He pulled her back onto solid ground, so that their bodies almost collided. Her gaze drifted along the birthmark on his jaw. He was beginning to grow a beard over the mark, which looked like a bear’s claw, swiping across his cheek and down his jaw. She wasn’t sure what she was expecting from him this morning. She felt that something must have changed between them after what happened in the alley.
But he kept her at a careful distance. He was back to being his formal self, despite the way he had held her so intimately yesterday. And so she followed his lead.
“Perhaps you should stick to dry land,” he said, eyeing her.
She stuck her chin in the air. “Spoken by someone who can’t stomach being more than a foot above it.”
“Yes, I believe my limits have been well-established,” he said. “Now we need to locate yours.”
“What brings you here today, Parker?” Earnest asked. “Care to join us for a trip on the Creation ride?”
“Actually, I need to borrow Grace for an errand.” He looked at her. “Do you mind?”
“Of course not,” Earnest said, believing the question to be directed at him. “Lillie, we can discuss how to plan our approach tonight, if you’d like.”
Lillie leaned in and whispered to Grace, “I’ll have Earnest pick me up at the house on the early side so we can bring you a dress. Look for us by six.”
Grace kissed Lillie’s cheek. “I’ve never deserved you,” she whispered.
“You deserveeverything,” she said. “I wish someday you’d realize that.”
She felt Lillie’s observant eyes on her as she took Theodore’s outstretched arm.
“Did you actually fall out of the boat?” Theo asked, frowning at her sleeve. “Your blouse feels damp.”
“Never mind that,” Grace said quickly. “Am I to believe you need a favor?”
“I had an idea,” he said. They strolled down the Colonnade of States through gently falling blossoms. The air smelled like sugared almonds as they came to a stop in front of a caricature artist.
“Here,” he said.
“You’d like to remember me forever?” she asked dryly. “But with horrifically exaggerated features?”
“I can assure you, Miss Covington, that you need no exaggeration,” he said. “You are more than enough to handle as it is.”
“You have such an elegant way with compliments,” she said. “You might want to reconsider the way you ask for a favor.”
“I don’t need a favor, exactly,” he said, frowning. “What I need is your memory.”
The woman sketching the pictures turned to them. The tips of her agile fingers were stained with charcoal.
“Could you do something a little unorthodox for us, perhaps?” Theodore asked her.
“Unorthodox,” the artist said. She smiled, showing ragged teeth. “Another word for ‘it’ll cost you.’”
“That won’t be a problem,” Grace said sweetly, jabbing Theodore with her elbow. “He justlovesto spoil me.”
He rolled his eyes.
“If we described someone to you, could you draw a sketch of her?”
Grace’s understanding dawned.
“That woman,” she said, turning toward Theodore. “The one who was following us just before Harriet died.”
He nodded. “Do you remember her well enough to describe her?”
“I think so,” Grace said, furrowing her brow. She closed her eyes, mining her memory. She remembered the woman’s navy hat and suit, her profile as she turned to look at them on the Ferris wheel, with her sloping nose and ruddy cheeks. She did her best to paint a picture of the woman with words.
