by Regina Scott
So was Mimi’s. A sunny-day blue, the dress had shoulders and skirts adorned with clusters of darker blue ribbons holding sprays of lavender.
“Mr. Kincaid,” her friend said brightly, offering him her hand. “I’m so glad to locate you.”
Kincaid inclined his head over her hand. “Miss Carruthers. Always a pleasure. Did you have a particular need of me?”
Mimi fluttered her sable lashes to effect. “Why yes. A gentleman was looking for you. Something about your largest mill. I believe he’s over by the refreshment tables.”
Kincaid glanced to where long tables, draped in white, held every manner of delicacy. He must have seen someone he knew but did not particularly like, for he paled. “Excuse me, my dear. I’ll return shortly.”
As soon as he’d moved away, Cora grabbed Mimi’s hand and drew her in the opposite direction, until they were largely hidden by the crowd. “Thank you, but I fear my reprieve won’t last long. I’ve been just this side of rude, and still he hovers.”
“Perhaps you’re too much of a challenge,” Mimi suggested. “Flatter his consequence and look besotted. He might lose interest.”
Cora made a face. “Not before I gag. No, I simply must refuse to dance, with him or anyone else.”
“A shame your Mr. Hardee could not attend,” Mimi said.
Would Nathan feel at ease in such company? Likely he would have to attend these events if he took the job at the bank. “Perhaps I can plead weariness,” Cora said.
“Well, you did climb a mountain,” Mimi pointed out. “If anyone has an excuse to rest, it’s you.” She glanced around. “I must determine which man I want to persuade to our side first and put the idea in his mind to ask me to dance. Oh!”
Cora turned to see who her friend had spotted and nearly lost her footing.
Amelia Thackery and her husband, Eugene, had just entered the ballroom, and with them was Nathan. Very likely Cora was the only person besides them who recognized him. Oh, that height could not be disguised, but now those shoulders were encased in a black coat with satin lapels. His black waistcoat sparkled with silver threads, and his dusty pants had been replaced by sleek black trousers. And his hair! It lay neatly against the side of his face, and his beard was gone, leaving paler skin below the tan of his cheeks. She might have decided not to dance, but her stomach seemed to have other ideas, for it set up a polka.
“Who is that?” Mimi hissed. “I must make his acquaintance and convince him to partner me.”
“You’ve already met him, though he certainly doesn’t look like what you remember,” Cora said. “And I fear you won’t get a dance. He’ll be far too busy dancing with me.”
Nathan shifted from foot to foot, scanning the ballroom. All of Tacoma’s finest in one room, silks and satins and fine wool wherever he looked. Jewels glittered in the light from the crystal chandelier. Once he’d thought he fit here. Now, even a haircut and fancy new clothes didn’t make him feel welcome.
Amelia had supervised the metamorphosis. Though Nathan had agreed to lay low until Cora had officially called off the engagement, he couldn’t help worrying about her. He didn’t believe Kincaid’s claim to innocence for a moment. If the fellow had placed an announcement in the paper, what else might he do to trap Cora into marriage? There had to be some way to remain close if she needed him.
Amelia had been determined to help. “You must give Mr. Kincaid a run for the money by being seen with her,” she insisted when Nathan and Waldo had dined with her and Eugene Sunday evening. “That way, when she refuses him, people will understand she had a better offer.”
Nathan snorted. “No one will see me as a better choice than Kincaid.”
“You might be surprised,” Eugene said as Waldo nodded.
“I took the liberty of asking Mrs. Underland to extend you an invitation to her ball tomorrow night,” Amelia said. “Miss Baxter will be attending.”
Waldo elbowed him where he sat beside Nathan at the table. “You should go. Our Cora will need you.”
They all watched him eagerly.
“I don’t look like the sort of fellow who attends balls,” Nathan reminded them.
“Leave that to me,” Amelia said.
She’d had Nathan at the barber first thing Monday morning, the tailor right after. Only that fellow had lamented the rush.
“No time to sew anything new,” he’d said. “And good luck finding ready-made for a fellow his size.”
Amelia had sighed as she gave her fringed parasol a twirl. “I am so disappointed, Mr. Brimhall. I have extolled your virtues to all my friends and their husbands, and now I find you cannot rise to the occasion. I suppose I will simply have to take my business elsewhere and encourage them to do the same.”
Amelia must have had a great number of friends, for the fellow had found a way to procure a coat, waistcoat, and trousers for Nathan.
“You can borrow one of Eugene’s shirts,” Amelia had told him as he carried the boxes from the shop. “It will be tucked in, so no one need know it’s a little short.”
Waldo had whistled when Nathan had rejoined him at Shem’s tavern, where they were staying. “Look at you,” he said, strolling around him until Nathan felt his cheeks growing warm. “Our Cora will be pleased.”
Now he supposed the number of looks being directed his way could be considered gratifying.
“Smile,” Amelia encouraged him. “You are enjoying yourself in such distinguished company, are you not?”
Nathan smiled at her. “In your and Eugene’s company, certainly. He’s a very fortunate fellow.”
“And don’t think I don’t know it,” Eugene said with a grin as he threaded his wife’s arm through his own.
“Oh, look,” she said. “Here comes Miss Baxter.”
Nathan’s heart slammed into his rib cage, forcing him to stand taller. Cora was bearing down on him, her friend Miss Carruthers at her side. He had only a moment to take in her curves in the creamy satin gown that seemed to be covered with . . . bubbles?
“Mrs. Thackery, Mr. Thackery,” she said with a warm smile. “So nice to see you again. I didn’t realize you were acquainted with Mr. Hardee.”
“Nathan and I knew each other at the university,” Eugene explained. “And it’s very good to see you and Miss Carruthers again.”
“How is your father, Miss Carruthers?” Amelia asked solicitously. “I understand he’s been feeling poorly.”
As Miss Carruthers moved to speak with her and her husband, Cora closed the distance to Nathan’s side. “What are you doing here?”
“I’ve been asking myself the same question,” he answered. “I suppose I’m trying society on for size, seeing how it fits.”
“And how does it fit?” she asked.
He shrugged his shoulders and felt the coat protest. “A little tight.”
“I know the feeling.” Before he could question her, she put a hand on his arm. “Here comes Kincaid. I have no desire to pretend I enjoy his company. Are you willing to run away with me?”
“Wherever you lead,” Nathan vowed.
“Then follow me, and we will find something better to do.”
He didn’t resist as she tugged him toward a set of double doors at the side of the ballroom.
27
Cora towed Nathan out the doors and onto a flagstone terrace. Even though this was the second home Mrs. Underland had had constructed in the city, she’d had time to grow lawns, shrubs, and trees. Now the moon gilded the lush growth in silver as Cora led Nathan away from the house along paths that wound through the greenery.
The sounds of the ball faded behind her, until all she could hear were the strains of the music. She took a deep breath of the lavender-scented air and felt her shoulders come down. “There. That’s better.”
“Much,” he agreed, strolling beside her. “But won’t your admirers miss you?”
“I’ve had entirely too many admirers the last two days,” she assured him. “Everyone came to gawk at the woman who cl
imbed Rainier and agreed to marry Cash Kincaid.”
“They’ll find other curiosities to amuse them,” he predicted as the horn of a railway engine split the night. “I hear a farmer in Puyallup has a two-headed calf.”
Cora swatted his arm. “I’m not that much of an oddity, sir.”
He glanced her way, eyes shadowed with the night. “But you are. Only a handful of people have reached the summit. That puts you in a rare class.”
“And I still thought I could get on with my plans.” Cora stopped on the edge of the lawn, moonlight glittering on the waves of Puget Sound below. “How? Now I know there’s so much more than this.”
“And this does not suffice?” he asked.
Was that hope in his voice? It tugged at her too.
“No,” she said. “This seems utterly frivolous.”
In the distance, in another life, she heard a waltz starting. Once, she would have had her pick of partners. Now she only wanted to be here, with him.
“You asked me why I came to the ball tonight,” Nathan said softly. “I’d be pleased to dance with the loveliest lady in attendance.” He bowed. “May I, Miss Baxter?”
Cora smiled. “I’d be delighted, sir.” She took his hands and stepped onto the lawn and into his embrace.
He led her through the steps. One, two, three. One, two, three. His arms held her; his gaze flashed green, warm and appreciative. Her skirts swished across the grass, but she was certain she floated on air.
Then he slowed, stopped, and her heart pounded far faster than the movement of the dance had required. Lowering his head, he brushed his lips against hers.
This. This was what she’d missed. As exhilarating as the climb, as amazing as the view. Together, they were magnificent.
He raised his head and looked toward the house. She heard it then too, the crunch of a foot on gravel. Cora tensed, but Mimi appeared around a shrub. Nathan stepped back from Cora. The cool breeze from the water raised gooseflesh on her bare arms above her gloves.
“It’s a lovely night for a stroll,” Mimi announced, glancing up at the moon as if she could feel its pull. “If anyone asks, do assure them I have been out in the garden the entire time.”
Nathan frowned, but Cora understood. She put a hand on her friend’s arm. “Thank you. Is my mother looking for me?”
“Not yet,” Mimi said, dropping her gaze to meet Cora’s. “But Mr. Kincaid is prowling around as if he means to dismantle the entire house to find you. I did try suggesting that he dance with me instead. He refused with his usual gallantry.” She huffed.
Cora glanced to Nathan. “I suppose we should return.”
He inclined his head, then offered each of them an arm. “Ladies?”
Mimi latched on right away. “Why, thank you, Mr. Hardee. I understand you are considering moving back into the city. Have you decided on a house yet?”
A house? On his other side, Cora looked up at him in surprise.
His smile remained pleasant as he led them toward the house. “Not yet. I’m still trying to determine my best course.”
Mimi glanced around him to Cora. “Well, Cora and I would be glad to have you return to good society. Wouldn’t we, Cora?”
Cora made herself smile. “Certainly, sir. If that’s what you want.”
But was it what she wanted?
Nathan held the door to allow Cora and her friend to enter the ballroom. The glittering chandelier sent rainbows over them as they moved across the parquet floor. After the cool night air, the room felt too warm, and too many scents fought for supremacy—the rose and gardenia of the ladies’ perfume, the mint and bay rum of the gentlemen’s cologne, the fruity punch and the sugary cakes on the refreshment table. Another time, he would simply have made his regrets and left.
But he knew what he wanted, and remaining in society might be the only way to win Cora, especially if her mother continued to pressure her about Kincaid.
Cora belonged here. Already people were moving closer, ladies to chat, men to implore her to dance. Her mother sailed up, a heavyset fellow with fierce whiskers at her side.
“There you are, Coraline. I vow you are so popular at these events I simply cannot keep track of you.” She smiled at the older man. “You must meet Mr. Fischer. He is a staunch supporter of civic causes, and he is considering running for governor.”
He beamed at Mrs. Winston before turning his gaze to Cora. “A pleasure, Miss Baxter. Your mother has been telling me all about you. A noted equestrian, I hear.”
That was the sum of her mother’s boasting, that Cora rode well? What of her graduation from college, her work at the bank, her support of women’s suffrage, her climb up the mountain?
Cora inclined her head, pale hair flashing in the light. “I enjoy a good ride as well as the next lady, sir. But a gubernatorial candidate. My friend Miss Carruthers is particularly interested in politics.”
Mimi assumed a charming smile as well. “Indeed I am, sir. You must tell me all about your plans. Advances in education? More jobs for our hard workers? Votes for women?”
He laughed, a booming sound that had several glancing their way. “Well, certainly not the last. It has been well proven scientifically that women’s brains should not be strained by having to choose a candidate.”
Both Cora’s and Mimi’s smiles froze on their faces.
“I’ve never heard of such studies,” Mimi said. “Why, I can’t imagine how I ever chose between the gentlemen asking for a dance. I might have been chatting with a fool and not known it.”
“Even now,” Cora added.
Her mother’s face tightened, but Fischer remained blissfully ignorant. “Now, then, that’s what we gentlemen are for, to protect our fine ladies.”
“But who will protect the country from you?” Mimi asked sweetly.
“Ah, there’s Winston,” Cora’s mother sang out. “You must meet my husband, Mr. Fischer. He’s the director of the Puget Sound Bank of Commerce.”
With a polite nod all around, Fischer allowed himself to be led away.
“That’s one I won’t bother to convince,” Mimi muttered, watching them go. “I hope she doesn’t see him as a suitor for you after you cry off from Mr. Kincaid.”
“She sees advantage only,” Cora said with a sigh. “And a daughter married to the governor of Washington State.”
Miss Carruthers turned to Nathan. “Do you have any political ambitions, Mr. Hardee?”
“None whatsoever,” Nathan promised her.
She waved her hand before her pretty mouth as if overcome by the warmth of the room. “A shame. Apparently, intelligence is quite an asset in that field. You could go far.”
Nathan chuckled. “I like you, Miss Carruthers. You can share my campfire any time.”
She dropped her hand. “I may take you up on that offer. Now, look sharp. Another villain is about to descend on us.”
Kincaid bore down on them. Cora stepped closer to Nathan. He had to fight the urge to put his arm about her. That statement could not be made in public.
Yet.
“Coraline,” Kincaid said. “Miss Carruthers. I was hoping for a dance.”
“Delighted,” Mimi said, stepping forward.
He hesitated a moment, but Cora narrowed her eyes at him, as if daring him to dismiss her friend. With a tight smile, he led Mimi out onto the floor.
“He’s allowing himself to be trapped by all this,” Nathan said. “He’s trying to play by the rules.”
“Aren’t we all,” Cora said. “Perhaps you should ask me to dance again, Mr. Hardee.”
“You sure about that?” he asked.
“Why, certainly. A lady dances with whomever requests her hand. I’m sure you just offered.”
“You took the words from my mouth.” Nathan held out his arm.
It was a polka this time, so he didn’t have the opportunity to hold her as closely as if it were a waltz, which was probably good given that everyone thought she was engaged to Kincaid. Still, she moved with a
n easy grace, spinning through the steps like sunlight rippling on water. As soon as the dance ended, a bevy of belles surrounded her, talking and laughing, and the gentlemen flocked to join them.
Nathan slipped back out of the fray. This was her time. Let her shine.
“Miss Baxter is much sought after,” Amelia said when she ventured to his side a short time later as he stood by the back wall. He caught sight of Eugene at the refreshment table.
“With good reason,” Nathan answered. He turned to her. “Would you care to dance?”
She fanned her face with one hand. “No, but thank you for asking. Now I may refuse the next gentleman with impunity.”
Nathan laughed. “Happy to be your excuse.”
Along with a glass of punch for his wife, Eugene brought back several gentlemen he knew from the Union Club. Soon, Nathan was in the middle of discussions of finance, legalities, the price of silver, and the downturn in the economy.
“If you ask me, the more charity we give out, the less these fellows are inclined to work,” one of the men complained, gloved hand gripping his cup of ruby-red punch. “Let them go hungry for a time, and they’ll be more reasonable.”
“Never knew hunger to make a man reasonable,” Nathan said.
“Forgive me, gentlemen, but I should get my sweetheart home,” Eugene put in quickly. “Nathan, won’t you join us?”
Nathan inclined his head, and they moved with Amelia away from the group.
“I wasn’t that tired,” Amelia told her husband.
“Sorry,” Eugene said with a commiserating look. “But I thought it best to escape while we could.”
“I take it some opinions aren’t welcome now,” Nathan said.
“Were they ever?” Eugene asked. He shook his head. “Mr. Fischer may want to be governor, but everything in society is politics of a sort. Best to keep one’s head down.”
