Behind a Lady's Smile by Jane Goodger Page A

will,” Mitch said, but she could tell he was just trying to appease her.
    “You don’t think she will?”
    “She might. In fact, she probably will. But then your lives will have taken different tracks and you won’t have much to say to one another. You’ll be a fine lady in England living in a castle and she’ll be back here making her own life.”
    Genny felt she would never forget Mrs. Walsh, never stop writing as long as the older woman continued to write to her. But Mitch? She had a feeling he wouldn’t write a word. He just didn’t seem to be the type of man who would cling to a friendship. So when they said good-bye in a few weeks, it would be a final good-bye, very nearly like a death. It had been so hard to wrap her mind around the fact that her father was gone forever. It had taken weeks before she stopped looking at the door expecting him to walk in at any time. After Mitch left her, she would never see him again. She would have no reason to return to America and he certainly would have no reason to go to England.
    “Are you going back to California after you take me to my grandparents?”
    He looked at her and shook his head before staring out at the busy train station and the passengers collecting their bags. “I plan to open up a photography studio and settle down. I always was better at taking pictures of people rather than nature. That was Will’s strength. He could capture the beauty and grandness of a tree, but I ended up just taking a picture of a tree. Nearly the same, but to someone who understands photography, it’s completely different.”
    Mitch was going to “settle down.” That seemed almost worse than saying good-bye. Settling down meant finding a wife and having children, and the thought of Mitch kissing another woman sent hot shards of jealousy through Genny. It was such an unexpected feeling, such a terrible and painful thing. Yet, she was planning to do the same, was she not? She knew from talking to those women on the train that women were expected to marry, particularly women of rank. One woman on the train seemed to be an expert on the subject and had gone on and on about how the daughter of a lord could never marry someone as ordinary as a banker or shopkeeper. Genny had remained silent on the subject, because, after all, she was supposed to be married to Mitch. But now she wished she’d asked more questions, like why couldn’t a woman marry whomever she pleased.
    The two had gathered up their rather meager luggage and were waiting patiently as the passengers departed. The Walshes, in a hurry to see their relatives, were the first out the door. Mitch leaned over to peer out the window and gave a satisfied grunt.
    “Fine day, but hotter than h . . .” He stopped and grinned. “Hotter than hot. Never did get used to the heat of this place in summer.” He straightened, and Genny got the feeling he was nervous about something. “We don’t have to catch the train to New York until tomorrow morning, which gives us plenty of time for me to get to the bank so I can close my account. And maybe we can buy you another dress or two.”
    Genny looked down at the dark blue dress she was wearing, noting a few travel stains she hadn’t seen before. “That would be wonderful.”
    “I know a lady’s store near William’s photography studio that should have a nice selection.”
    He was talking more quickly than usual and kept peering out the window, and Genny suddenly wondered if Mitch had a girl here and was worried she would see him with Genny. He scrubbed his chin, which hadn’t seen a razor in a few days now, making him look a bit like an outlaw.
    “I need to go to the studio to pick up my gear. Will’s wife will be there. She’s a good woman. You’ll like her.”
    He seemed so distracted, Genny found herself looking through the window to see if she could determine what was making him so antsy.
    “Who am I? Genny Hayes or Mrs. Mitch Campbell?”
    She knew immediately that