“First I’m going to order a stiff drink, and then I’ll talk to Harriet tonight. Hopefully it’s all just a misunderstanding.”
“Yes,” Grace said faintly. “If anyone can get to the bottom of it, it’s you.”
He gave her a half smile as he walked away, and she wondered why the unburdening of truth had left her feeling worse than ever. The room was filling with more guests and with it, the temperature was climbing. Someone in uniform opened the oversized windows out onto the balcony, so that a blessed breeze came through. And then a beautiful woman passed by Grace, dressed in a vibrant peacock blue. At the last moment, Grace recognized her.
“Miss Adams,” she said, stopping her. “I saw you the other night at the Luchow-Faust. You charmed us with a beautiful performance.”
“Yes, I recognize you,” Ethel said, pausing. “You were sitting with Harriet Forbes, weren’t you? I’m Ethel.”
“I’m Grace.”
“I apologize in advance, but I can never hold on to names.”
“And I can’t carry a tune, so we can make up for one another’s faults.”
Ethel’s eyes moved toward someone in the corner, and Grace recognized the talent manager from the other night. The one Sam Whitcomb said had come to the World’s Fair to make someone a star.
The man took a slow sip of his drink, his sharp gaze raking the room. Ethel looked enamored, but Grace couldn’t help but feel there was something predatory about him.
“Will she be here tonight, then?” Ethel asked delicately. “Harriet?”
“I’m not sure,” Grace said. It was a question she wondered herself.
She hated to take Aunt Clove’s side in anything, and she hoped that Oliver was right—that there was a perfectly reasonable explanation for all of it. But part of her worried, as she saw Oliver fail to meet her eyes, that she would take the bullet for delivering the message and burn one of the last bridges she had with the Carter family.
The music died, and at that moment, Harriet appeared at the top of the stairs.
“There she is,” Grace said quietly. Ethel turned to look.
Aunt Clove’s eyes almost bugged out of her head as Harriet entered the ballroom. If Grace thought her Aunt Clove despised her, it was nothing compared to the way she looked at Harriet.
And she wasn’t the only one. It seemed that Harriet had inspired a range of reactions with her entrance.
Ethel’s smile tightened, like a piece of porcelain that was about to crack. “If you’ll excuse me,” she said to Grace, and made her way a little more urgently toward the talent manager.
Copper had been in a lively conversation, listening to Frannie talk, but he too was distracted by Harriet’s entrance. Frannie saw the way his eyes took her in.
She flushed with a sudden anger. Then, with a flick of her fan, she abruptly stalked away.
Harriet looked radiant, Grace couldn’t deny it. She was wearing a burgundy evening dress set off by white satin gloves. Her hair was pulled into an intricate updo, and her ears glittered with chandelier earrings. Theodore Parker went to greet her, and, whether it was for show or because he couldn’t help it, he looked truly happy to see her. As repayment, Aunt Clove shot Grace a look as though she should not even think about approaching Lillie. She whispered something in her husband’s ear, and he brought Lillie out on the dance floor, ensuring that Grace couldn’t speak to her.
But this was a battle Aunt Clove would not win. Talking to Lillie was the most important thing to Grace that night, because tomorrow she was going home.
“A Dr Pepper,” Earnest said, offering her the drink in an ornate crystal goblet.
As she took it from him, Grace spilled a few droplets on her glove and hurriedly blotted it with her handkerchief. She knew she’d think of this week whenever she saw the stain.
“Looks like you’ll be needing this back,” Earnest said. With a theatrical flourish he returned her handkerchief, freshly white, without a drop of blood on it.
“So clumsy,” she said, shaking her head at herself.
“Nonsense.”
Her heart fluttered a little as he took her by the waist and led her past towers of flickering candles and lush vines of white flowers draped over chairs. And yet she couldn’t help but notice the way Earnest stole another look at Lillie. Grace swallowed.
“I have an idea,” she said, trying to smile. “Why don’t you ask Lillie to dance? And since my aunt won’t let me get near her, could you possibly deliver a message for me?”
“It would be a pleasure,” he said enthusiastically. He gestured for Copper to take his place at Grace’s side, then made his way toward Lillie.
