“You heard the crowd roar,” Sophronia said with a tilt of her head. “No need to doubt your brilliance, boy.”
He pulled the old woman close. “No, but your opinion matters more than ten audiences,” he whispered into her ear.
She patted his arm. “Well then, let me reassure you that you remain the premier pianist of your generation. Perhaps to ever play.” She winked at him and then waved her cane around to make room for herself to move to a chair.
Genevieve wrapped him in a quick hug, whispering, “I told you it was brilliant,” kissing his cheek. She squeezed his hand and then stood at his side as he accepted congratulations from Parthena and Morgan.
Parthena kept her arm looped through Morgan’s as she smiled at Lucas. “It was magical.” Morgan nodded and moved with Parthena into the room.
Aidan and Delia were the final two to congratulate Lucas and Perry. Aidan pulled Lucas close. “You honored her, and yourself, with your work. It is beautiful, and I hope you will share it with Jeremy one day.”
Lucas nodded, reaching blindly for Genevieve, who clasped his hand and moved into his side.
Delia squeezed his arm before moving to embrace her daughter and Sophie.
Perry closed the door and flicked the lock on any interlopers who hoped to sneak inside. He turned to lift a glass of contraband champagne to the family and friends inside. “I hope you will all raise a glass,” he said with a broad smile, “to my wonderful friend and brilliant musician, Lucas, and his tribute to his beloved sister.” He smiled at Lucas. “I’m only glad that he will be the one having to fend off the hordes of fans, rather than me.” He winked at Rowena and saw her smile of agreement.
Lucas took a sip of champagne and then punched Perry in his arm. “We have plenty of fans, and you’ll still have your fair share, Perry.”
Sophronia tapped her cane on the floor, and the two men stopped teasing each other as they focused on the woman who was the unofficial matriarch of their group. “You both have a remarkable talent, and it is a relief to see that you are not squandering it. No one would have been happier than Savannah to see your continued success nor your absolute joy in the life you are leading,” Sophie said, as she addressed Lucas. “You commemorated her in the best possible fashion, and I know, when she looks upon us, she is bursting with pride for you.”
Lucas nodded, his grip on Genevieve tightening at Sophie’s words. After a few moments, he raised his glass and said in a raspy voice, “To Savannah. To family. To love.”
Chapter 14
Missoula, Montana; June 1920
In early June, the lupine and columbine—in varying shades of purple, pink, and red—bloomed, brightening the days, as summer fought to banish springtime weather. Every day, less snow clung to the mountain peaks, and the hills were a lush green. The windows were open at the library on a warm June afternoon, as Eleanor worked shelving books.
No one will ever want you. Look at you! Fat and introverted! Eleanor closed her eyes, attempting to block out the vicious words her mother had screamed at her this morning, when Eleanor had informed her mother that she would not be home tonight to meet the eligible man her mother wanted her to marry. A man her mother believed would help save the family.
Eleanor cringed as she could only imagine who her mother wanted her to meet. “An elderly pot-bellied man with a receding hairline and seven children and two grandchildren, eager for me to care for him in his dotage,” she muttered to herself, pushing the cart around the nearly empty library, stuffing books back into their correct places after they had been returned.
“Is that an advertisement for the man you seek?” asked a melodious baritone from behind her.
When she stifled a shriek and spun around, she flushed peony pink at the sight of Jeremy, watching her with bemusement. “What are you doing here?” she whispered. She hadn’t seen him in weeks, having forced herself to grant him the time and the space he had asked her for when he had walked her home in mid-May.
He shrugged. “I had hoped to see you at a family gathering, but Rissa said you were busy. I had then hoped you’d visit me at the workshop. When Ronan, who’s a fan of yours, forced me to see I was acting like a coward, I realized I needed to come to you.” His alert gaze roved over her, and he frowned. “How are you, Ellie?”
Her eyes filled at the use of his nickname for her. “No one ever calls me that. I’m either Eleanor or the old maid or other unsavory names.” She sniffled. “I’m fine.”
He shook his head. “Fine is the word used when talking with someone who doesn’t care about the answer.” His intense gaze held hers. “I care.” After a long moment, he whispered again, “How are you, Ellie?”
“Terrible,” she gasped out, as though pulled from her unwillingly. “I … My mother wants me home for dinner to meet that man I just envisioned. And she’s meaner than ever at my refusal.”
Jeremy nodded as he took a step forward, his attentive gaze alert to any hesitancy at his closeness. When she canted toward him, he relaxed and gripped her hand. “Where did you plan to go when you refused her?”
She shrugged. “I thought I’d sit in the park a while and then eat a meal at a café. Anything to not seem like a heifer in an auction.” She flushed at her rash words.
“Hush, never say such things about yourself,” he chided, while he studied her with tenderness. “Come to Colin’s for dinner. With all of us. Then let me walk you home.” He grinned. “I promise I’ll get us lost, so we can take the long way to your house and to ensure you miss the repugnant guest.”
“Are you sure? I’ve wanted to give you time,” she whispered.
“You’ve given me too much time. I’ve missed you more than I can ever say.” He reached forward, his fingers caressing her arm. “Come to Colin’s? Spend time with us? With me?” he asked, a note of entreaty in his voice.
She beamed at him and flushed with pleasure. “Please. I’d like that.” She studied him as he stared at her. “You’re different.” When he shook his head to contradict her, stroking a hand over his trimmed beard, she murmured, “You don’t seem so weighted down as you were before.”
He leaned forward to kiss her forehead. “I’m not. But that’s a long story and not one I want to discuss in the library. I’ll count the hours until I can see you again.” He stroked a finger over her soft cheek, smiling as she turned her face into his gentle caress.
“Ensure they won’t mind my presence,” she murmured.
He chuckled. “They’ll be happy that I’ll no longer be as surly as a bear.” He smiled at her and backed up a step. “I’ll see you tonight.”
Eleanor watched him leave, a hopeful smile on her face as he disappeared around the end of the bookcase aisle. She stood stock-still for long minutes, reliving their interaction. When she heard her mother’s booming voice, she jumped and spun to her cart to continue her task.
“Eleanor!” her mother shrieked, rounding the corner to the aisle. “I had thought they would give you more dignified work.” Her mother sniffed her disappointment and cast an appraising eye over the books Eleanor shelved. Her eyes bulged. “I’m sure these were to be destroyed during the War!” Her mother gasped.
Eleanor looked at the books and noticed a few were by German authors, including Faust by Goethe. “Mother, there’s no reason for literature to be burned.” She frowned at her mother. “No book should ever be burned.”
“Hush, child,” her mother snapped. “You know many died fighting those horrible Huns, and we should never support their culture.” Her mother reached for the books she deemed offensive, but Eleanor tugged the cart away from her.
“You don’t work here. You don’t have any say on what is on the shelves.” She inadvertently hit her mother with the cart as she tried to maneuver it away from her mother’s grasping hands. Her mother shrieked in indignation, although Eleanor doubted her mother was truly harmed from her contact with the cart. “Mother,” she said in exasperation.
“You aren’t even concerned that
you’ve maimed me,” her mother cried out, as she collapsed against one of the shelves. It tottered but stabilized before it toppled to the ground. “You could have gouged my beautiful new dress before our dinner with our important guest tonight.” Her mother ran a hand over her fuchsia dress that shimmered in the light.
“Mother, I’ve already informed you that I will not be available for dinner tonight. I will be with friends.”
Her mother stood tall, any concern for a bruised shin forgotten as her daughter attempted to countermand her order. “You are under the impression that you are free to come and go as you please from your father’s home. That is not the case, young lady.” Her mother pinned her with a ferocious stare. “You are expected to act as a hostess, as am I, whenever it is required of you. Tonight is such a night.” She frowned as her daughter did not shrink under her quelling stare.
“I am sorry to disappoint you, Mother, but I will not be home this evening. As I said, I will be with friends.”
Her mother leaned forward and spoke in a low voice that cut with the precision of a rapier. “You have no friends. No one would want to befriend a fat, homely girl like you with even less brains than you have beauty.” She nodded as she saw her words hit their mark as her daughter’s eyes filled with tears. “I expect you home to help me serve dinner at six.”
Eleanor watched as her mother turned away with her skirts flouncing around her. Eleanor gripped the handle of the cart as she fought a subtle trembling.
“Her departure was quite different from Jeremy’s,” Clarissa murmured, as she walked behind Eleanor. She winked at Eleanor and motioned for her to abandon the cart to follow her into the back room. When the door was closed behind them, Hester watching the front desk, Clarissa motioned for Eleanor to sit, while she made a pot of tea.
“I … I’m sorry if I’ve embarrassed you,” Eleanor whispered, as she looked at her hands on her lap.
“Embarrassed me?” Clarissa asked with an amused smile. She tilted her head to one side. “I wish you’d known my good friend Mr. Pickens better. He died many years ago, but he always knew what to say to encourage me to do what I feared.” She chuckled. “Or to show me what a fool I was being.”
Clarissa waited in silence for Eleanor to speak. When she didn’t, Clarissa murmured, “I fear you will disappoint Jeremy tonight.”
Eleanor jerked her gaze to Clarissa’s and flushed with guilt. “I … My mother can be quite demanding.”
Shrugging, Clarissa said, “Just because she’s demanding doesn’t mean she’s right. You have friends. You are not homely. You are smart.” She looked at the woman she considered friend. A woman she might one day consider family. “Don’t allow her to fill your mind with her lies, Eleanor.”
Eleanor sat in contemplative silence. “Your family is so happy for you. They’d never want for you to be unhappy.” She frowned as Clarissa pealed with laughter.
“Oh, I thought my story with Gabriel was well-known. Or perhaps you just don’t remember it. Do you recall how I told you that I had disobeyed my stepmother? Well, she was a spiteful, cruel woman who loathed Gabe. She helped convince my father to force Gabriel from my life, and he left for Montana. I never thought to follow him, but I refused to marry Cameron.” She sobered at the memory of her suitor in Boston. “I know what it is to defy family. I know what it is to leave my father’s house, cloaked in scandal and disappointment, clinging to hope by a fingernail.” She grabbed Eleanor’s hand. “Don’t allow your mother to convince you that she’s right. She’s not.”
Eleanor stared at Clarissa. “But you are?”
Clarissa shook her head. “Of course not. Only you can know what you need or want. I’m hoping it’s Jeremy.” She saw Eleanor’s interest piqued at the mention of her brother-in-law. “He’s been more alive since he met you. And I think he has a chance of being happy again with you.”
“Because I’m nothing like Savannah,” Eleanor said in a flat voice.
Frowning, Clarissa sat on a chair by Eleanor and studied her hurt expression. “I don’t know what upset you with Jeremy, but I do know he’s missed you these past weeks.” She paused. “And you are the opposite of Savannah in appearance.” When Eleanor flinched, Clarissa grabbed her hand to encourage her to remain seated by her. “Sav was blond and blue-eyed. She fretted about her figure, needlessly at times.”
Clarissa paused. “But, in every other way, you remind me of Sav. You’re strong and smart and opinionated. You are dedicated to family, loyal even when you shouldn’t be.” She shrugged as though that were a good and bad trait. “And I hope you know how to love with abandon.”
Eleanor’s eyes filled. “I’m not sure I deserve such praise.”
Clarissa smiled. “I know you do. Come tonight. Everyone will be delighted to see you, and Billy will be over the moon to have you there to play with him.” She squeezed Eleanor’s shoulder as she stood and moved to the front desk to help Hester, leaving Eleanor to think through her decision.
“Whatever I decide, I’ll disappoint someone,” she murmured. After many minutes, she realized the one person she should worry about disappointing was herself.
* * *
Jeremy paced in the living room, as children raced around him. Breandan played on the carpet in front of the settee with Little Colin, and Jeremy watched to ensure neither boys found a hidden treasure to stuff into their mouths. Lately Breandan wanted to put everything into his mouth. “No, little love,” Jeremy murmured as he grabbed a coin that Breandan ferreted out from under the settee. “Not that.” He swiped a hand over Breandan’s head and sighed with relief when his son focused on a toy Little Colin thrust at him, rather than the coin his father denied him.
Jeremy looked to the front door and fought a glower as the front steps remained empty. He battled his instinct to have Colin watch his son so that Jeremy could sit on the front porch like a lovesick boy. Running a hand through his hair, he sighed. How had it come to this? Clarissa had warned him that Eleanor might not come, due to her mother’s bullying about the guest at her mother’s house tonight. Jeremy had foolishly hoped Eleanor would choose him over familial duty. After weeks of indecision, he was filled with purpose and needed to see her.
Bright early evening light poured into Colin’s living room, and Jeremy stood in the warming rays. The days were warm, with cool nights, and he enjoyed the subtle change toward summer. Enough rain and cloudy days reminded him it remained springtime, but he knew the fleeting days of summer would soon arrive. Fighting a schoolboy’s hope, he wondered if he would have the chance for romance this summer. He closed his eyes and tilted his face up to the sun for a moment.
“Interesting way you have of minding the children,” Colin commented, his daughter in his arms.
Jeremy cracked open an eye and smiled at the man he considered brother. Colin now sat on the settee and watched the children. Jeremy eased onto the wide framed windowsill and relaxed under the sun’s soothing rays.
“Rissa really thought Eleanor would come,” Colin murmured.
“I did too,” Jeremy said. He kept his eyes closed, as his family had a remarkable ability to read his emotions in his gaze. “But I should have known better. I’ve never had to contend with a woman like her mother.”
Colin made a scoffing noise. “You did, you just choose to forget about your horrid aunt in Boston.” When Jeremy remained quiet, Colin sighed. But, when Araminta called out from the kitchen and then poked her head out the swinging door, he looked over his shoulder at her.
“Jeremy,” she called again. “Will you come here?” She winked at her husband, who beamed at her, and waited for Jeremy to approach.
Jeremy kissed Breandan on his forehead, murmured, “Mind your uncle Colin,” and nodded to Colin his thanks for watching the children. He slipped around the oversize dining room table, extended for their large family dinner, and stood in front of Araminta. “What’s the matter, Minta?”
She stood on her toes and kissed his cheek. “Come,” she said, her voice
d filled with mischievous joy as she tugged on his hand. He followed her into the kitchen, and the delicious scent of roasting chicken made his mouth water. A large frosted sheet cake sat on the side table, waiting for it to be time for dessert. She pushed him further into the kitchen to look out the kitchen window.
Catching himself after he stumbled, he leaned on the countertop in front of the sink. He froze as he looked outside. Eleanor shrieked with laughter, as Billy tackled her to the ground and tickled her. Her hair had flown free of its constrictive knot and billowed around her beautiful face, while her unreserved smile shone like a beacon with her joy. Her laughter was like a siren’s call, and he gripped the counter to keep from racing to her.
“What are you waiting for?” Araminta asked. “She’s here because of you, Jeremy. We all know that.”
Jeremy turned to meet Araminta’s encouraging gaze. Hope and terror fought for precedence in his chest.
“It’s all right to dream again, Jeremy. To love again.” Her gaze was filled with sympathy, not pity.
He gripped her arm and spun to the door. He made a whooping noise as he raced forward and hauled Billy up, tickling him unmercifully.
“Uncle!” Billy cried out, as he squirmed in Jeremy’s arms. “Uncle!” he pealed with laughter. When Jeremy stopped tickling him, Billy wrapped his arms around Jeremy’s neck. “I’ve missed playing with you, Uncle Jeremy.”
Jeremy held him close, breathing in the scents of a sweaty grass-stained boy without a care in the world. “As I’ve missed you, Billy-boy,” Jeremy murmured. When Clarissa poked her head out the back door, calling Billy in to wash up for dinner, Jeremy released his nephew.
Jeremy turned to Eleanor, who remained lying on the grass, staring at the blue sky in a shaded patch in the yard. “Eleanor,” he whispered, as he scooted to rest beside her, leaning on one arm. He reached forward to grasp a long strand of her silky raven-colored hair between his fingers. “You came.”
Triumphant Love: Banished Saga, Book Nine Page 22
