His Most Suitable Bride

by Renee Ryan

  Callie greeted him with her a short nod and then turned her attention to her sister. “Welcome home, Fanny.”

  “Callie.” Fanny’s head lifted and a look of unfiltered relief filled her gaze. “I’d hoped you would be here this evening.”

  As she stared into her sister’s eyes, Callie recognized the discomfiture there, the worry that her return would not be received well. Whatever lingering anger she’d been holding toward Fanny suddenly disappeared. All that was left was love. Love for her sister. Love for her best friend. Fanny had made her share of mistakes recently. Then again, so had Callie.

  Judge not, lest you be judged.

  “Oh, Fanny.” Callie pulled her younger sister into a warm, tight embrace. “I’ve missed you so.”

  “I’ve missed you, too, Cal. So very much.”

  They clung to one another for several seconds, neither caring that they were making a spectacle of themselves with their joyful reunion. Or that the whispers and chatter had increased.

  Fanny stepped back first.

  Her gaze dropped over Callie, traveling from head to toe. “Why, Callie, you’re beautiful. And your dress...” A smile curved her lips. “It’s absolutely stunning and so perfect for your coloring.”

  A few months ago, the compliment would have alarmed Callie. She would have retreated behind her cool mask, concerned she’d attracted unnecessary attention. Now, she accepted her sister’s admiration with a gracious smile and a genuine thank-you.

  “My, how you’ve changed, Cal.” Fanny clasped her hands delightedly. “Is this newfound confidence due to Mrs. Singletary’s influence?”

  “And Reese’s.” Callie answered without hesitation, not quite realizing what she’d revealed until the words had passed her lips.

  Reese. He stood silently beside her, his shoulders not quite touching hers. Tall, strong and vigilant, ever watchful, she found strength in his presence.

  She dared a glance in his direction, but he wasn’t looking at her. He was looking at Fanny, his expression unreadable.

  Fanny turned to face him directly.

  A hush fell over the surrounding crowd, spreading through the ballroom like yeast through leavened bread. It was as if the entire room was poised in anticipation, eager to witness firsthand this unexpected reunion between the estranged couple.

  “Hello, Fanny.” Reese gave her a brief nod, his smile slipping only a fraction. Callie doubted anyone noticed but her. “Welcome home.”

  “Thank you, Reese.” Fanny looked momentarily disconcerted, then returned his smile with a bright one of her own. “It’s wonderful to be back in Denver.”

  “Is your return permanent?” Callie asked, hoping to alleviate the tension falling over their awkward little group.

  “I haven’t yet decided.” Something flickered in Fanny’s gaze as she glanced at Mr. Hawkins. “The terms of my employment aren’t quite settled.”

  Mr. Hawkins frowned, the gesture one of genuine masculine puzzlement. “Miss Mitchell, I am more than willing to meet your requests.”

  Fanny lifted her eyebrows. “All of them?”

  After a slight pause, he nodded.

  “Wonderful.” Her eyes lit with triumph. “Nevertheless, I wish to think it over before I give you my answer.”

  Her response earned her a frown. “I understand. However, you should know...” His face took on an unbending expression. “I will not wait indefinitely for your answer. You have a week to make your decision.”

  Fanny gasped. “But, Mr. Hawkins, I—”

  “One week. Not a day more.”

  After a quick word of farewell to Reese and Callie and a brief nod in Fanny’s direction, he was gone.

  Additional tension descended in his wake. Expectant silence hung heavy on the air. Not quite understanding what she’d just witnessed, Callie shared a confused glance with Reese.

  He lifted a shoulder, then, ever the gentleman, stepped into the void. “Fanny, would you care to dance?”

  Eyes still on Mr. Hawkins, hands clenched at her sides, Fanny drew in a sharp breath. “Thank you, Reese, I believe I would. Very much.”

  As he guided her sister onto the dance floor, Callie was filled with admiration for Reese. The sensation was followed immediately by gloom. Though Reese had merely been smoothing over an awkward moment, Fanny was once again in his arms.

  Callie’s worst nightmare realized.

  Melting to the edge of the dance floor, then farther back into the shadow cast by an oversize flower arrangement, she watched her sister and the man she loved waltz together.

  They made a striking pair.

  Reese’s masculine build stood in stark contrast to Fanny’s slight frame, his dark to her light, their steps flawlessly in sync with the music. The romantic waltz seemed to have been composed for this moment.

  Callie sighed unhappily. Mrs. Singletary had commissioned entirely too many waltzes for this evening’s ball. Why couldn’t she have insisted upon quadrilles, where couples spent more time apart than together? Or, better yet, a scotch reel, where they didn’t touch at all.

  Reese and Fanny executed a well-timed series of turns. The action sent a fold in Fanny’s skirt wrapping around his legs. He said something to her that made her laugh.

  Callie had a peculiar feeling in her stomach, one of dread, as if her world was about to cave in around her.

  A faint sigh slipped past her lips.

  “You’re frowning, Miss Mitchell. Please tell me I’m not the cause.”

  “Indeed not.” She swung her gaze to meet Marshall Ferguson’s. “I was merely caught up in the music.”

  “By the expression on your face I take it you don’t like this particular arrangement.”

  She considered how best to answer the question. “If you must know, I find it a bit melancholy for my liking.”

  He shut his eyes a moment, as if attempting to listen to the music without any distraction. “The composer has relied too heavily on the minor chords,” he said, opening his eyes. “That, I believe, is why the piece has a sad tone.”

  “You know your music, Mr. Ferguson.”

  “A bit.” He gave her a sheepish grin. “Don’t tell my mother, but I have been known to tap out a ditty now and then on the fiddle.”

  Picturing him with a fiddle beneath his chin, plucking out a jaunty tune, she laughed softly. “I should very much like to see that.”

  “One day, perhaps I shall satisfy your curiosity.” Smiling, he gestured to the flurry of dancers. “Would you do me the honor?”

  Her first impulse was to refuse, to lean back against the wall and retreat into the shadows she’d once worn as a protection from future heartache. She’d hidden from life itself, cloaking her true self behind ugly clothes and severe hairstyles. She’d allowed a false sense of shame to keep her trapped in the mistake of her past.

  She was not that woman anymore.

  “Why, thank you, Mr. Ferguson, I would love to take a turn around the floor with you.”

  * * *

  Reese knew the exact moment Callie and Marshall Ferguson joined the whirl of dancers. He felt it in his gut, in the kick of possessiveness that hit him square in the heart. Mine. She is mine.

  He had half a mind to cut in, to stake his claim in front of everyone assembled, as beastly as that sounded even in his own head.

  Alas, he must finish this dance with Fanny first. A multitude of gazes were on them. Tongues wagged. Speculation abounded.

  “Why did you come home, Fanny?”

  He didn’t ask the question for himself. They’d said everything that needed saying months ago. There was no point in rehashing the past, especially since matters were settled between them. But Fanny’s ill-timed arrival had brought unkind speculation onto Callie.

  That, he would not tolerat
e.

  Her gaze not quite meeting his, Fanny lifted her chin and said, “I came home because I missed my family.”

  He believed that was partially true. The Mitchell brood was a tight-knit group. Fanny had always been close with her siblings. But her explanation brought up another, more significant question. “Why did you choose tonight, and this ball in particular, to make your return?”

  “I...” She sighed delicately. “It’s hard to explain.”

  “Try.”

  She fell silent.

  Reese took the opportunity to eye her more closely. He dropped his gaze over her face, searching for the woman he’d thought he knew. The one with manners and grace, who would never think to cause a public spectacle as she’d done tonight.

  “You must have known your entrance would create a resurgence of the gossip.”

  She remained silent.

  “That isn’t like you, Fanny.” He spoke her name softly, hoping to instill her trust, at least enough to get the truth out of her. “You’ve never been one to draw unnecessary attention to yourself. Again, I have to ask why you chose to do so tonight?”

  “Oh, Reese.” She lowered her gaze to a spot near his left shoulder. “I guess I thought if I faced the gossip head-on, in a public setting, with half of Denver in attendance, my return would go...easier.”

  “Easier?” The muscles in his shoulders tensed. “You mean easier for you.”

  “Yes.”

  “It was selfish of you not to warn anyone of your arrival, especially your sister.”

  “I’m sorry, truly I am. I didn’t mean to throw speculation in her direction. And I definitely didn’t mean to hurt Callie.”

  Again, he believed her. Fanny was not inherently selfish. She would never do anything malicious. Nevertheless, her actions had hurt her sister. Not just tonight, but for months.

  “Your absence has been hard on her.” He steered around a slow-moving couple gawking at them. He chose to ignore their interest. “Despite how things were left between you and Callie, she’s missed you.”

  “I’ve missed her, too. I hadn’t realized how much until I saw her again tonight.” Sighing, Fanny leaned her head to one side and scanned the dance floor. “She’s changed since I left, for the better.”

  “She’s come into her own.” He caught Callie’s eye across the dance floor. She smiled at him over Ferguson’s shoulder.

  The tautness in his chest lightened as he returned the gesture.

  Fanny followed the direction of his gaze. “I hadn’t realized you and my sister...” She broke off. “That is, I hadn’t considered that you two would form an...an affection in my absence.”

  He rolled his gaze back to her. “We don’t need your permission.”

  “No, you don’t. I meant what I said the last time we spoke, Reese. I wish you nothing but the greatest happiness in life. If my sister makes you smile like that, more the better.”

  His feet paused, the barest of seconds, before sweeping them into a series of fast turns that left no opportunity for further conversation.

  Fanny broke the silence between them as the music hit the final chords. “Reese?”

  He guided her through a simple, three-step turn. “Yes?”

  “I’m glad we never married.” She angled her head and studied his face. “I believe you are equally relieved.”

  He nodded. “We would have had a comfortable life together. But I have recently discovered I want more out of marriage.”

  He glanced over at Callie and saw his future unfold, a future full of laughter and happiness, children and family, freshly baked cookies and battles with toy soldiers.

  He turned his gaze back to his dance partner. “I should have never proposed to you, Fanny.”

  “I should have never said yes.”

  The waltz came to an end, as did the remaining threads of uneasiness between them. They’d needed this final confrontation. Had needed to meet again and say their proverbial farewells.

  Reese could go forth into the future confident his relationship with Fanny was firmly in the past. He offered his ex-fiancée his arm.

  She took it without hesitation. “Thank you for the dance.”

  “The pleasure was all mine.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “The evening is an unqualified success.” Mrs. Singletary made this pronouncement from the edge of the dance floor.

  Callie stood restlessly by her side, wondering when the ball would come to an end. Not for several hours at least. The clock had just struck midnight and the crowd showed no signs of thinning. In fact, the heavily populated dance floor seemed to have grown denser in the past half hour.

  She stifled a sigh and struggled to arrange a pleasant look on her face. “Everyone seems to be having a marvelous time.”

  “Of course they are, dear, we left nothing to chance. The decorations are lovely, the food superb, the music divine.” As if she were a queen and the party guests were her beloved subjects, the widow cast a fond smile over the room. “I am quite pleased with the turnout. I predict the new hospital wing will be fully funded by the end of the night.”

  A blessing, to be sure. Yet Callie couldn’t shake the terrible sense of foreboding that tugged at her. She hadn’t spoken with Reese since he’d danced with her sister. There’d been no real opportunity. Fanny’s sudden arrival seemed to have sparked even more female interest in Reese. He was the most desired dance partner at the ball.

  For the past hour he’d wound his way through hordes of smiling admirers. He barely took a step away from one woman when another appeared by his side. They each received a word or two, some a request to dance. He was so gallant, so handsome, so sought after.

  “...and despite the brief scene your sister’s arrival created.” Mrs. Singletary continued the conversation, ignoring Callie’s lack of response. “Or perhaps because of her ill-timed appearance, tonight’s ball will be talked about for months to come.”

  Though Callie had missed most of the widow’s words, she couldn’t argue that last point. Fanny had made quite the memorable entrance. Hours later, people were still whispering about her return. Many openly wondered what the estranged couple had said to one another during their sole dance together.

  Callie would like to know the answer to that question herself.

  The widow clasped her hands together in glee. “I believe this year’s ball has proven even more eventful than last year’s, when your brother accomplished quite the coup d’état.”

  Callie’s smile came easily as she remembered how Garrett had dropped to one knee right in the middle of the dance floor. A hush had fallen over the crowd as he’d taken his childhood sweetheart’s hand and uttered seven simple heartfelt words. Molly Taylor Scott, will you marry me?

  Of course, Molly’s answer had been yes.

  Wistfully, Callie wondered if Reese would utter similar words to her. Callie Anne Mitchell, will you marry me?

  Perhaps he wouldn’t propose at all now that Fanny had returned. There’d been no chance to discover how he really felt about her sister’s appearance.

  For the past hour, Callie had been relegated to watching him take a turn across the floor with seven different partners. She’d counted every one of them. Now he was dancing with Temperance Evans.

  “Speaking of your family...” Mrs. Singletary turned her head to Callie, a question in her gaze. “Where is Fanny?”

  Though her sister had danced nearly as many dances as Reese, with as many different partners, she’d gone missing in the past ten minutes.

  “I’m not sure,” Callie admitted. “Perhaps she’s at one of the buffet tables.”

  “Perhaps.” Something came and went in the widow’s eye, something a little sneaky. “It would seem Mr. Hawkins has gone missing, as well.”

  Before Ca
llie could respond, Reese’s father appeared.

  He greeted the widow first. Then turned and bent over Callie’s hand next, giving her curled fingers a polite kiss. The gesture was very smooth and perfectly executed.

  “Miss Mitchell.” He straightened. “May I have the honor of this dance?”

  “Oh, I... You wish to dance with me?” She’d assumed he’d come over to ask the widow.

  “Other than your exquisite employer—” he winked at Mrs. Singletary “—you are the most beautiful woman in the room.”

  The compliment warmed her bruised heart. Until he’d uttered those kind words Callie hadn’t known how much she needed to hear them.

  Shielding her gratitude behind lowered lashes, she took his offered hand. As they pirouetted across the floor, Callie allowed herself to enjoy the dance, another waltz, with a partner she liked and admired a great deal. If Reese did ask her to marry him, if he truly loved her as Mrs. Singletary claimed, Callie would take great pleasure in having this man as her father-in-law.

  He effortlessly took her through a series of turns then smiled into her eyes. “I trust you are enjoying yourself this evening?”

  Her gaze caught hold of Reese and Miss Evans twirling together just off to their left. Why did he have to look so...pleased with his dance partner?

  Callie forced a tremulous smile on her lips and focused her full attention on her own partner. “While tonight has had its special moments—” the loveliest when she’d danced with Reese “—to say I’m enjoying myself might be a bit of an overstatement.”

  “Ah.” His eyes took on a sympathetic light. “Your sister certainly caused a stir with her arrival.”

  “I believe that was her aim.” Now that she’d had time to consider Fanny’s behavior, Callie thought she understood her motives. “She probably assumed it would be best to face the bulk of the gossip all at once.”

  Even as a child, Fanny had tackled the worst of any situation first, saving the less challenging tasks for last. Her favorite saying had always been Let’s get this over with, shall we? The more Callie chewed on the notion, the more she thought she understood why Fanny had arrived at the ball unannounced.