by Bess McBride
“Yes, I apologize for our attire, madam. We were accosted by ruffians in Spokane during our stay there several weeks ago, and they stole all our baggage and our money. We managed to book a fare here as far as Wenatchee, and I am awaiting funds from my bank to set us right and get us on our way again. I just sent the wire from the train station as the station agent could verify. I expect a response within the next day or two at the latest. I was hoping that you would allow us to take a room on credit until I can pay you.”
Amanda tugged on his hand and he glanced down at her. She smiled brightly, reminding him to “flash his brights,” and he beamed at the manager with what he hoped was his most charming smile.
The stout woman ran a hand along her hair and cleared her throat.
“That would be my husband, Mr. Spivey,” she said. “The station agent,” she added when Nathan and Amanda looked at her blankly. “My husband. Yes, he just came in the back door and announced you might be coming by. Told me to give you the benefit of the doubt.” She nodded briskly and stepped behind the counter.
Nathan swallowed hard, thanking his lucky stars he hadn’t introduced Amanda as his sister in order to acquire separate rooms. Wenatchee was indeed a small town, it would seem. They had met only two people, and those people were related. He only hoped the conductor who had evicted them from the train wasn’t a brother-in-law.
“Thank you,” Nathan murmured. “My wife and I are most grateful for your understanding.”
Amanda nodded demurely but said nothing. She studied Mrs. Spivey keenly as if she’d never seen a woman before. Nathan remembered that Amanda had done exactly the same thing when she had first seen the female passengers on the train after he found her the first time. She had been especially fascinated by their clothing and their hair.
Mrs. Spivey opened up a ledger and pushed it toward Nathan for a signature. She blinked when she caught Amanda staring and raised a hand to her hair again.
“I must look awful. I was asleep when my husband woke me just before you arrived. I dressed in a hurry.”
Nathan hoped Amanda would arise to the occasion. It was not really his place to comment on the older woman’s appearance. He finished filling out the ledger, his heart thudding wildly at writing “Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Carpenter.” How often had he dreamed of writing such a thing, of Amanda becoming his wife?
“Oh, no, you look fine. Your hair is very shiny,” Amanda murmured.
Mrs. Spivey beamed as she pulled the ledge toward her.
“Oh, well, thank you, Mrs...” she peered at the ledger, “Mrs. Carpenter! I use a little lemon juice to make it shine...when I can get lemons, that is.”
“I’ll have to try that, Mrs. Spivey.” Amanda said, mustering a smile.
“I have some in the kitchen. I’ll send some up to you in the morning.” Mrs. Spivey’s cheeks remained pink as she handed Nathan a key. “Your room is number seven at the top of the stairs and just down the hall on the right. Towels are in your room, and the bathroom is at the end of the hall. If you want to wash up tonight, that will be fine. We don’t have any other guests at the moment, so noise won’t be a problem. I’ll bring some soup and bread to your room in about thirty minutes. Mr. Spivey is stoking up the fire in the kitchen.” She bustled out from behind the counter and escorted them to the bottom of the stairs.
“Thank you, Mrs. Spivey,” Nathan said as he held out his arm to escort Amanda up the stairs. Mrs. Spivey nodded and turned away and headed through the door from which she’d emerged.
“We’re sharing a room?” Amanda hissed as soon as she left the lobby.
Nathan had expected this.
“We have to, I’m afraid. I already told the station agent you were my wife. I didn’t think anyone would believe you were my sister.”
“Yeah, I heard you call me your wife in front of the station agent, but I hoped that was a one-time thing. Let’s hope they have two beds in the room.”
Nathan highly doubted it, and he was proven right when he unlocked the door to reveal a modest room with one double bed inside. He flipped on the light switch, stepped back and allowed Amanda to enter the room.
“We can make some arrangements,” he said hastily. “This will only be for a few days. Perhaps I can sleep in a chair or...” He stopped. The only chair in the room was a hard-back chair next to the door. The room sported one small well-worn dresser, a scratched and nicked nightstand with a globe lamp, the bed and the chair. A small faded Oriental carpet covered the painted wooden floor at the foot of the bed.
“This isn’t going to work. You have to have a bed,” Amanda shook her head. “Mrs. Spivey said the hotel was empty. Can’t we make up some excuse and ask her for a second room? I’ll pay you for it.”
“Nonsense!” Nathan sputtered. “Money is not the object. I think it would raise questions if we were to take two rooms. What excuse should we make up? That I have leprosy?”
Amanda chuckled.
“No, not leprosy, they send you away to Pacific Islands for that, not just to separate bedrooms. How about tuberculosis?” Amanda said with a grin.
Nathan sobered and shook his head. “Tuberculosis is no laughing matter in the early twentieth century, Amanda. It is still not curable, not as it is in your time. Both of my parents and my brother died of the disease.”
Amanda swung to him. “Oh, Nathan! I’m so sorry,” she murmured. “I was only kidding, but, of course, you’re right. It’s not a laughing matter. I’m so sorry,” she muttered. “I had no idea.”
“No, of course, you could not.” She had known but that was in another lifetime. “I shall make inquiries as soon as Mrs. Spivey returns with the soup.” He turned to survey the room. “I wonder where we are meant to eat? I see no table. I could have wished for a larger room, but beggars can’t be choosers.”
Amanda’s shoulders drooped, and Nathan wished he had remained silent. He approached her and put his hands on her shoulders.
“Amanda,” he said softly. “Look at me.”
She kept her eyes on the floor.
“Amanda. I could have avoided making a comment at that time. I knew you were only joking. I am not sure why I thought it necessary to embarrass you like that.”
She shook her head. “No, I should know better than to joke about things that aren’t funny. Disease isn’t funny. I should have remembered where I was.”
Nathan put a hand under her chin to raise her face to his. “You know, my dear, you had almost the same reaction the last time I told you about my family. I know how sensitive you are. You wear your heart on your sleeve, and I love that about you. If it is any consolation, you said all the right things before.” His smile wavered as he longed to lean in and kiss her soft lips. She had wrapped her arms around him when he had told her of his family before, and the loneliness he had known for so many years had vanished. At the moment, he felt very alone again, the loss of their friendship and intimacy acutely painful.
Amanda smiled gently and raised a hand to the side of his face. He pressed into it as a cat might, and she pulled it back quickly with an embarrassed smile.
“Thanks, I hope I did,” she said as she moved out of his reach. She sat down on the wooden chair. “Well, at least it’s warm in here,” she said.
And indeed, the radiator against one wall cranked and groaned to let them know the heat was on.
“Much warmer than the street or the platform of the station,” Nathan agreed. He moved to pull aside the curtain and look down onto the quiet street as his heart slowed the erratic thumping incited by Amanda’s touch.
Within minutes, a knock on the door heralded the arrival of Mrs. Spivey carrying a large tray which she set down on the bed.
“Here is some vegetable soup for you. It’s hot and hearty, and here is some bread. I’ve brought up a small pot of tea as well.” She straightened and looked around the room. “I’m sorry there’s no table in here, but we don’t really have room service, not like those big hotels in Seattle. But you can make do, I�
�m sure.” She turned to head for the door. “Will there be anything else?”
Nathan opened his mouth to speak, but Amanda shook her head.
“No, thank you,” she said. Nathan turned to look at her uncertainly. Had she forgotten she wanted a separate room...and rightly so?
“Yes, there is, Mrs. Spivey,” he said quickly. “Lately, I have developed a terrible habit of snoring, and I wondered—since you mentioned you had no other guests at the moment—if we could book a separate room for me. Of course, I will reimburse you handsomely for the extra room. I would like for her to get a good night’s sleep.”
Nathan smiled brightly with what he hoped was the right amount of sheepishness.
“No, that’s okay,” Amanda began with a quick glance in Nathan’s direction. Although his cheeks warmed at the thought of Amanda’s nearness in the night, he knew she must have her own room...even if he had to go down to the lobby and sprawl out on one of the two uncomfortable-looking sofas.
Mrs. Spivey hesitated, looking between the two, but Amanda fell silent.
“Sure, that will be fine,” Mrs. Spivey said. “I have another room just across the hall, although not as large as this one. I understand about snoring, my dear,” she said to Amanda. “That will be fine. Since the apple harvest is in for the year, the town has quieted down, and we have the room. I’ll just go get the key.” She left the room, and Nathan turned to Amanda.
“I thought you wished to have your own room,” he said cautiously. He wasn’t quite sure what she was thinking. Though he knew her, at the moment, he didn’t feel like he knew her at all.
Avoiding his eyes, Amanda jumped up hastily. “Oh, nothing. Good call. I’m glad you asked her about the room.” She approached the bed. “Shall we eat?” She sat down on the edge of the bed and handed Nathan a bowl of soup without looking at him.
He took the bowl from her and took the vacated chair, settling in to drink the delicious soup. Amanda handed him some bread, and he took a slice. He kept an eye on her, thanking her silently that she had originally insisted on another room. He could not have slept a wink had he been in the same room with her, he was certain of it.
“Do you really snore?” Amanda asked.
Nathan almost choked on his soup.
“What?” he laughed. “Do I snore?”
Amanda nodded, her lips curving into a smile.
“Not a bit,” he said.
“How do you know?”
“I would have been told so by now.”
Her eyebrows shot up, and he understood how she must have interpreted his answer.
“By my grandfather. I have lived with him for many, many years. Even fallen asleep with him in the library in front of a warm fire.”
“Oh!” she grinned. “Let me guess. Did I ask that before...when we were engaged?”
Her words, though teasing, seemed to pierce his heart. When we were engaged. Past tense.
Chapter Five
Half teasing, half serious, Amanda waited for Nathan’s answer. That she had traveled in time, she readily believed, as far fetched as it was. That she was once engaged to this handsome man, she couldn’t believe her luck.
A muscle twitched in his jaw, and he looked down at the bowl in his hand for a moment before answering.
“No, you never asked that before. Would that be an insurmountable problem? That is to say...would that have been an insurmountable problem back then?”
Would that have been an insurmountable problem then? Past tense. She had slowly grown used to the thought of being engaged to him as she had the idea of traveling back in time. She hadn’t thought of one thing without the other. But it seemed as if he thought of them as no longer engaged. Had she changed so much? Had she been someone else that he could have loved? She almost choked down her bread and shook her head.
“No, I don’t think so. But that was then,” she said.
“Yes,” he murmured. He stood to set the bowl on the tray, half of the contents uneaten. Amanda lost her appetite.
“You must be tired. I am sure Mrs. Spivey will return with the key soon,” Nathan said.
Amanda set her bowl down as well. “Yes, I am,” she said. “This traveling through time is hard work.” She tried to smile but failed.
“I will be forever in your debt for helping me to return, Amanda. I think there is a way for you to return to your time alone, but I must consult with the ladies of whom I spoke previously. I believe Dani Sadler sent Stephen back on his own; therefore, it is to be assumed that you could travel back on your own...without me. I think we must await our return to Seattle to confer with Mrs. Sadler.”
Amanda jumped up and moved over to the window. She looked down onto the darkened street, the lights from the hotel barely reaching the sidewalk.
“From what you’ve told me about the other ladies traveling back and forth, I have no doubt there’s a way to get back,” she said.
A knock on the door brought Mrs. Spivey. “Here’s the key for the room across the hall.”
Nathan took it. “Thank you, Mrs. Spivey.”
She stepped into the room and picked up the tray, glancing at the contents.
“Not hungry?”
“Oh, yes, we were very hungry,” Nathan said. “The bowls are quite large and the soup was very satisfying.” He looked toward Amanda who nodded agreement.
“Good night then. Sleep well.”
“Good night, Mrs. Spivey,” Amanda said quietly. She turned to look at Nathan as the door closed behind them. “Well, let’s go see this room of yours.”
They crossed the hall and peeked into the room. It seemed hardly possible, but the room was actually smaller than Amanda’s...just as Mrs. Spivey had said. The bed was a twin, and the dresser not much more than a tallboy. A night table, lamp and the requisite wooden chair completed the furnishings along with a tiny carpet in front of the bed.
“It is clean and warm,” Nathan said.
“You know, I’m actually smaller than you. Why don’t I take the twin bed, and you take the double? I can’t imagine you sleeping in such a small bed.”
Nathan smiled. “It is much larger than having no bed at all, and that has been my lot on many nights. This will do very nicely.”
Amanda lingered, unwilling to let Nathan out of her sight.
He took her hands in his. “What is it, Amanda? You look worried.”
“Well, I am. I don’t know what’s going to happen when I go to sleep over there. I mean, what if I disappear? And where will I disappear to?”
“Is that why you told Mrs. Spivey not to worry about the spare room?”
Amanda looked down at their clasped hands, feeling secure in the warmth of his touch. “Partly.” That was all she would admit to.
“What can I do to allay your fears?”
If only he would offer to stay the night in her room. She couldn’t ask. She didn’t even know how shocked he would be. After all, they came from different centuries. Such an odd thought!
“Would it make you feel more safe if I were to hold your hand while you went to sleep? And then return to my room?”
She would take what she could get. She nodded.
“Yes, that would be great. Thanks.”
“It would be my pleasure,” Nathan said with that charming smile of his.
“Just let me go wash up.”
“I will wait,” he said.
Amanda hurried down the hall. The bathroom sported everything a modern bathroom might albeit on the shabby chic side. A porcelain clawfoot cast iron tub rested against one wall, while a chipped sink, spotted mirror and toilet took up another wall.
She returned to her room to find that Nathan had turned the covers down for her. Her heart fluttered.
“You know? I have to get some clothes,” she said. “I can’t keep wearing these, and I don’t suppose my suitcase is going to show up anytime soon.”
She slipped out of his coat and removed her shoes before sliding into the bed.
“Yes, we mus
t do something about that. I will check with Mrs. Spivey in the morning to see what shops are available.”
“No chance they’ll have anything shorter than an ankle-length skirt, right? Some slacks...um...trousers?” She bunched her long hair up above her head to get it off her neck.
Nathan looked down at her with a tender expression in his eyes that made her toes tingle.
“Not likely, my love.” He pulled the covers to her chin like a child, and she smiled. He hadn’t used the endearments for several hours now, and she found she missed them.
Nathan moved away, and she bolted upright.
“Where are you going?” she squeaked. “I thought you were staying until I fell asleep.”
“I’m just going to get the chair,” he murmured. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Amanda, her cheeks flaming, dropped back onto the bed and pulled the covers up to her neck, wishing she could pull them over her head. She hated feeling so vulnerable, but she was completely dependent on Nathan at the moment.
“Do you wish me to turn off the lights or leave them on?” He paused at the door.
“On for now,” Amanda mumbled.
Nathan nodded, pulled the chair over to the bed and sat down. He took her hand in his and held it gently.
“Will this do?”
Amanda nodded. Oh, yes, indeedy. That would certainly do. The skin of his hand was warm and firm with just a bit of roughness, and she reveled in it, not quite sure she was going to be able to sleep this way.
Nathan smiled briefly, then leaned back and closed his eyes. “I’ll just rest here until you go to sleep.”
Amanda took the opportunity to watch him for a few minutes. She wondered what his face looked like under the beard. Was his chin strong? Firm? Did he have high cheekbones? Was his mouth as wide as it seemed when he smiled? He had removed his watch cap, and the dark hair she had admired shone under the weak lighting. Parted at the middle, the waves fell away on either side of his face, ending at just above his shoulders.
She sighed silently. Had she really been engaged to him and could not remember? Or had she truly never met him before? She felt as if she knew him already, as if she had probably loved him. The power of suggestion?
