On day1793, Mara’s letter came out from under Ressa’s clean ledger weight.
It had arrived while they were away. Ressa had put it where the stove could not warm the seal and the cooper’s youngest apprentice could not mistake it for a delivery order.
“From Caldrin,” she said. “I thought you would want to open that yourselves.”
Neri thanked her and took it upstairs.
Mara had written on1769. She described Hester’s election to the full workshop appointment, including the objection about the second shift’s representation and the amendment that had answered it. Then the official part ended. There were three lines about the clay model cat, one about a neighbor’s plant that had outgrown its pot, and nearly half a page about repairing her own kettle.
Hester’s old letter had finally found her at home.
Iven remembered Hester describing the bearing over their arrival meal in Caldrin. The letter itself had still been somewhere on the forwarding road then. Now Mara had read it with Hester at home, finally holding the page that had followed her across two changed addresses. The worn paper had traveled farther than either woman had intended. It had brought no new disaster. They had laughed over the description of a bearing they both knew was already replaced.
