Maggie's Journey (McKenna's Daughters) (7 page)

Before long, the musicians began playing and people drifted into conversation groups. Then one of the other young men asked Maggie to dance. She gave her plate to one of the maids circulating through the room with trays.

Charles kept watching her as one after another of the young, and sometimes older, men claimed her. When they danced, she held herself away from them, although she danced smoothly with each one. They chatted, but she wasn’t as animated as he’d remembered her. She looked aloof and disconnected.

When no one asked Georgia to dance, Charles made his way through the throng and stopped in front of the chair where she sat beside her sister.

Florence was the first one to flash a smile up at him. She turned toward the lovely Georgia. “Have you met Joshua’s new partner?”

Finally, the object of his attention turned toward him. “Yes, Maggie introduced us.” He couldn’t decipher the flash in her eyes, almost as if she were planning mischief. “Are you enjoying the party, Mr. Stanton?”

“I’d enjoy it more if you’d give me the pleasure of this dance.” When he extended his hand toward her, he almost expected her to decline.

After staring at him for a moment, she rose gracefully and placed her long, slender fingers in his. Without hesitating, he whirled her onto the dance floor, where they moved perfectly in concert with each other. Step matched step as Georgia swept her full skirt across the floor in a swaying waltz. Enjoying the feel of her in his arms, Charles almost forgot to engage her in conversation.

“Well, Aunt Georgia, why have I never seen you before? I’ve known the Caines for a long time.” Smoothly, he guided her through the twirling dancers.

She smiled up at him. “It could be because I live in Portland.”

Charles remembered Maggie saying something about her and her mother visiting an aunt in Portland at the time of his grandfather’s death. That must have been Georgia Long.

“How long will you be here in Seattle?” He clasped her fingers more tightly in his.

“I’m not sure.” She wiggled her fingers and he released some of the pressure.

“I hope we’ll see each other again. Maybe get better acquainted.”

She didn’t answer. Instead, her gaze roamed around the room, never coming to rest on his face.
What is that all about?
He wondered if he’d offended her.

He gave another whirl and realized that Georgia was watching Maggie with some intensity. And he could see why. This was Maggie’s party, so she should be having a good time. But evidently, she wasn’t.

The music stopped and he led his partner back to the chair where she had been sitting. After she slid onto the cushioned seat, he bowed and thanked her for the dance.

Charles made his way back to the spot where he could watch Maggie. Something was going on with her. She didn’t smile and laugh as she always had before. Pain and uncertainty bruised the depths of her eyes. She seemed to be hiding a secret from everyone else. One that was painful.

His protectiveness rose up inside him. He wanted to shield her from whatever caused this situation. He wondered who or what had brought this sadness to Maggie. The atmosphere in the Caines’ house had been welcoming and comfortable. Some outside force had to be at work here.

Finally Charles saw his chance. Her dancing partner had left for another girl, and Maggie stood by herself.

“May I have this dance, young lady?” He smiled at his old friend.

“Charles.” Her eyes lit up while her lips tilted. “I haven’t noticed you dancing.”

“I’ve been watching everyone else, except when I danced with your aunt.”

“Then why ask me?” She dipped her head slightly and studied him from under her long eyelashes.

She probably didn’t realize how provocative that looked, not a good thing if she looked at other men that way. He didn’t want any man to take liberties with his good friend.

“I thought you might like to sit out one number. You’ve been dancing a lot and would welcome a respite. We could get some food and find a quiet corner for a visit.”

“What a good idea.” She tucked her arm through his. “I know just where we can go so it’ll be quiet enough to enjoy conversation.”

After they chose their food, she led the way to the library. With the door wide open, they were still part of the festivities, but they could hear each other without having to raise their voices over the general hubbub.

Maggie sat in one plush wing-back chair and placed her plate on the table that sat to one side. She turned up the wick on the lamp beside her plate. “My feet will welcome the rest.” She took a bite of chicken and slowly chewed.

Charles chose the chair on the other side of the small table. “Quite a nice party, isn’t it?”

“Yes. It’s wonderful.” Although she showed interest in talking to him, shadows still haunted her eyes. “How is the new merger working out?”

“Just fine. I think of it as a blessing from God. I believe God was looking out for me in my loss.” He bit into the sandwich he’d made with his bread and roast beef.

“Do you think He always looks out for us?”

Her question held a note of urgency he didn’t understand. He wondered just what could be bothering her. “Of course I do. Don’t you?”

She stared into the fireplace where logs blazed, spreading a comforting warmth throughout the room. “Sometimes things happen that might not be for the best.”

He shrugged. “We don’t always understand why something happens, but the Bible tells us God’s plans for us are good.”

She quickly turned her attention toward him. He felt her probing gaze. “Are they always? Can’t some things happen to mess up those plans?”

He shook his head. “Since God gave us a free will, we can make choices that aren’t according to His best plan for us. But there is a verse in the Bible that says God can make all things work together for our good if we love Him. And He does, even if we make wrong choices from time to time.” He knew that had been true in his own life.

Once again she seemed to find the fire fascinating. “I hope that’s really true.” She shook her pretty curls as if trying to shake troubling thoughts from her head and glanced back toward him.

More interested in finding out what was wrong with Maggie than eating, he set his plate down. “I’m sure it is. Why would you think it wasn’t?”

“I do have eyes and ears, and I know that things go on in the world that aren’t good.” Her earnest expression emphasized her quandary.

“Very pretty eyes and ears.” He tried to lighten the mood. She was far too intense right now.

Maggie reached both hands toward the sides of her head.

“Please don’t hide them.”

Becoming color crept into her cheeks. “Mr. Stanton, you are being impertinent.”

“I didn’t mean to, Margaret. Will you forgive me?” This repartee felt as though they were children again.

She lifted her chin. “I will if you’ll go back to calling me Maggie.”

“And you must go back to calling me Charles. I’ll think you’re displeased with me if you call me Mr. Stanton.”

When she laughed, he joined her. However, the laughter didn’t reach the depths of her eyes.

He sobered. If she could change the subject, so could he. “What’s the one thing you want most out of life?”

She took the time to mull over the question before answering. “I want to be a wife and mother someday. Doesn’t every young girl? But I want my life to be more than that. I have a gift for dress designing.”

“Did you design that one? It’s very becoming.”

The blush moved down her throat. “Thank you. No, my grandmother is a well-known dress designer in Little Rock, Arkansas. She owns a design company, and she made this one.”

“She knew just what to do to enhance your beauty.”

“Mr. . . . Charles, you’re embarrassing me with your flattery. Actually, I’ve never met my grandmother. She made this dress for my mother when she was younger.”

Interesting.
Charles had to clamp his lips tight to keep from telling her that it looked better on her than it ever would have on her mother.

“I want to go to Arkansas and meet my grandmother. I’m trying to convince my father to let me go, but my mother is against it. She doesn’t want me to become what she calls a
working woman
.” One of her feet beat a staccato against the Persian carpet.

He cringed at the change in her tone when she mentioned Mrs. Caine. So there really was something going on between them. He hadn’t just imagined it.

“Don’t you think a person should utilize the gifts God gave them?”

At her pointed question, he glanced up at her. “I don’t think He gives us talents without a definite reason.”

His heart warmed as he read the emotions flitting across her face—surprise, hope, then satisfaction.

“Margaret Lenora Caine!”

The sharp words shattered the comfortable conversation. He whipped around to see Mrs. Caine standing in the open doorway.

“What are you doing hiding in here? Shouldn’t you be mingling with your guests?” She glared at her daughter.

Maggie visibly wilted, and the hope in her eyes flickered out. “I’m sorry, Mother.” She started to rise.

He jumped to his feet and stepped between Maggie and her mother. “Blame me, Mrs. Caine. I watched your daughter dance so long that it made me tired. I thought she would enjoy a respite for a few minutes.”

“Thank you for your kindness, Charles.” Maggie pushed past him and walked around her mother, heading for the center of the crowd.

Her mother grimly stared at her back.

Charles didn’t know what was going on, but he decided in that instant to be available for Maggie whenever she needed him. He wouldn’t make a very good knight in shining armor, but he could be her friend. And it might allow him to get to know her lovely Aunt Georgia, a woman who greatly intrigued him.

Chapter 6

The rest of the party stretched on for an eternity. Maggie continued to mingle until they cut the birthday cake. While everyone was enjoying the special dessert, maids entered with their arms filled with parcels. Soon the table in front of the sofa held a multicolored jumble of wrapped presents. Maggie hadn’t expected so many. Everyone must have brought something.

Unwrapping all the packages took quite a while, because after she saw what each one contained, she made eye contact with the person who brought it and expressed her thanks verbally. What an array of gifts—colognes, decorative combs, scarves, gloves, trinkets, jewelry, and a box of chocolate, along with books, a sketch pad, charcoal, and paints.

Soon people began to leave, each stopping by where she sat on the couch and wishing her a happy birthday. When only Charles was left in the room, her eyes were drawn to him. She wanted to get to know him better, but what would he think if he knew she wasn’t really the daughter of a wealthy family? For years she’d hidden a secret desire to fall in love with this handsome man. But what did he think of her, other than as an old school friend?

“Maggie, I’ve really enjoyed your birthday party.” He lifted her hand and brushed his soft lips against the back of her fingers. “I believe my coach has arrived to take me home.”

Maggie stood. “I’m so glad you came. I enjoyed every minute we spent together.”

She watched him exit the room and claim his coat from the maid beside the front door. The place where his lips had touched her hand tingled.

Finally, the door shut behind him, and Maggie started packing her presents into boxes for transport to her bedchamber. Even though she didn’t look up, she sensed the exact moment Florence came into the room. The air vibrated with her presence. She knew she would have to face the music sometime, and now was as good a time as any. She turned around. Thankfully, Daddy was with Florence.

“Margaret, that’s not the dress I told Mrs. Murdock to make for you. Where did you get it?” Florence crossed her arms and stiffened her spine. Her chin rose a couple of inches.

“I didn’t see any reason to spend the money on another dress when I really liked this one.” She tried to keep the tremble out of her voice, but the evening had tired her out.

“I believe that dress really belongs to me, right?” No softening in Florence’s tone or stance.

So that was what bothered her the most. Maggie nodded. “I guess so. I found it in the attic, and I didn’t think you’d really mind.”

“So without even asking, you took it and did what? Did you hem it to fit you?” Florence stared at the bottom of the skirt.

“No.” Maggie clasped her hands at her waist. “I had Mrs. Murdock do that.”

Florence paced across the floor, returning to stand squarely in front of Maggie. “Whatever made you sneak into the attic?” The words carried a bite with them.

“Florence!” Concern laced Daddy’s words. “Maggie can go to the attic if she wants to. This is her home too.”

Florence’s glare silenced him. “But she didn’t have the right to take something that doesn’t belong to her and have it altered.” Icicles could have hung from the words.

“A long time ago, Aunt Georgia had told me you brought some of the dresses your mother designed for you when you came west. I just wanted to see something she’d designed.” Maggie’s voice faded to a whisper by the end of the sentence.

Florence tapped her foot, whether in impatience or anger, Maggie couldn’t tell.

“When I saw this one, I knew it would look really good on me. I’d never seen it, so you haven’t worn it for a very long time. I wanted it to be a surprise.” That time her voice broke on the last syllable.

Daddy stepped between them. “Florence, I don’t think Maggie meant any harm. Maybe we could forgive her. You would never wear that dress again, would you?”

Florence gave her head a tiny shake. “But that’s beside the point.”

“Maggie, are you sorry you upset your mother?” Daddy’s eyes pleaded with her to agree.

“I guess I didn’t realize how much it would upset her.” Maggie turned toward the woman who had raised her. “Can you forgive me? I had Mrs. Murdock hem it without cutting any of the fabric off. It can be restored to the former length.”

“You can keep it.” Florence took hold of Daddy’s arm with both hands. “Joshua is right. I’ll never wear it again. Green really isn’t a good color on me.”

After her parents left the room, Maggie collapsed on the couch. She’d wanted to startle and surprise Florence, but she hadn’t realized that all of this would cause so much of a commotion. She’d probably destroyed any chance she might have had to ever visit Arkansas.

•••

Joshua Caine stood in front of the armoire in the bedroom he shared with his wife. As he unbuttoned his shirt, his thoughts drifted to those early years when he and Florence wanted the same things out of life. Their shared dreams, hopes, and plans. Even when things didn’t go the way they wanted them to, they’d clung to each other and forged ahead. When had that changed?

Somehow along the way to the present, their ideas took very divergent paths. He’d wanted to make a good living for Flory and their future family. Then when children didn’t come, God had provided a daughter in a most unconventional way. Joshua had been sure that receiving Maggie as a special gift from Angus McKenna would fulfill all his wife’s desires for a child. It did his. And Florence had been happy those first few years. He remembered all the wonderful times when the three of them had enjoyed every moment they could spend together.

But as time wore on, Florence changed. Withdrew from his embraces more often than she welcomed them. He missed her loving hugs that warmed the day for him. The occasional peck on the cheek was a poor substitute for the passionate kisses they’d once shared. Just remembering them sent a gentle wind across the banked embers of passion still surviving deep inside him.

Maybe he had been too busy making the money to give her the kind of life she wanted. Or was that his dream rather than hers? Had his emphasis on providing her material things robbed them of their close relationship?

Whatever changed her from the loving, laughing wife and mother, he decided to do everything he needed to get that woman back before it was too late. Perhaps if they returned to their deep emotions for each other, Florence would be better able to accept Maggie the way she was instead of always trying to change her.

Their daughter did have a unique personality. So what if she was vastly different from them? He wasn’t exactly sure what mold Florence was trying to force her into, but it wasn’t working for any of them. Tomorrow he would try his best to initiate a change for the better.

The door behind him squeaked open. Joshua turned and stared into his wife’s beautiful face. His heartbeat quickened. Her blue eyes could warm like the summer sun or turn dark and stormy with the least provocation. And something had provoked her all right.

“I don’t know whatever possessed Margaret to defy me the way she did tonight.” Florence pressed her fingers across her forehead, moving them back and forth as if trying to rub out the memory of what happened. Such graceful hands. He’d always loved watching them, but not lately when they were clenched into a fist more often than not.

He hurried toward her, deciding he’d not put off until tomorrow what he could begin restoring tonight. “Are you all right? Do you have a headache?” Slipping his arms around her, he cradled her against his chest.

At first she stiffened, but then she relaxed against him. “Yes, my head does hurt.” Pain wove itself into the tone of her voice.

He wanted to take every bit of the pain upon himself and release her from its clutches. “Do you want me to get you some tea? Or a warm glass of milk to help you sleep?”

He inhaled the fragrance of citrus and flowers that always resided in her hair. Memories of nights in a covered wagon out in the middle of nowhere with him burying his face in their unbound waves assailed him, almost buckling his knees. Did she remember those times too? He had to restore those memories to her. But he needed to be strong for her right now. He kept a tight rein on his overwhelming desires.

Florence pulled back out of his embrace and dropped onto the stool at her dressing table. “I think I’ll be all right if I get ready to retire.”

He hunkered beside her and took her hands in his. “We need to talk. There’s something I want to do, and I’d like your agreement before I set it in motion.”

She shook her head as if to loosen something and then squinted at him. “What are you talking about?”

“I think it’s time for us to let Maggie go visit your mother.”

She tried to tug her hands from his, but he didn’t release them, wanting to make her understand what he was talking about. “It would be good for her
and
good for us.”

“I don’t think I could stand for her to be gone that long.” She stared at the striped wallpaper across the room, her grip tightening. “I’ve always been afraid to have her too far from me. Never wanting her out of my sight for more than a few minutes.”

He stood and lifted her with him. “She’s an adult now, Flory. Nothing will happen to her.”

“You can’t know that.” Panic filled her tone. “Look at what happened to Lenora McKenna.” She hadn’t spoken that name in years.

Joshua let go of one of her hands and used his fingertips to tilt her face toward him. He studied her beautiful blue eyes, only now seeing the fear hiding deep in them. “That was an entirely different situation. Travel is much safer now, and she’s not married and expecting a child. She’ll be safe, Flory.”

All the starch went out of her, and she grasped the front of his open shirt with one hand. Once more he pulled her close.

“While she’s gone, maybe she can discover whatever she wants to know about Agatha . . . and herself. In the meantime, you and I can reconnect in a deeper way. I want us to spend more time alone together, like we used to early in our marriage.”

With a sigh, she collapsed against his chest again, clutching his shirt with both hands. Her tears soaked all the way through to his heart.

“I’d like that.”

He hardly heard the whispered words, they were so soft. Pulling her even closer, he held her gently until she relaxed and slipped her arms around him. He leaned down to drop a kiss on the top of her head.
Lord, please let it come to pass.