’s biscuits and brown gravy this morning, knowing if she saved room, there would be better waiting. “Mrs. Fritz,” she called out.

“In the back, baby. Go on and have yourself a bite. I know you’re hungry.”

“Appreciate it.”

Mrs. Fritz showed in the doorway, drying her large hands with a red-and-white-checkered towel. “You’re about the only one in this house that enjoys my cooking. The doctor is always gone, and Miss Olivia eats like an itty-bitty bird. I might start to feel down about my cooking if it weren’t for you.”

Sadie bit into a biscuit. “Don’t ever fret about your cooking, Mrs. Fritz.”

The older woman laughed. “I hear you two girls are going to Lynchburg today?”

“I never quite know where we’re going until we start out.”

“You two seem to be getting along well enough. You’re even wearing her clothes.”

“She said they didn’t fit her anymore.”

“Well, they look nice on you. Just you remember not to get too well acquainted. You might clean up nice, but you’re help, just like me.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Mrs. Fritz set a wicker picnic basket on the table and carefully began wrapping up most of the biscuits and placing them gently inside. “She’s taking lunch to Dr. Carter today.”

“To the hospital where he works?”

“That’s right. It’s a surprise.” Mrs. Fritz shook her head. “That poor boy works so hard they never see each other.”

Sadie had not seen Dr. Carter since the first day he had warned her to be careful, and that suited her just fine.

Footsteps sounded in the hallway, and Sadie quickly finished her biscuit as Miss Olivia appeared. Her naturally pale skin had a pink glow to it, and her dark hair, loose around her shoulders, looked vibrant. She wore a royal-blue jacket that matched a fitted skirt that brushed below her knees.

She tugged on pale-gray leather gloves. “Good morning, Sadie.”

“Morning, Miss Olivia.”

Miss Olivia’s eyes sparked with excitement. “We better get going. By the time we arrive, Edward will be starving. He performed surgery today, so he left before breakfast.”

Sadie grabbed the basket. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll bring the car around.”

“Excellent.”

Sadie hurried out to the barn, opened the door, and grabbed the key from the hook on the wall. In the car, she always noticed the softness of the leather seats first thing in the morning. But by afternoon and after hours of driving, she found herself irritated by the way the seat hit her lower back due to her small size.

She backed out of the barn and pulled the car around to the back entrance. Miss Olivia hurried down the stairs and let herself into the back seat. There had been no more discussion about Miss Olivia learning to drive. Sometimes she still sat in the front seat, but that was only when they were sure no one would see.

“You look mighty happy. Excited about visiting the big city?” Sadie asked.

Miss Olivia smiled. “Lynchburg is more like a charming small town.”

“Pretty big to me.” Sadie shifted gears, and the car rumbled down the driveway.

“There are cities that are a hundred times bigger.”

Sadie tried to picture a bigger city. The idea of a place packed full of people, buildings, and things scared her.

“Like London?”

“That’s right.”

She adjusted her grip on the wheel. It troubled her she had lied to her mother about Johnny being safe. She wanted to believe it was true but knew he would never worry her. “Johnny is headed to England.”

Olivia looked up and caught her gaze in the rearview mirror. “Where in England?”

“He doesn’t know yet.”

“Be sure to let me know when you do. Perhaps I can suggest a few places for him to visit if he gets a pass.”

“The bombs are still dropping over there?”

Olivia nodded slowly. “They haven’t stopped, and I’ve not received word from my family.”

“Was it pretty bad?” Sadie wasn’t asking in a nosy kind of way, but she wanted to be able to picture where Johnny was staying.

“It was quite bad when I left,” she said softly.

“How did you meet Dr. Carter?”

She was silent for a moment. “I was volunteering in the hospital. It was taking every man or woman on deck to take care of the wounded. A bomb hit the hospital, and I ended up trapped in the rubble. Edward was finishing up his fellowship at Oxford and working that same night. He dug me out.”

“You were buried alive?” Her chest tightened at the thought, and she drew in a deep breath, trying to process the terror Olivia must have felt. “How long were you trapped?”

“They tell me it was close to nine hours. Edward visited me at my bedside, and several days later when I was up and about, he invited me to tea. The rest moved along fairly swiftly.”