Legacy of Love

  Anna eyed her sister-in-law skeptically. They couldn’t possibly fit the same dress. Mariah was shorter and had a somewhat larger build, still trim but not rail-thin like Anna. “Your dresses would have to be altered.”

  “Hmm.” Mariah stepped back from the sink, hands soapy, and assessed Anna from head to toe. “Perhaps you’re right. I know what we’ll do. We’ll ask Felicity. I’m sure she would lend you one of hers since she’s not attending this year.”

  Anna blanched. Felicity Kensington Meeks lend her a dress? They’d never really been friends. And then there was the embarrassing matter of Anna having a crush on Pastor Gabriel three years ago. It had all worked out for Gabe and Felicity, but Anna was still embarrassed by the way she’d acted at the time.

  “I don’t think she’d lend me a dress.”

  “Sure she would. I’ll call her right now.” Mariah wiped her hands dry and headed for the wall telephone.

  “No, don’t.” Anna ran past her and plastered herself against the telephone.

  Mariah looked amused by Anna’s panicked reaction, but she didn’t comment or try to get to the telephone. Instead, she quite reasonably asked, “Why not? You do want to look your best for Brandon, don’t you?”

  Of course she did, but ask Felicity? Anna would die of embarrassment. “I—I think it’s better if I ask in person.”

  “I think we’d do better together. Let’s walk to the parsonage after finishing the dishes. Hendrick is here in case any of the children wake.”

  Anna scrambled to dissuade her from this course. Felicity would never lend her a ball gown, and Anna couldn’t bring herself to ask. “I doubt it would fit anyway.”

  “Nonsense. You’re almost exactly the same size. She might be a touch taller, but that won’t matter one bit with a ball gown.”

  “She might not want to part with her gown. Or maybe she doesn’t have any.”

  Mariah set the last pan in the rinse water. “I happen to know she has several, and she will lend you one.”

  “But—” Anna had run out of excuses.

  Mariah always saw through to the heart of the issue. “Trust me, the past is long forgotten. Felicity bears you no ill will. Surely you know that by now, after all the Sunday dinners and family gatherings.”

  “I know,” she said glumly. Felicity did treat her kindly, but Anna couldn’t forget the way she’d behaved, chasing after Pastor Gabe when he liked Felicity. If someone did that to her and Brandon, she’d be furious.

  Mariah held out her coat. “Best to face your fears or they’ll control you for the rest of your life.”

  Resigned, Anna donned her coat and followed Mariah out the door.

  * * *

  Mariah was right.

  Anna gaped at the row of ball gowns hanging in Felicity’s closet. Every one must have cost a fortune—more than Hendrick earned in a year—and each came with matching hat and bag.

  “Pick the one you like best,” Felicity said breezily as she plucked one gown after the other out of the closet and threw them on the bed. “Do you have shoes? You must have ivory pumps for anything other than black, but black is so drab. You’ll want to turn heads, especially a certain someone’s.”

  Anna couldn’t hide the heat that rushed to her cheeks. She grabbed the black gown tucked far in the back of the closet. “This one will do.”

  Felicity ripped it away from her and tossed it aside. “Nonsense. That’s for matrons. You’re young and smart. You’ll want a dress that highlights your coloring. Blue or blush, I’d say, wouldn’t you?” She looked to Mariah.

  Mariah agreed. “Blush would bring out her fair skin and the reddish highlights in her hair.”

  Anna covered her head with both hands. Red? She had red in her hair?

  “And blue will accent her eyes,” said Felicity, surveying Anna from head to toe. “Mother always insisted green best brought out my eye coloring.”

  “Blue would be lovely for her eyes,” countered Mariah, “but its coolness won’t help her fair skin.”

  “I don’t have fair skin,” Anna protested. “Freckled is more accurate.”

  The two women ignored her.

  Felicity headed for the closet. “I think I have just the gown.”

  Anna couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t imagine wearing any of Felicity’s dresses. What if she spilled something? What if she caught a sleeve or the hem and ripped it?

  Felicity emerged from the closet with a large pasteboard box and set it on the bed, right on top of the expensive dresses. “This will be perfect.” She untied the ribbon and lifted the box lid to reveal a glittery dress in the most exquisite shade of blush.

  “Perfect,” agreed Mariah.

  Felicity brushed aside the tissue paper and lifted the gown from the box. She held it up to Anna’s shoulders. “A bit long in the arms, but Mrs. Fox could fix that in no time.”

  Anna didn’t have the heart to tell her that she couldn’t afford alterations.

  “If you ask me,” Mariah said, “it will fit perfectly. No one would notice a half inch at the wrist.”

  “Some would.”

  Anna knew Felicity meant Sally Neidecker. The two had butted heads in the past. Apparently nothing had changed. “I don’t care what anyone says. I like it just the way it is. But it looks new. The tissue isn’t even crinkled.”

  Felicity shrugged. “I was going to wear it to the ball until Gabe and I decided not to attend. I couldn’t bear to leave Genie alone at night.”

  Though Anna knew Pastor Gabe had other reasons for skipping the ball, she was relieved to see that Felicity didn’t harbor any resentment over missing the social event of the season.

  “Understandable,” Mariah tactfully murmured.

  Anna ran her fingers over the silk. It was styled in the very latest fashion, if Vanity Fair was to be believed. The filmy fabric had been gathered at the hip in a bow that featured a sequined circular ornament in the colors of the rainbow. Its handkerchief hemline accentuated Anna’s height while hiding her knobby knees. A turban, complete with a short peacock feather, and jeweled bag completed the outfit.

  “It’s beautiful.” Anna sighed. “Too beautiful. I can’t wear it.”

  “Of course you can,” said Felicity, tossing the dress into the box without bothering to fold it. “I insist. Someone needs to wear the gown, and it might as well be someone looking to catch a certain man’s attention.”

  Anna felt the heat again. Why did she blush every time someone mentioned Brandon? “I think he just invited me to thank me for helping with the bookstore.”

  Mariah and Felicity glanced at each other, and then Mariah burst into a deep, throaty laugh. Felicity soon followed, and the two of them roared until tears came to their eyes.

  “What’s so funny?” Anna asked.

  Mariah wiped her eyes. “I’ve never seen a man more interested in a woman.”

  “You haven’t?” Anna sank onto the edge of the bed. “You can’t mean that. He’s always so standoffish with me.”

  Mariah and Felicity exchanged another meaningful glance. Both had married recently, Mariah just last September.

  “Exactly,” Mariah said.

  Felicity nodded. “That’s the way they are.”

  “I remember Gabe pretending he wasn’t interested in you,” Mariah said to Felicity.

  “Those were awful days, but it all came out in the end.” Felicity sat beside Anna and took her hand. “It’ll work out fine for you too.”

  Anna wasn’t so sure. Felicity had married an open, caring man. As for Mariah, well, Hendrick had been in love with her from the moment they’d met. Neither one had experienced anything like what she was going through.

  Felicity hugged her. “Trust me, Brandon Landers likes you. He might be a little confused right now, but he
’ll come to his senses. You just need to show him how invaluable you are and how much he’ll miss if he doesn’t marry you.”

  That sounded impossible. “How?”

  “Discover his needs and fulfill them.”

  Mariah nodded her agreement.

  Anna panicked. “But how do I do that?”

  “You both like archaeology, right?” Felicity said. “Find something that you can do together. I know. Maybe you can search for that lost fortune that Daddy is always talking about.”

  “But Brandon says there is no fortune.”

  Again Felicity and Mariah exchanged a glance.

  “Do you believe him?” Felicity asked.

  Anna thought back to the odd way Brandon had acted in recent days—the hours spent in the library, the old ledger he wouldn’t let her see, his adamant denunciation of the rumor.

  “Do you think...?” she asked breathlessly. “Is it possible?”

  Felicity shrugged. “I have no idea, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt to try. You’d have such fun together. It would be like a treasure hunt, like that Mr. Carter’s find in Egypt.”

  Anna’s pulse raced. “A real treasure. Right here in Pearlman.”

  Mariah frowned. “Just remember, the best treasure in life isn’t money. Fortunes can divide people.”

  Mariah might have a point. After all, she’d given up comparative wealth to marry Hendrick. But if Anna helped Brandon find the lost fortune, he had to respect her. Maybe he’d even love her.

  “Money can cause problems,” Felicity agreed, “but if two people have their hearts in the right place, they’ll use it for good. I’m sure Anna’s focused on what’s important.” She tossed the hat and bag on top of the dress and closed the box. “Until then, my dear, dazzle him at the ball.”

  Anna caressed the beaded gown. Maybe with such a dress, she could.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Dressed in Felicity’s finery, Anna felt like Cinderella going to the ball. Mariah and Felicity had come to the carriage house to assist her. Felicity supplied every last detail of clothing, down to the elbow-length gloves. When Mariah finished with Anna’s hair, she didn’t recognize herself. An elegant woman gazed back at her in the scratched old hand mirror.

  Felicity lifted the turban hat from the hatbox and held it up to Anna, surveying the effect. “I’m not sure you need a hat.”

  Anna was afraid to even touch her hair, lest the beautiful coil come tumbling down. The hat would require hatpins to stay fixed in place since it ran a bit small on her. “Do I have to leave it on the entire time?”

  Felicity smiled indulgently. “Of course.”

  “What if it slips off? It doesn’t fit quite right.”

  “That settles it. No hat.” Felicity put it back in the hatbox. “Not everyone wears them at formal balls anymore.”

  “Are you sure? What if I’m the only woman not wearing one? I don’t want to look out of place.”

  “You won’t,” Felicity assured her, but Anna still worried that people would laugh.

  At that moment, Brandon knocked on the carriage-house door, and all thought of hats vanished from her mind.

  “He’s here,” she hissed, frantic. “Do I look all right?” She smoothed the skirt and checked that it was straight.

  “You look lovely,” Ma said with a smile. “My beautiful daughter.” Tears misted her eyes. “Your father would be so proud.”

  Mariah and Felicity nodded, pleased with their handiwork, but the moment Ma let Brandon in the door, Anna only had eyes for him. How dashing he was in his black evening suit. He’d chosen the short suit rather than tails, which Felicity confided was now the fashion, but Anna could not have cared less. His crisp white shirt and black bow tie made him look regal. A black wool overcoat and trilby hat completed the portrait of a gentleman.

  His stunned yet pleased expression made her thoughts whirl.

  She smoothed her skirt. “I hope I look all right.”

  His gaze softened. “You’re beautiful.” But then he shook his head. “No, beautiful isn’t adequate. Exquisite can only come close. Anna...” His voice deepened. “I’m honored you would join me tonight.”

  She lingered on his words. Beautiful? Exquisite? Never had anyone used those words to describe her. She was Anna Simmons, the poor mechanic’s daughter.

  Was this truly happening? Was she really attending the Valentine’s Ball? All her life she’d wondered and wished, and now she would arrive on the arm of the most handsome and wealthy bachelor in Pearlman. Not only that, he thought her beautiful. She clutched at the pearls she’d borrowed from Felicity, unable to speak or move.

  “Shall we?” He extended an arm.

  Felicity held up an elegant black cape that she’d brought for Anna. It hung a touch too long, but Brandon didn’t appear to notice.

  Anna took Brandon’s arm with her ivory-gloved hand. He helped her to the car, which he’d parked very close to the carriage house so she wouldn’t have to walk far in the snow with Felicity’s pumps.

  “Thank you,” she murmured as he opened the passenger door and ensured she was properly seated.

  While Brandon assisted Felicity and Mariah into the rear seat, Ma watched from the window. Anna waved at her as the women in the back giggled like schoolgirls.

  “Are you excited?” Felicity said while Brandon opened the driver’s door.

  Anna could barely breathe. She certainly couldn’t express herself with any degree of calm, so she nodded.

  Brandon took his seat and started the car.

  “You’ll be fine,” Mariah whispered with a squeeze of Anna’s shoulder. Her voice rose. “Remember to follow the lead.”

  Anna’s mouth went dry as Brandon gave her a sharp glance. She hadn’t exactly told Mariah and Felicity that Brandon wouldn’t dance. But then she supposed that didn’t mean she couldn’t dance. Someone might ask her.

  “I haven’t seen your mother this excited since my wedding,” Mariah said.

  Anna watched Ma in the apartment window as Brandon drove down the driveway. Only when they neared the stone fence did she lose sight of her mother. Too bad Ma couldn’t attend also. She would have loved to see all the gorgeous gowns and handsome gentlemen. Anna would have to remember everything and tell her afterward. Knowing Ma, she’d stay up waiting for her return.

  First, they dropped off Felicity at the parsonage and then bade good-night to Mariah at the orphanage. That left Anna alone with Brandon in the automobile. His spicy masculine scent made her both nervous and excited. This was truly happening!

  They’d got a late start as it was. When they’d passed the Neidecker house on the way to the parsonage, Anna had seen a dozen cars parked in their yard. Stopping at the parsonage and orphanage had taken precious time. They would be terribly late.

  “Please hurry,” she urged Brandon as he inched the car up the hill to the Neideckers’ house.

  She didn’t want to miss one minute of the evening, for surely, like Cinderella, something terrible would happen at midnight, and the glorious dream would end.

  “The street is icy,” he said, not accelerating the car one bit.

  She knit her gloved fingers together, decided that wasn’t ladylike, and moments later reknit them. The satin slipped so easily against itself, not like wool or cotton.

  “We’re going to be late,” she finally said when she couldn’t bear waiting any longer.

  A brief smile flitted across Brandon’s lips. “I thought ladies preferred to arrive fashionably late.”

  Anna had no idea what was fashionable or not. Had she already made a gaffe by urging him to hurry? Thankfully Brandon knew what they should and shouldn’t do. She would try to follow his lead, like Mariah suggested.

  Moments later, Brandon pulled the car to the Neideckers’ front d
oor. A valet opened her door, and she wondered if she was supposed to get out right away or wait for Brandon. She edged a foot out of the car, but when he hopped out and walked around the car, she pulled it back in. Apparently, she was supposed to wait.

  When Brandon reached her, he extended his hand and helped her from the vehicle. He then walked her up the steps to the door, which was opened by yet another servant.

  “What do you do with your car?” she whispered, worried he would leave her here while he parked.

  “The valet will take care of that.”

  She breathed a sigh of relief, and then caught her breath as they stepped into the entry hall. For three months she’d cleaned this house, but it had never looked like this. She barely recognized the hall with all the shimmering decorations. Ribbons and swags and glittery glass-heart ornaments left no doubt this was a romantic affair.

  The butler, Graves, took a second look at her before taking their coats and hats. Anna had to smile. He’d barely recognized her. Graves was too well trained to show his surprise, but she knew he was shocked. The Neideckers would be even more so.

  “The guests are in the parlor, Mr. Landers,” Graves said before whisking off with their outerwear.

  Brandon walked her to the formal parlor, a large, high-ceilinged room. All but a few chairs had been removed, and a string quartet played in the opposite corner. Several couples were already dancing.

  Anna felt Brandon tense and noticed he gripped his cane tighter. Of course he would feel awkward in a ballroom, but that’s where everyone was gathered.

  “I see two open chairs across the room,” she whispered and was delighted when he relaxed a bit.

  All who entered must first greet the host and hostess. Anna steeled herself for the confrontation with her former employer. What would Mrs. Neidecker think? What would she say?

  Mr. Neidecker came first. He greeted them both warmly, clapping Brandon on the back and remarking that Anna looked lovely. Mrs. Neidecker was chatting with Florabelle Williams, the biggest gossip in Pearlman. Brandon and Anna waited until they finished. At last Evelyn Neidecker turned to greet them.