A delicate affair

Miriam started to climb down from the hayloft, but I grabbed her by the arm and held her back.

"Yes, it was very nice what we did. I'd like to do it again, but somewhere where we can be undisturbed."

She mused for a moment.

"Mhm, we could meet by the river. There's a place where I often go swimming in the summer. The bank there is protected from view by tall bushes."

She described a path that I remembered from my morning ride, and we arranged to meet there at 3 pm.

After looking down to see if anyone was watching, we climbed down the ladder. Miriam hurried into the house while I unsaddled the horses, rubbed them down and put them in their boxes.

Lunch was a delicate matter for me. Both mother and daughter would sneak lecherous glances at me when they thought the other one wasn’t noticing them. And I had to try to show them that I was aware of their affection without drawing the other's attention to it. I hoped I had mastered this challenge reasonably well. In any case, it didn't come to a scandal.

After the meal had been removed, I apologized to Rebecca that I had to head to town in the afternoon to post a telegram. The price for her horses was higher than expected, and I had to inform my financial backers.

"That's all right, of course," she replied, "do you think you'll get a quick reply?"

"It would be possible," I considered, "but I would have to wait at the telegraph office for the reply and would be gone all afternoon. I thought you wanted to speak to me again today?"

"Oh, it would suit me perfectly if we continued our business meeting later this evening," she winked at me, "we can have a much better and more detailed conversation then."

I was slightly embarrassed and quickly said goodbye to her. On my way out, I could just hear Miriam asking her mother for permission to go swimming.

I galloped across the road to the next town, hurried to send the telegram, and set off back immediately. Initially, I had made up the need for reinsurance only as an excuse to win more time. But the idea became more and more appealing to me. There was no way my backers would agree to a higher sum, and that would give me the best opportunity to beat down the price for the horses after all. With the greatest personal regret, as a matter of course, I could explain to Rebecca that my hands were tied, that I personally would gladly pay her more, but that my clients would not allow it.