Georgianna and the Colt Walker #Wattys2020

c h a p t e r 7

These chapters do switch point of views. (Georgianna and Card.)

Georgianna tugged the strings of her hat and let the wind blow in her face. She smiled. This is much better than dust blowing into my eyes and mouth.

She was glad Card convinced her to walk.

Some children plodded alongside her, others skipped around, playing tag. A group of girls giggled amongst themselves, not thirty yards away from Georgianna.

She smiled. She was content. She was on her way to California and she didn't have to converse to anybody while she walked. She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply.

"Are you the girl who was abused by her uncle?"

Georgianna jerked and looked around for the speaker.

A girl, no more than sixteen years old, walked behind her.

"I'm sorry if I startled you." She bit her lip and looked apologetically into Georgianna's eyes. "I just noticed you were walking by yourself and thought you might be a bit lonely."

I am not especially lonely. Georgianna thought. She did not voice her thoughts. "Ahh, yes, I'm Georgianna. I didn't know everyone knew about my uncle."

"Oh, in this wagon train, nothing stays a secret. It's like town gossip, except ten times faster. We don't have anything better to do, so lots of people here just gossip all day." She laughed.

Georgianna decided this girl wasn't a nosy old lady.

The girl smiled. "My names is Clara."

Clara's braided, ginger hair fell to a foot past her shoulders, freckles sprinkled her nose, and her emerald eyes looked like crescents due to her squinting.

"Because my da lost his job, we're moving west. He couldn't get a job on account of his red hair and Irish blood. He said we had no choice but to move west," Clara said. "My ma was upset about uprooting. She still doesn't talk much to da."

"I see." Georgianna mulled over the information. What was she supposed to say?

Georgianna and Clara walked another five yards in silence.

"So is the man you're traveling with your husband?" Clara asked.

Georgianna turned beet red. Maybe Clara wasn't as innocent as she first appeared. This is why she wanted to stay in the wagon. This is why she had avoided socializing. Who, so blatantly, asked such embarrassing questions?

"No, he most certainly is not. I hired him to take me to California. I didn't really know the first thing about wagons and he did, so I hired him," she paused, debating if she needed to defend herself further. She decided she did, "but he sleeps with Copper Dave and I have a tent all to myself."

"That's dandy. I didn't mean to seem nosy or anything. I just thought it'd be awfully romantic if you two were newlyweds on your way to the golden land," said Clara.

Georgianna felt her cheeks light up once more. It would not be terribly romantic. It would be -

She slapped her cheeks repeatedly. Don't think that way.

Clara ignored Georgianna's sporadic slapping and continued speaking. "While we're on the subject, John Sullivan and I are sweethearts. We lived next door to each other back home. I was friends with his sister, God rest her soul, then John and I became friends. We were planning to get married this spring too, but both of our families decided to uproot and move to the land of sunshine and fertile soil. So we're putting off the wedding for now. At least both of our families are moving together."