Love on Assignment

Magazine writer Elizabeth Anderson has sparred with newspaper reporter John Talbot for years. Though they cover similar stories, John thinks Elizabeth’s writing is trivial, and she finds him too boastful. So when they must work together to investigate New York City’s worst tenement houses, they’re surprised by the great team they make.

Boardinghouse Betrothals: Hearts taking shelter—and forging new beginnings

“I don’t think I’ve ever told anyone about how lonely I was.”

John reached out and gently touched Elizabeth’s cheek. Their eyes met, and the realization of how much she liked him scared Elizabeth into jumping up from the park bench.

“Elizabeth. I didn’t mean to upset you. I—”

“You didn’t. But—” She couldn’t let him say he was sorry for the tender moment. She didn’t want to hear that. “It’s just getting late, and we should get back.”

He stood from the bench, and she slipped her hand through his arm before they began their walk back.

“Thank you for listening, John.”

“Anytime. I mean that, Elizabeth. I’ve opened up to you in ways I never have with anyone else.”

His words warmed Elizabeth’s heart. This man whom she’d sparred with for over a year had suddenly become the person she shared all her deepest hurts and fears with. He was truly her best friend. But now she wanted for more.

JANET LEE BARTON

was born in New Mexico and has lived all over the South, in Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas. She loves researching and writing heartwarming stories about faith, family, friends and love. Janet loves being able to share her faith and love of the Lord through her writing. She’s very happy that the kind of romances the Lord has called her to write can be read and shared with women of all ages.

Janet and her husband now live in Oklahoma and are part of what they laughingly call their “Generational Living Experiment” with their daughter and her husband, two wonderful granddaughters and a shih tzu called Bella. The experiment has turned into quite an adventure, and so far, they think it’s working out just fine. When Janet isn’t writing or reading, she loves to travel, cook, work in the garden and sew.

You can visit Janet at www.janetleebarton.com.

A Home for Her Heart

Janet Lee Barton

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Debate thy cause with thy neighbor himself; and discover not a secret to another.

— Proverbs 25:9

To Dan for encouraging me every step of the way,

To Tina James for seeing the possibilities for this series,

To Giselle Regus for helping to make this story better,

To Tamela Hancock Murray for being such a great agent,

& always to my Lord and Savior for showing me the way.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

About the Author

Title Page

Bible Verse

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Epilogue

Dear Reader

Questions for Discussion

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

New York City

June 1896

John Talbot had barely reached the top step leading to Heaton House before Elizabeth Anderson rushed out the door and slammed into his chest. He reached out to steady her.

“Whoa there! Are you all right, Elizabeth?”

Her hazel eyes appeared a little dazed as she looked up at him and she seemed to be trying to catch the breath he was certain had been knocked out of her. He was nearly a foot taller than her and she was a trim woman. She had to be shaken by the collision. He felt a little breathless himself, looking down at her.

“Elizabeth, are you all right?” he repeated, keeping a firm grip on her slender arms.

She gave a short nod and took several deep breaths before finally finding her voice. “I’m fine. I think.”

She looked fine—better than fine actually. He’d never been quite this close to her, near enough to notice how thick and long her eyelashes were or how much green shot through her hazel eyes. “Are you sure?”

She gave a little nod.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t expect you to come flying out the door that way.”

“I know. It’s not your fault.”

“Where are you off to in such a rush?”

“I just received a call from my aunt letting me know my father is in town and insisting I come to dinner. I’m in a hurry.”

“Would you like me to accompany you?” Mrs. Heaton had a hard-and-fast rule that none of the women boarders were to be out alone after dark and that if necessary, one of the male boarders would accompany them.

She shook her head. “No, thank you. It’s still light out and I’ll be fine.”

She still looked a little bemused and he felt responsible. “Do you need me to come get you later?”

Elizabeth pulled away from his grasp. “No. I’ll be staying the night with her.”

Obviously she didn’t want his help. He nodded and took a step back. “Have a good evening.”

“Thank you. You have a good evening, too.” Elizabeth hurried down the steps and headed toward the trolley stop.

John watched until she boarded the trolley that pulled up just as she arrived at the corner, trying to figure out if there was a way to follow her and find out once and for all where this aunt of hers lived.

All he knew was that the trolley she took would take her to Fifth Avenue where some of the luxury apartment buildings were. And that opened up more questions than it gave answers to. Elizabeth lived at Heaton House and was employed at a women’s magazine called the Delineator, but why would she need to work if she had relatives who could afford to live in that kind of luxury? If her aunt did live on Fifth Avenue, why wasn’t Elizabeth living with her? And this was the first time he’d ever heard her mention her father. Why didn’t she live at home?

A sudden clap on his shoulder brought him out of his thoughts and he turned to find Benjamin Roth, another of Mrs. Heaton’s boarders, grinning at him. “What are you standing here woolgathering about, my friend?”

John gave a small shake of his head and shrugged. “This and that.”

“Hmm. Woman problems?”

“Now why would you say that? There’s no woman in my life to be a problem and that’s the way I want it. I’ve been down that road before and I have no intention of putting myself in that position again.” After the debacle that’d cost him his job, John had decided his instincts where women were concerned were pretty much nonexistent and he’d never trust one with his heart again.

“I see. That was Elizabeth I saw hurrying away, wasn’t it? Didn’t make her mad, did you? You always seem to be trying to get a rise out of her.”

“No, Ben. I didn’t make her mad. She’s going to see that aunt of hers again.”

“Ahh, I see,” Ben said.

“No, you don’t.”

Ben threw back his head and laughed. “Whatever you say, John. But I think you protest too much. You care about that woman. It’s plain as the nose on your face.”

“Of course I care about her. Just like I do everyone at Heaton House. But you have to admit, she keeps part of her life separate.”

“We all have lives outside of Heaton House, John.”

“I suppose.” Others did, he knew that. But John’s life seemed to revolve around his work and living at Heaton House. His mother had passed away when he was only five and his father had died when John was around seventeen. He’d been on his own since then.

“However, I will concede that I’ve wondered about where Elizabeth’s aunt lives, too,” Ben said. “Michael probably knows, but I’ve never asked him. He’d think I was being nosy or that I was interested in Elizabeth in a more than friendly way, and I’m not.”

“I know. That’s why I haven’t asked, either. He’d probably say it was none of my business or tell me to ask her myself and I can just picture how that would go over.”

“Yes, but you—”

“No buts, Ben.” He slapped his friend on the back. “We seem to have come to a dead end with this conversation. Let’s go see what’s for dinner.”

* * *

Elizabeth stepped on the trolley, paid her money and took a seat that’d just been vacated near the driver, all the while trying to calm her pounding heart. She’d never been quite so close to John before and her response to his touch frustrated her almost as much as the telephone call from her aunt had.

She and John clashed more often than not. He worked for the Tribune and she worked for the Delineator, and over the years they’d often sparred about the similar stories they sometimes found themselves covering. It was always clear to her that he thought her writing was inferior to his—the Delineator was a woman’s magazine, after all—and he’d even referred to her writing as fluff in the past.

Somehow he thought his articles on the same social scene she wrote about were much more worthwhile. And now that his editor had asked him to do more serious pieces, following his article about the Ladies’ Aide Society and the child-care homes they were starting, he’d be even harder to be around. Everyone knew that John Talbot wouldn’t rest until he broke a story that would put his byline on the front page and promote him to a lead reporter for the Tribune. It seemed to be all he cared about.

Elizabeth let out a deep breath and tried to put John to the back of her mind as had become her custom. She was already upset that her father had demanded she visit her aunt’s on such short notice. Thinking about John’s attitude toward her work wasn’t going to calm her any.

Leaning her head back against the seat, she looked out the window at the passing scenery. The quietness of Gramercy Park gave way to more and more traffic noise as they reached Fifth Avenue and turned amid all manner of vehicles—hacks, omnibuses, landaus and carriages of all sizes going in all different directions. It was especially busy this time of day.

She tried to tell herself to calm down. She wasn’t upset at her aunt, loved spending time with her, in fact. But to be summoned to her home because her father, Charles Edward Reynolds, had come into the city and wanted her there for dinner on such short notice was just...irritating.

There was so much going on at Heaton House right now, she hated to miss out on anything. But she’d promised to be available whenever her father came to town—it was the price she paid to have her independence. She shouldn’t really be upset at him, either. But she was. All he seemed to be interested in was getting her married off—but only to a man of his choosing.

Well, catching his first choice in a very compromising position with another woman—at their engagement party, no less—had ended with a broken engagement, her heart shattered and had soured Elizabeth on men in general. She had no intention of letting her father choose a mate for her again, not even if she wanted one—which she didn’t. She released a huge sigh loud enough to capture the driver’s ear.

“You have a bad day, miss?”

She really hadn’t had a bad day until she’d found out she’d been ordered to have dinner with her aunt and her father. Her father wanted to see her. Was that really so bad? She did love him. And besides, it was just for the evening, not the whole weekend. “Not so much a bad day... Perhaps it’s my own attitude making me so—”

“Downcast?”

She should be ashamed for giving that impression to anyone. There were much worse things in life than having to change her plans to spend time with family. “Maybe a little, but not anymore.”

When she got off the trolley at its stop just a block from her aunt’s apartment, she turned to the driver and smiled. “Thanks for making me realize I have absolutely nothing to be downcast about.”

His face fairly beamed. “You’re welcome, miss. I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

“Thank you. So am I.”

By the time she knocked on her aunt’s door, she was looking forward to telling her all about the happenings at Heaton House.

The door opened and her aunt’s maid, Amanda, smiled. “Miss Elizabeth, it’s wonderful to see you. Mrs. Watson and your father are waiting for you in her study.”

Her heart sank. She’d hoped for some time alone with her aunt. “Thank you, Amanda. It’s good to see you, too. Will you let them know I’ll join them as soon as I freshen up?”

“Certainly.”

Elizabeth hurried down the hall and let herself into a room her aunt had decorated just for her. It was beautiful and she loved the view of the avenue below and even a bit of Central Park. But she didn’t have time to enjoy that view right now. She hurried to choose a gown for dinner. There was a new yellow silk dinner gown hanging in her wardrobe. She quickly selected it. She never had to worry about packing for an overnight stay. Her aunt kept her wardrobe filled with the latest styles—so much so that Elizabeth had been able to give clothes away to those less fortunate.

She was blessed in so many ways and she had no right to feel put out by a visit from her father. She sent up a prayer, asking for forgiveness for being upset by his unexpected visit. She also prayed that she wouldn’t show her frustration to her aunt and father.

She made quick work of freshening up and hurried to the study. Her aunt, Beatrice Watson, must have heard her footsteps as she met her at the door.

“Elizabeth, it is good to see you as always.” She enveloped her in a hug and whispered, “Thank you for coming on such short notice, dear,”

“You’re welcome, Aunt Bea,” Elizabeth whispered back.

Her aunt was an elegant middle-aged woman with sparkling blue eyes and blond hair always done up in the latest style, and she’d always been ahead of her time. Like Elizabeth’s mother, she’d been raised to think for herself and make her own decisions—but would have, even had she not been encouraged to. Elizabeth knew this because she took after them both and her father had never encouraged her to be an independent woman. It wasn’t a trait he admired.

She looked past her to her father, who’d crossed the room and quickly gathered her in his arms to give her a quick hug. His hair had more silver in it than it had the last time she’d seen him.

“Elizabeth, my dear, the older you get, the more you look like your mother. I’ve missed you.”

“Thank you, Papa. That is quite a compliment. It’s good to see you, too.” And it was. She did miss him. But he traveled so much and she’d missed him back home, too. And now she loved her life in New York City and had no intention of going back to Boston to live.

“Dinner is ready, ma’am,” Amanda announced.

Elizabeth’s father offered both women an arm and escorted them into the dining room. After seating her aunt first and then her, her father took a seat across from her and adjacent to her aunt, who was at the head of the table.

“Charles, will you please say the blessing before Amanda serves us?” The maid stood just inside the door between the kitchen and the dining room and bowed her head.

“Of course. Our Father in Heaven, we come to thank You for our many blessings and we thank You for the food we’re about to eat. Amen.”

Short and to the point, as usual. But he did love the Lord, Elizabeth was sure of it. And he loved her—even though he rarely said it or knew how best to show it.

Amanda began to serve them and Elizabeth turned to her father. “Papa, what kind of business did you come to New York on?”

“Investment business, my dear. Nothing to bother your pretty head about at this point in your life.”

Elizabeth exchanged a glance with her aunt. Would he always think women were to be seen and not heard in the matter of business?

“And hopefully you’ll have a husband to worry about it before the time comes that you might need to.”

There it was. The real reason he’d come to the city. He thought she should have been married several years ago and that was the reason he’d sent her to her aunt in the first place—well, that and the fact that he was upset with her for breaking her engagement to the man he’d handpicked, no matter that the man was only after his money.

“I want you to come home, Elizabeth. There’s a young man I want you to meet.”

“Papa, I’m sorry, but I’m not looking for a husband to take care of me. I like my life just as it is right now and I have no intention of moving back to Boston.”

She watched as her father and her aunt exchanged glances and thought she saw her aunt give a little shake of her head as if telling him not to push. At least that was what Elizabeth hoped she was trying to tell him. Dear Aunt Bea, she’d come to her defense on more than one occasion.

Her father’s face flushed and he took a sip of water before speaking again. “Elizabeth, I didn’t ask you to move back. But I would like for you to come home for a visit soon.”

“It is hard to get away from work, Papa.”

“Surely you could come there for a weekend, same as I’ve come here.”

“Maybe one of these days, Papa.” Elizabeth was afraid to go back to Boston for a visit—afraid he wouldn’t let her return. And yet, she was a grown woman, he couldn’t keep her under lock and key forever.

“Perhaps we could go together, Elizabeth,” her aunt offered.

Elizabeth flashed her a look of gratitude. If her aunt went with her, she’d make sure they both came back to the city. She nodded. “Perhaps we can plan something.”

“Good. Let me know when and I’ll make plans for entertaining the two of you when you come. Just don’t wait too long.” He glanced from one to the other, looked down and then added, “Please.”

Elizabeth’s heart softened toward him. She couldn’t remember him ever saying please to her. She had a feeling her aunt had been coaching him, or maybe he’d actually changed since she moved to the city.

“We’ll plan it and let you know the date, Charles,” Aunt Bea said.

“Thank you. I’ll look forward to your visit. I’ve several people I’d like you to meet—”

“Now, Papa—”

“Elizabeth, I didn’t say marry, although there is one young man I think you might actually like and I’d like you to meet him. Just meet him.”

“It certainly won’t hurt to meet an eligible young man, will it, Elizabeth?” Aunt Bea asked, looking at her, as if imploring her to agree and not cause a stir. Her father was here only for the night and Elizabeth supposed she should give in. After all, it was her aunt’s home and she was the one who helped enable Elizabeth to live the independent life she loved. “I suppose it wouldn’t, Aunt Bea.”

But she certainly didn’t have to look forward to it. Still, for the moment her words seemed to pacify her father and he went on to change the subject. She breathed a sigh of relief and joined in the conversation.

* * *

Just as dinner at Heaton House was finishing up the next evening, Kathleen O’Bryan, one of Elizabeth’s dear friends and a fellow boarder, leaned toward Elizabeth and said, “I’d like to speak with you and John after dinner, if you have time. We could go to the back parlor if it’s all right with you.”

“Oh? Have you made some decisions about your wedding?” Kathleen and Luke Patterson had announced their engagement a few weeks earlier and Kathleen had asked Elizabeth to be her maid of honor and help her plan the wedding set for September.

Kathleen laughed and shook her head. “You know I wouldn’t do that without your advice, Elizabeth. No. It’s about a couple of buildings I ran across that are in deplorable condition.” She leaned forward to bring John into the conversation. “I thought you and John might want to work together to find out who owns them, maybe write an article or two about them at some point.”

John raised an eyebrow at Elizabeth. It appeared he wasn’t any more enthused at Kathleen’s suggestion than she was. Work together? He thought her writing was fluff and she thought he was just too full of himself.

Still, Elizabeth was curious to hear what Kathleen had to say. She was the liaison for the Ladies’ Aide Society, in helping find families who were in need of the child-care homes they’d recently started.

“I’ll be there,” Elizabeth said. “But I can’t answer for John.”

“I’ll be there, too. The boss seemed to like the articles about the child-care homes you and Luke suggested I do, Kathleen. And while he hasn’t taken me off the high society affairs completely just yet, he’s letting the new guy cover some of them.”

“Oh, I know you’re going to miss all of those, John,” Luke said from the other side of Kathleen.

By the grin he flashed, Elizabeth could tell that just as she did, Luke knew how John felt about having to cover what he considered soft stories as opposed to the hard-hitting ones he chomped at the bit to do.

Mrs. Heaton pushed away from the table, signaling the end to dinner and John pulled Elizabeth’s chair out for her, as Luke did the same for Kathleen. The other boarders headed for the big parlor while the two of them followed Luke and Kathleen to the smaller parlor at the end of the hall.

After they all had taken a seat around a small table in the middle of the room, Kathleen wasted no time in letting them know of the derelict properties she’d run across in the course of her job. She handed them pictures of the two buildings from the outside.

“I was about to take pictures of the hallways and stairways in one of them when the landlord came out and told me to leave. He wouldn’t give me any information about the owner of the building and with the work I do to try to help tenants get out, I didn’t want to make things hard on any of them. But I know there are children living there and there’s broken glass from some of the windows in the hallways,” Kathleen said. “That’s dangerous.”

“We’ve reported it to the authorities, but whether that will help or not is anyone’s guess,” Luke said. “And Kathleen is in and out of that area so much, I don’t want her in danger from what she sees and tells us.”

“Don’t worry about that, Luke,” John said. “We won’t tell where our information came from.”

“I know you won’t.” Luke put a protective arm around Kathleen.

“I hope the articles you’ll both write will bring the kind of attention that will make the owners clean up these places. You won’t believe it until you see them for yourselves.” Kathleen handed them the addresses of both buildings. “You will do it, won’t you? With articles in both the Tribune and the Delineator, word will get out to more people and surely something will be done.”

Elizabeth glanced at John. Working with him was the last thing she wanted to do—he had a way of irritating her on a good day. And he didn’t look any happier than she felt at the prospect. But she couldn’t tell Kathleen no. The woman had been through so much living in those tenements and now she was working hard to help others get out as she had. There was no way she could refuse to do what her friend asked. She nodded.

And she had no doubt that John would accept. It was a chance to further his career—even if he had to have her tagging along.

“Want to check them out in the morning, Elizabeth?” John asked.

“Might as well. What time?”

“Let’s go right after breakfast.”

She nodded. “That’s fine with me.”

“Oh, thank you both!” Kathleen gave Elizabeth a hug. “I know your stories will make a difference.”

“That’s what we’re hoping for,” John said.

Elizabeth couldn’t back out now. No matter how much she might want to.

Chapter Two

Elizabeth’s alarm clock jarred her awake an hour earlier than usual for a Saturday and she fumbled to quiet it so as not to awaken the whole floor. After the meeting the night before, she, Kathleen and the other women boarders had stayed up much too late poring through magazines and patterns for wedding gowns, finally narrowing down Kathleen’s favorites to a manageable number. Hopefully they’d trim down her choices more in the next few days.

She threw off the covers and hurried to freshen up in the bathroom she and Kathleen shared. After dressing in a plain shirtwaist and skirt for the trip to the tenements, she hurried down to breakfast, yawning as she entered the dining room. Julia Olsen, who worked at Ellis Island, was just leaving for work.

“See you at dinner,” she said as she walked out of the room.

“Good morning, Elizabeth,” Mrs. Heaton said. “You’re down earlier than usual today.”

“Good morning! Kathleen wants John and I to check out some buildings this morning for possible articles and we’re leaving right after breakfast.”

“Oh, I’m glad. Something must be done to get those landlords to take care of those dilapidated buildings.”

Elizabeth chose a muffin from the sideboard, along with a couple of pieces of bacon and some fluffy scrambled eggs before taking her seat at the table.

Saturdays were always more relaxed than workdays or Sundays when everyone was on their way to work or church. The boarders came down at different times and lingered at the table a little longer. This morning John entered just as she took her seat.

“Good morning,” he said as he began to fill his plate. Ben and Matt entered behind him.

John slid into his seat beside her. “I’m surprised to see you up so early. I heard you women laughing when I went downstairs last night.”

“We did have a good time. What did you and the men do?” Elizabeth asked.

“Oh, we played a few games, talked about the building Matt is working on and finally got bored with our own company and called it a night.”

“I’m still not sure why all this secrecy about the wedding dress is necessary,” Luke said from across the table.

“Missed Kathleen, did you?” Elizabeth asked.

Kathleen and Millicent Faircloud, one of the new boarders, entered the room just then and Elizabeth thought once more of how blessed she was to be living at Heaton House. As an only child with a father who was out of town often and only a housekeeper to look after her, she truly felt as if she were part of a big family living here.

“What’s all this I’m hearing?” Kathleen asked. “If it makes you feel any better, Luke, I missed you, too.”

That seemed to settle the man down and he smiled at his fiancée as she took the seat he pulled out for her.

Talk turned to the nice weather they were having and the Independence Day celebrations planned in the city the next month. As always there was much going on—parades, picnics and fireworks.

“There is much to choose from. But we really ought to go on a picnic while it’s still fairly cool,” Mrs. Heaton suggested. “Why don’t we go this coming Saturday, if the weather holds up?”

“Oh, I love the sound of that,” Millicent said. “I’d like to get photos of all of you at the park.”

“It’s about time we had some new ones made. But we need to include you and Matt in some. Maybe we can get a passerby to take a few.”

“That’d be nice.”

Everyone seemed excited about a trip to Central Park.

“It should be lovely this time of year. Just about everything has bloomed now,” Mrs. Heaton said.

“If your garden is any indication, there will be roses everywhere,” Elizabeth said.

“I think we should all take another trip to Coney Island and go swimming before long,” Ben suggested. “That might be something to think about for Independence Day. And you know they set off fireworks on Manhattan Beach on that day, too.”

“Most of the parks will have bands playing patriotic music, too. We’ll just need to figure out what it is everyone most wants to do that day and do some planning,” Mrs. Heaton said.

“That’s a good idea. We’ll have to see what we can work in,” Luke said.

“Sounds good to me, too,” John said. The clock in the foyer chimed the hour and he leaned near and nudged Elizabeth’s shoulder. “You about ready to go check out those buildings?”

“Anytime you are.”

“Let’s go, then.” He pushed back his chair and stood. “Let us know what you come up with for Independence Day.”

Luke nodded from across the table. “We will.”

“Where are you two off to so early?” Millicent asked.

“We’ve got some investigating to do,” John answered.

“Oh, I see. Well, if you have any need for professional pictures to be taken...”

John had just scooted Elizabeth’s chair out for her to stand and he turned to the other woman. “You know, Millicent, we may just call on you if we need to have photos taken. What do you think, Elizabeth?”

“I don’t know. Photographs might help.” Elizabeth didn’t mention that she had a camera she could take. She wasn’t really very good at photography and it was Millicent’s career, and she was just starting out here in the city. Still, she felt John had put her on the spot and it irked her a little.

Millicent nodded and smiled. “I hope you can use me. I need the work and the exposure, you know.”

“We do,” John said. “But we couldn’t pay you. That would only come if the Tribune or Delineator wanted to use them.”

“I understand. I don’t have a problem with that.”

“I suppose you could tag along.”

“Maybe we should take a look and make sure we have the right buildings before we waste Millicent’s time,” Elizabeth suggested.

Millicent’s smile disappeared and she shrugged. “I’ll be around this morning. I can meet you there if you need me.”

Elizabeth sighed inwardly. What was wrong with her? If she didn’t know better she’d think she was jealous. But she liked Millicent. She was very nice and she did need the work. If they did an article and used her pictures, she’d make money. “You know, on second thought, why don’t you go get your camera and come on with us now?”

“Really?”

“Yes, but hurry,” Elizabeth said. She didn’t look at John for fear he’d see that she really didn’t want the other girl to go with them. And she wasn’t even sure why. She had little time to think about it, though, as Millicent was back downstairs in a flash, camera in hand.

“You know, I’m not sure taking your professional camera is a good idea,” John said. “We really only need some snapshots and we don’t want to alert the landlords to what we’re doing right now.”

“Oh, well, I can go get my Kodak. Will that work?”

“That will be fine.”

Elizabeth sighed as the other woman rushed back upstairs.

* * *

“What’s wrong? Don’t you think a smaller camera will be better?” John asked.

“I do. But I have one. I could snap the pictures.”

“Oh... I’m sorry, Elizabeth. I can tell Millicent we don’t need her. I should have—”

“No—we can’t do that. Not after telling her she could come. It will be fine. I’m just a little out of sorts this morning. I’m sorry.”

“Maybe you didn’t get enough sleep.”

“Maybe not. At any rate, I shouldn’t take my mood out on Millicent or anyone else.”

“It’s all right. We all wake up on the wrong side of the bed occasionally.” But John couldn’t remember when he’d seen Elizabeth in a bad mood of a morning. She was usually sunshine and light. Maybe it was lack of sleep, but he couldn’t help but wonder if something had happened at her aunt’s. She hadn’t seemed quite the same since she got back.

He wanted to ask but had a feeling she wouldn’t like his prying and he really couldn’t blame her. Still... “If there’s anything you want to talk about, I’d be glad to listen.”

An odd look passed over Elizabeth’s face and she opened her mouth—

“I’m back,” Millicent interrupted the moment.

Elizabeth’s mouth clamped shut and John felt let down. For a moment he was sure she was going to say something, but Millicent’s arrival quickly put a stop to it before it could happen. Something was bothering Elizabeth and it wasn’t just an out-of-sorts mood. But he wasn’t sure what to do about it. And at the moment there was nothing he could do.

“Let’s go, ladies.” He motioned to the door and followed them outside. It was a beautiful early summer day, blue sky overhead with only a few puffs of white cloud. They took the trolley past Gramercy Park over to Second Avenue and then to Eighth Street. The tenements weren’t pretty—especially compared to the neighborhood they lived in. All the buildings were pretty much the same, made of brick with stoops out front and most from six to seven stories high. But he knew the outside of them was deceiving—it was the inside that varied and most were in bad condition.

He didn’t like taking Elizabeth and Millicent there, but the cause was important and he’d learned long ago that Elizabeth had no qualms about going into the area. It had been obvious she had empathy for the poor from the first time they’d come here together to help Kathleen move. Was she born with it, or did it come from something in her past?

He’d known her for three years now, yet she remained an enigma. He felt he knew her better with each passing day, but he also felt that what he didn’t know about her far surpassed what he did. There was something about the woman that fascinated him and yet he was certain Elizabeth Anderson was far out of his reach. Not that it mattered. He’d learned his lesson about giving his heart to a woman the hard way and he had no intention of letting it happen again. Ever.

Still, he considered Elizabeth a friend and—

“Is this the address, John?” Elizabeth had stopped in front of one of the buildings.

“I think so.” He pulled the paper Kathleen had written the address on out of his pocket. “Yes, this is one of them. I’ll take a look.”

The building looked much the same as the others on the block—until he entered. The foyer said it all. The paint was peeling, the lights were dim with dust and the smell made John want to gag. He backed out of the doorway and turned to the women.

“No need for you ladies to come in. It’s no place for either of you.”

“If you can stand it, surely we can, too,” Elizabeth said. She and Millicent pushed their way around him to enter, and quickly grabbed their noses as they looked around.

“If the manager lets it look like this on the ground floor, what must it be like upstairs?” Elizabeth asked.

“If we want to know,” John answered, “now would be the time to find out. No one has come out to see what we’re up to yet. Are you up to it?”

Elizabeth gave a short nod while Millicent let go of her nose long enough to take a quick picture. Then they followed John up the stairs.

“If anyone asks, we can say we’re looking for someone,” he said in a low voice.

But they met no one in the halls. Everything was shut up, tight as a drum, the hallways dark from unwashed windows at the end of them, except where the broken windowpanes let light through, and only a dim lightbulb here and there. The stair railings were loose, just asking for an accident, and the trash in the hallways added to the odors that had them all holding their noses.

“Get a picture of that, Millicent.” Elizabeth shuddered and pointed to a rat getting his fill of something in a sack in a dark corner. “I hate to think children live here.”

Millicent let go of her nose and quickly took the picture. “Do we have enough?”

“For now,” John said. “Come on. Let’s get you both out of here. I shouldn’t have let you come inside in the first place.”

“We had to know what it is Kathleen was talking about, John,” Elizabeth said.

Just then a door cracked open. Millicent slid the camera into her bag and they all froze where they were.

Elizabeth held her breath and her heart seemed to stop beating as a big man backed out of the room. “You have one more day to pay your rent, Miss Hardin. If I don’t have it by tomorrow, you’re goin’ to be out on the streets.”

“I don’t know where I’m going to get it—I don’t get paid for another two days,” a woman’s voice said.

Elizabeth’s heart went out to her. How awful it would be to have to live here—and to pay good money to do so!

“Then you’d best be packing now.” The man turned and slammed the door behind him. He was big and foreboding as he realized strangers were in the hall.

“I don’t recognize the lot of you—who are you and what are you lookin’ for up here?”

John stepped forward. “Are you the landlord”

“I am. Mister Brown to you, and from the looks of ya, you aren’t lookin’ for an apartment. So just what is it you’re up to in my building?”

“We’re visiting.”

“Who is it you’re visitin’?”

Elizabeth hurried to the door he’d come out of. “Miss Hardin.”

“You’re friends of hers?”

Elizabeth had a feeling they were about to be. “We are.”

“Well, if you are, ya might help her with the rent, as she’s about to be thrown out on the street.”

“And how much does she owe?” John asked.

He named a figure and John dug in his pocket as Elizabeth and Millicent opened their pocketbooks.

Together they quickly came up with the amount Miss Hardin owed and John handed it to the man. “We want a receipt for it so our friend has proof that she’s paid up.”

“I’ll get you one. Come with me.”

“You two go on in and let our friend know she doesn’t have to move anywhere for now. I’ll be back once I get the receipt.”

John and the landlord started down stairs, the man saying, “If you’re such good friends with Miss Hardin, why aren’t you helpin’ her get out of here?”

“If you’re the landlord, why aren’t you doing something to clean up this building?”

“That ain’t any of your business, mister.”

Dear Lord, please don’t let anything happen to John, Elizabeth prayed as she hurried to knock on the door. “Miss Hardin?”

“Yes? Who is it?”

“We’re the women who just helped pay your rent,” Millicent said bluntly. “Please open the door.”

The door cracked open and a young woman about their age peeked around the door. “Why would you pay my rent?”

“We don’t like the landlord,” Millicent said.

“Or how he talked to you,” Elizabeth added. “And we wanted to help.”

The young woman looked totally confused as tears rushed to her eyes and she opened the door to let them in. “I didn’t know how I was going to do it. I have barely enough for food until payday. I was sick a week ago and couldn’t work. I— My name is Lacy and I don’t know how I can repay you.”

“We aren’t worried about that. We just didn’t want you thrown out.” Elizabeth dug in her pocketbook for one of Mrs. Heaton’s cards. “If you have problems—ever need a place to stay for a while, come here. You’ll be welcomed.”

The young woman turned the card over in her hand. “Heaton House.”

“Yes. It’s where we live. And our landlady takes in temporary boarders from time to time.”

There was a knock on the door and John said, “It’s me, Elizabeth. I have the receipt.”

“That’s our friend, John Talbot. He got a receipt for you from the landlord.”

Lacy opened the door and John handed her a piece of paper. “Keep that with you.”

She looked at the paper. “I really don’t know what to say.”

“Thank you is enough,” Elizabeth said. “And keep that receipt handy in case you need proof that your rent has been paid.”

The woman nodded as Elizabeth and Millicent headed out the door. Just as they were about to leave, John turned to the woman. “You wouldn’t happen to know who owns the building, do you?”

She shook her head. “No. The only person we ever see is Mr. Brown and then only when we pay the rent or he comes to collect. He’s not here half the time. Can never find him when we need anything.”

“Is it always in this condition?”

She sighed. “It is. I— Thank you again. I’ll try to repay you one day.”

“Keep safe and lock this door,” John said.

“Yes, I will.”

Elizabeth led the way back downstairs, wondering if the other two were as glad to get out of there as she was. She could hear the click of Millicent taking pictures along the way and hoped they would be good enough to use in the Delineator or the Tribune.

Once they were back outside, all three took deep, cleansing breaths—or they would be if the neighborhood had any clean air in it. It appeared that in spite of efforts to clean up the tenements, there was still much to be done.

“Do we want to find the next building?” Elizabeth asked.

“Maybe we should save that for another day?” Millicent suggested. “That was awful. I had no idea what it was like inside these buildings.”

John looked from one to the other. “We can come another time. What do you think, Elizabeth?”

She nodded. She had no desire to go into another building as bad as this one today. “Yes, let’s save it for another day.”

It was a quiet walk to the trolley stop. Elizabeth didn’t know about the others, but her heart was heavy at the conditions they’d seen and it made her admire Kathleen even more. “When I think of Kathleen and her family living in similar surroundings, my heart breaks all over again for her. I am so happy she and Luke have found each other.”

“I knew she’d lived in the tenements, but I never knew what kind of environment that meant until now,” Millicent said.

“Her building wasn’t quite as bad as the one we just saw, but the living conditions aren’t good in any of them. Some of the landlords are better than others, though.”

Millicent sighed and shook her head. “What a shame. I’m going to get off at Michael’s office and develop these photos. Hopefully I got some you can use. I’ll bring them back with me.”

Mrs. Heaton’s son, Michael, had cleared out a large storage closet near his office in the building he owned and was letting Millicent use it for a darkroom until she could afford to set up her business elsewhere.

“That’d be great, Millicent,” John said.

“Yes, and thank you. You were a great help today.” Elizabeth couldn’t deny she had been.

The trolley stopped a block away from Michael’s office and Millicent stepped into the aisle.

“Do you want us to wait for you?” Elizabeth asked.

“No need to. I’ll see you both later.” She gave a little wave and hurried down the aisle.

John had been sitting across the aisle, but he quickly moved to the empty seat beside Elizabeth, filling the seat up much more than Millicent had. Elizabeth caught her breath as his shoulder touched hers when he leaned near to say, “I think she did get some good shots. Hopefully we’ll be able to use one or two for our articles.”

“I hope so.”

“Although I’d like to do a little more investigating before handing my article in. All we really have is the pictures, if they turn out, and a tenant who’s being harassed by a bully of a landlord. And that’s pretty normal for the tenements.”

“Yes, sadly, it is.” She thought about how John hadn’t hesitated at paying Lacy’s rent. “That was very nice of you to take up for Miss Hardin. And to offer to pay her rent.”

John shrugged. “I hate seeing people bullied like that. Besides, you and Millicent helped with the rent, too. And it’s a good thing. I didn’t have the whole amount with me, but either way I was going to make sure Brown gave her a little more time.”

John was so aloof at times it was easy to wonder if anything really touched him. But obviously, someone about to be evicted did. His quick action had warmed Elizabeth’s heart. He’d always made it plain that his goal in life was to break a big story and to get promoted to lead reporter at the Tribune. But with his actions today she began to think there might be more to him than that. Was it possible John wasn’t quite as full of himself as she’d always believed?

Chapter Three

It was after dinner before Elizabeth and John got a chance to look at the photographs Millicent had taken that morning. John had disappeared downstairs as soon as they arrived back at Heaton House, and Elizabeth and Kathleen decided to go window-shopping at the Ladies’ Mile, trying to get a better idea of what kind of trousseau she wanted.

Going shopping with Kathleen made Elizabeth realize how much she’d taken for granted over the years. A.T. Stewart’s Dry Goods, Macy’s and Hearn’s—all of those along the Mile were the kind of stores she’d always shopped in, but for Kathleen, it was new and an adventure.

Elizabeth had never had to check price tags to determine if she could afford something, and watching Kathleen do so now humbled her.

“I love this wrap, but oh, my, the price is quite dear.” Kathleen touched the silk fabric as if it were a piece of gold.

Elizabeth had to fight the urge to tell her she’d buy it for her—Kathleen had a lot of pride and wouldn’t appreciate it, especially now that she had a decent position. Instead, she thought she might give it to her as a wedding gift if she didn’t find something she liked at a more reasonable price.

“Why don’t we try Macy’s? They might have something a little less expensive.”

“Yes, let’s go there. I do remember seeing something similar to this in there a while back,” Kathleen said.

“I like going to Macy’s. They do try to keep their prices down a bit. I always enjoy finding something I like at a better price.” And she did. She’d found she could use more of her allowance to help others early on, if she shopped wisely and had money left over. Her father hadn’t liked her spending her money on the needy, saying he gave enough to charities.

Now she and Kathleen proceeded to search the sales at Macy’s, finding exactly what her friend wanted for less money in short order.

It’d begun to stress Elizabeth that her friends in the city didn’t know that she could afford to buy anything that caught her fancy—didn’t know she didn’t have to work for a living. Even though she wasn’t trying to hide the fact, she’d not made an effort to let them know she was wealthy in her own right from her grandmother’s inheritance—not to mention what she stood to inherit from her father one day. But she didn’t like living the life of the wealthy, other than being able to help at different charity functions.

When she’d moved to New York City, she hadn’t wanted to be hired because she was the daughter of Charles Edward Reynolds of Boston and she’d been honest with her editor, who agreed to let Elizabeth use her mother’s name for her articles. Mrs. Heaton and her son knew who she really was, but she’d asked them to keep it private. She’d wanted to be known as one of the boarders and didn’t want to be treated differently because she didn’t really have to work. She wanted to be one of them. Only now that she’d lived at Heaton House for several years, she wondered if she’d done the right thing.

She didn’t know how to tell them she didn’t need to work for a living. What would they think of her? Would they think she lied on purpose? Would they be disappointed in her? Think less of her? How would it affect her friendships with them? Much as she longed to quit feeling she was keeping secrets about herself, she was very afraid of the consequences of letting the people she cared about know she wasn’t exactly who they thought she was.

“Are you upset about anything, Elizabeth?” Kathleen asked. “You seem a little down in spirit.”

“Oh? I’m sorry. My mind was wandering.”

“No need to be sorry. Perhaps you’re tired. We did stay up very late last night and you were out and about early. Do you think Millicent got some good photos?”

“I hope so.”

“I suppose we should be going back or we’ll be late for dinner,” Kathleen said. “Thank you for coming with me.”

“You’re welcome. Thank you for asking me to come. I think you’re right, however, and we should be getting back.”

When they saw the line for their trolley, they decided to ride the El instead. Hurrying up the steps of the nearest stop, they got in a shorter line, bought their ticket and boarded while people still waited in the trolley line. They found a seat and looked out the windows at the city.

“I love riding up over the streets,” Kathleen said.

“So do I. It’s a different view altogether.”

They pointed out different sights to each other as they rode along. “Look, you can see the building Matt is working on from here. I don’t know how those men work so high up in the air.”

“Neither do I,” Elizabeth said. “But I love the way the skyline is changing with the taller buildings.”

They were at their stop in no time and walked the rest of the way to Heaton House. The aroma drifting through to the foyer told them Mrs. Heaton had planned a great meal, but it was quiet downstairs as no one had come down to the parlor yet. Happy they weren’t too late, Elizabeth and Kathleen rushed upstairs to their rooms to change clothes.

They never dressed for dinner during the week—Mrs. Heaton said it was just too much trouble for working people and it made it much easier on the boarders. But on the weekends and special occasions they did dress up and everyone seemed to enjoy it.

Elizabeth chose one of her favorite dinner gowns, a sleeveless green silk with a sweetheart neckline. It felt summery and cool and she felt pretty in it. She pinched her cheeks in the mirror and pinned up an errant strand of blond hair before leaving her room. She met up with Millicent in the hall.

“Elizabeth! I’m glad you’re back. I can’t wait to show you and John the photographs. I think they turned out very well.”

“I can’t wait to see them. Perhaps after dinner—”

“What are you doing after dinner?” Kathleen asked, coming up behind them and following them down the staircase.

“Millicent has the photos she took this morning and she’s ready to show them to me and John.”

“Oh, I’d love to see them, Millicent!”

“And you should,” Elizabeth said. “This was your idea after all.”

They entered the parlor, but John wasn’t there. She felt a small stab of disappointment that he wasn’t. Had he been called out on an assignment? And why did it matter? She had no idea why she should care.

However, just as dinner was announced and the boarders headed toward the dining room, footsteps were heard from the staircase leading down to the ground floor and he hurried to join them all in the hall.

“Sorry I’m late. I’ve been working on the article about the building we saw today.”

“I thought you wanted to do more research before starting it,” Elizabeth commented. Of course he would get a head start.

John shrugged. “I do, but I’ve already talked to my editor about it and he’s eager to see the first one. Said there was a possibility of a series. He asked if I had pictures. Did you get them developed, Millicent?”

All thoughts that somehow she’d misjudged John earlier in the day went flying out the window. As always, it was all about him and his career. It was as if she hadn’t even been along that morning.

“I did,” Millicent said as she took her seat at the table. “Elizabeth suggested we look at them after dinner.”

“Wonderful.” John pulled out Elizabeth’s seat as usual, but it wasn’t until he’d sat down beside her that he acknowledged her at all. “Have you spoken with your editor yet, Elizabeth?”

“No, I haven’t. I’ll talk to him first thing on Monday, but I’m certain he’ll want to do a series of articles, too.” At least she hoped so. Something about John’s attitude tonight made her feel competitive.

“I’m sure he will. But perhaps from a different perspective than what I’ll be doing for the Tribune.”

Elizabeth clamped her mouth shut before she made a scathing comment about his hard-hitting article on what Mrs. Vanderbilt had worn at the last social function he covered. Instead she tried to enjoy the meal and listen to the conversations going on around her.

“How is Rebecca doing?” Ben asked Mrs. Heaton.

Rebecca was Mrs. Heaton’s daughter whom she’d been recently reunited with, having been missing for several years. Rebecca had a young daughter and was living with her brother, Michael, and his wife until after Kathleen and Luke were married.

“She’s doing fine. She and Jenny, along with Michael and Violet, will be here for Sunday dinner as usual tomorrow.”

Elizabeth smiled. Everyone loved having Rebecca’s young daughter around. She livened things up around the dinner table.

“Did you and Elizabeth get any shopping done?” Luke asked Kathleen.

“I did purchase something, but we mostly window-shopped for ideas and fabrics. I have a better idea of what I want now, and where to look for things.”

“And it’s all still a secret I assume?”

“Most of it.”

Luke sighed and shook his head. “Are you going to be locked away with more planning tonight?”

Kathleen smiled at him. “Not tonight.”

“Good.”

Elizabeth couldn’t help but smile as she witnessed the look Luke gave her friend. It was obvious the two were deeply in love and she was very happy for them. Sometimes even a little envious, even though she had no intention of giving her heart to any man. After finding her fiancée didn’t love her but only the money he’d have access to, how could she ever trust that any other man truly cared about her and not her inheritance? How could she trust that her heart wouldn’t be broken again? She didn’t believe it was possible to ever be able to trust that way again.

John leaned near and broke into her thoughts. “You’re awfully quiet tonight. In fact, you haven’t seemed yourself since our run-in the other day.”

His concern surprised her and frustrated her all at the same time. The look in his eyes reminded her of what it’d felt like to be held by him that day she’d barreled into him and how it had taken her breath away. Something she’d been trying not to think about ever since. “I’m fine.”

“You’re sure? You seem a little—”

“I’m fine, John,” she repeated. At least she would be if he didn’t keep asking if she was. What was it about this man that had her catching her breath one minute and ready to bop him over the head the next?

“If you say so.” He turned his attention to Millicent across the table from them. “I’m looking forward to seeing the photos you shot.”

“Thank you. I should have made a set for each of you, but I only developed one. I suppose you two will have to decide who gets what. I don’t imagine your editors will want to publish the same ones anyway.”

Elizabeth hadn’t thought about it until now, but Millicent was right. “I’m sure you took enough that it won’t be a problem.”

“I hope so.”

As some of the others began scooting their chairs out from the table, John said, “It appears dinner is over. Let’s go see what you have.”

“I’ll run upstairs and get them,” Millicent said.

“We’ll be in the little parlor,” Elizabeth said. “Come on back when you come down.” She scooted her own chair out and stood before John had a chance to help her. If he thought he was going to get the best pictures, he was wrong. She might write fluff, but she knew what was needed to appeal to the women who read the Delineator and she was going to make sure she got it.

* * *

John and Elizabeth followed Kathleen and Luke to the back parlor and took seats around the small table. John pulled up an extra one for Millicent. They’d barely settled in their seats before she joined them.

She took a seat John pulled up for her and spread the photographs out on the table.

“Oh, Millicent, these are very good,” John said.

They were very good. She’d caught shots that Elizabeth couldn’t remember her taking. But John’s high praise of her work when all he’d allow Elizabeth of her articles was that they were nice ruffled her feathers. And that it did annoyed her most of all. Not about to let on how she felt, she added her praise to the others. “I can’t see any way our editors aren’t going to want to feature some of these photos.”

John already had a grasp on several and Elizabeth decided right then and there that he wasn’t going to take just any he wanted. She quickly picked several up and began to go through them.

“Hey, I haven’t seen those yet,” John said.

“And I didn’t get a chance to look at the ones you’re holding. I’ll choose from these and you choose from those and we’ll split up the rest.”

“Oh, my, I hope I didn’t whip up trouble when I asked for you both to do articles. I—”

“You haven’t provoked anything, Kathleen,” Luke said.

“I hope I haven’t, either,” Millicent added.

Elizabeth sighed. “You haven’t stirred up anything, ladies.”

“Elizabeth is right. I shouldn’t have grabbed so many before she had a chance to look at them. I’m sorry.”

Oh, now he’d made her look really bad-tempered. Well, maybe not. She seemed to have done that on her own and there was nothing to do now but apologize. “I’m sorry if I sounded miffed. Want to start over, John?”

He laid the photos on the table. “That’s a good idea. But I will ask for this one, unless you have a real need for it.”

The photo he held up was one Millicent had taken as they were walking up the stairs. It showed a broken stair rail and somehow included a shot of the broken window on the next floor and was a good example of the deplorable condition of the whole building.

“As long as I get the next pick.”

“Thank you.” John motioned to the photos. “You choose next.”

She moved the photos around until she saw the one she especially wanted, the one she’d asked Millicent to take. She caught her breath as she looked at it. Not only had Millicent caught the rat in the pile of trash, there were eyes peeking out from the rubble. A whole family of rats probably lived there. She shuddered. “You are very talented, Millicent. I’ll take this one.”

John raised an eyebrow and grinned. “Perhaps I should have given you first choice.”

Elizabeth smiled and shook her head. “I’d have chosen the same one. Your turn now.”

From then on they played nice and each had a good selection of photographs to show their editors.

“I think you’ll be hanging a sign out on your own business before too long, Millicent,” Elizabeth said. “These are all very good and they show exactly what I hoped they would. Thank you.”

“Thank you and John for allowing me to shoot these. I’m glad to be able to help garner attention to these places. Surely something will be done.”

“That’s what we’re hoping for.”

“Are we done for now?” John asked.

Elizabeth nodded. “I suppose so. I’ll let you know which ones my editor wants to use, Millicent. I have no doubt that he’ll want several.”

“Thank you, Elizabeth. I guess I’ll go join the others in the parlor. Sounds like they’re having a sing-along.”

The sound of piano music drifted down the hall. “It does sound like that,” Luke said. “Want to join them, Kathleen?”

“I’d love to.” She turned back to Elizabeth. “You coming?”

“Not tonight. I think I’ll go up and take some notes on what I saw today and what Millicent’s photographs have brought to mind. I’ll see you all in the morning.”

“What about you, John?” Luke asked.

“No, I think I’ll go down and put the finishing touches on my article. Thank you for suggesting this, Kathleen. I think this may get me promoted one of these days.”

And that’s what it was all about for him. Making a name for himself, getting it splashed on the front page of the Tribune. Elizabeth headed out the door, photos in hand. If she wasn’t so frustrated with him, she might feel sorry for him.

* * *

John felt unsettled as he went back to his room. He wasn’t in the mood to sing around a piano tonight. He’d upset Elizabeth and felt bad about it. She had a right to be angry with him for grabbing the photos before she’d had a chance to look at them. But even though he’d apologized and she’d seemed to accept it, he could tell she still wasn’t happy when she went upstairs.

And that wasn’t like Elizabeth at all. She was usually the most even-tempered of all the boarders, so much so that he sometimes liked to “get a rise” out of her as Ben had put it the other day. Her hazel eyes would flash almost gold and her face would flush a lovely shade of pink that went clear to her light blond hairline.

But the last few days had been different—she’d seemed out of sorts ever since their collision the other day. He knew she’d been irritated about the last-minute summons to her aunt’s; maybe there were family problems he knew nothing about. There was more he didn’t know about Elizabeth than what he did, after all.

And it did him no good to surmise what might be wrong. As the fiasco with Melody had shown him, his instincts where women were concerned seemed to always be wrong and weren’t to be trusted.

Instead of working on his article, he took a seat in the easy chair Mrs. Heaton had added to each of the men’s rooms and leaned back his head. Melody. He didn’t think of her often anymore, only as a memory to remind him that he never wanted to put his heart on the line again.

He’d thought he had it made down in Natchez, Mississippi. He was lead reporter of the Natchez Daily, and the owner’s daughter had begun to flirt with him, asking him to go on a picnic with her and even inviting him to dinner on occasion. John had begun to believe he had a real chance with her and had actually dreamed of the family they might have one day, if he ever got up enough nerve to ask her to marry him. But then his dreams crashed around him.

A young new reporter was hired at the paper and began flirting with Melody. When John questioned her about it, she told John he was imagining things and not to worry, he was the one she cared about. But when John caught the two kissing in a darkened hallway, a fight ensued. Evidently the kiss wasn’t all one-sided because Melody took up for the other man and blamed John for the fight.

Her father believed her, of course, and fired John then and there. Realizing that a terribly spoiled Melody had only led him on—whether out of boredom or cruelty, he didn’t know—but feeling he’d been made a fool, he caught a train to take him as far away as he could get the very next morning.

From then on he decided never to fall prey to a woman’s wiles again—and particularly wealthy young women who gave no thought to others’ feelings. He might get lonely from time to time, but his heart was whole now and he intended to keep it that way, even if there were times when he longed for more.

He had a good life and couldn’t complain. He enjoyed the family atmosphere living at Heaton House gave him and things at the paper were looking up. With his editor interested in a series of stories, he felt certain he was on the verge of getting the byline that would name him one of the best reporters in the city. And right now, that was all that really mattered.

Chapter Four

Normally Elizabeth would have stayed down and enjoyed the company of the other boarders, but she was still aggravated with John and didn’t feel up to faking a good mood.

She went upstairs wondering why she was letting John get under her skin so much lately. Normally she was able to throw off her irritation at him, and sometimes even enjoyed the usually good-natured sparing back and forth between them.

As she readied for bed, she wondered why things seemed to be changing. In the past few months, since they’d started working together to bring attention to the needs in the tenements and their first articles had received good attention, the spark of friendly competition that had always existed between them seemed to be settling down. Until tonight, when it was obvious that John was intent on getting the photographs he wanted before she had a chance to look at them. She hoped this working together, as Kathleen wanted them to, wasn’t going to turn that spark of competition into a flame.

She couldn’t let that happen. It would affect all the others at Heaton House, almost forcing them to choose sides, and she couldn’t do that to them or Mrs. Heaton.

She felt even worse about her attitude in front of Kathleen, Millicent and Luke. She tied her wrap tight around her waist and sat down at her writing desk. She pulled her Bible close and held it to her chest as she whispered, “Dear Lord, please forgive me for acting the way I have today. Please help me not to get so irritated at John—and please help me to control my words and actions when I do. I don’t know what it is about him that gets such a rise out of me, but please help me to laugh things off and not get so upset with him. I do want him to succeed at the Tribune. I want him to become a lead reporter. I just wish he weren’t so...full of himself so often.”

She sighed and shook her head as she continued praying. “I’m sorry, Lord. There I go being judgmental of him. Please forgive me. I don’t want to be that way about anyone. I don’t want to be irritated at him. I don’t think he means to hurt my feelings or insult my work. At least I hope not. Please help me not to take his remarks so seriously, and not to show my temper when I do. Thank you for all my many blessings. Please help me to write these articles in such a way that they can help and, that in all I do, I bring glory to Your name. In Jesus’s name, Amen.”

She took a cleansing breath, pulled her notepad toward her and began looking over the photos Millicent had taken. Ideas on each photo began to bubble up and she wrote notes on each of them. She wanted to get the story to her editor as soon as possible in the coming week. John’s article would be sure to come out first—the Tribune was a daily paper after all. But it was a good thing, because when the Delineator came out on the first of the month, her article would serve to reinforce the need for action on the part of the city to do something about the neglect. Together, their staggered articles could help, and that was what she concentrated on as she mulled over where she wanted to start and what she wanted to get across to her readers. And in such a way that it wouldn’t be considered fluff by John.

* * *

John had worked into the night and was nearly late for church the next morning. He slipped into the pew next to Elizabeth just as the congregation started singing the first hymn and breathed a sigh of relief when she smiled at him and offered to share her hymnal.

She looked lovely, her blond hair piled up under a feathered hat that brought out the green in her hazel eyes. At least she didn’t seem upset with him anymore and for that he thanked the Lord. She actually looked more relaxed than she had since she was summoned to her aunt’s.

He wasn’t sure why it bothered him so much when she was upset, but it did. He wanted to help but usually ended up being part of the problem when he said or did something stupid. He might as well face it. He was awkward around women. Didn’t know what to say half the time. Maybe it was because he hadn’t had a mother’s influence growing up. At least that was what he told himself most of the time. Truth was, most of the time, his instincts where women were involved seemed nonexistent—or at the very least—wrong.

The sermon that morning was one on forgiveness and not judging each other. He prayed that Elizabeth had forgiven him for his selfish action of scooping up the photos he wanted before she had a chance to look at them the night before.

Deep down he wished he wasn’t so quick to put himself first in situations and tried to tell himself that it was only because he’d been on his own too long and was used to looking out for himself. Without anyone to encourage him, to stand up for him—to just be there for him—at least until he came to Heaton House. He’d made real friends here, and yet he’d been let down so many times, he was a bit leery of trusting that those friendships were lifetime ones—no matter how much he wanted them to be.

He stood with the others for the final hymn and closing prayer, getting a whiff of Elizabeth’s perfume as she stood beside him.

As the group filed out into the aisle, Elizabeth smiled at him again. “I thought you weren’t going to make it this morning when I didn’t see you at breakfast.”

“I thought the same thing when I realized I hadn’t set my alarm clock and was late waking up.”

They met up with the others at the bottom of the steps and everyone began the walk back to Heaton House. He and Elizabeth fell into step behind Luke and Kathleen with Mrs. Heaton and her family taking the lead.

“Did you get much done on your article last night?” John asked.

“Actually I did get more done than I thought I would.”

“Good. I’m about finished with mine. I wondered...do you think we might have better luck in talking to some of the landlords of the places Kathleen tells us about if we visited them during the week? Do you think your boss would let you do that?”

She seemed a bit surprised as she looked up at him. Maybe she didn’t want to work with him anymore after his photo grab the night before. “I promise, I’ll let you get first choice of the next batch of pictures.”

She smiled then and the tightness in his chest relaxed.

“I’ll keep you to that promise, John. And I’m sure I can go during the week. I think you’re right. We might have a better chance of getting information from some landlords during the week—at least they should be around. We can try it anyway. What day and time did you have in mind?”

He shrugged. “How about tomorrow just after lunchtime? In fact, I’ll treat you to lunch and we can go from there. Surely we can catch a landlord in the early afternoon.”

“Tomorrow should be fine. Where do you want to meet?”

“I’ll come to your building and we’ll go from there.”

“Okay. I’ll meet you in the foyer at noon.”

That’d actually been easier than he thought it would be after last night. He had a feeling Elizabeth wasn’t thrilled to be working with him, and there were times he felt the same way. But Kathleen expected them to do so and neither of them had much choice in the matter. Might as well make it as pleasant as possible.

They arrived at Heaton House to the smell of roast chicken, one of John’s favorite meals. He loved Sunday dinner at Mrs. Heaton’s. She often had her son, Michael, and his wife, Violet, over, and now with her daughter, Rebecca, and granddaughter, Jenny, added to the mix, John felt he and the other boarders were part of a large, loving family.

Everyone hurried to wash up, take off their hats and in no time at all they’d gathered in the parlor in anticipation of Mrs. Heaton’s announcement that dinner was ready.

Two more leaves and four more chairs had been added to the long table for the company. Michael and Violet sat adjacent to Mrs. Heaton on her left and Rebecca and her daughter sat across from them, leaving it easy for the boarders to figure out where their regular seats were. John pulled out Elizabeth’s chair for her and slid it in before taking his own beside her.

“Will you say the blessing, Michael?” Mrs. Heaton asked.

“I’ll be glad to, Mother. Please bow with me, everyone.”

John bowed his head as his friend began.

“Dear Lord, we thank You for this day and for the people gathered around this table. We ask You to guide us to live each day in the way You would have us do and we ask You to bless this food. It’s in Jesus’s name we pray, Amen.”

Several “Amens” were added from around the table before the clink of silverware against china competed with mingled conversation. John smiled and settled back to enjoy his favorite meal.

As Maida and Gretchen, twin sisters who worked for Mrs. Heaton, began serving, John’s mouth began to water. Besides the roast chicken, there were mashed potatoes and two kinds of gravies, creamed onions and peas, carrots and crusty rolls—all favorites of his. It seemed everything served at Heaton House had become a favorite of his.

Elizabeth nudged his arm and nodded toward Jenny, who was thoroughly enjoying her mashed potatoes. “Looks like everyone has a favorite tonight.”

John grinned. The little girl had added another level of family feel to Heaton House. “She is enjoying herself, isn’t she?”

He took the basket of rolls she handed to him and placed one on his plate before handing it off to Matthew Sterling, one of the newer boarders. He was a builder helping to put up one of the tallest buildings in the city.

“Thank you, John.”

“You’re welcome. How is work going on your building?”

He grinned. “It’s getting taller every day.”

“I don’t know how you work up that high,” Millicent said from across the table. “The very thought makes me queasy.”

“Oh, I love it. The view is worth it. You can see the whole city from up there.”

“I’d love to take photos from up there,” Millicent said.

Matthew shook his head. “It’s much too dangerous for women up there.”

“Maybe you can go up in the elevator once it’s finished, Millicent,” Elizabeth said.

“I don’t think it would be quite the same as getting shots with it in this stage,” Millicent said.

“It wouldn’t,” Matt said.

John wondered if Matt was trying to irritate Millicent on purpose and then realized he often tried to get a rise out of Elizabeth in the same way. He hoped he didn’t sound quite as sharp as Matt did. What was it about a woman that made a man want to ruffle her feathers? Maybe Matt didn’t understand women any better than John did. Maybe it wasn’t just him after all.

For now, he set about enjoying his meal and the conversations going on around him. Elizabeth and Kathleen were talking about wedding plans and he could hear Ben asking Rebecca if she was looking forward to living at Heaton House.

“I am. It will be good to get settled, although we’ve loved staying with Michael and Violet. However...” She broke off and looked at her brother.

As if planned, Michael stood and clinked his goblet with a spoon.

The table quickly quieted. “If I can have your attention, I have an announcement to make.”

“Oh? What is it, son?” Mrs. Heaton asked.

Michael looked down at his wife and grasped the hand she held out to him. “Violet and I have an extra surprise for you. We’re going to start a family. Our baby is due around Christmas.”

Mrs. Heaton was on her feet in a flash as everyone clapped and congratulated Michael and Violet. With tears in her eyes, she hugged her daughter-in-law and son. “Oh, Michael, Violet, that is wonderful news.”

“I almost gave it away, didn’t I? I was about to say you’d have a full house soon,” Rebecca said, a huge smile on her face. She leaned over and gave Jenny a hug. “You’ll have a little cousin to play with before long, Jenny!”

Jenny clapped her hands as if she knew what her mother was talking about and Mrs. Heaton wiped her eyes and headed back to her seat to hug Rebecca and Jenny. “How blessed I am to be getting two grandchildren in less than a year. I don’t know what to say except thank You, Lord.”

The joy on her face had John clearing his throat as several of the women wiped their eyes. John wished he could excuse himself. All of this emotion was something he wasn’t comfortable with. He was happy for everyone, especially Mrs. Heaton. She deserved all the happiness she was experiencing now. But the talk of weddings and starting families brought thoughts to mind he wanted to forget.

* * *

The next morning, Elizabeth watched her boss look over the photos she’d brought in and waited for his reaction to the ideas she’d told him about.

Mr. Dwyer laid the last photo on top of the others and looked over at her with a smile. “I’m very impressed with all this, Elizabeth. I like your ideas about doing a series of articles, too. In fact, I wish we were a daily publication so that we could get more information out about the condition of the tenements.”

“I’m so glad you want a series. What about the photographs? Do you want to use any of them?”

“I do. I’d like to run a two-page spread, at least for this one. And I’d like you to continue to stress the need for the child-care homes in the city as you did in the first article we published about the tenements.”

“I’ll be more than happy to. I’ll get the first draft to you this week.”

Mr. Dwyer smiled. “I look forward to reading it.”

For the rest of the morning, Elizabeth worked on the article and tried hard not to watch the clock. Excited as she was about her boss’s response to her ideas, it was hard not to think about meeting John for lunch. She was ready and waiting for him in the foyer of the Delineator’s office building ten minutes early.

She looked at the clock just over the receptionist’s desk. It was 11:55 a.m. now. John should be showing up anytime. Elizabeth still wasn’t sure what to make of his suggestion that they go back to the tenements today. She was pretty sure he wasn’t any happier about working with her than she was about working with him. At first. But now she couldn’t deny that she was looking forward to spending more time with him, although she wasn’t sure why. She’d like to do some more investigating, too, and at least this way, they would both have the same information to work with.

At exactly noon, John breezed through the doors and grinned when he spotted her.

“I knew you’d be ready. Out of all the women at Heaton House, you are the most punctual one.”

“And you’re right on time, too. I truly don’t like to keep people waiting, but it was also taught to me that it was bad manners to do so from an early age.”

“Well, I’m glad. Are you ready for lunch? I’m starving.”

He crooked his arm for her to take and Elizabeth never thought much about it. He and the other men from Heaton House always did the same thing when escorting any of the women. It didn’t mean anything. Only suddenly it had her remembering how it’d felt that day she’d barreled into him and he’d reached out to steady her in such a protective way. She gave a little shake to her head to clear her mind of the thought. “Where are we going?”

“There’s a little café not far from here. I’ve eaten at it several times. It’s got a good mix of men and women who come in to eat and I thought you might be more comfortable there than some of the places I usually eat lunch at. They mostly cater to reporters.”

And obviously he didn’t consider her a real reporter. Her stuff was fluff, after all. She felt her face begin to flush. “I see. And you don’t think—”

“Elizabeth, don’t even finish the thought.” John stopped them in their tracks and turned her to look at him. “I didn’t think either of us would want other reporters to overhear what we’re working on. My boss is very enthused about doing a series of articles and, obviously, since you were able to meet me, your editor likes the idea, too.”

Elizabeth felt a flush of embarrassment flood her cheeks. Why was it she always assumed he thought the worst of her? “You’re right. Of course I don’t want any other reporters overhearing us. And yes, Mr. Dwyer likes the idea very much. He even wishes we were a daily publication.”

“That’s wonderful. Did you bring your camera with you, by any chance?” John asked. “Just in case we need more pictures?”

“I did bring it. Mr. Dwyer wants to use the photos I brought in, so that will be some income for Millicent. He was quite complimentary about her talent. I thought you might have asked her to come along today, as well.”

“She took so many good ones that I didn’t think about needing any more right away. But I’m glad you brought your camera, just in case we run into anything we feel we need a photo of.”

Elizabeth was glad she’d brought it, too. But she did feel bad that she hadn’t made a point to ask if they should bring Millicent along, too—or that she hadn’t mentioned it to the other girl on her own.

They took off again and walked the few blocks to the café John had in mind. It was busy this time of day, but they managed to find a table near the back of the room. A waitress hurried up to them, set water on their table and handed them a handwritten menu.

“The menu changes every day, but I’ve had most of what’s here. The roast beef sandwiches are very good, if a little messy. And the turtle soup is great.”

Elizabeth chose the soup and John decided on the sandwich. The waitress took their order and while they waited, John handed her a new address Kathleen had given him that morning.

“Maybe we can go to this one and the one we didn’t get to the other day and see what we can find out. Kathleen says they are both in bad shape and the landlords are rarely there. Hopefully we can get some answers from the tenants without them being afraid of talking to us.”

“I hope so. We need one or two who are willing to give us the truth about the conditions they’re living in. I know it’s not always easy for people to reveal what they know when they’re afraid of the consequences if they are found out. But I don’t know how we are going to be able to help any of them, if no one tells us who owns the buildings.”

“We’ll discover who does. It will just take longer if we don’t get the information from someone on the premises. I’ll have to go to city hall and do some research. It’s long and tedious work and sometimes people have been paid to hide records. But we’ll unearth the owner.” John seemed determined and excited all at once.

“I hope so.” She also hoped he’d share his findings with her. “I’ve never had to do that kind of research.”

“And you don’t have to now. I’ll do it and let you know what I learn.”

“Why, thank you, John.”

“You sound surprised.”

“Do I? I didn’t mean to.” Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief that she was able to tell the truth, even though she did wonder if he really would share his findings with her. Then she felt bad for doubting that he would. He might not like working with her, and it might be his career he was thinking about, but he usually kept his word and she truly had no reason to doubt that he wouldn’t do so now. “I imagine it’s a lot of work.”

John shrugged. “It can be. But sometimes the only way to find the truth is to dig for it and that’s just part of a reporter’s job.”

Elizabeth’s heart did a little twist as she once again regretted hiding her true identity from John and the other boarders. Was it time to tell them?

The waitress brought their order just then and Elizabeth was glad for the interruption. She wasn’t ready to make that decision just yet. The thought of disappointing those she cared about was something she didn’t want to face, but she knew the time was coming that she’d have to—just not today.

Chapter Five

John wondered at the look in Elizabeth’s eyes just as the waitress brought their meal. Not for the first time, he had a feeling there was more to the woman sitting across from him than what he knew.

There was something about her that set her apart from everyone else, even as she was the same—working for a living and making a life for herself in this huge city.

But what about the aunt she visited so often? And what kind of life did Elizabeth live when she visited her? All he really knew about Elizabeth was what he saw at Heaton House. He did know that she was from Boston, but many young women from other places came to the city to work. That wasn’t unusual.

“This turtle soup is delicious, John. Thanks for recommending it.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

She nodded. “It was a favorite of my mother’s, too. I remember having it quite often before she passed away. Funny how some memories stay with you, isn’t it?”

“It is. I don’t have many of my mother, though. I was only five when she passed. I don’t remember special meals or anything like that. Just the warm feeling I have thinking about her reading to me, listening to my prayers and tucking me into bed at night.”

“Oh, John, I’m so sorry you lost her so young.”

“Thank you. There is a certain scent I connect with her, too”

“Oh? Some kind of toilet water? Lavender, maybe?”

He shook his head. “No. It’s more like a combination of lilac and...now, don’t laugh, but baking bread. Either one triggers what few memories I have.”

The look in Elizabeth’s eyes softened and she smiled, but she didn’t laugh. “I love the scent of lilacs. We had several bushes around our house in Boston and Mother always filled vases with them in the spring.”

“How old were you when your mother passed away?” John asked, and then regretted doing so as the expression in Elizabeth’s eyes saddened.

“I was twelve.”

“That had to be tough.” He reached across the table and touched her hand. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up sad memories. I shouldn’t have asked.” As usual his timing was awful.

She pulled her hand back and shook her head. “No need to be sorry. I love remembering her. I just wished I had her longer, but you... I wish you’d had your mother longer, too.”

It saddened John that they’d both suffered similar losses. At the same time, knowing that they’d both experienced the same kind of pain seemed to have created a bond of sorts—at least for him. Was it possible Elizabeth felt the same way?

* * *

By the time Elizabeth and John started back to Heaton House, they were both frustrated. Even on a Monday afternoon, the managers of both buildings they checked into were nowhere to be found and the tenants they were able to speak to didn’t know who owned the buildings.

The conditions in both were every bit as bad—if not worse—than the building they saw on Saturday. Rickety staircases, no air ventilation, filth built up in the corners—one could see which tenants tried to keep their places clean—but there seemed to be no care of the area the landlord would be responsible for. Elizabeth took photos of it all, but was sure none of them would be the same quality of Millicent’s.

When she mentioned as much to John, he shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. I just realized we need to have proof of the condition of the buildings when we find the owners. If they don’t do anything once they are notified, the city will need proof to go into action.”

“That’s true.”

“I’m sure whatever you have will be fine. We just need to keep good records as to which buildings the photos come from, no matter who takes them.”

“If you’re going to do the research on who owns the buildings, I can at least keep a record of where the photos were taken.”

John surprised her by agreeing readily. “Sounds like a good idea to me.”

“I’m still having trouble with what some of the tenants told us about hardly ever seeing the managers except during the week the rent is due.”

“I know. Even though they have apartments in the building, I wonder if they live somewhere else.”

“Which means there is no one in charge, if a fire breaks out or something else awful happens,” Elizabeth said, her heart heavy just thinking of the squalor the children lived in—playing in trash-filled streets, dark stairwells and hallways.

Her long sigh must have alerted John to her feelings as they got off the trolley and began walking down the clean streets of Gramercy Park. “I know. It’s hard to accept that people have to live in those conditions.”

“It’s awful. It breaks my heart to see children trying to make the best of things.”

“I don’t think they know any better.”

“To be born there and never leave— Oh, John! Hopefully our articles will do some good.”

“I think they will.”

“Oh, I do hope so.” Seeing the surroundings so many lived in made her feel guilty for being born into a well-to-do family. She’d never had to worry about a roof over her head, much less the condition of it. Never had to worry about dust building up anywhere for that matter. And she’d never had to wonder about having enough to eat.

As they entered Heaton House and were greeted by the tantalizing aromas wafting in from the kitchen, tears sprung to Elizabeth’s eyes remembering several children they’d seen who were much too thin. Dear Lord, please help our articles serve to help those in the tenements. Please help us to find the owners of these buildings who have let them fall into such disrepair.

“Are you all right, Elizabeth?” John asked, as she stood in the foyer, her head bowed.

“I’m fine. Just thinking how blessed we are to have Heaton House to come to at the end of a day.”

He nodded. “Yes, we are. I—”

“Elizabeth and John, you’re back. Did you find out anything about who owns the buildings?” Kathleen hurried down the stairs, eager expectation on her face.

“No,” John said. “It seems that the landlords of the buildings of disrepair don’t even want to live in them. The tenants see little to nothing of them unless they are collecting the rent. But don’t worry. We’re going to get to the bottom of it. We’re going to find out who owns these buildings.”

“I’m so glad I asked you two to help with this. I was getting more discouraged by the day. But I know that between all of us, we’ll make a difference.”

“I wish I had as much confidence in us as you do, Kathleen,” Elizabeth replied.

Her friend put an arm around her shoulders. “I know it is difficult to see the bad conditions. But my family and I are proof that one doesn’t have to live in the tenements forever. And we’re going to do all we can to help those who can’t leave right now have better living conditions while we help to show them they can get out, too.”

“My admiration for you and Colleen grows each day, Kathleen,” Elizabeth said. “And I’ll do all I can to help.”

“So will I,” John added. “You’ve given us a challenge I don’t think either of us will back down from.”

“I’m glad to hear it. I know you’ll both give it your best. Now let’s go freshen up for that delicious dinner Mrs. Heaton has in store for us. And maybe we can get some wedding planning in this evening, if you have time, Elizabeth? I’d like to go over to Colleen’s and get her input, too, if you don’t mind.”

“I’ll make time, Kathleen. And I don’t mind going to Colleen’s at all. I haven’t seen her or those sweet nephews of yours in a while.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do.”

“And I’ll leave all that planning to you two ladies. See you both at dinner.” John grinned and took the staircase down to the ground floor while the two women headed up to their rooms.

Helping Kathleen plan her wedding sounded wonderfully refreshing after spending the afternoon in the tenements. And Elizabeth could think of no one she’d rather help right now than Kathleen.

* * *

As it was still light after dinner, Elizabeth and Kathleen took the short walk to Colleen’s by themselves, with Luke promising to come get them if they weren’t home before dark.

“Luke didn’t seem too upset by not having your company tonight,” Elizabeth said.

Kathleen chuckled. “Well, he has a new deadline and he wants to get his book edits finished before the wedding, so it should be a little easier to have a planning session now and again.”

Luke made his living as a dime novelist, but because of Kathleen and what her family had endured in the tenements, he’d written a novel that he wanted to bring light to the problems there and at the same time give hope that others could make it out as Kathleen and her family had. It was to be on the shelves before Thanksgiving.

“I still can’t believe we’re getting married,” Kathleen said. “I never thought I could be this much in love or this happy.”

Elizabeth was truly happy for her friend, but she was surprised by the sudden surge of longing to experience that kind of happiness for herself—even though she had no intention of letting herself fall in love again. She’d already experienced betrayal in her lifetime and she didn’t intend to let it happen again.

“You deserve all the happiness you can get, Kathleen. You and Luke are perfect for each other.” And they were. Neither of them could ever be accused of marrying for any reason other than love. But for Elizabeth—there was no real way to know if that was the case. It wasn’t worth the heartache that came with finding out a man’s interest was only in her wealth and not her.

“Thank you, Elizabeth. You deserve the same, you know. And it will happen one day. I’m sure of it.”

Elizabeth only shrugged. She couldn’t go into how she felt, as Kathleen didn’t know who she really was—something that weighed on her mind more and more each day. This woman was her best friend. How would she feel if Elizabeth told her the truth? Would she feel betrayed?

“How is it working with John? I hope I haven’t asked too much of you.... I know he can irritate you at times.”

“So far it’s okay. And it is for a good cause so we’ll make it work.”

“Thank you for agreeing to it, Elizabeth. I truly appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome. Now, let’s talk about your wedding. Have you decided on the wedding dress you want?”

“I have narrowed it down to three. I wanted Colleen’s opinion on them also. Violet has offered to make it for me, isn’t that nice of her?”

“It is. She is a wonderful seamstress and I’m sure Butterick is going to hate to lose her. Has she given notice, do you know?”

“I think so. But she’s going to work a few more months until they can find someone to replace her.”

“Mrs. Heaton is thrilled. To have her daughter back with a grandchild she didn’t know she had, and a new one on the way with Violet and Michael. I think I’m happiest of all for her.”

“So am I.” Kathleen sighed. “I don’t know what Colleen and I would have done without her help and yours and the others at Heaton House.”

“And it continues with you and Colleen. How is she liking being in charge of a Ladies’ Aide day-care home?”

“She loves it. The boys love it. It’s been a blessing to be sure.”

“And is Officer O’Malley still calling on her?”

“He is. After all she’s been through it’s hard for me to believe she might trust another man with her heart, but it appears she might be ready to.”

Elizabeth wondered how she could, too—Colleen’s husband had tried to kill her after all! But she hoped she would find happiness. “He seems to be a good man.”

“He does. And Luke says he’ll treat her with care and won’t make a move until she’s ready, but it won’t surprise me if he asks her to marry him soon.”

All this talk of marriage and love had Elizabeth wondering if she was going to make it through all the wedding planning. It left her with conflicting feelings—happy for her friends but longing for something she’d never have. She’d have to get over it. She’d promised Kathleen she’d help her in any way and she intended to keep that promise, no matter how much it brought long-buried dreams to life again. She sent up a silent prayer asking the Lord to give her peace about her future and she prayed to be able to concentrate on helping her friend.

But she was more than a little relieved to arrive at Colleen’s. She’d let her boys stay up a little later so they could see their aunt Kathleen and their happiness at the change in their lives was contagious. So much so, that after they were put to bed and the women began their wedding planning, she found she could concentrate on Kathleen’s happiness and trust hers to the Lord.

* * *

When Luke came to escort them home, Elizabeth was more than a little surprised to find John with him. She figured he was hard at work on a new article.

“Two escorts? What a pleasant surprise,” Kathleen said, taking her fiancé’s arm.

“It’s such a nice night, we thought you two might like to stop at the Bailey’s Soda Shop before going home,” Luke said. “Sound good to you?”

“It does,” Kathleen said.

“What about you, Elizabeth? Want to have a soda?” John asked. “You deserve one after this afternoon.”

“Yes, I think I would.”

“Good.” He offered his arm to Elizabeth and she hesitated only a moment before taking it. She never used to think about taking his arm and wasn’t sure why she did now, or why her pulse began to race when she did.

Luke and Kathleen had their heads close together, talking quietly as they took the lead.

“Wonder what those two are whispering about?” John leaned his head down and whispered in her ear, causing her pulse to speed up.

What was going on with her? This was John—a friend at most—and sometimes not. This was the man who thought her writing wasn’t as important as his own. Who irritated her as often as he made her laugh. “Any number of things, I would imagine,” she whispered back. “Did you get your article written?”

“Not all of it. I think we’re going to do one a week to start with. Boss wants to see how it goes over. And since we have no names to investigate yet, that might be the best idea.”

“I meant to give my film to Millicent and ask her to develop it for us. I’ll ask her when we get back to Heaton House, or first thing in the morning.”

“That will be fine. I’m sure she’ll get to it as soon as she can.”

“I just hope there’s something worth developing in them.” Elizabeth wasn’t even going to pretend she was as good a photographer as Millicent.

“There will be.”

She didn’t know why he was being so...nice. Maybe, like her, he realized working together would be easier if they weren’t always in competition with each other.

“What are you two whispering about back there?” Luke asked.

“Oh, this and that.” John chuckled. “We just didn’t want to disturb you two lovebirds’ conversation.”

Luke seemed to pull Kathleen a little closer and smiled down at her. “Nice of you to be so considerate.”

They’d reached the crowded soda shop and were glad to find one empty table. “If it’s this busy so early in the season, think what it’s going to be like midsummer,” John said, pulling out a chair for Elizabeth.

The men asked what they wanted and went to the counter to order.

“It was nice of the guys to think of this, wasn’t it?” Kathleen asked, watching Luke and John make their way to the counter.

“It was.”

“I’m glad John came along,” Kathleen said.

Elizabeth wondered whose idea it was for him to come along. Not that it really mattered, but she thought it must have been Luke’s.

“He doesn’t always have a chance to do fun things—or hasn’t up until lately. He’s not covering the society doings as much as he used to, is he?” Kathleen asked.

“I don’t think so.” Which would be a good thing. Elizabeth always worried when she was with her aunt at one or another charity function that she might run into him and he’d find out who she really was. Although, lately she almost wished he would. It would force her to get things out in the open. If she weren’t so afraid of losing the friendship of those closest to her, she would have made a point to try to run into him.

“Hopefully these articles he’s doing about the tenements will help get him a better position at the Tribune.”

“So do I.” And she really did. She just didn’t always like that it seemed to be all he thought about.

The men came back to the table just then and John set her chocolate soda down in front of her before taking his seat next to her. He’d bought the same for himself. Luke had bought a vanilla one for himself and a chocolate one for Kathleen.

As they all took the first sip from their straws, a collective sigh was heard around the table.

“Hmm, this is wonderful,” Elizabeth said. “Thank you, Luke, for thinking of this.”

“Actually it was John’s idea,” Luke said.

John shrugged. “I noticed it the other day and I’ve been thinking about it ever since. I’m glad you ladies agreed to come with us.”

Lately the man never failed to surprise her. One minute he was focused only on work and the next he did something like this that made her wonder once again if there was more to him than she knew. And why was he just now showing that side?

* * *

John couldn’t help but see the surprise on Elizabeth’s face when she found out this outing was his idea. Why did she seem so surprised? Probably because he rarely found time to enjoy himself. Since coming to New York City, he’d been so busy trying to get to the same status he’d enjoyed in Natchez that he’d had little time to do anything else.

Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.