by Linda Ford
Millicent quickly pulled out a small notepad and pencil and wrote the information down. “Oh, Matt, from the outside it looks just right.”
“I agree. It seems to be well built from what I can tell, but I’d need to get inside and poke around to make sure.”
“I’ll telephone first thing tomorrow and see when we can take a look. You will check it out for me, won’t you?”
“You know I will.”
“Oh, I’m sure I won’t be able to afford it, but it seems to be a dream come true. Both a shop and living quarters!” Then her heart sank. “Although, I’m not sure I’m ready to leave Heaton House just yet. I know I would miss everyone so much.”
“You wouldn’t have to move in until you had it just as you liked and got used to being there. Nothing says you couldn’t continue to live at Heaton House for a while.”
“That’s true—if I can afford to do both.”
“Maybe whoever is selling it wants to be rid of it and will give you a very good price.”
“Wouldn’t it have already sold by now if that were the case?”
Matt grinned at her and shook his head. “You won’t know anything until you contact the broker. But there’s no need to give up before you do, is there?”
Did Matt have any idea of how much he’d changed? Or was it she who had undergone a change? It seemed that perhaps she’d misjudged the man. Here he was encouraging her to hope and not give up. Saying just what she needed to hear.
“No. There isn’t. Thank you for the reminder.”
“We’ll keep looking on the way back to Heaton House, but I think the location of this one might work. Look, several more people have stopped at the café and more are across the street window shopping.”
Millicent’s heart filled with happiness—that she’d found a place that might be perfect for her shop and that Matt seemed almost as excited about it as she was.
They took their time going up and down the avenues and side streets of the Ladies’ Mile and did find a couple of other buildings, but both were farther from most of the shopping. Still, Millicent wrote down the information for each one and would telephone about them the next day, too.
By the time they arrived home, mouthwatering aromas were filling the air and they both sniffed appreciatively.
“Oh, I’m glad we didn’t have too much for lunch,” Millicent said.
“Lunch? I’ve already forgotten about it.” Matt’s stomach emitted an unmistakable growl, eliciting a chuckle from them both.
“Oh, I’m sorry.” He grinned.
Millicent’s gave a small answering gurgle, sending them into a gale of laughter. “Evidently my stomach forgot, too. I wonder where everyone is.”
They looked into the parlor but no one was there.
“Maybe they went out to get something to tide them over instead of bothering Mrs. Heaton about it.”
“Probably. Or they’re upstairs getting ready for dinner. I suppose I should go up and dress for it, too. Thank you for giving me your opinion on the buildings, Matt.”
“You’re welcome. See you at dinner.”
As she went upstairs, Millicent marveled at how far she and Matt had come since they’d first moved to Heaton House. Whatever they were now, she liked it much better.
*
Thanksgiving dinner was one to remember. The table needed an extra leaf with the boarders and Mrs. Heaton’s family celebrating with them all.
And she’d gone all out with the meal. It started with oyster soup and crisp crackers, followed by roast turkey and stuffing, cranberry jelly and mashed potatoes and gravy. Dessert was English plum pudding, assorted cakes, frozen pudding and bonbons.
“I’m so glad we only had that cup of soup for lunch,” Matt whispered to Millicent.
“So am I. I’d never be able to eat all of this, if not. But isn’t it delicious?”
“It is that.” Millicent looked extra lovely tonight in a deep blue velvet gown trimmed in cream-colored lace. She’d done up her hair in a flattering manner and tucked a blue flower into it. And she’d added a becoming new scent behind her ears, he was sure of it.
Everyone took their time and enjoyed the meal immensely. Jenny was quite the little lady sitting between her mother and stepfather. And baby Marcus was growing very fast.
During dinner they discussed the progressive dinner they’d talked about at the album party and Mrs. Heaton was all for it.
“I hope we do get some snow soon—enough to go sledding anyway,” Millicent said. “I enjoyed that so much last year.”
“Surely we will,” Matt said. “We might not have a white Christmas, but we’ll have snow at some point.”
“We’re so excited about taking Jenny to see the windows you’ve been working on, Emily,” Rebecca said. “It must take a lot of imagination to make them turn out so beautiful.”
Emily laughed. “It takes many imaginations to do it. I’m the new kid in the group, but I’m enjoying every minute of it. I think you’ll like those windows, Jenny.”
The little girls eyes shined as she said, “I can’t wait!”
Jenny’s excitement carried over to Matt and he found himself looking forward to going with the group. It’d be fun. He was beginning to feel himself once more after the tragedy with O’Riley and he knew the woman sitting beside him had much to do with that. Everyone here had helped and he was more than a little thankful to have them in his life.
After dinner they all adjourned to the parlor to sing songs along with Julia’s accompaniment. Jenny joined Julia at the piano, as she’d loved to do when she lived there and everyone sang along.
Matt watched as Millicent sat down beside Violet and baby Marcus reached out to her. She put her hands out to take him and he almost jumped into her lap as he grabbed her sleeve.
She laughed and cuddled him, and Matt thought he’d never seen anything so lovely as Millicent holding a child. Her expression as she looked at the baby sent an intense longing he’d never felt before rushing through him, and he could no longer deny that he dreamed of having a wife and children of his own. And without a doubt, the only woman he could see in that dream was Millicent.
After a few minutes, Millicent handed the baby back to his mother and Matt moved his gaze away from the two and forced his thoughts in another direction as Maida and Gretchen came in with after-dinner tea and coffee.
But his attention strayed once more to Millicent as she sipped her tea. This Thanksgiving was one he’d never forget. It’d been a wonderful day from start to finish and he knew much of it was due to her. His gaze lowered to Millicent’s lips and he believed the only thing that would make this day better would be to have the right to kiss those sweet lips good-night. She glanced at him and his gaze locked on hers. He smiled as he watched color creep up her cheeks. Could she be remembering…and thinking the same thing?
Chapter Nineteen
Millicent tried to call about the buildings on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, but there was no answer at two of the numbers and she assumed their offices were closed for the whole weekend.
She took a deep breath and asked the operator to connect her with the last number, the one she was most interested in, and was surprised when she was connected. But the receptionist was the only one in the office and she told Millicent that the broker she was trying to contact would be out until the middle of December.
Disappointment engulfed Millicent. “Oh, well, could you take my name and number and ask him to telephone me when he gets back? I’m very interested in the property on Twenty-first Street near the Ladies’ Mile.”
“I’d be glad to.”
Millicent gave her information to the woman and they said goodbye. She couldn’t help but feel disappointed that she and Matt wouldn’t be able to look at anything that weekend.
But when he got home from work and she told him, he looked relieved. “I have to work tomorrow, too, and wouldn’t be able to go anyway. We’re hoping to get another floor framed and floored so that work c
an continue on good days through the next few months, and we’ll have some protection against rain or snow. By the time the broker gets back into the country, I should have more free time.”
Millicent smiled at him. “There’s no real hurry. It’s not like the building will be bought out from under me if there’s no one to show it.”
“That’s true.”
So perhaps it was best she couldn’t see the space yet. If they did go and she loved it, she’d have to make a decision and she wasn’t totally sure she was ready to. She did want a shop, but the thought of leaving everyone at Heaton House, even knowing they’d all remain close, wasn’t something she believed she was quite prepared for.
The next day, she, Julia and Georgia made a trip to the Ladies’ Mile to get ideas for their Christmas shopping.
Sunday turned out to be too cold to do any looking, so after church and Sunday dinner, the boarders spent the afternoon in the parlor. Mrs. Heaton went to visit Rebecca and her family and while she was gone they took the opportunity of working on the albums. Millicent telephoned Rebecca and asked her to let them know when Mrs. Heaton started home, but there wasn’t much left to do and they finished half an hour before their landlady got back.
All that was really left would be to include any photos taken before Christmas.
Monday was a nice day and Millicent was restless. Everyone else was at work and even Mrs. Heaton was out, so she went in search of Georgia and found her reading in the small study.
“Want to go for a walk and to lunch?” Millicent asked.
Georgia slapped the book shut. “Oh, I’d love to! I am so tired of not having enough to do.”
After letting Maida and Gretchen know they’d be out all afternoon, they were on their way. Millicent took Georgia to see the buildings she liked, ending with lunch at her new favorite café where she and Matt had shared tea and soup on Thanksgiving Day.
“Oh, this is nice, Millicent,” Georgia said after the waiter took their order.
“It is, isn’t it? Matt and I found it when we went for our walk the other day.”
“You and Matt seem to be spending more time together… Are you sweet on him?”
Millicent felt color flood her face. “We’re friends. We both came into Heaton House about the same time and—”
“Millicent, you aren’t answering my question,” Georgia said. “But I think I have my answer from the way you’re blushing.”
Millicent didn’t want to say yes right out, for she’d been fighting her rapidly growing feelings for Matt for weeks now. But she didn’t want Georgia getting any ideas about him, either. So she smiled and shrugged as her new friend chuckled.
“He’s a nice man and I’ve seen the way he looks at you—and the way you look at him, for that matter. I think you two would make a very good couple.”
Millicent’s heart flipped at the mere suggestion and she didn’t know what to say. She’d totally failed at doing what she’d told Matt they should do—forgetting about that kiss and putting it behind them. It came to mind each time he smiled at her, looked into her eyes, came into a room.
“I don’t know…”
“I’m sorry, Millicent. I shouldn’t have asked. But I do think you both care a great deal about one another.”
The waiter brought their lunch just then and Millicent was more than relieved when Georgia changed the subject after he left the table. “Where do you want to go from here?”
“What would you like to see?”
“Everything! Mostly I’ve only been to the Ladies’ Mile and ridden through Central Park a few times.”
“Oh, well, maybe we should take the El and go farther downtown. I’ll show you where Battery Park and City Hall are. You’ll be able to see the Park Row Building, too.”
“I’d like that!”
They finished lunch and then hurried to the nearest El stop. After buying their tokens and giving them to the conductor, Millicent played travel guide to Georgia. As they neared Battery Park, Millicent pointed out the Statue of Liberty as the El took a turn and they headed in the other direction.
“Would you like to get off here and walk down to City Hall? We’ll go past the Park Row. See there it is.” Millicent pointed to the building that already stood much taller than the others around it.
“I’d like that. Oh, it is quite tall. I can’t imagine being up that high on an unfinished building. And you’ve taken photographs from up there?”
“Yes. It’s quite something, isn’t it?” They got off at the next El stop and headed toward City Hall. But when they heard the bells of an ambulance, Millicent’s heart seemed to stop beating before it began to hammer so hard she could feel it in her ears. Ever since Matt’s coworker had fallen, fear gripped her at the sound. She had to find out where it was going.
She picked up her skirts and began to run and Georgia kept up with her. Panic engulfed her as she saw the ambulance at the base of the Park Row. Oh, dear Lord, please don’t let it be Matt or any of his men! And please don’t let it be fatal.
A stretcher was being carried to the ambulance by the time they reached the building and Millicent’s heart seemed to shatter as she realized the man they were carrying looked like Matt.
“No!” She ran forward and was caught by Burl, who was there with the rest of Matt’s men.
“He’ll be all right, Miss Faircloud. A cable broke and the beam it was carrying fell. Matt got hit in the arm and he’ll need to be sewn up, but it could have been much worse.”
“I have to go with him. I—” She had to see for herself that he was okay. She pulled away from Burl and ran up to the stretcher.
“Matt!”
His eyes were filled with pain, but he gave her a small smile. “Millicent, what are you doing here?”
“I’m going to the hospital with you!”
“Miss, you can’t go—” the attendant said.
“Yes, she can.” Matt tried to turn and Millicent knew she’d never forget the moan that escaped through his closed mouth before he said, “Let her come with me.”
The man shook his head but helped Millicent into the ambulance once they had Matt in.
Millicent looked out at a pale Georgia. “Can you get home by yourself?”
“I can. I’ll let everyone know.”
The doors shut and Millicent turned to Matt. His left arm was bandaged but bloody and his eyes were closed, but when she grabbed his right hand he squeezed it.
“I’ll be all right, Millie. Don’t worry.”
Only then did she begin to breathe naturally again. She bowed her head and silently prayed, Dear Lord, please let Matt be right. Please let his arm heal completely and quickly. He means so very much to me.
Tears began to flow down her cheeks at her admission. She did care deeply for Matt—whether he felt the same about her or not. All that mattered at that moment was that he be all right.
*
Matt still felt a bit dazed—or what the doctor called “in shock”—when he was given leave to go home. Millicent hadn’t left his side until they took him in to set his dislocated shoulder and sew up the long gash on his arm. They’d given him a shot and he felt a bit groggy, but not so much that he didn’t remember the expression in Millicent’s eyes when she looked at him while they loaded him into the ambulance.
It’d been obvious she’d been deeply concerned for his welfare, even after he’d told her he’d be fine. It was only later, when the doctor informed her of the same thing, that he could see the relief in her eyes.
His boss was there when Matt was released, and arranged for a hack to take them back to Heaton House. As he saw them in, he said to Matt, “You know we’ll take care of this. Just rest and let yourself heal so you can get back to work. I’ve put Burl in charge until you do.”
“Good,” Matt replied. “He’ll see things get done right until I get back.”
“You take care of him, miss. He’s a good man,” Mr. Johnson said as he closed the door to the hack.
“We’ll make sure he takes it easy,” Millicent responded.
But as the hack took off, she became quiet and Matt had a feeling she was reining in whatever feelings she had for him. Whatever it was he’d seen in her gaze. She must have been horribly frightened when she realized he was the one on that stretcher—especially after Tom’s accident.
He closed his eyes and leaned his head back. He couldn’t let fear of what might happen to him make her pull back—not when he’d just realized he was falling in love with her and that she was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. It didn’t matter that she could be independent and headstrong at times; he didn’t even want to contemplate a day without her in it. And he had to make her see they were right for each other—somehow, some way.
*
Millicent glanced over at Matt. His eyelashes were dark against the pallor his accident had brought on. His arm was in a sling to keep him from hitting it against anything and he held it still with his good hand.
The past few hours were some of the longest she’d ever lived through, wondering how badly he was hurt, how long it would take for him to heal and how thankful she was that he was alive.
His boss or supervisor, a Mr. Johnson, had arrived just as a nurse wheeled Matt out, followed by a doctor who came to tell her that Matt was ready to go home. It appeared it’d be after the first of the year before he could go back to work and Millicent had breathed a sigh of relief as Mr. Johnson assured him not to worry and to just get well. She wanted to cry at the very thought of Matt going back to Park Row.
How could she bear seeing him return to work on that building? How could she accept that he loved being up there as much as she loved taking her photographs? She’d had a lot of time to think while he was being treated at the hospital, and much as she cared about him, she felt she should fight her feelings for him even harder. She—
The hack pulled up in front of Heaton House, jostling Matt awake and Millicent out of her thoughts. The front door opened as Mrs. Heaton, Georgia and Joe spilled out the door to help Matt and her inside.
