“People always wait for rich women like you,” Tabitha said with a sneer.

Edilean’s temper rose to make her face red. “You may think you’ve had it easy, but I’ve been betrayed as often as you have!”

“So you didn’t get the man?” Tabitha smiled. “At least I’ve heard something good today.”

Edilean couldn’t help it as her hands made into fists and she had an urge to punch Tabitha. They were glaring at each other like two dogs about to fight when Edilean said, “Why did you leave your father’s farm?”

For a moment Tabitha looked startled, but then she straightened her shoulders. “He wasn’t my father but my stepfather, and he married my mother to get at her daughters. After three years of it I ran away. What does that matter to you?”

Edilean took a step closer to her. “What kind of farm was it?”

“What does that mean?”

Edilean stared at her.

“It was a farm with cows and pigs and corn. What other kind of farm is there?”

“What if I bought a farm and gave you a job?”

“You? Buy a farm?” Tabitha asked, her lips curled into a sneer.

Edilean turned and started back down the street.

“Wait!” Tabitha called out.

Edilean stopped walking but she didn’t turn around.

“Who else would be on the farm? I can’t do it all by myself. There’s a lot of work on a farm.”

Edilean turned back around. “I haven’t thought about this, so I don’t know the details, but some man died a few days ago, and I think his farm is going to be for sale.”

“And you thought you’d ask me to run it?”

“Why not? Or would you rather keep on making your living stealing and doing vulgar things with men?”

“I’d rather-” Tabitha started to make a sarcastic remark but thought better of it. “Will you get men to run the place? I have trouble with men.”

“We all do,” Edilean said with a sigh. “I was happy until I met James, then my uncle. And Angus…” She waved her hand. “That’s over with. Harriet-she’s the woman I live with-thinks I’m useless. In fact, nearly everyone I’ve met in the last year thinks I’m useless. I’d like to prove them wrong.”

“You can’t run a farm with just women.”

“Why not?” Edilean asked.

“Because men have to… They have to lift heavy things.”

“We’ll get some big horses. I rode on a wagon pulled by Clydesdales, and they could have hauled mountains.” As she spoke, what had been just a flippant thought was forming in her mind in a solid way. Why couldn’t women run a farm business? They’d be known for having the best fruit at the market. It wouldn’t be bruised and they’d display it beautifully. Edilean had a vision of green pears on yellow, watered silk.

She looked Tabitha up and down and remembered what she’d looked like when she was clean-and a picture began taking shape in her head. “Bound Girl,” she said.

“What?”

“I’ll form a business. ‘Bound Girl.’ That’s what I’ll name the company.”

“Company?”

“Yes,” Edilean said, then narrowed her eyes at Tabitha. “I know you’re a liar and that you love to tell people long, sad stories about your life, but I’ll tell you now that if you lie to me and if you ever so much as steal a hairpin from me, I’ll throw you out. No second chances. No amount of begging and pleading will make me forgive you, and you’ll be out on your own. Do you understand me?”

“Yeah,” Tabitha said insolently.

“I’m serious and I want you to be too. Do we have an agreement?”

Tabitha thought about what Edilean was saying, and she took the smirk off her face. “You get me off the streets and I won’t steal from you or lie to you. I won’t say the same about what I’ll do to others, but I’ll stay away from you.”

“You steal from men and you’ll find yourself in prison if not hanged, but that’s up to you,” Edilean said. “Now, come along. I have to tell Harriet.”

Ten minutes later, she’d made her way through the crowd to Harriet, who was haggling with a man about the price of beans. “He’s a thief,” she said when she saw Edilean. “And look at these things. They have bugs on them.”

“Take ’em or not, it don’t matter to me,” the man by the wagon said.

Muttering to herself, Harriet put them in her basket with the other produce she’d bought, and glanced at Edilean. “Why do you have that look on your face?” She leaned closer to her. “And why is that dreadful woman following you?”

“This is Tabitha.”

“The one you…” Harriet looked back at Tabitha with eyes of wonder. “She looks like a lady of the evening.”

“She is, and it’s my fault,” Edilean said as she took Harriet’s arm and pulled her to one side where they wouldn’t be heard. “I’m going to buy Mr. Sylvester’s farm.”

“Are you?” Harriet’s face showed new amusement. “And what will you do with it? Plant roses?”

“That’s a good idea. I can see white roses with dark red plums.”

Harriet put her hand to Edilean’s forehead. “You’ve had too much sun.”

“I’ve had too much of everything and not enough of anything.”

“When we get home I’m going to give you some laudanum and you can sleep.”

“You and your brother and that blasted laudanum!” Edilean said.

“What about my brother?” Harriet asked stiffly.

“Nothing about your brother! Harriet! Will you stop acting as though you’re my mother and listen to me? I’m going to buy a farm, and you and I are going to run it. You’re going to handle the money, because you’re so good at pinching every penny until it screams, and I’m going to handle…” Edilean wasn’t sure what she was going to do, but she’d never been more sure in her life that she was going to do this.

“You can’t buy a farm. You know nothing about farming,” Harriet said. “You can’t-”

“This morning you were complaining that I’d never done anything in my life, and now all you can say is that I can’t do what I want to. No!” Edilean said when Harriet started to defend herself. “You stay here with Tabitha while I go talk to Mr. Sylvester’s widow.”

“You cannot think to leave me here with that… that woman!”

“Yes, I can,” Edilean said as she pried Harriet’s fingers off her arm. “And you’ll be perfectly safe because believe me when I tell you that I know from experience that she’s not very good in a fight.”

Harriet looked as though she was going to faint.

Edilean turned to Tabitha. “Don’t do anything to scare her or I’ll not let you in on this.”

Tabitha nodded but she looked at Harriet with a wicked gleam in her eye.

“Do buck up, Harriet,” Edilean said. “After you give her a bath and clean clothes, you’ll see that she’s fairly presentable.”

“Me?” Harriet said. “I am to bathe her? Are you mad?”

“Probably,” Edilean said over her shoulder as she hurried toward the Sylvester wagon. “I am probably totally insane.”

Part Two