Page 34 of A Lovely White Christmastide
Scrutinizing her own words, Julianna realized her sister was correct. A slow smile spread across her pink lips. “Then I need not search any further.”
A clock chimed somewhere in the house and Beth sobered. “Take care, Jule. I am afraid Mr. Kaye is not the type to pursue marriage but has the happy disposition that makes him agreeable to most ladies.”
It was true. Julianna had seen for herself how he gave pretty compliments to all the women in their company, but did that mean the kind words he graced her with were any less sincere? Then again, when one gave out compliments like peppermint candy it cheapened their worth.
“I will be careful, Bethie. I promise.”
Beth’s fingers fluttered at her throat and Julianna frowned. “Have you received any word from the posting inn about your necklace?”
“None.” Beth dropped her hand to her side. “I begin to think that I will not be able to recover Mama’s locket.”
“Do not lose hope yet, it has only been a few days.”
“Yes, but the inn is only a day's journey away. My letter has had plenty of time to reach them. If they found it, I should have received word by now.”
“But what if they have not?”
Beth crossed her arms over her chest. “Then it has been stolen.”
Julianna shook her head. “Sometimes things take time, Beth. We must trust that your necklace will return to you.”
“Not everything we treasure returns.”
The pinch around Beth’s eyes and the way her confident stance melted into something that resembled a hug as she continued to cross her arms made Julianna wonder if they were still speaking of the necklace.
Giggling announced the Crane sisters moments before two of them entered the retiring room. Beth’s arms dropped to her sides and Julianna turned toward a mirror on the wall in an attempt to appear natural.
“But is not Mr. Kaye the most dashing gentleman here?” one of the Crane sisters said to the other as they entered.
“Oh most definitely, and so amiable. I think he might have some interest in you as well.”
Their tittering laughter scratched Julianna’s nerves like nails on a slate. She glanced over her shoulder at the pair, then made eye contact with Beth. The tip of her sister’s head emphasized the other ladies’ words.
A pounding began behind her eyes as her mind raced. Perhaps she really had misunderstood Mr. Kaye’s attentions. A band tightened around her chest, squeezing out the bits of joy she’d derived from the evening. She was half in love with the man and he was simply being nice.
The next two days Beth’s warnings played on repeat in Julianna’s mind. She spent the majority of each day dodging interactions with Caleb while trying to decipher Mr. Kaye’s real intent.
On the third day her uncle requested to meet with her in his study. The entreaty caught her by surprise for she’d rarely had a tête-à-tête with Uncle Waverly. When she entered the dark paneled room she was even further distressed to find they were not alone. Caleb sat near the fire but rose when she entered.
She glanced at her uncle. He gestured to a brown leather chair with wooden arms. Crossing the room, she sat on the edge, careful to arrange her rose-colored skirts in an effort to prevent wrinkling. They had a party to go to, and the last thing she wished to do was muss her appearance so that everyone would be required to wait on her while she changed.
“I hope this will not take long,” she finally said. “Aunt Waverly insists we leave for the Baileys in a quarter hour.”
“And we shall,” her uncle said with a grim expression.
Did he take no pleasure in celebrating with his neighbors? Then his gaze strayed to his nephew and she understood. He was no more pleased with this meeting than she, but they might as well get it over with. Perhaps then the man would leave her alone.
“Might I have a word in private with Miss Haynes?” Caleb asked.
“Whatever you have to say to me can be said in front of my uncle, Mr. Waverly.”
Caleb frowned. She did not usually address him so formally, but they were not children anymore. And besides, he had started it with his Miss Haynes. That was not even her title yet.
He approached her and in a low voice said, “What I have to say is for your ears only.”
She folded her arms. “Do not take such an intimate tone with me, sir.”
“But I must,” he bent before her and scooped up her hand. “For years I have admired you and now I am almost in a position to be able to take a wife. You must know that you are the wife I intend to take. My attentions cannot have gone unnoticed. So tell me, my love, when shall we wed? In the spring, or perhaps the summer.”
