The man leaned forward even more. “To be honest with you, the dinosaurs found in the coal seam. The Belgium find fascinates me.”
“Yes. That’s what my paper was on.”
Devin wasn’t having any trouble with this conversation.
“I’m a recent believer. And I was under the impression that Mr. Douglass might be? And you as well, Mr. Schmitt?”
“I am.” Devin smiled. “So is Miss Mills.”
The paleontologist glanced her way and nodded. “Wonderful.” He cleared his throat. “As you know, it’s difficult to have our viewpoint of the world and its Creator in this field of study. Mind you, the big shift has taken on great speed since Darwin’s book. I was a great proponent of it. But something was always missing.”
Eliza sat up a little straighter. This great man, this man of science, had grappled with the age of the dinosaurs too!
“TheIguanodonsin Belgium are a key to our understanding of the truth. I believe that coal can be made from vegetation at a much faster rate than millions of years. I’d like to run some experiments on it.”
“That’s marvelous!” She clapped her hands together. “That’s exactly what I thought when I”—she barely caught herself—“read the paper.” Her enthusiasm waned. Why couldn’t she simply tell the man the truth? This washerpaper they werediscussing. A topic she was most passionate about. And now, it put a foul taste in her mouth. All because of her own insecurities. She pasted on a smile. “Thank you for sharing that with us, Dr. Masterson. I will eagerly await your findings.”
Devin nodded. “Yes, we will.”
“It’s been lovely to share with you both about my faith as well. Thank you for that. I have been ... hesitant to speak to people about it. But I do believe that God is growing me in this area.”
A man brought a telegram to Dr. Masterson. He gave the deliverer a coin. “Excuse me, this must be urgent.” He tore into the envelope and read the note. As he stood up, he sent them a smile. “If you will excuse me. My wife has gone into labor, and I must return to New York, where she’s waiting, posthaste.”
“Congratulations!” Eliza stood and walked over to shake his hand. “It has been an honor, sir.”
“You, as well, Miss Mills. Keep doing the fine work that you are doing.” Dr. Masterson turned to Devin. “Wonderful to meet you, Mr. Schmitt. If I’m ever in Pittsburgh, I shall look you up.”
Devin took the man’s offered hand and shook it. “Thank you, sir.” He glanced at Eliza, a frown pulling at the corners of his mouth.
They took their seats again as the good doctor left. Eliza relaxed her shoulders. “That wasn’t so bad? Right?” But she couldn’t even convince herself of that. Guilt pecked at her, unrelenting.
“As long as he doesn’t come looking for me in Pittsburgh.” Devin shook his head. “You need to tell the man the truth, Eliza. Especially after he told us he was a Christian. Good grief, he’s not going to think less of you, and you know it.”
“But I lied to him.”
“So did I.” Devin widened his eyes at her. “And I hate that. So let’s fess up now and you can correspond with him.”
She bit her lip. “I have to admit, when I couldn’t talk about the topic as the author of the paper, it lost all joy for me.”
“See? We just need to tell him the truth. We should have done that from the beginning.” He set his napkin down on the table. “We can probably catch him at the train. Come on”—he grabbed her hand—“let’s go together.”
“I don’t know.” Why was she worried? She loved what she did. “What if he doesn’t respect the paper like he did when he thoughtyouwrote it?”
“Eliza.” He leaned in close. “You are the most fascinating conundrum. You have such confidence and fervor, and then you doubt yourself. Why?”
She couldn’t answer. Especially with him so close. Her heart was attempting to pound its way out of her chest.
He squeezed her hand, giving her a warm smile. “You’re the smartest person I’ve ever known. Look, I know you’ve always had to worry about whether people liked you or respected you for who you are rather than your family and their money, but I think it’s time for you to stand up for your work. You’re amazing and Dr. Masterson has the right to know that.”
MONDAY, JULY17, 1916•JENSEN
“Dr. Masterson!” Devin called out to the man on the platform. Thank heaven he hadn’t already gone.
He turned. “Mr. Schmitt.” He looked puzzled. “Did I forget something?”
“No”—he turned to Eliza—“but we’ve got something to tell you.” He nudged her with his elbow.
Her jaw dropped a bit, then she snapped it shut.
