“Thank you. I do think it’s time you called me Kitty, though. Today I’m very tired of adult formalities.”
He grinned. “All right, I’m sure I can manage that.”
“Good. You’ve made me much happier.” She nodded to the people scattered here and there across the lawn. “I don’t imagine you’ve had the chance to meet many people.”
“No—my time has been mostly spent at Mrs. Perry’s. Except for today. Her husband came home last night and wanted to tune the piano today, so I get a short vacation.”
“And has it been restful?”
“Mostly. I slept a bit and read a book, arranged to have some laundry done—it was very quiet, just what I needed.”
“I’m sorry to say, you might have an interruption in that vacation. This house belongs to my friend Miriam’s grandmother, and in exchange for letting us use the place, she’s requested a little entertainment—specifically, she’d like me to play and you to sing.”
Justin smiled. “Are you sure that’s wise? Looking at you makes me forget all the words, as Mrs. Perry pointed out.”
“Then we’ll just have you face away from me.” Kitty ladled another cup of punch and set it with the rest. “Any suggestions for what you’d like to sing?”
He shook his head. “I’m agreeable with whatever you’d like to play.”
“Well, we’ll never choose anything if we’re both so accommodating. Let me finish up with the punch and then we’ll go find the piano and discuss it in earnest, all right? And you can wander around and meet some of the others in the meantime. Here comes Trudy—she’ll show you around.”
Kitty busied herself with more punch cups, and Justin turned to see a pretty girl with chestnut curls walking toward them. “You must be Mr. Sorenson,” she said, an open smile on her face. “I’m Trudy Henderson.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Henderson,” Justin replied, giving her a small bow. “Are you by chance related to Jane Henderson? I met her at the station when I arrived.”
“Yes, she’s my grandmother.”
“She’s quite the lady. So, Miss Clark—er, Kitty—was just telling me that you might be willing to introduce me around a bit.”
“Of course I am! Come with me.”
He trailed behind her, shaking hands with the gentlemen and bowing to the ladies, trying to remember their names but knowing it wouldn’t be possible with so many. He’d do his best to sort them out later if he was going to be in Topeka long. He did gather that many of the guests were the grandchildren of the ladies who comprised a sewing circle, and they’d known each other for quite a long time. No one there seemed to be new, so he was truly the oddity in the bunch.
“Mr. Sorenson, I understand you sing beautifully,” one young lady said. He believed her name was Verity—and he couldn’t recall her last name. He almost wondered if he should have been taking notes during the introductions.
“I do sing, yes. It will be up to you to decide if it’s beautiful,” he replied, and she laughed.
“I’m sure you’re just being modest, but if you’d like, I’ll be very blunt with my assessment afterwards,” she told him.
He chuckled. “I’d appreciate that. Then I’ll know how to represent myself to others in the future.”
Geordie Clark ambled up, a cup of punch in his hand. “Ah, hello, Mr. Sorenson. Sorry I didn’t greet you sooner—I was in the kitchen squeezing lemons. When I told Kitty I’d help her, I didn’t realize everything she had in mind for me to do.”
“I’ll take that as a personal favor. I enjoy lemonade very much. Oh, and we’ve decided that we’re doing away with formalities tonight. Please call me Justin.”
“No formalities? This really is my kind of party.” Geordie downed his punch in two gulps. “Can’t really drink to something if the drink isn’t whiskey, but we can pretend, can’t we?”
Trudy shook her head, even though she looked bemused. “I can’t believe you’re actually a whiskey drinker, Geordie.”
“That’s why I said we’d pretend.” He threw her a wink, and she shook her head again. This time, though, her smile was broad and not at all disguised.
She guided Justin over to another group of guests and introduced them all around, then looked over at the house. “Oh, Kitty’s waving at us. She must be ready for you.”
At the thought that Kitty was waiting for him, Justin’s heart gave an extra thump. He’d been thinking about his strange conversation with Mrs. Perry ever since it happened, and he was still taken aback by her bluntness. In his heart of hearts, though, he had to admit that he liked her approach, and he was liking it more all the time.
Of course, the question yet to be answered was, how would Kitty respond if he told her how he felt?
And would he still feel that way after more time spent with her?
He climbed the porch steps and gave her a smile. “I’m ready—show me the way.”
She led him into a parlor that featured a lovely piano in the corner. “I pulled out the pieces I’m familiar with,” she said, motioning to a stack of sheet music on the bench. “I feel like a dunce—I forgot to bring anything from home—but Miriam’s grandmother has a nice selection.”
“That’s twice now that you’ve mentioned Miriam, but I haven’t met her yet,” Justin replied.
“Oh, she’s in the kitchen slicing up the cakes and the pies. I’ll go get her while you choose out our music.”
Justin listened as Kitty’s heeled shoes tapped against the floor, then he turned his attention to the music spread out before him. The first one was clearly not suitable—the range was far too high for him. The next three worked, though, as did the sixth and the ninth. The rest, he slid back into the bench. He doubted anyone would want to hear five songs, but this way, Kitty had plenty to choose from.
The chattering of women’s voices alerted him that Kitty was returning.
“Justin, this is my good friend, Miriam Johnson. Miriam, this is Mr. Sorenson, the vocalist I was telling you about.”
Justin gave a slight bow to the pretty young woman at Kitty’s side. “I’m very pleased to meet you, Mrs. Johnson, and thank you for inviting me to your party. I understand that you’re one of the hostesses.”
“I am, but I heard a rumor that we’re being informal tonight. You must call me Miriam.”
“And so I shall. Now, where would I find your grandmother? I’d like to meet her too and congratulate her on this fine piano.”
“She’s in the kitchen, and she has flour all over her. She told me she wanted to go change before she made her appearance,” Miriam replied.
“Well, please tell her that I’m quite anxious and I hope she doesn’t take too long,” Justin replied.
Miriam turned to Kitty with a raised eyebrow. “I see what you mean—he is quite the charmer,” she said.
“Yes, but not quite so much as Geordie,” Kitty answered as though Justin wasn’t standing right there, hearing every word.
“Geordie’s a unique case, though. We can’t compare anyone to him because he’s quite incomparable.” Miriam gave a decided nod. “This young man, however, has a certain something all his own.”
Justin gave a dry cough. “Excuse me—would you rather I left the room so you could discuss me privately?”
“Oh, no,” Kitty said, turning back to him. “It’s much more fun to discuss you in front of you. That way, you can corroborate or refute any of our findings on the spot before we let them take root.”
“I’m . . . I’m really not sure how to respond to that.” Justin felt himself becoming a bit flustered. Chattering young women always had that effect on him—it was difficult to comprehend how quickly they could change subjects and be off on something else before he could catch up.
“Then you needn’t.” Kitty turned back to Miriam. “Is he everything I said he was?”
Miriam looked at him appraisingly. “Yes, I’d say he is. Until I’ve heard him sing, though, I won’t know if you’ve exaggerated that bit.”
“He and I will perform just after sundown. I thought we’d all enjoy the sunset together outside before cooping ourselves up in the parlor.”
“Very good idea.” Miriam gave an approving nod. “Well, I’ll go help Grandmother finish up and let you two discuss what you’re going to perform. I’m glad you could join us tonight, Justin.”
“As am I.” Justin waited until Miriam was clear of the doorway before he said to Kitty, “So, you’ve been discussing me with your friends?”
“Of course. That’s what friends do.” She picked up the sheet music he’d chosen and flipped through it. “This seems like a nice selection.”
“I thought I’d leave the final choices to you.”
“A very wise decision.” She grinned. “If you must know, I told Miriam that I’d met a very fascinating young man and I was looking forward to getting to know him a bit better. It seemed quite natural to invite you to the party so you could get to know everyone while I was getting to know you.”
Justin’s heart gave another extra beat. She wanted to get to know him . . . She found him fascinating . . . Those were very good indicators of everything he wanted to hear. “I’m glad you did,” he replied, hoping the little hitch in his voice didn’t betray the hopes that were building inside him. “Truth be told, I’ve been trying to think of a way to spend time with you as well.”
“Then we’re both brilliant.” Kitty handed him the stack of music. “I’ve arranged these in the order of my preference. I suggest that we start with the first and then go until they get bored of us and throw us off the stage.”
“And if they never do because of our great talent and showmanship?”
“Then I suppose we’re stuck singing five songs. You’ve only yourself to blame, though—that’s how many you chose out.”
Her tone was airy and even slightly mocking, but she followed her words with the flash of a smile and a little quirk of her eyebrow, and he knew he was being teased. “Do you think you can keep up with me, or shall I outlast you?” he returned.
“Oh, I’m quite sure I’ll keep up with you.” She nodded toward the yard. “Shall we go back out? There are still several people you have yet to meet.”
“All right.” On a whim, he held out his arm. After only the slightest hesitation, she took it, and she held on to it as they walked across the grass to interact with the rest of the guests. It was a sign of the growing connection between them, a public statement that they were considering becoming more to each other, and Justin liked that. Yes, it was soon—it was shockingly soon—but waiting seemed pointless. He knew what he wanted, and he knew that wouldn’t change.
Chapter Eleven
When Justin held out his arm for Kitty, she only hesitated for the smallest moment before she took it. She didn’t know why she felt so comfortable about pushing aside convention for this man, but she did—the short amount of time they’d known each other didn’t seem to matter at all. Standing that close to him, walking as one—it seemed as natural as anything, and she didn’t stop to analyze it. Some things simply couldn’t be analyzed—they just were.
As they walked around, chatting with this group and that, Kitty noticed Geordie watching her with a scowl on his face. Well, gracious. If he wanted to bring a thundercloud to this party, she supposed that was his choice, but he didn’t have to rain all over her.
Justin stepped away for a moment to continue a conversation with Asher Spencer, and Geordie took advantage of that to come up beside Kitty and hiss, “May I see you, Miss Clark?”
She followed him a short distance away. “What’s the matter?”
“You and Mr. Sorenson parading around here like newlyweds. What’s going on, Kitty? You barely know the man. Why are you letting him take such liberties?”
“He’s not taking liberties—just my arm!”
Geordie looked exasperated. “Don’t split hairs with me, big sister.”
“I’m serious, Geordie—nothing is going on, I promise you. But I do like him—I like him quite a bit, actually, and I would like to see where this might lead.”
“Do you know anything about his family, about his background? Didn’t he just show up in Topeka one day with no letters of introduction or anything?”
“Letters of introduction? Are we suddenly living in a novel? I thought you liked Justin, Geordie. At least you seemed to at breakfast yesterday.”
“That’s when I thought he was just an acquaintance. That was before he started waltzing around here with my sister.”
“So, first we’re parading and now we’re waltzing? What’s next—sashaying?” Kitty shook her head. “Listen, Geordie, I appreciate you for looking out for me, but I don’t believe I need it. I don’t have the slightest reason to be mistrustful of Justin, and if I do begin to feel uncomfortable, I’ll handle it quickly and responsibly. At any rate, we’re surrounded by guests, and even when we were together inside, people were walking past every thirty seconds or so. Nothing inappropriate has happened or could happen or will happen.”
Geordie looked away, and she could see the muscles working in his jaw. “Fine,” he said at last. “But you give me the slightest sign that you’re in distress, and I’ll take the man out behind the woodshed.”
“Thank you, Geordie.” She gave his hand a squeeze.
Justin must have been watching them from the corner of his eye because as soon as Geordie stepped away, he excused himself from his conversation with Asher and came back to Kitty’s side. “Is everything all right? Geordie seemed concerned about something.”
Kitty glanced over to the refreshment table, where Geordie was now chatting with Trudy. “Everything’s fine. He was just threatening to do you a harm—that’s all.”
Justin’s eyebrows shot up. “He was threatening to hurt me, and you think that’s fine?”
“Yes—but only because you plan to be on your best behavior. He’ll only hurt you if you’re not.” Kitty slid her arm through his again. “Now, let’s get the very most out of this sunset, shall we? They’re always best when watched from the front lawn.”
They walked around to the front of the house, where several other people had already congregated. The sky had been moving through a rainbow of colors for the last fifteen minutes, and now it was painted with purple and coral and blue.
“That’s beautiful,” Justin murmured, his eyes on the horizon. “Did you special order this just for today?”
“Of course. I just told Mr. Appleby what I wanted, and he saw to it.” Kitty gave his arm a slight squeeze. What was she doing? She actually didn’t know. She just wanted to share her contentment in the moment with someone she cared about, and Justin fit that bill very nicely. Geordie would come around eventually—he would have to. Kitty was just as stubborn as he was, and she didn’t see herself sending Justin away any time soon.
Miriam climbed the porch steps and held up her hands. “Everyone, it’s time for the entertainment,” she called out. Justin noticed a murmur of curiosity ripple through the small crowd. “Let’s step into the parlor, please. I don’t think everyone can fit, so a few of you will need to stand in the hall or maybe the kitchen—we’ll figure it out one way or another.”
Justin turned to Kitty, feeling a small twinge of apprehension in his gut. This was the first time he’d sung before an audience since his illness. Kitty seemed to understand that he was nervous before he even opened his mouth to make the confession.
“You’ll do magnificently,” she whispered. “Come on—let’s get in there before they’ve totally blocked our path to the piano.”
As they entered the house, it was a matter of squeezing past people to get where they needed to be, but at last they were situated with Kitty on the piano bench and Justin standing before it. She began the prelude to their first number softly, and he swallowed. The soreness was improving every day, but it did still linger around the edges.
Another swallow, and then he began.
At first, he was very conscious of the many set
s of eyes fixed upon him, the eyes of people he’d only just met and were still practically strangers to him. He glanced at Kitty to see her watching him carefully, as though worried that he’d suddenly collapse into a fit of vapors or something. It was tempting, to be sure, but he decided against it.
Knowing she was there for him should he need her, he closed his eyes and pushed everything else from his mind but the music. He allowed it to take him over, to fill his every sense, and to speak to his soul as nothing else in the world ever could. He noticed after a moment that Kitty seemed to be anticipating his every nuance, softening her notes when he softened, building when he built—it was as though they’d practiced together for hours when they hadn’t practiced at all.
At the end of the piece, the applause was quite deafening for a room not made to contain it all, and Justin bowed, slightly flushed.
“Encore,” someone called out, and Justin turned to Kitty to see her smiling. She began the next piece, and it was just as magical as the first.
Before he even knew quite what had happened, they had performed all five pieces, and their audience didn’t seem weary of them at all.
“No more,” Kitty said, laughing as she rose from the piano. “My fingers will fall right off if we continue.”
Their audience expressed their disappointment, but gave them a final round of applause before trickling back outside.
“Oh, my dears, that was wonderful.” An older woman bustled up to them, her maroon skirts swishing against the floor. She took one of Kitty’s hands between both of hers. “My dear, you only improve every time I hear you.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Brown,” Kitty told her, then turned to Justin. “And may I present Justin Sorenson? He’s here to study with Mrs. Perry.”
“Yes, yes, I’ve heard all about you.” Mrs. Brown studied him with eyes as bright as a robin’s on the first day of spring. “Yes, I’ve heard quite a bit. All favorable, I assure you, and now I can see for myself that it’s all true.”
Justin was a bit bewildered. “People are talking about me?”
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