Nelle threw up her hands and turned away from her best friend. She’d already considered this scenario. Even if Mathew and Alice broke off their engagement, Nelle would still be seen as a villain if she and Mathew married. They’d be censured by the entire town of Waterbury. Nelle couldn’t do that to Mrs. Janson, not even to her aunt, no matter how disaffected Nelle might feel toward her own aunt and cousin.
When Nelle explained all of this to Dottie, her friend merely shrugged. “Sometimes in life, you need to follow your heart, Nelle. And you have a good one. It wouldn’t hurt to listen to it once in a while.” Dottie’s words were eerily close to Pearl’s advice—the woman who, apparently, existed only in Nelle’s imagination.
“I don’t know if I can do this,” Nelle said. “I’ve been moping in my room for days. I don’t know if I can go on this trip and pretend everything is all right, that I’m happy to be invited along.”
“Then don’t pretend,” Dottie suggested. “Alice will be following after Lucien, and I’ll be analyzing Mathew. You can read a book or something.”
Nelle felt a smile grow on her lips despite her melancholy. “You shouldn’t analyze Mathew, unless you decide you don’t like him. Then you can convince me not to like him too.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
The sharp, salty air was like a balm to Mathew’s soul. He’d spent four intense years at Harvard, and he never thought he’d miss it as much as he still did. Walking along the edge of campus, on the way to the harbor, brought back all sorts of nostalgia—even nostalgia for his father, who’d written to him nearly every week during Mathew’s first three years in college.
Remarkably, his mother had also made the trip with him. Her recovery was truly a miracle, and he had Nelle to thank for that. He still didn’t know where she’d acquired the herbs for the infusion or from whom, but he didn’t care. All he wanted now was for Nelle to be in his life again—well, in his mother’s life, at least, where possible.
A brisk wind flew by as Mathew neared the harbor. The sky was a brilliant blue, but summer was clearly turning into autumn. Up ahead, several boats were already out on the water, filled with men of various ages. This weekend would not only be about connecting with old school chums and tasting the sport of rowing again but also about allowing himself and Alice to spend time together without her usual friends or her mother about. If he was going to make their relationship work, Mathew wanted to have a stronger foundation.
“Mathew Janson!” a man called out.
Mathew turned to see Garth Daines. His old friend was still as strong and as sculpted as an ox. Not surprisingly, he’d been in seat eight, the most difficult position, during their rowing years. Mathew grinned and slapped Garth on the back.
“Great to see you,” Mathew said. “Who else from our old crew is here?”
“Anders and Davey are at the dock,” Garth said. “They were asking about you.”
As Mathew continued toward the boathouse with Garth, a thrill buzzed through him at the familiar commotion as men assembled into teams and climbed into their boats.
“There you are,” Davey called out. He was a thin, wiry man, but his size had never stopped him from being one of the best rowers on the crew.
Soon Mathew was surrounded by his former teammates, and it was as if no time had passed since they’d been together. Everyone was ribbing each other, and soon they were climbing into a sleek mahogany shell.
Mathew’s stomach tightened in anticipation as he took his old seat, the number seven spot. He laughed when a man sprinted toward them, telling everyone to wait. Delany had been their coxswain, though it looked as if the years had been soft on him. He’d lost his trim build, replacing it with a bit of a paunch.
“You’re going to tip us over,” Garth complained, with a smile on his face.
Hands were shaken all around, and Delany climbed in and surveyed the makeshift crew. “What a bunch of pansies. We’ll sink before we’re a hundred meters out.”
One of the men behind Mathew sent a spurt of water in Delany’s direction. He didn’t even try to duck.
Out on the water, the breeze felt stiffer, and the sun beat down with plenty of warmth. Mathew shed his shirt, as did most of the other men. They relaxed into the rowing strokes, enjoying the sound of Delany’s voice calling out commands again. Hearing him brought back dozens of memories for Mathew.
This event couldn’t have been more perfect, reworking forgotten muscles, being in the company of old friends, and enjoying the swell of the ocean below and the expanse of the sky above. Mathew had missed this. Out here, his problems and concerns seemed miniscule, and he felt as if the only way his life could move was upward.
When they made it back to the dock, Mathew and his friends were completely spent. Every moment had been worth it, even the dry sting of a sunburn on his back and shoulders that would surely keep him awake that night.
“Coming to the pub with us?” Garth asked, pulling his sea-spray-covered shirt back on.
Mathew climbed out of the boat and shook out the drops of water from his own shirt before pulling it on. “What time?”
“I’d say about 9:00,” Garth said, “at the one on the corner.”
“I’ll try to make it,” Mathew promised. He had hoped to take Alice out to a restaurant this evening to start the weekend off on the right foot.
“You’ve got a girl waiting for you,” Garth said, flashing him a grin.
“I hope so,” Mathew started to answer and then realized this wasn’t a question. He noticed that Garth was looking up the dock.
Mathew followed his gaze, expecting a woman with blonde curls peeking out from beneath her hat to be standing there. Instead, he saw a woman with waves of dark auburn.
“Nelle?” he said her name before he could think better of it.
“If you can’t make tonight, I’ll understand,” Garth said next to him, slapping him on his burned shoulder.
Mathew flinched. “She’s not my girl—” His words were abruptly cut off when Nelle lifted her hand to wave and smiled at him.
“Are you sure about that?” Garth said with a laugh as he strode off.
Mathew realized he was smiling back at Nelle, which had probably given Garth the wrong impression. Nelle was the last person Mathew expected to see at the harbor. She must have come with Alice, but where was Alice?
He did a quick scan of the boardwalk, only to see a dark-haired woman dressed in bright peach crossing to Nelle and linking arms with her. Mathew had no idea who the second woman was, so he started up the boardwalk toward them.
Had Alice come at all?
“Mathew, that was marvelous,” Nelle said, almost as if she hadn’t been silent toward him for the past week. Her eyes dropped to his bare chest and stomach. Mathew hurried to button up his shirt, but not before noticing the blush that had immediately risen on Nelle’s cheeks. Her friend openly smiled at him, apparently not having a shy bone in her.
“I didn’t realize you’d decided to enter the Alumni Regatta until Alice told me,” Nelle said, rushing through her words as if she were nervous from seeing Mathew half dressed.
“I thought a reunion with the college boys would give me a fresh outlook,” he said, turning his attention to the friend beside Nelle.
“I’m Dottie,” she said, holding out a hand. “Friend of Nelle’s.”
“Oh, how rude of me,” Nelle said, looking from one to the other. “I meant to introduce my friend to you, Mathew. I didn’t know you’d be at the harbor already. We just chanced a walk down here.”
“Nice to meet you,” Mathew told Dottie.
A gust of wind caught Nelle’s hat and tugged it off. Mathew reached out to snag it before it could tumble to the ground.
“Thank you,” Nelle said, taking the hat back from him. “It looks like you got some sun out there,” she said, apparently to make conversation. Again her cheeks went red. Or perhaps she had already earned her own sunburn.
“I’m worn out in a good way,” he said.
“We don’t have much hope of winning the race, but it will be an adventure.”
“Were all the men on your boat from your year?” Nelle asked, looking over at the boathouse.
“They didn’t all row with me on varsity, but we spent plenty of workout time together. You’ll have to come and meet them.” This last comment was said spontaneously—too late for him to take it back.
“We’d love to,” Dottie piped up, giving Mathew a broad smile. She waved her hand with a diamond ring on it. “I’m taken,” Dottie said. “Though Nelle could stand to meet a few good men.”
“Dottie,” Nelle complained to her friend. “I’m not here for that.”
“Might as well take advantage of the opportunity,” Dottie said with a laugh. “Are any of your friends still single?”
“Dottie!” Nelle warned. Dottie kept her none-too-innocent gaze on Mathew.
“I don’t rightly know everyone’s marriage status,” he said.
“It doesn’t matter,” Dottie said, stepping forward and linking her arm with his. Mathew couldn’t remember ever meeting a more forward woman. “We’d love to meet any friends of yours,” she continued. “Come on, Nelle. Take his other arm and let him escort us to the boathouse.”
Nelle’s mouth was pursed into a thin line, but she complied with Dottie’s wish and slipped her hand around Mathew’s elbow. Feeling the pressure of her hand on his arm sent a jolt through him.
“Where’s Alice?” he asked, not wanting to break off the thrill riding through him but knowing that if Alice was anywhere nearby, he’d have to pull away from Nelle sooner than he wanted to.
“She said she had some shopping to do and will catch up with us later,” Dottie replied, seeming to know all the answers.
Davey stepped out of the boathouse as they neared, and his face lit up in a broad smile as he spotted the two women with Mathew. He introduced the women to Davey. Moments later, Davey was peppering Nelle with questions.
As Mathew hung back, letting them talk, Dottie turned to him. “They make a cute couple, don’t they?”
Mathew’s mouth nearly fell open. “What—who?”
Dottie leaned closer, the scent of her heavy perfume well preceding her. “Davey and Nelle,” she said. “They seem to be getting along famously.”
Mathew threw a sharp look at Dottie. She merely smiled in return.
“What are your plans while you’re here?” Mathew asked, hoping to change the subject.
“Oh,” Dottie said, her voice growing more demure. “Watch the races, of course. Cheer Nelle up. That sort of thing.”
Mathew stepped farther away from Nelle and Davey, hoping Dottie would follow. She did. “How is she doing?” he asked.
“I mean, I’ve been trying to contact her since…” He looked up at Dottie, hoping he wouldn’t have to explain more.
“She told me,” Dottie said in an equally hushed voice. “I don’t know the secret to the mystery behind Pearl, but I do know Nelle is a lovely person. She’ll always be my best friend, and I never want to see her go through anything terrible again like she did when she lost her parents.”
Mathew nodded. He didn’t exactly know how to explain Nelle’s insistence that there’d been an apothecary shop in Waterbury, but he did know he’d do anything to help and protect Nelle. “She deserves every happiness,” he said.
Dottie looked Mathew directly in the eye. “I couldn’t agree more,” she said. The intensity in her gaze was unsettling, and it seemed as if Dottie were trying to say more than her words conveyed.
Had Nelle told Dottie what had gone on between them, about Mathew’s rejected proposal, and about their kisses in the garden? His pulse thrummed at the thought of Nelle talking about him to Dottie. Unbidden, jealousy welled up within him as he glanced over at Nelle and Davey, who were still deep in conversation. As Nelle laughed at something Davey had said, this went straight to Mathew’s heart, twisting it in relief, that she was laughing again, and in pain, that it wasn’t him she was laughing with.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Nelle tried to open the hotel room’s door again, but her key wouldn’t turn the knob.
“It’s bolted,” Dottie said, standing behind her. “Alice must be inside.”
Nelle knocked. After a moment of waiting in the carpeted hallway, she knocked again and called out, “Alice, it’s Nelle and Dottie. Let us in.”
“Maybe she’s asleep,” Dottie suggested.
“It’s not even five o’clock,” Nelle said. “And Alice has never been one to take naps.” Unlike herself, who’d lately relished any opportunity to take a nap over the past week, for it was better than letting her mind try to figure out how she’d created Pearl.
They heard something thump on the other side of the door. Alice called out in a high-pitched, breathless voice, “I’ll be there in a minute.”
They heard another thump and then a giggle. Dottie threw a sharp glance at Nelle.
“What’s going on? Are you all right?” Nelle called through the door.
“I’m fine,” Alice called back.
“Someone’s in there with her,” Dottie hissed. “I’ll bet it’s Lucien.”
Nelle stared at Dottie. “No, she wouldn’t…” Nelle began.
Dottie folded her arms, pressing her lips together, and then gave a small shake of her head in disgust. “I might be a flirt,” Dottie said, “but Alice is…despicable, to say the least, and is a fool at best.”
Nelle couldn’t think that this might be true of Alice, not even with Lucien. Surely, she wouldn’t be so reckless. Another thump sounded on the other side of the door, and then, finally, the bolt turned, and Alice opened the door.
The first thing Nelle thought upon seeing Alice’s unpinned hair and hastily pulled on robe was that Alice must have been napping. But Nelle couldn’t deny the flushed cheeks of her cousin and her gleaming eyes.
“Where’s Lucien?” Dottie asked, stepping into the hotel room and peering around Alice. “I know he was here.” Her bluntness shot mortification through Nelle, but she watched Alice closely. True to Dottie’s suggestions, Alice’s face flamed red.
“Wh—What do you mean?” Alice asked. “Why would Lucien be here, in our hotel room?”
Dottie turned away from Alice and strode to the balcony doors. They weren’t shut tightly, and she swung them open easily. Nelle followed Dottie out onto the balcony. There a man stood on the balcony below them. Nelle might have been convinced this man was staying in the room below them, except that the face peering up at them was none other than Lucien’s.
As soon as he saw that the women looking down at him were Nelle and Dottie, he ducked out of sight. Dottie walked back into the hotel room and stared down Alice, whose face had contorted with tears.
Without looking at Nelle, Dottie said, “I’m finding another hotel room. You’re welcome to come with me or to stay here with your cousin. But I can’t bear to stay with a woman who is betraying the very nice man I just met.”
“I—I’m not…” Alice started to say. Her voice trailed off as sobs took over.
Nelle couldn’t move, couldn’t think, as Dottie moved about the room, packing her belongings. One of the beds was rumpled, and Nelle’s stomach plummeted to think of what Alice had been doing in that bed with Lucien—it was incomprehensible. Alice was engaged to Mathew, and she’d just slept with Lucien.
As this realization began to settle in, anger rushed through Nelle. Alice had it all—a beautiful home and Mathew as her fiancé—and she didn’t value any of it. Nelle had given up the opportunity to be with the man she loved so that she wouldn’t hurt Alice’s feelings, whereas Alice didn’t care who she hurt.
With her bags packed, Dottie said, “Are you coming, Nelle?”
Nelle flinched at the sound of Dottie’s voice, having been so caught up in her own tumultuous thoughts. “I am,” she said as she moved numbly to gather her suitcase and pack the few things she’d brought.
“Nelle, wait,” Alice said, trying to cont
rol her weeping as she grasped Nelle’s arm to stop Nelle from zipping up her suitcase. “I made a terrible mistake. I’ll never see Lucien again. I promise. Don’t tell Mother, and don’t tell Mathew. I don’t want to hurt him.” Her voice broke. “Please. He can never know. I am so sorry. Nothing like this will ever happen again.”
Nelle wasn’t sure whether Alice was sincere, but she’d never seen her cousin so desperate and panicked before. Maybe it had all been an innocent crush taken too far.
“It would be devastating to Mathew’s mother,” Alice continued. “And she might—” She covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh, Nelle, she wouldn’t recover from the shock. Please, please, believe me. I am so sorry.” Alice’s face crumpled, and she started to sob, holding onto Nelle.
Dottie shook her head and opened the door. “My offer still stands.” Then she was out of the room, shutting the door behind her.
Nelle stood, holding up the sobbing Alice, not sure whether her heart hurt more for herself or for Mathew. Alice was right, Mathew’s mother would never be able to recover from such news. If Nelle told Mathew, how would he react? Would he forgive Alice? Would he break things off? Or would he try to protect his mother’s health as well?
A numbness settled over Nelle as Alice continued to cry and apologize. Nelle wished now that she had never come to the Alumni races, had never taken up her aunt’s invitation to stay in Waterbury, and had never met and fallen in love with Mathew.
Where was Pearl when she needed her? Nelle exhaled, feeling the darkness of despair approach and despondency take over. Pearl isn’t even real, Nelle told herself, and I don’t know what is truth or fiction any longer.
She released Alice and turned away from her, finding her way to the second bed. As she sank down onto it, Nelle closed her eyes, trying to block out the sounds of Alice’s sniffling. Nelle knew that she’d keep Alice’s secret. But it would hurt her every moment to do so. Although she knew the pain would be even worse if she didn’t keep her cousin’s secret. She could no longer endure this, that she knew. She’d have to leave Waterbury and put all thoughts of Mathew and his upcoming marriage behind her. This would be the only way she could continue breathing.
Love is Come (Power of the Matchmaker) Page 15