The sun traveled closer to the horizon as the afternoon wore on. Neither Isaac nor Laura was in a hurry to leave the calm waterfront or the company they had found in each other. They sat hand in hand on a park bench, talking about letters, the zoo, and the miraculous way they’d stayed connected despite physical distance and parental barriers.
Isaac’s hands were much larger than Laura’s, yet they fit together perfectly. Being beside her with no secrets was a beautiful homecoming.
“Mrs. Guskin will worry if I’m not back soon,” Laura said, making no move to stand. “I told her I wouldn’t be gone long. She’s like a mother hen and probably pacing the house ready to tuck me under her wing as soon as I walk through the door.”
“We don’t want her worrying. When will I see you again?”
“I was hoping you’d still meet me at the manure pile.” Her finger danced gently across his palm. “It’s become a tradition I look forward to.”
“What about Niagara?”
“I’ll phone Abel tonight, and tomorrow I’ll tell you what time we will be leaving. That is, if I can convince him to go with me. No matter what he says, I want to go to the zoo tomorrow and tell Mr. Shaffer that I will be heading out of town. He’s been so good to me. He says my instincts with animals are keen.”
“You’re brilliant,” Isaac said, honored to be the man sitting beside her. “You could go to school and become a veterinarian.”
“I don’t care if I have a title. But I do hope to have more than just Tybalt to care for. I think I’d like a dog and—”
“A horse and a cat.”
“Yes! And a lamb. There’s nothing sweeter than a newborn lamb.” She looked out at the gentle waves on the lake. “I rarely share my dreams, but with you, it’s different.”
“I want to hear them all.”
“You’ve read them in my letters. You know I long for long walks in the park. You even know that I have read too many fairy tales for a woman my age and that I love pineapple upside-down cake.”
“I had never tried pineapple cake until I read your letter. The trouble with the letters was that I had to wait days between getting answers. You would mention a secret wish and tease my curiosity. I could write out questions, but I could never see your face when you gave your answers. I much prefer our new arrangement. Besides, you can’t hold hands with a letter. With you beside me I can ask a question, immediately hear your reply, and see your face.”
“Ask me a question, then, and tell me if my face says more than my words ever did.”
“Very well. Will all the animals you take in be named after Shakespeare? Will your dog be Romeo and your horse Juliet?”
“No. I already had a cat named Romeo—I can’t use the name again. I think I will name all future animals after letters.”
“Letters?”
“Yes. One could be Epistle, and another Sincerely.” She cocked her head to one side, an adorable smile on her face. “Maybe one could be Paper.”
He watched her eyes, her mouth, her body as she answered. No letter could compare. With her right here in the flesh, he could see the humor written in her every feature. “Your lips, right there”—he touched the corner of her mouth—“tell me you would never really name an animal Paper, and you would choose a better parting than sincerely.”
“And what does my face say when I tell you that I don’t want to go to Niagara with Abel?”
“That you are telling the truth.” He tightened his grip on her hand. “Listen, just because Mr. Cannon thinks you may be able to learn more about the business deal doesn’t mean you have to do it. It all may be a waste of time anyway.” He smiled, hoping his encouraging words would make her decision easier for her. “If you choose to go, I believe you’ll make a very good spy, but we can find another way, if you’d rather.”
“Would it surprise you if I said I had a lot of practice spying?”
“Yes, I’m intrigued.”
“Getting to the zoo so often was not easy. Mrs. Guskin was my accomplice.” She let go of his hand and rubbed her hands together nervously. “I don’t want my father or yours to make a bad business deal. I hate that their rivalry has them not thinking clearly. It’s not like my father to be so impulsive. But Abel is so charming and believable.”
He put his arm around her shoulder and waited for her to say more.
“What if we are wrong, and I only suspect him because I don’t care for him and feel he’s being forced on me? Are we meddling where we shouldn’t?”
“It doesn’t hurt for us to ask questions.” He’d had similar doubts, wondering if his drive to prove himself had spurred his unease about Abel. It was true that Abel’s success had made him feel small. His father’s constant praise of the man left him wondering what Abel had that he lacked. And he’d been jealous, ridiculously jealous, of Abel for courting Laura. “If we discover that Abel is an honest businessman, then no one has to know that we were speculating about his integrity.”
“You’re right.” She nodded. “I’ll phone Abel when I get home. I’ll tell him how eager I am to see the man go over the falls.”
“Will he go?”
“If I tell him that everyone important is going, I believe he will.”
Isaac stood and held out his hand to her. She took it, leaving the bench. A flock of geese flew overhead in a perfect V. In equally perfect harmony Isaac and Laura looked up at the birds and watched until they disappeared out of sight.
“What will become of us after Niagara?” she asked, still looking up.
He didn’t answer. Instead he let her question drift away, like the birds they could no longer see. He had no answer, but he would find one. And when he did, he would offer it to her along with his heart.
“Will Abel be a gentleman?” he asked when the sun moved behind a cloud, casting a shadow over everything.
“I hope he will. He’s made few advances. He’s not an easy man to read—he’s unpredictable. I think that is part of why I question him.” She cleared her throat, her unrest obvious. “I have experience sneaking to the letter tree but no experience fending off untoward advances. Let’s just hope he doesn’t make any.”
He scowled, not at her but at her answer. He didn’t want her going with Abel hoping she would be treated well. Too many men treated women abominably. But no woman, certainly not Laura, deserved to be treated as nothing more than an object to be tossed about, used, and discarded.
“I’ll be there. I’ll be the obnoxious man who is always underfoot. And if you need anything, I’ll jump to your rescue.”
“I had no idea you were a knight in shining armor.”
“I’m an ordinary man.” He shrugged, wishing he had more to offer. “But I would help you if you needed anything.”
She touched his cheek, startling him with her gentle caress. “A humble man willing to rise to the occasion is the very definition of a hero. Be as obnoxious as you like. I’ll be glad of your presence.”
“He can’t know about us.” He followed her lead and put a hand on her waist. “He can’t be suspicious.”
“It’ll be our secret.” She kissed his jaw. “I never expected my life to go from so dull to so exciting all at once.”
“After Niagara,” he said, reeling her in close, “this will stop being secret.”
“‘From forth the fatal loins of these two foes—’”
“‘A pair of star-crossed lovers . . .’” He kissed her, slow and with all the tenderness he could. “Shakespeare’s ending is not our ending. You wrote of fairy tales—”
“My mother loved them.”
“How do they all end?”
“‘And they lived happily ever after.’”
He took her hand and, as though they were dancing, twirled her around, then brought her back in. “I like those endings better.”
* * *
Laura rolled a dress and put it in the dusty traveling case she’d pulled from the attic. It had been years since she last traveled, and now she was going away without her father’s knowledge. A rush of excitement mixed with nerves tickled her senses.
“What time did Abel say he would pick us up?” Mrs. Guskin asked, a hint of disapproval in her tone.
“He’s coming tomorrow morning at eleven. I want to be packed today so that tomorrow I can run to the zoo and talk to Mr. Shaffer before we go.”
Tybalt scratched at his cage.
“Do you think Tybalt will wonder where I have gone?”
“Cook’s going to take care of him. He might not be as spoiled as he is with you, but he’ll survive.” Mrs. Guskin put a hand to her chest. “It’s your father I’m worried about—and Abel. I don’t know what’s come over you. You’ve never been one to take such risks.”
“Think of how many times we’ve talked about doing something, and now we are.” Laura picked up another dress and rolled it carefully. “Father likes Abel, and you’re going. Why would he object?”
“Because you’re working behind his back, that’s why.”
“For his own good,” Laura said, staying strong even though her insides were wound tighter than a clock spring. “Doesn’t it seem strange to you that Abel is interested in me?”
“You’ve plenty of fine qualities. Any man with half his senses would recognize that.”
“I have none of the qualities he is looking for. I don’t care a bit about being fashionable. I dance decently well, but if he were to look closely at my hands, he’d be appalled by my blisters. There must be a different explanation for why he calls on me. What if he is simply using me to get Father’s trust? Half the businessmen in this town will follow Father’s lead.” She paused, dress frozen in the air. It had hurt at first to realize Abel had other motives for taking her out. But she had not been entirely innocent either. She had once believed that Abel would be a means to leaving this house. She’d been willing to gamble that love could come later—she’d been wrong. Hearts were not meant to be toyed with. “No matter what Abel is up to, we aren’t right for each other.”
Mrs. Guskin smirked. “It’s that letter-writing Isaac, isn’t it? He’s got you acting out of sorts.”
“Isaac Campbell.” She sighed, remembering how it had felt to be in his arms and recalling the touch of his lips. “He’s thoughtful, and funny, and he likes me the way I am. He’s seen my blistered hands. I’d pick him over Abel any day. If I could pick him, that is.”
“You sound like a woman in love.” Mrs. Guskin took the dress from Laura’s hands and tucked it into Laura’s traveling case for her. “You ought to be watching the spectacle at the falls with Isaac, not a man you don’t care a thing about. You’re asking for trouble.”
“I will simply pretend I am in a William Le Queux spy novel. All that novel reading will finally be put to use. I think Mama would be proud.”
Mrs. Guskin laughed as she helped her finish packing. Laura had shared her worries about Abel, and she’d even told Mrs. Guskin what the detective had suggested, but she hadn’t shared all the details of her afternoon with Isaac. It felt too much like a dream. Mrs. Guskin had proven time and again that she trusted Laura, but would she believe that what Laura and Isaac felt for each other was real?
Once packed, Laura wandered the empty halls of her house. The library with its walls of books beckoned her, welcoming her with its promise of adventure, romance, and knowledge. She ran her hand along the spines, touching the books her mother had brought home.
Had her mother really been secretly spending time with Morton Campbell? She paused near a matching collection of Shakespeare. Had her parents’ love story become a great tragedy? What she discovered in Niagara could tarnish her memories. She pulled out Romeo and Juliet and fanned the pages. They’d been so young, so hopeful, so foolish.
Her heart beat faster. She slammed the book closed. She was going to Niagara. Fear would not stop her.
She left the library and entered her father’s study, where she left a note for him in case he returned before she did.