Page 80 of The Formation of Us
Faith picked up her reticule and left the room. Cyrus was in the parlor with Tansy, building a window seat she wanted. They all greeted Duke, but Cora was too excited to mind her manners. “We made a present for you,” she said, interrupting.
“Is that so?” Duke knelt and tweaked the child’s belly “Whoa! Are you getting fat, princess?”
Cora giggled. “I got your present under my shirt.”
“Is that why you’re all lumpy?” He tickled her side, and she danced away.
Faith watched her handsome suitor tease her daughter. He wore a navy blue suit and a starched white shirt that made his smile seem wider and brighter. He raised his eyes to hers, and she wanted to rush into his arms, into his passion.
“This will make your shoulder better,” Cora said, interrupting their private exchange.
Adam looked up from the wing chair where he was reading. “Well, give it to him before you bust a seam.”
“Surprise!” Cora pulled a drawstring bag filled with field corn from beneath her shirt and thrust it at Duke.
His expression made Faith laugh. He had no idea what he was holding.
“It’s a heating bag,” she said. “Heat the corn in the oven, then pour it back into the bag and pull the drawcord tight to close it. The corn will stay hot for about half an hour, and the heat will feel good on your shoulder.”
He bounced the bag in his palm a couple of times, then grinned at Cora. “I’ll bet this was your idea.”
“Nope.” She shook her head and pointed at Adam.
Duke’s eyebrow lifted, and he looked at Adam, who slouched down in the chair.
“It’s just a bag of corn,” the boy said.
“Well, it’s a smart idea and a perfect gift. My shoulder says thanks for being such an intelligent young man.”
Adam rolled his eyes, but Faith noticed his pleased look. “Mama sewed the bag, and I put the cord in by myself,” Cora said.
As was becoming his habit, Duke spoiled the children, and even Faith’s aunts, with licorice sticks before he whisked her outside.
“Seventeen days, and you’ll be Mrs. Grayson,” he said, pulling her behind a tree for a kiss.
A reckless thrill rushed through her, as if she were standing on the roof of her three-story greenhouse.
She would be his wife.
His lover.
The mother of his children.
And the one who deceived him each day of their lives.
She couldn’t do it.
Shehadto do it.
Once they jumped, there would be no turning back. Somewhere, some day, the truth would come out and they would crash to the hard, rock-strewn earth below.
Duke leaned back and rubbed her arms. “Why are you trembling?”
“I’ve never seen a theater performance.”
“You’ll love it. No arrogant doctor to battle, no nasty competitor to attack you, just an evening of entertainment for you to enjoy.”
“Speaking of the doctor, he visited my bathhouse yesterday” She recounted Aster’s story about massaging the doctor’s posterior, and Duke was howling with laughter when they reached Union Hall on Main Street.
