She could give several reasons why. For one, she had hardly earned a cent the previous week. There was no business during the mourning period after the mining accident, but she’d heard that Madame Clarisse’s girls continued to get paid. Paddy Holloway’s did not; if Kura did not play, there was no money to be had. The problem was that Mrs. Miller still wanted her rent, as did the stable owner. Kura had considered selling the horse, but she had grown fond of the animal. Though she was irresolute and restless, she was relieved that the funeral service was over. She had enjoyed playing the organ—all the more so since she had been able to get the better of her obnoxious cousin Elaine—but it had been a genuine pleasure to play music again seriously. Even if Caleb Biller was the only one who rightly knew how to appreciate what she was capable of. Perhaps, Kura conceded, her distressed state of mind had something to do with Caleb. Kura was far from being in love with him, but she yearned for a man.
