A Matter of Marriage (14 page)

Alex,
eyeing their surroundings and anyone that looked suspicious, put his arm around
Julia’s waist.

She
instantly halted on a patch of the freshly cut lawn. Her eyes were narrowed,
but not from the sunlight shining into their blue depths. “What are you doing?”

“Showing
whoever might be watching that you are under my protection.” It was one of his
reasons anyway.

“Just
walking with me in public will accomplish that, so you can take your arm away.”

“Is
it so unpleasant to have my arm around you?” He stroked her side with his
fingers, feeling her shirtwaist and corset and wishing neither was there.

Her
chest rose suddenly, and she released a shaky breath. “Let’s go. I have work to
do.” She started walking again, faster this time, but she didn’t push his hand
away.

Alex
kept his expression bland, but inside, he was smiling. Perhaps tonight would be
the night.

Outside
the laundry’s door, she said, “This shouldn’t take long. I just need to
converse with the head laundress and find out if there are any problems.”

“I’m
in no hurry, and I’ll be coming inside with you.”

“I
seriously doubt I’ll be in any danger here, but, since I am ‘under your
protection,’ I will accept your presence.”

“Madam,
you have no choice but to accept it.” He pushed open the door for her and
followed her rigid back and stiff neck inside.

Five
women, their sleeves rolled to their elbows and their brows damp from the
steamy heat, worked amongst mounds of table linens, towels, and sheets.

“Hello,
Mrs. Benedict,” Julia said over the noise of machines filled with water, suds,
and soiled laundry.

The
woman whom Alex assumed was the head laundress turned, her hand lifting frizzy
brown hair off her moist forehead. A wide grin broke out across her plump face.
“Hello to you, Mrs. MacLean. That’s a right-sounding name, if I do say so
myself. And this must be Mr. MacLean. Congratulations, sir. Congratulations to
the both of you.” She did not seem at all put off by his scar. Perhaps she’d
been warned about it.

“Thank
you,” Julia said, her smile appearing brittle to him.

“Good
to meet you.” He shook Mrs. Benedict’s hand. “Today I’m getting an insider’s
tour of my new home.”

“It’s
a grand place to call home.” The older woman waved her chapped hands. “I’m
sorry not to have seen your ceremony last night, but I didn’t feel it’d be
right for a group of laundresses to show ourselves inside the hotel. All us
girls heard it was real nice though. Especially the end part, if it’s not too
forward of me to say.” She glanced meaningfully between him and Julia.

Alex
chuckled. “Mrs. Benedict, I’ll be honest with you. That was my favorite part of
the ceremony. Mrs. MacLean’s too, though you won’t catch her saying so.”

The
laundress laughed outright, and giggles emanated from the women folding the
linens. One woman, her arms as thick as small tree trunks, heaved a clean load
of dry sheets out of a machine and into a large basket.

Julia
fanned her face. “Mrs. Benedict, you would have been welcome at the ceremony.
All the girls would have been. Please forgive me for not extending a personal
invitation.”

“Ah,
you’re most kind, Mrs. MacLean.” She waved a hand in dismissal. “But you’re not
here to discuss your wedding. I have good news for you today. Everything’s in
order. No broken-down machines. Just a mountain of laundry to get done.”

“So
I see, but I know you’ll manage, as always. We’ll let you get back to work.
Good day.” She strode to the door, opening it herself before Alex could open it
for her.

He
waved back at the ladies and followed her out to the sound of giggles and
chatter behind him. “Nice group of women,” he said, taking up his position
beside her, though he didn’t touch her this time. “Even though you’re in
charge, they’re comfortable with you. I don’t think we have to worry about any
danger coming from that quarter.”

“I
feel terrible that they excluded themselves from attending the wedding.”

“You’re
a good person, Julia Fairbanks MacLean. Elizabeth would have been appalled to
have a group of laundresses anywhere near her wedding.”

“These
women are hard workers and deserve respect. I just wish our wedding kiss wasn’t
such a big topic of conversation. Hearing about it first from Theo and now from
them is terribly embarrassing.”

“Just
grin and bear it,” Alex said, remembering his youth. “That’s what my father
used to say.”

“Easier
said than done,” she responded, “but good advice. I think I would have liked
your father.”

“He
would’ve like you. My mother, too.”

They
walked in silence for a minute, Alex wishing his parents had gotten a chance to
meet her. Unlike Elizabeth and her parents, Julia would have welcomed his
family.

“Where
are we headed now?” he asked.

“The
north side of the park. That’s where the groundskeepers’ shed is.”

“Lead
on.”

They
strolled past the doctor’s cottage to the Paseo del Mar, a concrete walkway
overlooking the long, crescent-shaped stretch of beach. A light breeze rippled
the ocean and stirred Julia’s hair. The tide was out, and Alex breathed in the
pungent, salty smell, enjoying it as several women with parasols shading their
faces sauntered past in the other direction. Blue sky touched the horizon, and
a lone steamship puffed into the channel to San Diego Harbor. Farther out to
sea, a two-masted topsail schooner cruised southward. Square sails and
triangular sails reminded him of Baltimore and its famed clipper ships of an
earlier decade.

“Your
father chose the perfect setting for his hotel,” Alex said, noticing that the
westerly breeze had loosened a lock of Julia’s hair from its pins. Before he
could think about it, he tucked the flowing strands behind her ear.

She
froze for an instant, then darted a look at him as she kept walking. “You are
taking liberties, Mr. MacLean.”

“If
you don’t like my touch, all you have to do is say so and I’ll stop. I expect
you to be honest with me, though.”

She
didn’t answer immediately. “I suppose, if I’m honest about it, I don’t mind it
too much. I’m just not accustomed to being touched like that. And certainly not
in public.”

“Then
you might as well get used to it. I’m an affectionate man.”

She
licked her lips and stared straight ahead. “What were we discussing? Oh, yes,
the hotel’s setting. There wasn’t much here when we started building. Just sand
and scrub, rabbits and birds. Bringing in all the materials was a logistical
chore unto itself.”

“I
can imagine.” He smiled, looking forward to touching her with more affection. “I’ve
worked on similarly difficult projects.”

“Hotels?”

“One.
Mostly I designed city buildings suitable for offices. I did, however, try to
give them some aesthetic flair. My last project was a mansion on the Chesapeake Bay. The owner had no artistic ability whatsoever, but he admired and
appreciated art, and he allowed me a lot of creative freedom, which I enjoyed.”
Alex had never gotten to finish that one, though.

“Do
you think you might design again?” she asked.

“I
… don’t know.” He looked out at the sea, his steps paced to hers. Waves curled
in toward shore, and a formation of seven pelicans skimmed the foamy tops. “I
hope so.”

She
waved him to the right, into the park. Low bushes circled by colorful flowers
marked the locations of wrought-iron benches. Pepper trees were scattered here
and there, and a grove of pines filled the park’s center. A bushy-tailed
squirrel scratched and scampered its way up a nearby trunk.

“San Diego is a growing city,” she said, “as you may have noticed. There will be a lot of
opportunities for a talented architect.”

“‘Talented?’
You’ve never seen my work.”

A
sea gull cried out above them before wheeling away toward the sea. “You won an
award, didn’t you?”

“Three,
in fact. The other two after Elizabeth and I married.”

“Then
you must be talented.” She said it matter-of-factly, as if there were no
question. Alex felt as if his heart were expanding. Julia had faith in him as
an architect—a talented architect—even when he no longer had faith in himself.

As
they entered the deserted pine grove, he took her hand and stopped her,
stepping in front of her. “Thank you,” he whispered, “for believing in me.” He
leaned down and kissed her gently, sweeping his lips over hers.

He
both heard and felt her sudden intake of breath. When he looked into her eyes,
he saw her indecision. Alex urged her toward the decision he wanted by kissing
her more soundly, tracing the tip of his tongue over her lips until they parted.

“We
… shouldn’t,” she whispered back, even as her arms came around his waist and
her mouth opened wider, allowing him in.

He
wrapped her in his arms and pulled her flush against him, wanting to feel all
of her, wishing they were in a far-off forest where he could lay her on a soft
bed of moss and make love to her with utter abandon.

He
deepened the kiss, and he heard her moan softly into his mouth. But he also
heard something else, an insistent yapping noise that was rapidly growing
louder. Also growing louder was a woman’s voice calling out, “Muffie! Where are
you, baby? Come to Mother.”

Alex
lifted his head. “Damn.”

Julia
peered up at him, looking dazed and bewildered. “What’s wrong?”

“We
have a visitor.” He aimed his chin at their tiny interloper. Muffie’s belly
scraped the lush grass as she trotted over to them. Big brown eyes stared up at
them. “Any second now Mrs. Hensley will discover us, too.”

“Oh,
my goodness.” Julia quickly stepped back, smoothed her shirtwaist and skirt,
and patted her hair. “I knew this was a mistake, but you are a hard man to
resist. Do I look all right?”

“You
look beautiful.” Not nearly kissed enough, though, he silently lamented. “And
it wasn’t a mistake.”

Alberta
Hensley emerged from around a tree, her chest and breath heaving. “There you
are, you bad dog! Oh, Mr. and Mrs. MacLean, I didn’t expect to see you. I did
wonder why Muffie veered off the walkway during our stroll. She has obviously
taken a liking to you.”

Alex
turned slightly so that his scar would be what she saw when she looked at him. Maybe
then she’d keep her eyes on Julia instead.

“She’s
a sweet dog,” Julia said, perfectly composed. She bent down and picked Muffie up.

The
Yorkshire terrier gave a light-hearted yip.

Mrs.
Hensley, her lilac water scent overpowering the pines, withdrew an embroidered
hanky from her pocket and patted the sweating folds of her neck with it. “She’s
as sweet as can be, but she is loving your spacious hotel grounds a little too
much. I simply can’t keep chasing after her like this.”

“Do
you have a leash?” Julia asked.

“I
do, back in my room. I must get into the habit of using it.” Mrs. Hensley
relieved her of the dog. “Before we go, I must say how much I enjoyed your
wedding ceremony last evening. It was very special. I’d never attended an
outdoor ceremony before.”

“I’m
glad you were able to join us,” Julia said, the perfect hostess.

“Well,
you two make a lovely couple.” She glanced up at Alex and pursed her lips. “I
still can’t get over how much you remind me of someone back home. I just wish I
could recall who.”

Alex
shrugged to keep himself from grimacing. Or running.

“Where
is it you’re from, Mrs. Hensley?” Julia asked, glancing between them.

“Baltimore. Wonderful city. So much culture and society.”

“I’ve
never been there myself.” She shot a quick and questioning look at Alex.

He
tensed, and Muffie yipped.

Mrs.
Hensley stroked the dog’s ruff. “Yes, baby, we’re going. I know you’re thirsty.”
She gave them a distracted wave. “See you again.”

She
set off with Muffie in her arms, and they quickly disappeared into the trees.

Julia
turned to Alex and propped her fists on her hips. “You know her, don’t you?”

He
hesitated, their kiss part of the distant past, no chance for renewal. “I ran
across her a few times.”

“Why
won’t you acknowledge your acquaintance with her?”

He
shoved his hands into his back pockets. Alberta Hensley knew enough about his
past to ruin him in the West, finishing what his wife’s parents had started in
the East.

“She’s
a close friend of my former in-laws, whom I want nothing to do with. I don’t
want to hear about them or think about them. Let’s go.” He took her by the
elbow. “We have rounds to finish.” He glanced around the park. “Where’s the
damn gardening shed?”

She
motioned straight ahead, a confused and wary expression in her eyes.