Belle and Elizabeth traveled by train back to the Roma area, and went by stagecoach back to the town itself. There, they decided that Belle would move to the ranch with Elizabeth. The two had become close friends during their journey, and did not want to separate. Belle had also decided that she wanted to live a different kind of life, and was eager to try her hand at the healthy living of a ranch. For her part, Elizabeth was happy to have another friend at the ranch, and welcomed another helping hand. Belle was to help with cooking, cleaning, and entertaining, as well as the running of the business.
After several months, Belle wrote back to Roma and arranged to sell her business to one of the other ladies in the house. She moved into a more permanent room in Elizabeth’s ranch house, and began caring for some of the younger children. She also took over the bookkeeping, to give Elizabeth more time with her horses and children.
A couple of other ladies in Belle’s house moved to Elizabeth’s ranch as well, offering to help with cooking, cleaning and gardening. Elizabeth welcomed them with open arms, knowing that there was always enough work to go around, and thinking that it might be good idea to have more women around when men stayed in the lodging house. She did not encourage prostitution, but knew that a man enjoyed a woman’s company when he was eating and drinking. She encouraged the women to educate themselves through reading and writing, so that they could have intelligent conversations with the travelers. As her household grew, Elizabeth’s reputation as a hostess increased. Before long, her ranch had become a destination for travelers, as Roberto had hoped it would be.
Will returned to Boston and focused on healing his shoulder. He and Elizabeth continued their correspondence, planning to see each other as soon as possible. As the months crawled past, they began to make real plans for their reunion.
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