A Lady of High Regard (20 page)

She didn’t wait to hear what he might say. Instead, Mia went into her own house and wandered the rooms until she felt her spirit calm.

“I could have been hurt,” she murmured aloud. “I could have been forced to endure the same kind of abuse those women have known from Jasper Barrill.” She shook her head and looked down at her jacket. She would never have been able to explain the missing buttons should someone at the Wilson house have noticed.

“I heard you come back, Miss Mia. Do you need help?”

Mia smiled at Ruth. “I’m afraid I need to change clothes. I . . . ah . . . had an accident and lost my buttons. Besides, a lighter weight gown would help me feel better. I’m quite uncomfortable in this serge.”

“But of course. You come on upstairs right now and I’ll tend to it.”

Mia followed Ruth and forced herself to chat with Ruth about her wedding plans. After a moment of silence, she decided to brave a question on love. “This might sound strange, Ruth, but how did you know you loved Jason? Why him and not some other man?”

Ruth laughed as she lifted Mia’s skirt up and over her head. “He was all I could think about. Day and night, he was on my mind. He made me laugh and he knew a great deal about . . . well . . . about everything.”

Mia thought of Garrett. “And you thought him quite handsome?”

“Yes,” Ruth sighed with a great depth of feeling. “There is none more handsome. Just standing near him gave me the shivers.”

Mia nodded as Ruth slipped a cream-colored gown of lightweight muslin over her head. Mia waited for Ruth to adjust the sleeves and button the back. “Did you tell him that you loved him first or did that come after his own declaration?”

“I’ve never believed in letting boiled water go sitting on the stove. I told him one day that I’d lost my heart to him. Of course, I didn’t say it until I was absolutely sure he felt the same way—didn’t want to be embarrassed by rejection.”

“Of course not.” Mia thought of Garrett and all that he hoped to accomplish in life. Right now he was dealing with his father’s sickness. Cancer. The word held great mystery and dread.

“Eulalee Duff ’s husband died of cancer.”

“What was that?”

Mia turned to her confused maid. “Sorry. I was just thinking of something else.” Mia had remembered hearing of the long, painful ordeal of Mr. Duff ’s death. The man had been sick for well over a year. Eulalee said that each day was spent watching her beloved fade before her very eyes.

Mia thought again of Garrett. He needed someone who understood exactly what he was going through. Someone who could commiserate. Eulalee might make a perfect companion for him. Eulalee had been widowed for three years now.

“Oh, why didn’t I think of this before?”

“Think of what, Miss Mia?”

She smiled. “Oh, it’s really not that important. I was just thinking aloud.” This would prove things once and for all. If Mia really loved Garrett, then she wouldn’t be able to follow through and see him with Eulalee. And if Garrett had any love whatsoever for Mia, he wouldn’t allow himself to be with Eulalee.

This will show me if he cares, and if he does, then I can speak my heart as well. I can tell him for certain if I love him—once I know in my heart that I do.

CHAPTER 15

T
he church service the following morning was quite inspiring. Pastor Brunswick talked of the liberty and freedom that was found in the Lord. He talked of Jesus and of His words in John: “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

“The liberty we’ve enjoyed,” the pastor continued, “has not come without a price. Freedom is never without a price. Good men died to liberate our country from a tyrant. Good men continue to die to see that we remain free. Free to worship as we choose—not because a government dictates it. Free to speak our minds. Free to live as we have deemed appropriate. But there are many responsibilities in such freedoms. We must each remember that we have our own duty to see that freedom’s light is never extinguished.”

The message remained with Mia throughout the day, and as she spread a blanket on the grass of the commons to have a picnic, she was still consumed with the meaning of the sermon. Garrett placed the picnic basket and kite on the blanket, and Agnes and Bliss immediately ran off to play tag. Mia was beginning to see her work with the women of the docks as her own means of furthering the cause of liberty and justice.

“You are very quiet today,” Mercy said, gently laying baby Lenore on the blanket.

Mia looked up, uncertain as to whom Mercy was speaking. Garrett had been equally silent. “I was just thinking on the pastor’s words. I thought his sermon powerful and moving. I love our Independence Day celebrations.”

Mercy nodded. “I do too. I have family ties in England, but I am an American through and through.”

“As am I. My relatives all reside in England, save my parents and two sisters, yet I could never call that place home.”

“What of you, Garrett?” Mercy questioned. “Why are you so quiet?”

He looked up and shrugged. Stretching out on the ground, he murmured, “I’m just tired. Perhaps a nap would serve me well.” Closing his eyes, he seemed quite serious about the matter.

“Garrett!” Bliss called. “Come play with us.”

He opened one eye and met Mia’s grin. “You’ve been summoned,” she said.

He groaned and rolled over. “What about liberty and freedom? Freedom to sleep.”

Mercy laughed as Agnes and Bliss approached. “Girls, your brother is tired. You must let him rest.”

Bliss pounced on Garrett. “You promised you’d help us fly our kite. Come on.”

Garrett allowed them to pull him up into a sitting position once again. “I did promise, didn’t I?”

“Yes, you did,” Agnes confirmed. “You said if Papa couldn’t come, you would see to it.”

“Very well. I’ll come help you fly your kite, but then you must let me sleep. I’m quite exhausted.”

“That’s because you’re so old,” Bliss told him seriously.

Mia laughed while Mercy chided her daughter. “That is a rude thing to say, Bliss. Most people do not like to think of their age.”

The girl frowned. “I like to think about my age. I want to be ten. When you are ten years old you have two numbers—a one and a zero. That makes you almost grown up.”

Mercy exchanged a look with Garrett as he got to his feet. “He is very old, Bliss. You must not work him too hard.”

Garrett crossed his arms. “Old, am I? We shall see about that.”

The trio went off to join others who were working with their kites.

“The girls seem to be taking their father’s illness well,” Mia said after they’d gone.

“I’ve tried to prepare them as best I could. George adores his girls. He has often said they gave him a new lease on life. I know he wanted to be here today, but of late, he has no energy.”

“But Garrett has,” Mia said, turning to see where they’d gotten themselves off to. “And he genuinely loves them.”

“Oh yes. He has lavished attention on them in a most loving way. When he talks of moving away, they are heartbroken.”

“Moving away? Garrett is considering a move?”

Mercy opened the picnic basket and started taking things out. “He has a friend with whom he’s been reading the Bible and discussing the plight of those living in the frontier. Garrett wonders if he might not be called to ministerial works in the west.”

“He’s never mentioned such a thing to me.”

“Well, I think his father’s illness has kept him from concerning himself overmuch with such matters. He takes his responsibilities with the Wilson interests very seriously. I fear he will feel tied to this place after his father is gone. Of course, I would never insist on such a thing. He has been so good to the girls, and to me as well. He insisted his father change his will to include my inheriting George’s business holdings.”

“I’m not surprised. He has a good heart.” Mia tried not to sound overly emotional.

“Yes, he does,” Mercy agreed. “He’s good to others . . . perhaps to his own detriment.”

After a half hour or so, the children and Garrett returned to eat. Mercy chatted in an animated manner about the various gowns worn by the passing women, while Mia tried to process the idea of Garrett moving to the frontier. Not far from them an orchestra began to play a variety of tunes, drawing the attention of the crowd. Later that evening there was to be a dance, but Mia was still uncertain whether she’d stay or return home.

Lunch was a lavish affair with roast beef, a variety of vegetables, and thick slices of chocolate cake. Fresh lemonade helped to keep the heat of the day from overcoming them, but there was no help for the drowsy state they all fell into after eating.

The girls fell asleep, heads on their mother’s lap, as soon as lunch concluded. Mercy leaned back against a tree, content to stroke her daughters’ heads. Baby Lenore slept peacefully at their sides. Garrett eventually set aside his plate and stretched out, slipping his straw hat down over his face. Mia had thought to doze but felt much too restless and decided to take a walk. She chatted with various friends, making small talk about the day and the planned celebration.

“Mia, don’t you look lovely,” Mrs. Brighton declared as they passed on the walkway. “That gown is simply perfect for you. I think that shade of violet is particularly attractive with your golden hair.”

“Thank you. I wanted to compliment you on your new hair arrangement.”

Mrs. Brighton straightened and beamed a smile. “I thought perhaps it too young a style for me.”

“Not at all. A woman should feel free to wear whatever arrangement suits her needs.”

They parted with nothing of consequence to be said. Mia felt a deep longing for Garrett’s company, but she still couldn’t reconcile her muddled feelings for the man.

“Mia! How good to see you.” It was Eulalee Duff.

“I was just thinking of you yesterday. There’s someone I want you to meet.”

“Who might that be?”

“Garrett Wilson.”

Eulalee smiled and shook her head. “I’m already well acquainted with Mr. Wilson. Our families go way back. He escorted me to my first grown-up ball. I think him a dear.”

“I didn’t realize you knew each other so well.”

Her brown ringlets bounced beneath her bonnet as Eulalee nodded her head. “I might have married him had I not married my Richard.”

Mia felt a strange sensation of jealousy. She didn’t understand why, but she had the distinct desire to put an end to the conversation and have nothing more to say about the matter. But on the other hand, this was what she had wanted. It was what she had planned. It seemed a bonus to find that Garrett and Eulalee already had the foundation of friendship between them.

“We were all very close friends,” Eulalee continued. “My Richard and Garrett went to college together. They were inseparable. Garrett, in fact, introduced me to Richard and then protested when we got engaged.”

“Protested?”

“He told us that he’d long had his eye on me, but Richard was just too quick for him.” Eulalee laughed. “He was always teasing me like that.”

“Well, I should have expected to find you two in a good gossip,” Garrett said, coming to where the ladies stood. “Whatever has drawn your attention so completely?”

“We were talking about you, if you must know,” Eulalee stated unashamedly. “It wasn’t gossip at all. I would tell Mia nothing more or less than I would willingly speak to your face.”

“Well, at least it was a worthy topic.” He laughed and lifted her hand to his lips. “You look quite charming, Mrs. Duff. Wherever have you been keeping yourself?”

Eulalee seemed to fairly glow under his praise. Mia watched them and felt oddly isolated. It was as if she weren’t even there. Perhaps pairing them would be easier than she thought.

“I spent the first two years after Richard’s death in New York, as you know. I couldn’t bear to leave our home. Then the last year I’ve been here in Philadelphia, but with frequent travel to visit relatives and such. What of you?”

“I’ve been here the entire time. I’m glad to see you in such good spirits. I know Richard’s passing was most difficult to bear.”

She nodded and took hold of his arm. “You were so good to come to us in New York. The fact that I knew I could depend on you was such a blessing.”

“I was glad to be there for you.”

Mia struggled with her unexpected jealousy. Why should she be unhappy? This was exactly what she had planned. Only this time it was going much better than she’d ever envisioned.

“If you’ll excuse me,” Mia interrupted. “I see someone with whom I must have a word.”

She tried not to think about the fact that neither one begged her to stay. Confusion marred her usual clearheaded reasoning. She didn’t want to believe it was because she was in love with Garrett, but Mia was starting to be suspicious that her jealousy could mean nothing else.

After speaking to several of her mother’s friends, Mia tried to catch a glimpse of Garrett and Eulalee, but they were nowhere to be found.
They’ve probably gone walking,
she reasoned.
No doubt talking about the old days and all the interests they shared. He’ll probably come back all excited about renewing their acquaintance and telling me how marvelous it was to find her again.