A Mother In The Making. Gabrielle Meyer

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      She clasped her hands in front of her gown and sat in the chair he indicated. Her dress was covered in lace and looked as out of place in his home as the lady who wore it. Anna had only dressed in such a fashion on rare occasions when they went out in the evening. Why Miss Maren dressed this way was a riddle to John—but he wished she would stop. It was far too difficult not to notice how attractive she was when she looked like this.

      “Have I done something wrong?” she asked, her eyes beseeching him.

      He took a seat at his desk. “Maybe the question I should ask is if you’ve done something right today—” The moment the words left his mouth, he wished he could retrieve them. “I apologize. That was unnecessary.”

      Miss Maren’s innocent expression fell and her face was filled with pain. “What have I done?”

      He hated to see the pain he had caused her—but he needed to address his concerns. “I have three grievances I’d like to discuss with you.”

      “Three?”

      “I had an interesting phone call from Mrs. Kingston this afternoon.”

      Miss Maren’s mouth opened in surprise. “Did she really call you? I didn’t believe Charlie and Lilly when they told me she would.” She put her hand up to cover a giggle. “Doesn’t the woman have anything better to do?”

      John wasn’t laughing.

      She sat up straighter and her giggle disappeared.

      “She said my children were running about the streets, acting like hooligans.”

      Miss Maren’s brow jumped. “Hooligans? They weren’t causing any problems. They were just catching snowflakes on their tongues.”

      “Mrs. Kingston said when she approached you to deal with them, you mocked her.”

      “Mocked—?” She looked stunned.

      John had never met a woman with such vivid expressions.

      “I didn’t mock her, I simply told her the children were having fun catching snowflakes and she should try it sometime.”

      John wanted to groan. “Mrs. Kingston is a very important member of Little Falls society, and when she’s displeased with you, everyone is displeased with you. If she had a mind to, she could easily destroy my medical practice with a few flicks of her tongue.”

      “That’s ridiculous.”

      It was, but John wasn’t in a place to change the intricate societal web Mrs. Kingston had spun. “If you are still planning to have the tea party with Lilly on Sunday, I’d advise you to make a call on Mrs. Kingston in the morning and apologize for any misunderstanding.”

      “Me?” She pointed at her chest. “Apologize?”

      “I will not have Lilly’s heart broken when no one comes to your party.”

      “Would people really snub me because of Mrs. Kingston’s opinion?”

      John leaned forward, wanting to make himself clear. “Yes. Don’t you have women like her in Chicago?”

      Miss Maren’s heavy expression filled with more pain. “Of course we do.” She sat for a moment, as if contemplating her options.

      “There’s nothing to think about,” John said. “Either you apologize to Mrs. Kingston, or your plans for the party will be ruined—and Lilly will be devastated. I cannot allow that to happen.”

      “I would never want to hurt Lilly.”

      “Then you’ll go?”

      She nodded, her face sincere. “Right after I drop Lilly and Charlie off at school.”

      “Good—now for the other items we need to discuss.”

      She sighed. “What other transgressions have I committed that I’m unaware of?”

      “Mrs. Kingston—”

      She unclasped her hands. “Mrs. Kingston, again—?”

      “Mrs. Kingston,” he said slowly, “told me you had come out of the mercantile.”

      “And?”

      “What were you doing in the mercantile? Or downtown for that matter?”

      She closed her mouth and didn’t answer, studying him as if to gauge his response to an unspoken confession.

      “Miss Maren?”

      “Where’s the harm in going downtown?”

      “That’s not an answer.”

      “But it’s a legitimate question. Isn’t it my job to exercise the children and expose them to things outside this home?”

      John stood suddenly. “That’s the problem.” He walked over to the mantel and looked at the portrait he had set there the previous night. Anna’s picture reminded him of the dangers just outside their door. “I don’t want them exposed to anything. We still have a disease running rampant through the state. I had considered bringing a tutor into the home to teach the children, and keep them out of school, but they’ve already been through so much that I didn’t want to upend their entire lives.” He turned and looked at her. “I don’t want them unnecessarily exposed to the general public.”

      “But they’re taking their cinnamon oil—and aren’t they exposed at church and—”

      “Those places are necessary. The mercantile is not.” He walked closer to her and sat on the edge of his desk, his hands on either side of him. “Now tell me why you were there.”

      She hesitated.

      “Miss Maren, I am losing patience.”

      “I was inviting ladies to the tea party.”

      He frowned. What was her fascination with this tea party? Was she really that desperate for friends, even though she would be leaving soon? “For now, I do not want my children taken out in public, unless absolutely necessary.”

      She nodded and folded her hands in her lap once again. “And the third grievance?”

      “Isn’t it obvious?”

      She shrugged in her nonchalant sort of way. “Apparently not.”

      “My children are not allowed to ride their roller skates inside the house.” She opened her mouth—but he put up his hand. “Never.”

      She let out a long sigh. “Very well. Is that all?”

      “For now.”

      He had a sneaky suspicion this would not be the end of his grievances toward her.

      * * *

      A soft floor lamp glowed in СКАЧАТЬ