“Two days, if there are no surprises. Once we have the overgrowth stripped away and debris cleared out, we’ll check the structure and repair the glass. By Sunday, there should be some solid progress.”

“We leave it to you,” Ted said.

Libby glanced back in the direction of the greenhouse, feeling a pull she couldn’t describe. “There are no secrets that time doesn’t ultimately reveal,” she said, more to herself.

Elaine stilled. “Where did that come from?”

“A seventeenth-century French playwright, I think. Must have seen it on a plaque or a Pinterest page,” Libby mused.

“The greenhouse had its secrets, I’ll wager,” Colton said.

Libby felt a lift in her spirits she had not felt in a long time. “I can’t wait.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

SADIE

Monday, February 2, 1942

Bluestone, Virginia

Sadie was nervous as she drove onto Carter land without her brother. For all her talk just before Christmas about being the best driver, she was scared of the Carters. They were rich, and even though her mother said rich folks put their pants on just like the poor, Sadie knew different. They lived by their own set of rules.

The old engine groaned as Sadie downshifted and drove along the winding road toward the big house. Last week’s snow had melted, but her mother had said to expect a good bit more. Winter was not nearly finished with anyone yet.

Woodmont came into view. The brick exterior without the green wreaths wrapped in red bows looked bleak and unwelcoming. The trees were bare, and the only splash of green came from the boxwoods that filled the front beds.

Sadie hated this time of year. It was like the world was asleep, and they were all just waiting for spring.

She hated Bluestone even more now that Johnny was gone. She and her mother had driven him the twenty-five miles to the train station in Charlottesville. None of them had said a word in the truck, and when Sadie had hugged Johnny on the train platform, she and her mother had both cried like small children.

She downshifted and drove to the side of the house and parked next to the kitchen. She shut off the engine, waiting as the motor sputtered and coughed itself still before setting the parking brake.

Her mother had tried to get her to wear her Sunday dress. “Important to make a good impression,” she had said.

But Sadie had insisted it was too hard to shift the old truck’s gears when she was wearing a dress. Plus, there was no telling when the engine would up and stop on her, and she would be forced to climb up on the front bumper and fix whatever was broken. Engine grease was a sure way to ruin Sunday best.

Still, she had let her mother put a comb to her auburn hair and smooth the curls down as best she could before fastening it back with a ribbon. She was wearing the best overalls she owned and a clean shirt and had brushed all the dirt off her scuffed brown shoes.

Sadie hugged the frayed folds of her coat close, conscious that the buttons did not match. She hurried up the steps and knocked on the kitchen door.

She turned her back to the door, staring at the land that rolled down toward the river. Without the leaves on the trees, the porch offered an unobstructed view of the James. The waters were meandering slowly today, as if they too did not care much for the cold.

The door snapped open behind her, and she turned, expecting to see the cook. Standing in the threshold was Edward Carter, a frown creasing the lines of his face. He was dressed in gray suit pants, a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and a vest cut from the same fabric as his pants.

“You’re late,” he said, glancing at his wristwatch.

“It’s eleven a.m., just as we agreed.” Sadie had gone to the general store and used Mr. Sullivan’s phone to call the Carter house last week. She had asked Mrs. Fritz the time twice and had scribbled it on a piece of butcher paper.

Her rebuttal appeared to irritate him more. “The time was ten.”

She slid her hands into her pockets, ready to pull out the note, when her mother’s warning rang in her ears. “No sass, girl, even if you’re right.”

“Sorry about that, sir,” she said. “Does Miss Olivia still want me to drive her into Charlottesville?”

“As luck would have it, she is just finishing up breakfast and should be ready any minute. You’re lucky she runs so late.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Come on inside. As soon as she arrives, I’ll show you both to the garage and familiarize you with the car. Then I’m afraid I won’t be able to stay. I’ve patients to see this afternoon in Lynchburg.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Which means if you two girls get into trouble, I won’t be able to help. We do have a telephone at the house and one at the hospital. Do you know how to use one?”

“Sure I do. But we won’t get into trouble. We’ll take it slow and steady.”

“Your brother wrote me a letter, telling me again what a good worker you are. Don’t prove him wrong, young lady.”

She would have liked to see the letter, just to have another piece of her brother. “Johnny’s never wrong about anything.”

Dr. Carter nodded, satisfied with the answer.

Sadie stepped into the kitchen, savoring the warmth as it soaked into her bones. She wished she could store some of that heat somehow for the ride home later.

“I’ll let Olivia know you’re here. There’s a plate of biscuits on the table if you’re hungry. Your brother says you always have an appetite.”

That surely was true. “Thank you.”

Unrolling his sleeves, he pushed through the swinging doors and vanished inside the house. She lifted a red-and-white-checkered cloth. Underneath was a plate of beautiful warm biscuits staring up at her. She took a bite out of the first and then gobbled the rest of it in seconds. It would have been better to eat it slowly like a lady, but there had been little extra at breakfast this morning at home. She had told her mother to eat the extra herself because she had been ailing from a cold for a couple of weeks.

Sadie removed a handkerchief and wrapped two biscuits and stuffed them in her pocket. Heeled footsteps sounded in the outer hallway as she pushed a second biscuit whole in her mouth.

Miss Olivia pushed through the swinging door, hurriedly brushing back a dark curl from her milk-white skin. She was dressed in a brown dress with embroidered flowers along the hem, which hit her slender legs midcalf. Her shoes were polished and looked made of soft calfskin, matching the purse dangling from her forearm.

“Good morning, Miss Thompson,” Olivia said.

Sadie swallowed and smiled. “Morning to you, ma’am.” Biscuit crumbs gathered on her cuff, which she quickly brushed away. “You can call me Sadie. Everyone does.”

“Sadie it is, then.”

Edward arrived, and Olivia smiled up at him and kissed him meekly on the cheek.

Some of the frown on Dr. Carter’s face softened. “I want you to be careful today.”

Olivia grinned. “I will.” She opened her purse and removed gloves. “I don’t see how a ride in the country can be all that dangerous.”

“The roads are still icy in spots.”

“I’ve survived far worse.” Olivia sniffed.

Ignoring the comment, Dr. Carter shrugged on his own wool coat. “If you ladies will follow me, I’ll show you the car.”