by Kit Morgan
“Oh, come on,” Lincoln scoffed. Titus just laughed.
Dallan smiled at them. “Host’s privilege, then.”
“Oh, stop, you two,” Mavis said. “It’s cold out here.”
“Aye, but it’s hot in there. Why d’ye think I came outside?” Dallan looked at Lorelei and smiled. “Ye look bonny, lass. Shona will be pleased with herself.”
Lorelei blushed to her toes as her stomach knotted. She hated to have to tell Shona about the dress and shoes, but what else could she do? She took a deep breath to brace herself and hoped the woman wasn’t too mad. But then, she was used to being yelled at. She’d been listening to people yell at her for as long as she could remember.
Chapter Five
When they followed their host inside, Lorelei found that what she thought was a second story, was instead an open-beamed ceiling over twenty feet high. The dormers she’d noticed earlier were high on the front wall, accessible by a wraparound mezzanine with doors leading off it on the other three sides. There was a staircase at one end of the huge room – a room over fifty feet long and at least twenty-five wide – that led up to the mezzanine.
The stair rail and balustrade of the mezzanine were wrapped in fir boughs, red velvet bows and white Christmas lights. A floor-to-ceiling Christmas tree filled the center of the room. There was a kitchen at the other end of the house with a large pass-through in the wall, in front of which was a dining room table that seated at least twelve. Lorelei glimpsed an old-fashioned cast-iron cookstove in the kitchen and wondered if it worked.
“There you are!” came a familiar voice. “I’m so glad you came.”
Lorelei slipped her arm from Mr. Cooke’s and cringed, hoping the tears in the skirt weren’t noticeable. Shona was wearing the green dress she’d brought into Dunnigan’s. It was beautiful on her, with her auburn hair piled on her head and a few ringlets framing her face. She looked just like she’d stepped out of the 1800s. Which was the point, Lorelei reminded herself.
Shona took her hand. “You’re going to have a wonderful time!”
Lorelei let out the breath she’d been holding. “Shona, I … I need to talk to you. In private.”
“Oh, about what?” Shona said, concerned.
Lorelei’s heart sank to her toes. She hated disappointing the woman. Would she be angry? Only one way to find out. “It’s about my dress,” she whispered.
Shona’s eyes flicked over her. “What about it? It looks fine to me.” Of course, she couldn’t see it. Lorelei was still wearing the cloak. “I’ll explain, but can we go somewhere else?”
“Certainly.” Shona motioned toward the kitchen, then glanced at Dallan, whose back was to them.
Lorelei saw him stiffen just before he turned. They exchanged a look, and she swore something passed between them. Did Shona suspect the dress was damaged? Had they talked of the possibility when they loaned it to her? Great – then they already thought she wasn’t capable of handling things. It wasn’t her fault, but she was responsible for the dress no matter what happened.
With an overwhelming sense of dread, she followed Shona to the kitchen. She shouldn’t feel this bad, but she did. Cindy, Melanie or Heather wouldn’t care less if it happened to them. But that was the difference between Lorelei and those three – she cared.
“What is it?” Shona asked when they were alone.
Lorelei took off the cloak and pointed at her dress. “See it?”
Shona bent down and looked. “Oh, dear …”
“I’m so sorry!” Lorelei hoped she didn’t sound too pathetic. “I was taking a shower when someone came into my apartment and … and they stole the shoes too!”
Shona glanced at her sneakers, straightened and arched an eyebrow. “Who?” She sounded like a policeman interrogating a witness.
She sighed. “Some … old classmates from high school …”
Shona nodded as if she’d confirmed something. “Anyone I’ve met?”
“I think so. I’m pretty sure it was Cindy and Erwin. Look, I’m so sorry, and I promise I’ll pay for it. The shoes, too.”
Shona held up her hand. Those green eyes boring into Lorelei like twin lasers, but they held no anger – not for her, anyway. Somehow she could tell. “I see. Cindy from Dunnigan’s? The one that made those snide remarks the day we met? And I gather Erwin was the boy toy she was dragging around.”
Lorelei hesitated. What would Shona do? If she spoke with Cindy, her old classmate would make her life miserable for as long as she could. “Um, yeah.”
Shona nodded to herself. “Don’t worry about it. She seemed the type.”
“You believe me?”
“Of course I believe you.” She thought a moment. “And I know just the person to fix the dress. I’m not a good seamstress.”
“If you have some safety pins, I can do it.”
“I’m not sure …”
“Please, let me pin it,” Lorelei said. “I don’t want it to tear further.”
Shona sighed. “All right.” She went to a drawer and dug through it, emerging finally with a packet of small safety pins. “Let me. I can see what I’m doing.”
“Thanks.” Lorelei watched Shona deftly pin the ruffles into place. “I can’t tell you how sorry I am.”
Shona looked up from her work. “Like I said, don’t worry about it. You can’t be responsible for every jerk who wants to give you grief. I’ll give this to my friend Melvale when I see him – he can sew circles around most women.”
Lorelei was almost faint from relief. The woman took it well and didn’t come unglued on her like she thought she might. Patsy would have, but this woman was nothing like Patsy. There was an elegance and sophistication about Shona MacDonald that Lorelei had never seen before. It was as if the woman was royalty.
Shona’s husband entered the kitchen. “What’s amiss, then? And what’re ye doing on the floor, Flower?”
Shona looked at him. “Pinning Lorelei’s dress.”
“What happened?”
“It will only upset you.”
Lorelei’s stomach churned anew. But she also noticed the tender look the man gave his wife, and the nickname he’d called her. How pretty.
“Och, aye? Weel, ye ken me best. Dinna say a word if ye think ‘twill bring me to blows with someone.”
“It will.” Shona stood and poked him in the chest. “But what worries me is that you’d enjoy it.”
To Lorelei’s surprise, the man blushed. He looked into Shona’s eyes and smiled. “Aye, no doubt I would if justice is to be served.”
“And you know that in this time and place, that won’t go over well.” Shona returned her attention to Lorelei. “Have a good time tonight. And don’t worry about the dress. Or the shoes.”
Lorelei opened her mouth to reply but Shona held her hand up again.
“Best do as she says, lass,” Dallan cut in. “She kens what she’s about.”
Lorelei stared at him a moment. She didn’t understand some of the Scottish words he used but got the gist. “I will, sir.”
He smiled. “The dress looks fine.” He looked her up and down. “Aye, mighty fine indeed.”
Her cheeks grew hot and she gave the man a shy smile. These had to be two of the nicest people she’d ever met. “Thank you for inviting me.”
The couple’s eyes grew warm. “Thank you for coming,” Shona said. “I’m sure this will be a night you’ll remember for the rest of your life.”
Lorelei stared at her a moment. That the couple’s eyes were so similar in color was one thing, but they seemed to brighten at the same time as well. How could that be?
“Dallan,” Shona cooed. “Don’t you need to go change?”
He rolled his eyes. “Fine, I’ll put my costume on.”
Lorelei giggled, quickly covering her mouth.
“Oh, go ahead and laugh,” he said. “I was so busy decorating, I didna have time to change.” He glanced at his tuxedo jacket. “Though I did think the jacket made me look dashing.” He
turned to Shona who cast him a look that clearly said, get going. “Fine, I’ll do it now.” He made to leave then turned around. “Everything ready, Flower?”
She glanced at Lorelei and back. “It is now.”
“Good.” He turned again and left the kitchen.
“Come along,” Shona motioned to the party. “Let’s see if Kitty has come downstairs yet. Last I checked she was trying to put her hair up.” She glanced at Lorelei’s braids. “Hmm, we’ll have to do something about those.”
“What?” She tried to keep the worry out of her voice.
“Follow me.” Shona led her back into the massive main room and went to a huge Christmas wreath hanging on one wall, covered with tiny red velvet bows. She untied two and turned to Lorelei. “Here, this will make your outfit perfect.” She tied a ribbon around the end of one braid, covering the rubber band, then did the same with the other.
“Thank you,” Lorelei said. “You’ve been so nice about this whole thing.”
Shona smiled. “Well, I’m glad you think so.” She turned away and waved at the party going on around them. “Enjoy yourself.” She left Lorelei to fend for herself. But then, the woman had a lot of guests to see to.
Lorelei swallowed hard as she glanced around the room. There had to be more than sixty people talking, laughing and eating. She saw the Cookes near a couple of long food tables against one wall. More trays of food were set on the counter of the pass-through, more still on the dining table. She recognized folks from town besides the Cookes and Turners, but most were strangers. She suddenly felt very alone, too self-conscious to hang around the well-to-do guests. Maybe when Kitty came downstairs …
Before she knew it, she’d backed herself into a chair in the corner. Her comfort zone, found.
“Enjoying yourself?”
She looked up and saw a man dressed more like an English lord than a cowboy, with a plate in his hand. “Have you tried these?” He held up a Ritz cracker covered in spray cheese. “They’re jolly good.”
She tried not to make a face. “Er, no.”
“You really ought to. I’ve never had it before.” He took a step toward her and offered her his plate.
She didn’t want to be impolite, so she took one. He was handsome, with dark hair and eyes, and spoke with a British accent. Had he come all the way from England to attend the party? Shona did mention they had friends coming from all over, but that far? “Thank you,” she finally said, and took a bite. Actually, it wasn’t bad – certainly better than the Cheese Whiz that was a staple in Bob and Patsy’s house. Bob loved the stuff. Lorelei thought it smelled like Vaseline.
He winked. “No one else has any,” he whispered conspiratorially. “I made my own in the kitchen.”
She stopped chewing as her eyes fixed on the dining table covered with all sorts of tasty treats. Everything looked better than Patsy’s cooking – or her own.
“Would you like another?” the man offered.
“No, thank you,” she said as she finished the cracker. “I’ll just see what they have over there. Nice talking to you.”
He smiled. “You too. Have a good time.”
She hurried off, still nervous from the encounter with the English stranger and his fascination with aerosol cheese – didn’t they have that in Europe? Mm, probably not. She spotted a large punch bowl and headed straight for it, suddenly desperate for a drink.
“Kitty, you can’t keep putting us into your books!”
Lorelei froze at the end of the dining table by the punch bowl, recognizing Shona’s voice from the kitchen. What was going on?
“But what else would I write about?” Kitty replied. “Besides, everyone thinks it’s fiction. And the books are being published now, not back then.”
“I understand, but our assignments are our private business. If my father found out, he’d be very upset.”
Lorelei heard Kitty sigh, then say, “Well I can’t very well go back and change everything. My readers would kill me.”
“I’m not asking you to, just … be more careful in the future. We can’t risk exposure.”
Lorelei’s eyes grew wide. What were they talking about? What was Kitty Morgan writing? Maybe she ought to get one of her books and find out. For now, she got a glass of punch and wandered to the opposite corner. She’d never been good at mingling. She’d never been much good at anything, when one got down to it.
She spied an empty chair and sat, tucking her feet beneath the ruffled skirt of her dress and doing her best to be invisible. She felt like a stranger in a strange land. Some of the guests looked so glamorous in their period dress. She knew she should talk to people but couldn’t bring herself to leave the safety of the corner.
She blinked a few times as a chill went up her spine, then blinked some more. What was wrong with her eyes? She rubbed them with her free hand, took a sip of punch and hoped the sudden bout of dizziness she was feeling wasn’t from the squeeze cheese. Worse, she hoped she wasn’t coming down with the flu. That was the last thing she needed – how would she work?
She rubbed her eyes again and leaned back. When she did she felt as if she kept going, like there was no chair back or wall behind her. What was happening?
“Lorelei,” Shona asked, or was it Kitty? “Are you all right?”
She blinked again but couldn’t bring whoever it was into focus. “Noooo …”
“Are you sick?” came another voice. Kitty’s? Or Mavis’?
“Yeeeess …”
One of them sighed as two more people hovered over her. “Aerosol cheese?” Shona scolded someone. “Really?”
“You said …”
“Oh, I know what I said …”
Lorelei hoped she didn’t throw up on them. Stupid spray cheese. Should’ve known better.
“Time to take her upstairs,” Shona said. “Best go through the kitchen.”
Before she knew it, she was lifted into a man’s arms and being carried. She really was sick! She had no idea that cheese in a can could go bad. Was the Englishman sick too?
“You said, find something no one else is eating. That’s what I found.” Was that him? Or another Englishman?
Lorelei’s mind became so fuzzy she wasn’t sure who was talking anymore. The last clear things she heard were, “Doesna matter,” as she was set on a bed, followed by, “Shona, take us to Clear Creek.”
Great, they were going to the hospital to have her stomach pumped! It was only one cracker – and the cheese-like product didn’t even taste bad!
She could barely keep her eyes open as a brilliant white light appeared and shot toward one wall. The light narrowed to a beam, moving up and down in an odd pattern. With effort, she forced one eye to open and for a second saw the nearest wall outlined, as if someone was using a light pen to trace everything on the wall. And what was that singing? She swore she heard someone singing. Her only conclusion was that she was having a spray-cheese-induced drug trip. Is this why Bob devoured Cheese Whiz? Oh yuck!
And then it was gone, all of it – the voices, the light and hopefully the squeeze cheese. The room fell dark and quiet. She could no longer hear the party downstairs. But she was in the hospital now, wasn’t she? Naturally it would be quiet. Had they already pumped her stomach? How would she feel in the morning? Was it morning? She couldn’t tell, couldn’t open her eyes.
There was a floating sensation, and she thought she heard music again. Peaceful, serene, soothing, like an Enya record playing in another room. The sound made her feel wonderful, much better than she’d felt moments ago. But … how much time had passed? She had no idea at this point and didn’t care. She just knew she didn’t want the feeling of peace to end, nor the sensation that she was tucked into a comfy, warm bed in a dark, cool room.
Nothing else mattered as Lorelei slipped into a deep and dreamless sleep.
Chapter Six
“Lorelei? Are you awake?”
Lorelei’s eyes fluttered open. Daylight shone through the windows, the sharp kind that
came after a night of snowfall. She let her eyes focus, then looked at the woman standing over her. “Who are you?” Her voice was raspy, her throat dry. She tried to clear it and coughed instead.
“Oh, dear, let me get you some water.” The woman crossed the room, poured some water from a pitcher into a glass and brought it to the bed. “Here, this will help.”
Lorelei tried to sit up but couldn’t. Her head swam and she felt disoriented.
“Don’t rush. Take your time.”
Lorelei decided to focus on the woman. She had blue eyes, and golden blonde hair much like her own, put up in an old fashioned hair-style. Had she spent the night here after the party? She still had on her costume, but it wasn’t a fancy dress like so many others, just an olive-green calico with simple ivory buttons down the front and a knitted black shawl around her shoulders.
The room felt cold, like someone had left the windows open. Lorelei shivered, pushed herself onto her elbows, then slowly sat up. “Oh, my head …”
“It’s all right.” The woman sat on the edge of the bed. “Mrs. MacDonald said you’d feel dizzy when you woke up. Drink this.” She handed her the glass.
Lorelei took a long swallow. It was wonderful and cold. “Shona … where is she?”
“I’m afraid they’re gone. They had urgent business to take care of. They left you in our care.”
Lorelei could only stare. “What?”
“I’m Belle,” the woman said with a warm smile. “Belle Cooke.”
Lorelei blinked again. One of the Cookes? But not a name she’d ever heard – was she visiting from out of town? She didn’t remember seeing her last night. “Lorelei Carson.”
“How do you do?” Belle offered her hand.
Lorelei reached out and shook it. The woman’s hand was calloused. She must garden a lot. But this was winter – did she have a hot house? “I need to get back to Clear Creek.”
“Back? I was under the impression … well, never mind. Do you think you’re up to it?”
