Love Finds You in Mackinac Island, Michigan (26 page)

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Elena turned back the edge of the curtain and watched Mrs. Darrington step down from the Grand Hotel’s carriage. She was a beautiful woman, looking very much like her daughter with her slender frame and neatly pinned auburn hair. She hoped Sarah hadn’t told her mother that Elena had acted improperly toward Edward. She’d be mortified if this woman thought she had been flirting with her son-in-law.

Mama spent the first hour of their visit telling pleasant stories about the gardens she and Mrs. Ingram had overseen, and Mrs. Darrington seemed to relish the connection with her sister. As the women talked and sipped tea, Elena thought about Jillian at the Grand. She wished she could walk into the hotel and ask for Chase, but that would ruin everything. As much as she wanted to see him, she would have to avoid him today and at the ball tomorrow night.

But how was she supposed to help Jillian if she couldn’t go to him?

She should have thought this through more before she took Jillian to him.

When there was a lull in conversation, Mrs. Darrington turned to her. “Do you draw, Elena?”

Elena blinked. “Why do you ask?”

“You have that look in your eye of a woman who likes to dream.”

Elena didn’t look at her mother. “I suppose I do enjoy drawing a bit.”

Mrs. Darrington’s green eyes sparkled with her smile. “Indeed.”

Mama refilled Mrs. Darrington’s cup. “She hasn’t had time to draw in a long while.”

“Oh, that’s unfortunate,” Mrs. Darrington said. “Every artist should make time to create.”

Elena turned the teacup in her hands. “I suppose.”

“What is it that you used to draw?”

“I—”

“Landscapes,” her mother replied.

Elena didn’t bother to dispute her mother’s words. Mama thought it was improper for a lady to draw portraits of people, as if it were the height of impropriety to notice the beauty and flaws of another.

“Well, God certainly created some beautiful landscapes for us to draw.” Mrs. Darrington was watching her instead of Mama. “And He created beautiful people as well.”

“Speaking of beautiful people,” her mother asked, “have you met Gracie Frederick?”

“I don’t believe I have had the pleasure of making her acquaintance.”

Elena didn’t have to look at her mother to know that there was a smile on her face.

“Miss Frederick is quite beautiful, and bright as well.”

Elena lifted her head. What was her mother doing?

Mama sipped her tea. “Of course she’s also known for making and breaking her promises. She—”

“Oh, I don’t believe I need to know that.” Mrs. Darrington replied with such grace and strength that Elena watched her in a bit of awe. “The Good Book, as I’m sure you know, instructs us not to say spiteful things about one another.”

“Of course not.” Mama stumbled on her words. “I mean—of course.”

“And it says we reap what we sow. I’d rather not reap having people talk about me or my family, so I try to avoid gossip all together.”

Elena nibbled her biscotti. She’d never heard anyone refuse to bite on the enticement of good gossip before. And this woman had done it with such resolve and dignity. Elena hadn’t realized it was possible to repudiate gossip in polite society.

Mama didn’t seem to know what to say next, so Elena leaned forward. “I heard that you just returned from Europe.”

“I did.” The smile returned to Mrs. Darrington’s face. “We were there four months.”

“What was your favorite place?”

“The museums in Florence.”

Elena’s heart sped up. “That was mine as well.”

“You’ve been to Florence?”

She nodded. “My parents took me there when I turned sixteen.”

“Did you go to Venice?”

Elena nodded again. “I loved riding on the canals.”

Mrs. Darrington placed her teacup on the saucer. “It’s wonderful, isn’t it?”

“Magical.”

Mama finished her second cup of tea and refilled their cups. “Will you be attending the ball tomorrow night?”

Mrs. Darrington nodded, adding a sugar cube to her tea. “I love nothing more than dancing.”

“And will your family be there?” Mama asked.

“Absolutely.”

“Elena has met your daughter.”

She turned toward Elena. “I didn’t realize that.”

Perhaps Sarah had honored her mother’s desire to avoid gossip.

Mama shifted in her seat, taking another slow sip of tea. “She’s met your daughter, but Elena has yet to meet your son.”

“I shall have to introduce you to him.”

Her mother took another sip of tea. “Is he courting anyone?”

Mrs. Darrington nodded. “He tells me he is quite enamored right now with a certain young lady.”

“Enamored.” Her mother’s teacup clanked against the saucer as she repeated the word. “Has he proposed marriage?”

“Oh, no,” Mrs. Darrington replied with a wave, but Mama looked crestfallen.

Elena felt nothing but relief. If another woman occupied Mr. Darrington’s mind, then perhaps it was okay if another man occupied hers.

“To Gracie Frederick?”

Mrs. Darrington ignored the question. “When did you meet Sarah?”

“At the dance last week,” Elena said.

“Did you meet her husband as well?”

Elena pulled her hand close to her side. She could still feel Edward’s fingers on her, and it made her shudder. “I made his acquaintance.”

“I hope he was—pleasant to you.”

“Pleasant enough.”

When Mrs. Darrington left, her mother fled upstairs to her room, pleading a headache. The news about Chester Darrington’s affections might keep her mother in her room until the ball tomorrow night.

Chase met Silas Hull in the lobby, and a few heads turned at the unusual sight of a soldier carrying a fishing pole into the Grand Hotel. Chase led the lieutenant to a quiet corner with two chairs and a couch. It wouldn’t pay for any of the other men in the room to discover the novelty of Silas’s invention.

Silas put the three sections of his bamboo pole on the couch. “I have to be back on duty in an hour.”

“I won’t keep you long,” Chase said, before nodding at the rod. “But I wanted to know, why did you make that?”

Silas shrugged. “The sections make it easier to carry.”

“I’m sure others would agree with you.” Chase tapped his hand on the table next to him. “Sometimes the simplest things sell the best.”

“Sell?”

“I invest in new inventions,” Chase said, leaning forward. “And I think I could sell thousands of your fishing poles.”

Silas slowly registered his words. “Are you serious?”

Chase leaned back. “We’d have a lot of details to iron out, of course. You’ll have to get a patent right away so no one can take your idea, and then we’ll have to figure out a way to produce them.”

Silas picked up the sections and looked at them. “You really think people would buy this?”

“There’s never any guarantee, but I believe they would.” Chase took a deep breath. “But until you get the patent, you can’t go fishing with this pole.”

Silas’s face fell. “Why not?”

“Someone might steal your design.”

Silas seemed to contemplate the choice—either fish with his pole for the remainder of the summer or put it aside to make income for his future.

“It would just be for this season,” Chase said. “You can fish with another pole.”

“I suppose I could.”

Chase patted the couch. “And next year, you can fish with this one again.”

He began to discuss the next steps of how he and Silas could partner together. As he talked, Silas’s gaze wandered over Chase’s shoulder, and his eyes grew wide.

Chase turned and saw Sarah walking toward them with Jillian. The girl looked like a completely different woman than the one he’d snuck into the hotel last night. Her blond hair was perfectly curled, and she wore one of Sarah’s day gowns, a mixture of light blue silk and lace. As pretty as Jillian was, he was surprised that Sarah didn’t seem to see her as competition. Maybe his sister had finally found a friend.

Sarah put her hand on his chair. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”

“Hello, Jillian.” Chase nodded at her. “You look lovely.”

Sarah reached out and took the younger woman’s hand. “We’ve been playing.”

Chase nodded at Silas. “This is my friend, Lieutenant Silas Hull.”

“I’ve seen you before,” Silas said. “At Arch Rock.”

Jillian blushed. “I remember.”

Sarah tugged on Jillian’s arm. “Now that we’ve taken care of that business, Jillian and I are off to lunch.”

“It was nice to see you again,” Silas said.

Chase leaned forward, talking to Silas. “Jillian is looking for a position as a nursemaid. You wouldn’t know if there is a position available up at the fort, would you? Just until the fort closes.”

“I can inquire about it.”

“She is in no rush to get a position here,” Sarah said, patting the younger woman’s arm. “When she gets to Detroit, perhaps she can find work as a governess.”

Chase wondered what Jillian wanted but thought better of asking right then.

Jillian nodded toward the men, but before she turned, Edward walked into their circle. Chase braced himself, not knowing whether the man had been drinking again.

Edward looked between the two men. “What am I interrupting?”

“We were finished,” Chase said, relieved that he appeared to be sober.

Edward turned his head, and Chase watched the slightest of smiles creep up his lips the moment he saw Jillian. Edward’s gaze traveled down and then back up Jillian’s gown.

He almost wished the man were drunk.

“Your gifts astound me, Sarah.” Edward might have been talking to his wife, but his eyes were still focused on Jillian. Jillian’s face turned red at his open admiration. “I believe you’ve made her into a lady.”

Sarah’s voice hardened. “It is your appreciation of my gifts that astounds me.”

Edward offered Jillian his arm. “May I join you both for lunch?’

Sarah shook her head, releasing her hold on Jillian. She scanned over Chase, and her eyes locked on Silas. She nudged Jillian forward. “Jillian was preparing to accompany the lieutenant here to see about a position.”

“Surely that can wait,” Edward replied. He dropped his arm back to his side when Jillian didn’t take it.

Silas stood up. “No, I don’t believe it can.”

Jillian didn’t look back at either Sarah or Edward. “I am ready to see about the position.”

Chase stood beside Silas and clapped him on the back. “Lieutenant Hull will take good care of you.”

She nodded.

He leaned down, whispering to Jillian, “Andy—she doesn’t know my last name.”

“You must tell her.”

“I will,” he said. “Soon.”

He stood tall again. “If there isn’t a position available at the fort”—he stole a glance back at Edward and then looked at Silas—“come and talk to me.”

* * * * *

After Mrs. Darrington left, Elena picked up the tea set and carried it into the kitchen.

It seemed as if Mr. Darrington had chosen someone to be his wife, and she was happy for him as well as his family. And she was quite pleased to be released from the idea of marrying him.

But what was she supposed to do for her family now? Her father was about to lose the factory, and they were on the verge of losing both their homes. If she didn’t marry someone who could help them, where would they live? If she married a man like Chase, he might be able to care for her but not for her parents as well.

She didn’t have to marry for love to live in poverty. She was already destined to be there.

Filling the sink with water, she began washing the cups. The birds outside the window flitted from one tree to the next, oblivious to the concerns of the world. She envied their freedom to go wherever they wanted as they sang such beautiful songs. It was too early for her to go to the lighthouse and too late to walk down to the town.

Her father had told her to marry for love, but she had no choice. She had to marry to help their family—but whom would she marry? Certainly not Parker. And none of the other young men on the island interested her.

It didn’t matter, she supposed. She couldn’t be too selective.

Someone stepped into the kitchen, and she turned to see Claude.

“What are you doing, Miss Elena?”

She looked down at the soapy water in the sink. “Dishes.”

“Your mama would have my head if she saw you doing that.”

“I—I needed to do something.”

He reached for the cloth in her hands and then held out an envelope. “You got a letter.”

She dried her hands and took it from him. Ripping it open, she began to read Jillian’s words. Lieutenant Hull had found her a position as a nursemaid for an officer who had seven children. She thanked both Elena and Chase for helping her.

She looked back up at Claude. “Jillian found work at Fort Mackinac.”

Relief washed over his face as well. “It should be a good position until the fort closes.”

After the fort closed, she would help Jillian get a position back in Chicago, at least until Elena married. Then Jillian could come live with her.

Claude washed a cup. “Why don’t you go rest?”

She shook her head. “I’m not tired.”