A Home for Her Heart

by Janet Lee Barton

  * * *

  Sunday night supper was quite enjoyable that night. John had been in the parlor when Elizabeth and her aunt came back down and he’d escorted them to the dining room. Mrs. Heaton had set a place for Elizabeth’s aunt near where she sat and after John seated her, he pulled out Elizabeth’s chair and then took his seat beside her. For the first time in days things felt right again.

  Mrs. Heaton filled Elizabeth’s aunt in on all the things her boarders had been doing to help those less fortunate.

  “It appears you and your boarders are those on the front lines of this struggle, Martha. You know we can raise all kinds of money, but without others being there, seeing what is needed and helping the money get there, it does no good.”

  “Very true, Bea. I’m very proud of them all.”

  “As you should be. And I’m sure your good example has contributed to everything they do.”

  “Oh, I don’t—”

  “You are exactly right, Mrs. Watson. Mrs. Heaton is a wonderful example to us all,” Kathleen said.

  By the time supper was over, John felt sure they’d be seeing more of Elizabeth’s aunt.

  “I suppose it’s time I took my leave. I’ve had a wonderful time and I’ve so enjoyed meeting you all and I look forward to visiting again. I can see why my niece loves it here so much. May I use your telephone to call for a hack to take me back home?”

  “I’ll make the call and I’ll be glad to escort you back,” John said.

  “Oh, would you? That way Elizabeth can ride with me and you can see her back safely.”

  “That would be my pleasure.” He liked Elizabeth’s aunt more by the minute.

  “Then by all means, call the livery company.”

  “Bea, please come visit anytime,” Mrs. Heaton said. “You are always welcome here.”

  “Thank you, Martha. I will be taking you up on that invitation. I do sometimes get lonesome. And the same goes to you, you’ll be welcome at my apartment anytime.”

  By the time everyone had said goodbye, the hack John called for had arrived. He helped them both in and took the seat across. It didn’t take long at this time of night for the hack to arrive at the Osborne and John asked for it to wait while they saw Elizabeth’s aunt inside.

  “No need to see me all the way up,” Mrs. Watson said. “I know Elizabeth had a trying weekend and is probably ready to call it a night. Besides, the doorman is right here and I’m safe.”

  “I’ll at least see you to the front door.”

  The two women hugged and John helped Elizabeth’s aunt out. He walked her to the door the doorman had already opened for her.

  “Thank you for seeing me home and now Elizabeth back, Mr. Talbot. Please come back with Elizabeth or stop by anytime.”

  “Thank you. I’d like that.” He tipped his hat to her and hurried back to join Elizabeth, this time taking a seat beside her.

  She seemed a bit surprised but smiled at him anyway. “Thank you for escorting Aunt Bea home.”

  “It’s been my pleasure. I wanted a chance to speak to you anyway, so I can’t say I had no motive in my offer.”

  “Oh, what did you want to speak to me about?”

  “I wanted to know how your weekend went. Your aunt said it’d been a stressful one.”

  She chuckled. “It was difficult at first but it’s over and I don’t think Papa will be bringing anyone else up here—at least for a while.”

  “What happened?”

  “Nothing. And that’s a good thing. By last night even Papa was sick of Richard Thomas III. He was a total bore, only interested in himself, his money—and my money. Thought we’d make a great match.”

  “You nipped that in the bud, I hope.” If not, perhaps he would.

  “Without a doubt. I’m not going through that again. At least this time I was wiser and knew right away what kind of man he was. Maybe I’m getting better at that. Or do I have to believe that every man who shows an interest in me is the same?”

  “Deep down, you know they aren’t, Elizabeth. And I’m sure you are getting better at seeing it.” John certainly hoped so. For if she did, surely she’d realize he didn’t care about her money. He cared only about her. But after the weekend she’d had, he didn’t feel it was time to broach that subject. Not when she was tired and seemed disgusted with men in general.

  Until then, perhaps he’d be better off keeping a distance. Until the right time came when he could pull her into his arms and convince her that there was one man out there who cared about only her.

  Chapter Nineteen

  With John digging deeper into city hall’s records and Elizabeth working on her next article and helping Kathleen with her wedding plans, the month seemed to fly by. On the fourteenth, John had brought them the bad news that Cornelius Vanderbilt had suffered a stroke. While he was expected to pull through, for the next few weeks the papers had been full of what-ifs. What would happen to his empire if he didn’t survive? Who would he leave his vast fortune to?

  August was upon them before they knew it and at least John wasn’t missing dinner any longer. Their relationship seemed to have an added awareness of each other, and Elizabeth felt as if she were waiting...but for what she didn’t know.

  For John to tell her how he felt about her, or the right time to tell him how she felt about him? But she had to admit she was enjoying the subtle change in the way they interacted with one another. It was as if they each knew something the other didn’t, and together they knew something no one else did.

  “Want to take a walk with me?” John asked after dinner that evening. “We could get the key to Gramercy Park. It should be nice and cool.”

  “I’d love to,” Elizabeth answered, her heart skipping a beat. It’d been a while since they’d spent any time alone. “Did you want to ask any of the others?”

  John shook his head. “I think Kathleen and Luke are going to Colleen’s this evening and Ben said something about going to Michael and Violet’s.”

  She was both nervous and a bit excited about getting to spend some time together. She waited while John got one of the keys from the table drawer in the foyer, wondering if he had anything in particular he wanted to talk to her about. But as they headed out the door and down the street, it didn’t really matter. It felt good just to be by his side.

  They crossed the street and walked along the iron fence that surrounded the park. The scent of all kinds of flowers met them at the gate while John unlocked it, and then shut it behind them. Only residents of this area had keys to Gramercy Park and it was a very nice oasis for those who lived in the homes and buildings out around it.

  They walked a bit, the shaded pathway cool and relaxing. “I wanted to know how things are going with you. How is your aunt doing?”

  Aunt Bea had come to Sunday dinner a couple of times since they’d met her and everyone seemed quite taken with her. She’d traveled some and they loved hearing her stories. “She’s fine. Papa is coming into town in a few weeks. You know, I’m beginning to think he might move here. And I’m a bit suspicious that he’s sweet on Aunt Bea.”

  “Really? Would that bother you?”

  She shook her head. “No, not at all. I think it would be wonderful if they fell in love. They both seem so lonely at times. Papa appears to have mellowed some. He even called Heaton House yesterday to let me know he’d be coming to town. He’s never done that before.”

  “He’s not bringing anyone for you to meet this time, is he?”

  “No. Not that I know of.”

  “Good. That’s good.”

  Elizabeth chuckled as her heart skipped a beat. “Yes, I think so, too. I might see if he’d like to come meet you all. Or maybe mention it to him for another time. I think he’d like to see where I live and—”

  “You don’t think he’d try to
get you to go back to Boston?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t think so. I believe he’s realized I’m not going to do that and I think Aunt Bea has been working on him. Maybe he’s realized that as much as he is out of town, we didn’t really have much of a home life.”

  They’d come around the park and John stopped at a bench. “Would you like to sit for a bit?”

  Elizabeth was in no hurry to end the outing. “Yes, that would be nice.” She sat down and John joined her on the bench.

  “That must have been hard on you—being alone so much after your mother passed away,” he said.

  “It was. I was always afraid in that big house when Papa was out of town. Our housekeeper was very nice and assured me over and over again that we were safe, but I’d hear all kinds of noises and hide myself under the covers. I was old enough to know what she said was true. It wasn’t like I was a young child. But I was just so lonely after Mama died.... I don’t think Papa ever understood fully, though. Maybe having the house to himself has helped. I don’t know.”

  “I’m sorry you were so lonely, Elizabeth. I do understand, though.”

  “I know you do. And you were much younger when your mother passed away. I must sound like a child.”

  “No. You sound like someone who was hurting. Your father probably was, too, but didn’t know how to handle missing your mother and maybe it was easier for him just to be gone.”

  “Perhaps. I’m sorry now that I wasn’t looking at things from his perspective.”

  “That’s not always easy to do.”

  “Thank you for listening to me, John. I don’t think I’ve ever told anyone about how lonely I was. Not even Aunt Bea. She was hurting, too, and—”

  He reached out and touched her cheek. She couldn’t seem to keep herself from covering his hand with one of hers. John turned his hand and grasped hers, bringing it to his lips.

  Their eyes met, and the realization of how much she wanted him to really kiss her had Elizabeth suddenly jumping up from the bench and turning this way and that—

  John stood and gently grasped her arms and turned her to him. “Elizabeth. I didn’t mean to upset you. I—”

  “You didn’t. But—” She couldn’t let him say he was sorry for the tender moment. She didn’t want to hear that. “It’s just getting late and we should get back.”

  “But—”

  She slipped her hand through his arm. “Thank you for being so understanding about a schoolgirl’s fears and heartaches.”

  “Anytime.” He led the way out of the park. “I mean that, Elizabeth. I’ve opened up to you in ways I never have with anyone else and I’m here for you anytime you need to talk—about anything.”

  His words warmed Elizabeth’s heart as he locked the gate behind them and they headed toward Heaton House.

  Julia was playing the piano when they arrived back and they joined the others in singing around it. Elizabeth kept her eyes on the sheet of music in front of Julia. If she looked at John she was sure that he’d see the longing on her face. She wasn’t ready to admit how much she cared about him—not when she really didn’t know how he felt about her—other than as a very good friend. This man who she’d sparred with for over a year, had suddenly become the person she shared all her deepest hurts and fears with. He was truly her best friend. But she could no longer deny she longed for more. They’d both been hurt, but if she were beginning to trust him the way she had tonight, was it possible that she could trust him with her heart? And would he want it?

  * * *

  As John headed back to city hall the next day in the sweltering heat, he couldn’t quit thinking of the night before. Had Elizabeth not jumped up from the bench when she did, he would have told her how much he cared for her and then kissed her in a way that convinced her he meant every word. But she had jumped up and he didn’t know why.

  Was she upset because she thought he might? No. He didn’t think so. For a moment as they’d looked at each other he was almost certain she would have welcomed his words and his kiss, but now... He whooshed out a breath of frustration. The woman had his insides all topsy-turvy.

  And yet, she’d told him things she’d never told anyone else—that had to account for something. She wouldn’t have told him all that she did, if she didn’t trust him to keep it to himself, would she? Surely not.

  And if she ever realized that, could she at some point realize she could trust him with her heart as he—John stopped in his tracks and let out a ragged breath before finishing the thought...as he knew he could trust her with his.

  But would any of that make a difference in the long run? Her father might have mellowed but that didn’t mean he was ready to see his daughter marry a newspaperman who had no wealth of his own to offer her.

  John shook his head as he reached city hall and headed downstairs. He didn’t know how Elizabeth really felt, but it was getting to the point to where he was going to have to find out. One thing he knew. If she didn’t want him, it’d be hard. But he’d get through it. The Lord would see that he did. And that should give him the courage to tell her how he felt and leave it all in His hands.

  For now, though, he had a job to do and the good thing about searching through so many records was that he had to block out all thoughts of anything else to make sure he didn’t miss anything. He rubbed the back of his neck and got to work.

  When he left that afternoon the heat was oppressive, and he was glad all the windows on the trolley were rolled down. The movement created a breeze that made the heat almost tolerable. He’d finally found some information that might lead to finding the owners of a couple of the buildings, but some of it was more than a little disturbing to him and he needed to speak to Michael. He got off the trolley at his office building.

  Michael was as concerned as he was at what he’d found and promised to get right on it. It was with a heavy heart that John caught the next trolley to Heaton House. By the time he got there he couldn’t deny he was frustrated.

  He didn’t know what he’d do if his suspicions turned out to be right.

  * * *

  John seemed very quiet that night and Elizabeth couldn’t help but wonder if it had anything to do with the evening before when she’d insisted they get back to Heaton House.

  Now she wondered what would have happened if she’d stayed? Would the evening have ended with a kiss? With her telling him about her feelings for him? She’d opened up about everything else in her life to him. But she hadn’t given any of that a chance because she was afraid to find out that he might not care for her the way she did him. And they seemed to have taken a step backward in their relationship and she wasn’t sure what to do about it.

  And now probably wasn’t the time to do anything. Everyone seemed out of sorts. The heat was awful and according to the papers, several people had already been taken to the hospital. She hated to think what it was like for those in the tenements who couldn’t open their windows to let what breeze there might be come through. Or those in such cramped spaces air could barely circulate if there was a breeze.

  Mrs. Heaton had brought home fans of all kinds and put one at each place setting. “I know these won’t cool you while you’re sleeping, but at least they might help when you’re awake. And drink a lot of water—I’ve been told it helps. We’ve plenty of ice. I ordered extra from the icehouse, so take advantage of it. I’ve opened all the upstairs windows, to help let the hot air escape. You might want to hang damp towels in front of your windows tonight, it will help to cool the air if there is a breeze.”

  “At least some of the office buildings have ceiling fans in them,” Elizabeth said. “Hopefully they’ll be available for homes before too long.”

  “That’d be a blessing,” Mrs. Heaton said. “It is a little cooler in my garden, so make use of it and of course Gramercy Park is available.”

&nbs
p; Mention of the park had her glancing at John only to find his gaze on her. There was a look in his eyes that she’d never seen before and her breath caught in her throat. Why did he look so...perplexed?

  “John, is something bothering you?” she found herself asking.

  “I’m just concerned. I’m afraid if this heat lasts much longer there will be deaths in the city.”

  His remark stopped any other conversations that were going on around the table.

  “I fear the same thing,” Kathleen said. “I hope the city opens the fire hydrants in the tenements before long, at least for a few hours so the children can play and cool down during the day. I’m most worried about the elderly, though. This has to be hard on them.”

  “True. And then again, many of them have gotten through worse,” Mrs. Heaton said. “We need to keep praying that this heat wave ends soon.”

  No one wanted to go upstairs too early as the heat up there was worse than downstairs and they went as a group to the soda shop. There were lines to get in and no seating at all, so they ordered cones and ate them on the way back to Heaton House.

  Elizabeth couldn’t get the people they’d met in the tenements out of her mind. “John, do you think Mrs. Oliver and the others will make it through this awful weather?”

  “I hope so. I pray so. Maybe I can go check on them tomorrow.”

  “I’d like to go along, if you don’t mind?”

  He hesitated a moment and she wondered if he were going to turn her down. “Of course I don’t mind. My only concern is how hot it is. But I understand you wanting to go, so dress cool as you can. It’s bound to feel like an oven in those buildings.”

  “I know.” She finished her ice cream cone, thinking about all the people who didn’t have the opportunity to have one. How spoiled she was! She prayed for them all as they continued home. It was one of the quietest outings they’d ever had.

  * * *