The Spinster (Emerson Pass Historicals Book 2)

by Tess Thompson

  “Yes, I have.”

  “How is Theo? Does he seem all right?”

  I didn’t know how much she knew about his mental state, and I didn’t want to be the one who spilled family secrets. “He seems fine to me.” Other than being lovesick over you, I thought.

  “Mother said he didn’t seem himself when she saw him in town at the festival. I’ve been worried about him.”

  She was worried about him? As a friend, I supposed. “I understand you all go way back.”

  “Yes, we were all together at school when we were younger. The twins and Isak went off to war and everything seemed to change overnight. I miss the old days when we were all still children.”

  “Time does keep on, doesn’t it?”

  “Too fast. Other than while they were away. Time seemed to have slowed as we waited for the hideous war to be over and return our boys to us. Then, I was sent away to school just as they were about to return. I’ve longed to see all of my old friends but especially the twins. Their family is special to me.”

  The twins? Or just Flynn? “They’ve been very good to me.”

  “Mother said as much.” She looked up at me with friendly eyes but also ones that I could easily imagine wary and questioning. The years had not completely restored her innocence. She’d known cruelty and terror. They still lurked beneath her finishing school shine. “She also told me what you and the others have done out at the Cassidys’. We appreciate your efforts.”

  I smiled down at her. “It’s the least I could do for a community that’s welcomed me. I’ve never really had a home.”

  “I was never at an orphanage, but I know what you mean.”

  Theo returned with glasses of punch for Louisa and me.

  “Are you happy to be home?” Theo asked her as he handed her the glass.

  “More than I can say. After being in Chicago, I’m even more certain I prefer the country to the city.”

  “I think Phillip here feels the same way.”

  I chuckled, nodding my head. “As long as I’m not run out of town, I’m here for good.”

  “I hadn’t known how special it was until I was no longer here. One doesn’t know what they have sometimes until it’s gone.” Her brow wrinkled as she peered into her punch.

  Theo watched her lift the glass to her mouth and take a sip.

  “Father tells me you and Flynn have taken out a path of trees from the mountain for skiing?”

  “That’s right. We’re copying slopes we saw in Europe.”

  “I do hope it won’t bring too many people. I like our sleepy town the way it is.” Louisa’s gaze traveled across to the doorway as Flynn entered the room. “There he is,” she said under her breath, as if she’d forgotten us entirely.

  I stole a glance at Theo as he downed his drink.

  Louisa raised her hand in greeting as Flynn approached.

  “Hello, Louisa, welcome home,” Flynn said as he kissed her hand.

  She’d flushed pink. “Thank you. You as well. Did you get my letters?”

  His face, in direct juxtaposition to Louisa’s, paled as he shot a guilty look in Theo’s direction. “Sure did. Thank you.”

  “I thought maybe they hadn’t arrived since I never heard back from you,” Louisa said.

  “Um, right. Sorry about that. I’m not much of a letter writer,” Flynn said.

  Her gaze returned to her drink as she spoke just above a whisper, clearly trying not to cry. “I should go say hello to some of the others. Have a nice night, gentlemen.”

  She scurried across the room and out the door, leaving the three of us in awkward silence.

  “I’m sorry,” Flynn said. “I didn’t ask for her to write.”

  “It’s all right.” Theo downed the rest of his drink. “I know how it is.”

  “I didn’t want you to find out, especially not like this.” Flynn spoke softly. “I’m sorry.”

  “I already knew. I saw the letters.”

  “Oh. Damn, I’m sorry. I feel like a heel.”

  “It’s not your fault,” Theo said. “You’re naturally charming and funny. I don’t stand a chance.”

  “She’s just one girl,” Flynn said. “Look at all the others right in front of you.”

  “Easy for you to say,” Theo said. “You could have any of your choosing.”

  “Why her, anyway?” Flynn took a flask from his pocket and took a swig.

  “Why does anyone fall for anyone?” Theo held his glass out. “Give me some of that, will you?”

  Flynn poured from the flask into Theo’s empty punch glass. “Forget her. She’s not in her right mind if she chooses me over you.” Flynn said this lightly, obviously trying to cajole Theo out of his dark mood.

  “Sure. Whatever you say.” Theo took a sip of whiskey, then coughed. “I’m going outside for some air.” He put up a hand as both of us seemed to be about to offer to go with him. “Alone.”

  We both watched him cross the room and walk out the door.

  “What am I going to do about this?” Flynn asked.

  “I’m not sure. I feel terrible for both of them. She’s obviously got it bad for you.”

  “Right. Great. I can’t seem to win with my brother lately.”

  Josephine floated over to us, rescuing me. “What’s wrong? You both look like a storm’s hovering over your heads.”

  “Theo and Louisa,” Flynn said.

  “Oh, that,” Jo said.

  “She asked me why I hadn’t answered her letters,” Flynn said. “Right in front of Theo.”

  “How insensitive,” Jo said.

  “Agreed,” I said.

  Shannon Cassidy appeared. With her hair fixed and wearing a beaded green dress, she looked like a different girl than the one I’d seen a few days before at the farm.

  Flynn lit up like the Christmas tree at the sight of her. He took both her hands. “You look…just…beautiful.”

  She smiled and made a little curtsy. “Thank you. I feel like the queen of England tonight.”

  “You look like it was made for you,” Jo said.

  “Thank you for the dress and all of this.” Shannon’s eyes glimmered with tears. “I won’t ever forget this night for as long as I live.”

  Fiona started a waltz on the piano.

  “Dance with me?” Flynn asked Shannon.

  “Yes, sure.”

  He took her hand and they went out to the floor, joining a half dozen other couples.

  I looked over at Josephine. “May I have this dance?”

  “Yes, you may.” Her smile weakened my knees. Hopefully I’d be able to remain on my feet.

  I escorted Jo onto the dance floor, then tucked one arm around her slender waist and took her hand in the other. I’d not felt the whole of her against me before. It was all I could do not to scoop her into my arms and carry her upstairs. “Have I told you how beautiful you are tonight?” I asked close to her ear.

  “Not yet.” She peeked up at me. I missed a step.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “I’m a clod when it comes to dancing.”

  “You’re not.”

  “It’s that your presence causes my legs to go slightly numb.”

  “Isn’t that only in romantic books?”

  “I can tell you with certainty that it is not.”

  “Oh, Phillip, I adore you.” She sighed as she rested her cheek against my chest. “I could stay this way forever.”

  “Some nights should last forever,” I said.

  “But they won’t, will they? The morning will come whether we want it to or not.”

  “When a moment’s shared between two people, it can always be resurrected. One day, we’ll be sitting on the porch, old and gray, and I’ll say, ‘Jo, do you remember the night we first danced together?’”

  “And I’ll say, ‘Yes, you were dashing in your evening suit and I liked the scent of your shaving soap.’ What will you say back?”

  “That there’s never been a more beautiful woman in the history of
the world than Josephine Barnes.”

  “You’re a charming older man. I can’t wait to meet you in the future.” She giggled. “Will we really ever be old and gray? I can’t imagine being anything other than what we are right now.”

  “If we’re lucky, we’ll live a long life together and have many stories to tell our children and grandchildren about our love story.”

  “I hope so,” Jo said.

  “A lifetime of wonderful memories, if I have my way,” I said.

  The song drew to a close, but we remained wrapped together swaying gently until the notes of the next song began. We needed only the music made from the mingled beating of our hearts.

  Josephine

  Several days after the party, I stood on the ladder in the library, shelving returned books on the upper stacks. I hummed a tune, happy with the outcome of our party for the Cassidys. We’d raised enough money for them to live comfortably through the winter and to replace several of the cattle they lost with babies come spring.

  The morning had been busy with patrons gathering books for the Christmas holiday, and I hadn’t had a chance to put away books. We would be closed tomorrow for Christmas and throughout the holiday weekend. People didn’t want to be left without a good read. Outside, the sky seemed to press close. A blizzard was coming. I hurried, not wanting to stay later than necessary.

  Fiona had come into work with me today to help with the rush. Phillip was to arrive just after four to take us home. We’d be home and safe by the time the storm hit.

  What a month it has been, I thought as I put away the last of the books. A whirlwind of emotions, beginning with the sting of betrayal, but quickly and completely replaced by falling in love with Phillip.

  Fiona had begged me to bring her in with me, as she was bored at home without school to occupy her. I had her in the back office, working on the numbers. Papa had recently shown her how to keep books and budget. He’d suggested I let her practice her new skills with the library budgeting for the upcoming year. Since I detested this work, I was only too happy to have her help. I’d have Papa look it over to make sure her findings were accurate.

  From the top rung of the ladder, I saw that the last of my patrons, Mrs. Rory and her daughter, June, were waiting for me at the checkout desk. “I’ll be right there, Mrs. Rory.”

  “Thank you, Miss Barnes.”

  I carefully climbed down the ladder and scurried over to assist them.

  “Sorry to keep you waiting,” I said. “I didn’t notice you there.”

  “It’s no problem at all,” Mrs. Rory said.

  “How are you today, June?” I asked. “Are you bored at home without school like Addie?”

  She nodded, peeking up at me with shy eyes.

  The Rorys and their daughter, June, lived here in town, just on the other side of the church. They’d come from back east somewhere. Her husband worked at the train station. June and Addie were in the same grade at school.

  We made small talk as I listed the books in my log. June continued to stare at me, with one small fist wrapped in the material of her mother’s wool coat.

  “These are all good choices.” I pushed the stack of books across the desk. “The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew is a favorite at my house.”

  “Addie’s my friend,” June said. “Did you know that?”

  I smiled down at her. “I did, in fact. Would you like me to tell her hello for you?”

  “Yes, please. And tell her I can’t wait for school to start back up again. We sit together at lunch.”

  “I’m delighted to hear it,” I said. “Now off you go before the storm comes.”

  “How do you know a storm’s coming?” Mrs. Rory asked.

  “The sky,” I said. “Just has that feeling to me.”

  She thanked me, and they hurried out the door. For the next fifteen minutes, I tidied up loose ends. Outside, the sky had darkened and snow began to fall. I felt a sudden urgency to get home. Don’t fret, I told myself. We’d be fine as long as the wind didn’t start up as it sometimes did.

  I set out to tidy up the chairs and tables, humming to myself to keep from worrying about the incoming blizzard. Would Papa have had the same instinct about the blizzard and sent Phillip to fetch us early? We might have to stay at his office for the night. He always had some food stashed away and bedding just for this purpose. There was always plenty of firewood for the stove, so we would be warm there.

  Was I worrying too much? I had this strange feeling of foreboding. You’re being silly, I thought. Everything’s fine.

  I went to the back-facing windows and peered outside. The snow was more like ice, and the wind had picked up, slamming against the side of the building.

  When the bells over the front doors rang out, I turned around, expecting Phillip. I’d forgotten to lock the front doors, so preoccupied with the weather. I froze, staring. For a moment, I couldn’t comprehend the vision before me. It was not Phillip as I’d expected but someone else. No, it can’t be. Not him. No. I was seeing things. I shook my head and blinked. But when I opened my eyes, the sight before me couldn’t be denied. My head grew light. I stumbled forward, grasping the back of a chair to keep from falling.

  It was not Phillip in the doorway but Walter Green. A living, breathing Walter Green.

  Phillip

  A half hour before I was to leave for town to pick Jo and Fiona up at the library, I knocked on the door of Lord Barnes’s study. It was now or never. My stomach turned as I waited for him to answer.

  “Yes, who is it?”

  “Phillip, sir. Could I have a word, please?”

  “Yes, yes. Come in.”

  I opened the door with damp fingers. “Excuse me, Lord Barnes, for the interruption.”

  He sat in a leather reading chair next to a roaring fire. A book lay facedown on his lap. I’d interrupted his reading time.

  “Is this a bad time?” I asked.

  “Not at all. What’s on your mind?”

  I’d not been in Lord Barnes’s study before now. Josephine had told me it was his private sanctuary and that only Quinn was ever invited to sit with him. A simple, manly room with dark green furniture and a skinny mahogany desk. Lamplight against dark paneling cast a cozy yellow glow. This was Lord Barnes’s sanctuary from the world and a busy household. I should be brief, I thought. He would want to get back to his book.

  “I wanted to ask you something.”

  “I was about to partake in a whiskey. Would you care for one?” Lord Barnes asked.

  “Thank you, sir. Shall I get them?”

  “Please.” He put a feather bookmark in the novel on his lap and set it aside.

  “I’m sorry to interrupt your reading time.” With shaking hands I managed to pour whiskey into two glasses without spilling.

  “Not a problem. I’m assuming you have something important to speak with me about.” His eyes twinkled at me. He must know why I’d come. I breathed a little easier. He wanted me to ask. He would give his permission. Jo and the boys had been right.

  “Yes sir.” I handed a glass to him and waited for him to invite me to sit in the twin chair next to him.

  “Sit, please.”

  I did so, then took a swallow of whiskey. The alcohol burned my throat. I coughed and tapped my chest with one fist.

  “You’re not really a whiskey man, are you now?” Lord Barnes peered over at me, clearly amused.

  “Not really, no.”

  “The first time I ever gave Quinn a glass, she went into a coughing fit and declared it the worst thing she’d ever put in her mouth, or something to that effect. Terrible of me, but it made me laugh.”

  I placed my glass on the small table between us.

  “What can I do for you, young man?”

  I swallowed. The whiskey wanted to come back up. “I’m here to ask for Josephine’s hand in marriage.”

  “I see.” Lord Barnes studied me without blinking.

  “I understand I might not have been your f
irst choice.”

  “Why should I say yes, then?”

  “Because I love her like no one’s ever loved a woman. I’ll cherish her and take care of her better than anyone can because of it. I’ll do whatever it takes to provide a good life for her. She gives me something to fight for. I know I may not seem good enough for her.” I cleared my throat. “In fact, I’m not good enough, as you well know. But for some reason she loves me. Just as I am. I’ve come to her with nothing, but it won’t stay that way for long. If all goes well out at the ski area, that is.”

  “I have great faith in you and Flynn.”

  “You do?

  “Without question. Your solution is a good one, as long as you really want to do it. What about your woodworking?”

  “That can become a precious hobby,” I said. “Something I can do for our family.”

  He narrowed his eyes as he observed me. “I do believe you’re sure.”

  “I am, sir.”

  “You’ve made all of my children happier by coming to us. Theo is free now to do as he wishes, with the blessing of his brother. You have my permission to marry Josephine.”

  “Oh, well, thank you, sir.” My chest expanded with joy and relief. “I’ll do you all proud, I promise.”

  “Did you think I would say no?”

  “I wasn’t sure.”

  “Put your mind at rest,” Lord Barnes said. “I hope this change will be what Theo needs.”

  “I hope it will too, sir.”

  Lord Barnes was quiet for a moment, sipping from his whiskey glass. “It all goes so bloody fast, young man. One moment, they’re little boys in knickers. Next thing you know, they’re marching off to war. Or marrying a young man with great promise.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “I only hope I’ve given them what they need to make it in life. Not financially but emotionally. My Theo.” He turned away, looking into the fire. A deep sadness came to his eyes. “I worry about him. All the time.”

  What could I say that wouldn’t sound trite? I didn’t know how it was to have raised babies into young men. I didn’t even know what it was like to be someone’s beloved child. What would it have been like to have a father like Lord Barnes, championing your every move, loving you without conditions? “Sir, if I may say so, they’ve been lucky to have you as their father.”