Ellie paused on the elegant wraparound porch and stared at the city below. No skyscrapers towered above this turn-of-the-century city of rolling greenery and sparkling blue lakes. A light haze of pollution hung in the moist air, settling over the panoramic vista. From the landmarks, she recognized their location. The Chamberlains lived on Queen Anne Hill, so named for the number of homes built at the end of the nineteenth century in the Queen Anne style of architecture.
“What are you thinking?” Robert murmured as they descended the stairs.
“Oh, gosh, lots of things! How different the city looks, how much pollution already hangs in the air, yet how beautiful it still is.”
“It is a beautiful city, isn’t it? You will have to tell me about this...pollution some time. I would be interested to hear of that.”
Despite Ellie’s unfamiliarity with the mechanics of her voluminous clothing and her inability to see her feet, their descent of the stairs was quicker today than the ascent the night before, and Robert handed Ellie up into the carriage. She put out a protective hand to guard her hat while trying to hoist her skirts up with the other, and she wondered how women got anything done in this century, hampered as they were by their clothing. She remembered reading, though, that while upper-class women were restricted in their movements and probably could do little significant manual labor, they did contribute heavily with time and energy to charitable works.
Robert climbed in beside her, and the carriage moved off. Ellie sat awkwardly forward not only because the bend of the corset required it but also because the wide brim of her hat needed extra room. She tried to turn toward Robert but hit him in the face accidentally.
“Oops, sorry. I’m trying to get used to this thing.”
He laughed. “I’m sure you are. Women have taken to wearing larger and larger hats recently. I suspect it has very little to do with keeping their heads warm and more to do with outshining each other.”
“You’re probably right, Robert. And believe me, that will not change by the twenty-first century.”
He laughed with his endearingly unique male resonance and touched her hand briefly. Ellie had enough trouble gasping for air in her corset without having her breath stolen by his charm.
Robert proved to be a wonderfully insightful tour guide. Giving in to her requests to see specific sites, he took her down to a vendor’s market, the forerunner of the modern Pike’s Place Market, she realized. As they wandered the covered stalls, she described how it would look...as well as she could remember, having only been to the market once before. She asked to go down to the waterfront, but he vetoed that as being too rough a neighborhood for a lady.
“It’s quite trendy now, you know, with restaurants and musicians and lots and lots of tourists,” she murmured with a sigh.
“Trendy? What does that mean?”
Ellie loved stumping the normally confident man with strange terms. The confusion on his face gave him such a vulnerable look.
“Popular.”
“Ah! Popular.” He nodded. “Trendy,” he repeated to himself.
“I wanted to get a closer look at the clipper ships in the bay. We don’t have those anymore, or if we do, they’re very rare. Historic.”
“You can see the ships in the bay from any window in the front of the house. They are much more attractive from a distance. They boast quite a heavy stench close up.”
“Really?” She sighed.
He gave her a sympathetic look. “Would you like to have some lunch at a park? I had Mrs. Smith put a picnic together for us.”
She turned to him with a pleased smile. “Aw, Robert, that would be wonderful! Yes, let’s go to the park.”
A half hour later, the driver pulled into a lovely park on a beautiful blue lake. Robert helped Ellie down while the driver unloaded several baskets from the coach. After spending the last several hours clutching at her skirts to keep them from the dirt roads common to the turn of the century, Ellie was pleased to see a wooden promenade skirting the lake. Small boats took passengers out onto the calm water to lull the day away in the rare sunshine of the often rainy Pacific Northwest.
Ellie hesitated, unsure of what to do, but Robert took her hand in his arm.
“Shall we walk for a while?” he asked.
Ellie watched the couples and families strolling along the lake’s edge, and she hesitated.
“I don’t know, Robert. Teeter-tottering around in this outfit in the vendor’s market was one thing. It was too crowded for anyone to notice anything, but these people are strolling like professionals. I mean, they’re really promenading.”
Robert laughed, and she tilted her head back at an angle to glare.
“Oh, Ellie, you make me laugh with your odd sayings. Promenading, indeed. Of course, they are. It is a promenade.”
He turned to the driver, a silent young man with dark hair and a mustache.
“Jimmy, lay our things out over there, please.” He nodded in the direction of a picnic area dotted with several black wrought iron tables and chairs. “We will return shortly.”
He looked down at her and gave her hand a firm squeeze.
“Shall we, madam?”
He didn’t wait for an answer but moved out, his pace slow to accommodate Ellie’s unsure steps. Ellie kept her eyes on the boardwalk for several reasons—one was to watch her footing.
“Ellie, my dear, lift your head. No one will notice anything unusual about you except that you are a beautiful woman.” He peered around the corner of her hat. “Although quite fetching, that hat is extremely inconvenient. I cannot see your face.”
She tilted her head and turned toward him, knowing her cheeks must be as rosy as her dress.
“There you are,” he murmured softly with a dancing light in his eyes.
“Mr. Chamberlain, I believe you are flirting with me.” She used her hat to shield her embarrassed face. The large black, rose-ribboned concoction actually had some value after all.
He paused for a moment, standing stock still so that she had to rotate, since he still held her arm. She ended up facing him. He dipped his head and looked into her eyes with a playful grin.
“Why, Miss Standish, I do believe I am.” He reached up with his free hand and softly touched the line of her cheek. Ellie’s blush deepened. She longed to rub against his hand but resisted once again.
“Robert. Miss Standish.”
Ellie turned quickly, almost knocking herself off balance.
Constance stood in front of them on the promenade, an odd expression on her face. She was accompanied by a younger blonde woman dressed like Constance in a dark blue, tailor-made silk skirt with a white blouse.
Chapter Nine
“Constance. How are you today? I did not expect to see you up and about so early after our late arrival.” Robert dipped his hat in her direction.
Ellie nodded a greeting, but ran a quick hand up to steady her hat. She did not miss Constance’s frank, appraising stare.
“I promised my niece, Amanda, that I would bring her to the park today. Amanda, you remember Mr. Chamberlain. And this is Miss Standish.”
Ellie greeted the young girl, who watched her aunt with adoration.
“Miss Standish, you look quite...stunning today.” Constance’s voice held some reserve.
Ellie ducked her head. “Thank you, Constance. You also look very beautiful.”
Constance had the grace to blush. She put a hand to her large, dark blue, netted hat.
“Well, thank you. I could murmur this old thing, but in fact, it is new.”
“Are we still expecting you for supper tonight, Constance.”
Ellie flinched for just a moment, and Robert tightened his arm.
“Yes, Robert, I am still planning to come. Seven p.m., correct?”
Robert nodded with a practiced smile. “Yes, seven it is.” He tipped his hat to her. “Well, if you will excuse us, Constance, we must move on. I am doing a poor job of showing Ellie the city.”
“Are you new to Seattl
e then, Miss Standish?” Constance fixed Ellie with dark eyes, an almost imperceptible narrowing the only sign of strong emotion.
Ellie blinked. “Please call me Ellie. Yes, I am new. I’ve never been here before.” It seemed better to lie than to dream something else up.
“Well, you have a fine tour guide in Robert.” Constance relaxed her face and nodded. “Please excuse us. I will see you this evening, Robert.”
She moved away with Amanda, and Ellie resisted the urge to turn around and watch her graceful gait. She was fairly sure she could learn a lot from Constance about the art of feminine elegance in this era.
She moved on with Robert, wincing as they passed an occasional fellow stroller who nodded, tipped his hat or dipped her head and murmured “Good day, Mr. Chamberlain.”
“Robert, I didn’t realize we would see so many people who know you. What will they think?”
He greeted another couple who nodded at him.
“About what, Ellie?”
“About me, I guess. I really feel like I’m sticking out. Like they can tell.”
“Tell what?” He paused and turned to her. “What can they tell?”
“Well, that I’m...” She ducked her head, but he raised her chin with a gentle index finger, forcing her to meet his green-eyed gaze.
“You’re...?”
“Different, odd, out of place,” she muttered.
“That’s what I love about you, Ellie. You are different...from any woman I’ve ever met.” He tapped the tip of her nose and resumed walking.
She trod on in a daze. Had he just said love? As in love?
“Come, I am famished,” Robert said. “Shall we have our luncheon now?” He led the way over to the picnic Jimmy had set up. A large, white, linen tablecloth covered the small, round, wrought iron table. Robert pulled out a matching, black-painted, wrought iron chair and lowered her into it. Jimmy had set out several simple white porcelain plates and plain silverware along with linen napkins.
“Let’s see what Cook has prepared for us.”
He brought out a plate of roasted chicken, a bowl of potato salad, a packet of cheese, bread, several slices of chocolate cake, bananas, two apples, raisins and almonds. Ellie eyed the large hamper with amazement. It seemed bottomless, like some magician’s hat. The food just kept coming.
“Is there anything here that you can eat? I see that there are some things without meat, but will it be enough to satisfy your hunger?”
“I doubt if I can eat anything while I’m wearing this corset, but yes, there is plenty of food.” She ran a hand along her narrow waist.
Robert paused and stared at her waist with a frown.
“You look to be in pain, Ellie. You must do away with that silly thing. I don’t know why women wear them anyway.”
Ellie raised an amused eyebrow. “Well, in my case, I can’t get into Melinda’s clothes without them.”
“We should have a seamstress come by tomorrow. She can adjust a few things. Please do not wear that thing again. I do not like to see you so miserable. I want you to be happy here.”
“I don’t think I’ll be able to wear it again. I’m fairly sure I’ve cracked a rib...or two.” She grinned, wondering about the improbability of discussing her underwear with a man she’d met only the day before...in the late Victorian/early Edwardian era.
“Ummm...Robert? Don’t you think it’s strange that we are discussing my...underwear?”
He ladled some potato salad onto her plate and flashed his dimples. A bronze tinge touched his cheeks.
“Actually, yes, I do, Ellie. Very odd! In fact, I cannot say that I have ever had a discussion with a woman about her...em...undergarments.”
Ellie saw an opening and went for it with an arched eyebrow in his direction. “Not once, Robert?”
While Robert busily searched the basket for wine and glasses, Ellie watched with glee as his hands stilled. He turned to her with a decidedly bright red face.
“I...em... Well, that is...” He scanned a mysterious spot over her shoulder in the distance.
“Oh, Robert, you should see your face.” Ellie broke out into a rib-clutching laugh, the more so because her clothes did not allow for expansion. “It’s priceless. No need to answer, Mr. Chamberlain. I would assume at your age that you are no...uh...saint.”
“Ellie,” he reprimanded, his color still high. “I hardly think this is an appropriate subject for discussion.” He tossed back the entire goblet of wine he’d just poured.
She patted his hand, loving him all the more for his charming vulnerability. “Don’t worry, Robert. I won’t bring it up again. Unless you do.”
His color receded, and he reached for a slice of bread with an unsteady hand.
“Thank you,” he murmured, busily making a sandwich as if it were the most challenging task he had faced to date.
The imp on Ellie’s shoulder goaded her.
“But you will tell me some time, won’t you?” she prodded. “Whether you’ve been a saint or not, that is?”
She gurgled with laughter when he dropped his sandwich.
“Ellie, I really must insist you stop this line of questioning. It is not seemly.”
“I know,” she said with a quirked brow and a mischievous grin as she bit into an apple. Undaunted, she continued to chuckle. “I’m from the twenty-first century, you know, Robert. Things are different now.”
“Now or then?” he muttered while he tried to pick up the pieces of his bedraggled sandwich.
“Then.”
“I see. Well, I’m sure it must be very...adventurous in your time, Ellie. We are not so bold at this time.”
“We are. Besides, I thought you said you loved that about me—that I’m so different. Remember? Just a few moments ago?”
He tossed back another glass of wine and eyed her with a raised brow. “Really, was it only a few moments ago?”
She nodded, forgetting the weight of her hat.
“Mmmm-hmmm.”
“And what about you, Ellie?”
Busily adjusting her hat, which seemed in danger of sliding off her head and taking her hair with it, Ellie lost track of the thread of the conversation.
“What about me?”
Robert rested his arms on the table and leaned forward. “Are you a...a saint?”
As his words sunk in, she stopped fidgeting and stared at him. Color flooded her face. She could honestly say she had never expected proper Robert to tease her back along the same lines. His eyes glittered, and his smile sported a rakish tilt to the corner.
She thought fast and hard. The wrong answer might turn this turn-of-the-century man from her.
“In your time? No, I wouldn’t be considered a saint. But in my time? I might as well be.”
Nonplussed, Robert sat back against his chair and toyed with his empty glass.
“What does that mean?”
Ellie grinned. “Maybe I’ll tell you someday, Mr. Chamberlain. This food is wonderful.” She bit into her food with apparent gusto and said no more. She felt Robert’s intent gaze but kept her eyes on the plate in front of her until she saw out of the corner of her eye that he picked up his own food and began to eat.
****
Robert returned to his room from the washroom and sat down to allow Charles to comb his hair and trim the ends.
“How was your outing today, sir?”
Robert looked at the older man in the mirror. He caught sight of his own reflection. For pity’s sake, his cheeks were as pink as a girl’s. He ran a quick hand along his jaw with a rueful smile and cleared his throat.
“Wonderful, Charles. I had a very pleasant time.”
“I am glad to hear it, Mr. Chamberlain. You certainly deserve to take some time from work.”
“Yes, it was really very pleasant to walk about during the middle of the day. I don’t do it enough. As you see, my face took some sun today.”
The comb in Charles’ hand stilled for a moment. Robert narrowed his eyes, grinned and dar
ed the older man to say something.
“Yes, sir, of course.”
“Oh, Charles, you know I am teasing. Behold me blushing like a child.”
“Blushing, sir? I would not have known it was a blush.”
Robert jumped up and pulled his dark blue velvet bathrobe closely about him.
“Yes, I had a wonderful time. Pick out some clothing that suits me well, Charles. I want to look very handsome this evening.”
“Mr. Chamberlain, you always look handsome.”
Robert’s face reddened once again. “Good gravy, it seems even you can make me blush. Have I no self-control?”
“As much as you need, sir. I am certain of that.”
With a sigh, Robert shrugged out of his robe and slipped on his undergarments.
“I hope you are right, Charles. I am not as certain of that as you.”
He continued to dress in silence as he contemplated the night ahead. Would Ellie dance with him? Would he do her justice or fall all over her feet in an effort to impress her? She had looked quite stunning today in her lovely rose suit, albeit a bit uncomfortable. What would she look like tonight? What did her hair look like down around her shoulders? He longed to find out, but it seemed unlikely that would happen tonight.
****
At 6:30 p.m. Melinda and Alice were still trying to stuff Ellie into an evening dress of dark blue silk.
“Ellie, you really must wear the corset.”
“No, Melinda, please don’t make me wear that thing again. My ribs are bruised. Robert said I didn’t have to.”
Melinda froze. “Robert?” She peered into Ellie’s face. “What does he have to do with this? Do not tell me you discussed your...undergarments with him!”
Ellie colored and grinned sheepishly. “Yes?”
“Ellie, you are such a strange creature. Sometimes, it is as if you are from another world. We do not discuss those matters with men, and it is really none of their business.”
“Well, then why do we wear these things? If men don’t care, why do I have to torture myself in a corset?”
Melinda grimaced and tugged some more on Ellie’s dress. “I have no earthly idea. Alice, why do we wear those silly things?”
10 Timeless Heroes; A Time Travel Romance Boxed Set Page 195