matter.”
“Yes, Miss Harding.”
Caroline moved to the dressing table and sat. Eyes focused on her image in the vanity, she grabbed her hairbrush without looking down and handed it to Sally over her shoulder.
The maid got immediately to work.
Holding back a smile, Caroline watched Sally arrange her long dark hair into a beautiful, fashionable twist. The girl had considerable skills, and Caroline liked her more as each moment passed. “I will wear the green-striped walking dress today.”
“An excellent choice, miss. I will see to it at once.”
Before turning away to retrieve the garment, Sally caught her eye in the mirror and winked. The gesture spoke volumes. Caroline was on the right track at last.
She only hoped her efforts would be enough.
Chapter Nine
Jackson arrived at the Harvard Club twenty minutes ahead of his scheduled meeting with Luke. Welcoming the time alone, he strode along the dimly lit corridors, hardly taking note of the décor, his mind hastening through the events of the previous evening. Nothing had gone as planned, not his conversation with Warren Griffin or his interaction with his future bride.
Uneasiness spread through him, and he quickened his pace.
Was he experiencing a case of cold feet? Was that the cause of this sudden void in his heart?
That had to be the reason.
The sooner he made an offer for Elizabeth’s hand, the sooner they could set a date. His life would be back on course. Nothing stood in the way anymore, nothing except this odd sense of uneasiness that refused to release him. Bad timing, that, since he planned to speak with Richard St. James that very afternoon. He would eventually request Elizabeth’s hand from her father, Marcus, as that had always been the plan. But out of deference for his business relationship with Richard, Jackson wanted to approach the elder St. James first. Once he had Richard’s blessing, he would seek out Marcus’s as well.
Jackson anticipated both conversations going well. After all, the engagement between him and Elizabeth had been understood for years.
Soon, she would become his fiancée. And then his wife.
Uneasiness spread through him again, a sensation Jackson had rarely felt before a month ago.
Before he’d met Caroline Harding with her beautiful eyes, hidden agenda, and secretive nature.
Scowling, he veered into the club’s library and settled in a chair next to a small table containing the day’s morning newspapers. He couldn’t drum up any interest in the news. His mind reeled with thoughts of a woman he hardly knew.
Something about Caroline Harding had captured his attention. Whenever he was in her presence, some indefinable emotion called to his inner nature, a wild part of his soul he’d kept hidden deep within himself since boyhood.
Angry at the direction of his thoughts, he yanked up one of the newspapers and snapped it open. The type blurred in front of his eyes.
The logical course of action would be to seek out more information on Caroline Harding, perhaps verify her story and connection to Malcolm Green’s new wife, Patricia Harding. Jackson knew where to start, with her traveling maid turned companion. He knew the girl’s name—Mary. He also knew where she lived— his tenement house.
So why wasn’t he charging down there right now and demanding answers?
Scoffing in frustration, he turned the page with a hard flick of his wrist.
A movement off to his left caught his eye. Turning, he saw Luke striding in his direction. His friend made slow progress, stopping every few feet to address someone wanting to shake his hand or welcome him back.
Smiling ruefully, Jackson set the newspaper back on the table.
A hand clasped his shoulder and Luke came into view, then moved around Jackson and sank in the overstuffed chair across from him.
“The Harvard Club hasn’t changed a bit.”
Jackson looked around, took in the rows of bookshelves on his left, the brick fireplace on his right, the muted colors on the
“Yes, Miss Harding.”
Caroline moved to the dressing table and sat. Eyes focused on her image in the vanity, she grabbed her hairbrush without looking down and handed it to Sally over her shoulder.
The maid got immediately to work.
Holding back a smile, Caroline watched Sally arrange her long dark hair into a beautiful, fashionable twist. The girl had considerable skills, and Caroline liked her more as each moment passed. “I will wear the green-striped walking dress today.”
“An excellent choice, miss. I will see to it at once.”
Before turning away to retrieve the garment, Sally caught her eye in the mirror and winked. The gesture spoke volumes. Caroline was on the right track at last.
She only hoped her efforts would be enough.
Chapter Nine
Jackson arrived at the Harvard Club twenty minutes ahead of his scheduled meeting with Luke. Welcoming the time alone, he strode along the dimly lit corridors, hardly taking note of the décor, his mind hastening through the events of the previous evening. Nothing had gone as planned, not his conversation with Warren Griffin or his interaction with his future bride.
Uneasiness spread through him, and he quickened his pace.
Was he experiencing a case of cold feet? Was that the cause of this sudden void in his heart?
That had to be the reason.
The sooner he made an offer for Elizabeth’s hand, the sooner they could set a date. His life would be back on course. Nothing stood in the way anymore, nothing except this odd sense of uneasiness that refused to release him. Bad timing, that, since he planned to speak with Richard St. James that very afternoon. He would eventually request Elizabeth’s hand from her father, Marcus, as that had always been the plan. But out of deference for his business relationship with Richard, Jackson wanted to approach the elder St. James first. Once he had Richard’s blessing, he would seek out Marcus’s as well.
Jackson anticipated both conversations going well. After all, the engagement between him and Elizabeth had been understood for years.
Soon, she would become his fiancée. And then his wife.
Uneasiness spread through him again, a sensation Jackson had rarely felt before a month ago.
Before he’d met Caroline Harding with her beautiful eyes, hidden agenda, and secretive nature.
Scowling, he veered into the club’s library and settled in a chair next to a small table containing the day’s morning newspapers. He couldn’t drum up any interest in the news. His mind reeled with thoughts of a woman he hardly knew.
Something about Caroline Harding had captured his attention. Whenever he was in her presence, some indefinable emotion called to his inner nature, a wild part of his soul he’d kept hidden deep within himself since boyhood.
Angry at the direction of his thoughts, he yanked up one of the newspapers and snapped it open. The type blurred in front of his eyes.
The logical course of action would be to seek out more information on Caroline Harding, perhaps verify her story and connection to Malcolm Green’s new wife, Patricia Harding. Jackson knew where to start, with her traveling maid turned companion. He knew the girl’s name—Mary. He also knew where she lived— his tenement house.
So why wasn’t he charging down there right now and demanding answers?
Scoffing in frustration, he turned the page with a hard flick of his wrist.
A movement off to his left caught his eye. Turning, he saw Luke striding in his direction. His friend made slow progress, stopping every few feet to address someone wanting to shake his hand or welcome him back.
Smiling ruefully, Jackson set the newspaper back on the table.
A hand clasped his shoulder and Luke came into view, then moved around Jackson and sank in the overstuffed chair across from him.
“The Harvard Club hasn’t changed a bit.”
Jackson looked around, took in the rows of bookshelves on his left, the brick fireplace on his right, the muted colors on the
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