Page 47 of The Formation of Us
She laced her fingers in front of her to keep from fidgeting. “Would you consider walking me home?” she asked when he came to her side.
“I think it would be a good idea.” He gestured for her to precede him through the crowd, but Faith slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow, wanting to show those gathered in the park that she and the sheriff were courting. Maybe then he wouldn’t change his mind about doing so.
He glanced at her in surprise, but escorted her through the park without comment. When they headed down Water Street, Faith slowed their pace.
“I owe you an apology Duke,” For the first time it felt right using his name, because her apology was meant for the man behind the badge. “I’m sorry I insulted your integrity this morning.”
He stopped to face her. “Faith, if you really believe what you said, then I think we should reconsider courting.”
No! Oh, Lord. “I meant it, but not for you. You’re a better man than I accused you of being.”
“So are many of the lawmen I know.”
“My comment was unfair, but not completely unfounded. Some lawmen do use their power to intimidate and manipulate others.” Judge Stone had.
“I know.” He sighed and rolled his shoulder. “And you obviously know one of those men.”
It wasn’t a question, but even if it had been, she wouldn’t answer. “I felt compromised this morning, but I know you’re not like those unscrupulous men,” she said, hoping to smooth over her earlier offense.
“How do you know?” he asked. “Who says I’m not corrupt?”
Years of guarding her virtue from the men who frequented her mother’s brothel intuitively told her that Duke Grayson wasn’t like them. He didn’t lie, cheat, or steal, and he wasn’t corrupt. He was the furthest thing from.
“Your mother told me you weren’t.” She smiled, hoping to dissolve his anger and welcome back the warmth that had been building between them before she’d insulted him.
Humor sparked in his eyes, then faded. “What upset you this morning? It drove me crazy to leave you like that.”
She turned away and resumed walking. He kept pace beside her, and she hooked her hand in the crook of his elbow again. “I was thinking about my mother.”
“I haven’t asked, but have you been without her long?”
His gentle query about her mother’s death made her eyes mist. “Seven weeks,” she said, but it seemed like she’d been without her mother all her life.
“Even after thirteen years it’s hell,” he said thoughtfully. She’d bet. Especially when your grief was all mixed up with guilt and love and hate.
“Sounds like you could use a day away from everything,” he said.
“I could use a day of uninterrupted sleep,” she answered truthfully. “My greenhouse has been swarming with women all week.”
“That’s what my mother said this morning when I went home to change.”
“She came in twice this week,” Faith remarked, feeling a sincere fondness for Nancy Grayson. “I think she was serious about being Iris’s best customer.”
“All her life she’s sacrificed for my father and us boys, and now for her grandchildren. She deserves to treat herself to a massage when she wants one. And you deserve a day-of enjoyment. I have an idea for our first official outing.” They turned left onto Mill Street, but he stopped before they reached the greenhouse. Light shadows underscored his eyes, as if he needed sleep, but his gaze was alert and sincere. “That is, if you’re certain you want me to court you.”
“I’m certain,” she said. She not only wanted him to court her, but to marry her, because she needed to be a better mother to Adam and Cora, and Duke could help her do that. He was a man she could respect and possibly learn to love. She was a woman who would spend the rest of her life trying to bring him happiness. Many marriages were built on far less.
Chapter 15
Faith had never been to a circus, so Duke was taking her and the children to see the show before Van Amburgh moved his act to Mayville in the morning. They rode the street rail from Fredonia to Dunkirk, then watched the circus animals parade down Central Avenue to attract people to the afternoon performance.
“Is it over already?” Cora asked, her voice filled with disappointment as the last caged lion passed by.
“This is only the parade, princess. We’re going to the circus now,” Duke said. As they walked to the fairgrounds, he patiently answered Cora’s endless stream of questions, then paid their admission.
Faith suspected Adam was staying away from Duke because of the incident with the hair brush, but Cora hadn’t detached herself from Duke’s side since he met them at the greenhouse.
He took them to see the sideshows first. Cora’s eyes bugged at the snake lady. The woman sat in a cage playing with an enormous snake that Faith feared would haunt her nightmares, but all of the acts were performed to music that incited everything from fear to excitement.
