He said, "We'll teach him. It's just that he has to learn some things the hard way."
"Oh Joe! I'm glad we're going! Oregon will be good for him!"
Joe's heart skipped a beat with delight at hearing her say this. "It will give him a chance to work his vinegar off. I'm not so sure he could do that if he stayed here. He'd want a farm of his own, and Elias would have to loan him some of the money to buy it, and the first time Elias pressed him there'd be fur flying. It wouldn't be Tad's either."
They felt a tender intimacy, a closeness that made them cling together. Joe cleared his throat. He had deceived her, and now he must undo that deception.
He said, "I didn't give your dishes to Helen."
"But," her eyes puzzled, "I asked you to."
"I know. I made a box for them and put them in the wagon instead."
A little anguished shadow flitted across her face. "I couldn't bear to have them broken."
"They won't be broken," he assured her. "The Casper's broke because they just didn't know how to pack. We're taking eggs too, aren't we? Every piece will get to Oregon with us."
The anguished shadow faded and she cast him a glance of purest love. But doubts remained, and she was a bit ashamed.