Addy had saved the train fare and more by the end of her first month there but had not even considered heading for Toronto. Mrs. Lemoine had given her a room of her own and three meals a day and paid her well for the work she did: cooking, cleaning, laundry, and gardening. For the first time in some time, Addy felt safe and believed if she stayed put, she could pretend her life was what it ought to be. Afraid as she’d been when she first set down, Chatham felt enough like home now not to bother looking someplace else. She never again thought of selling Poppa’s ring. Addy had a good friend in Mary Alice and was like a second mother to the two little Ferguson boys, Simon and Samuel. As long as she avoided being alone with Hamond there was harmony to the collusion of their lives. Mrs. Lemoine was not a gentle woman, but she was fair and rarely cross. The only conflict between the older and younger woman was over Addy’s baking. Mrs. Lemoine had grown fat on Addy’s pies and cakes and butter tarts and cursed Addy for her temptations.
