Mrs. Sharpe held up the latest issue ofGood Housekeeping. “This is our rallying cry,” she said. “Never underestimate the American woman when the health and well-being of her family are at stake. We shall fight it in the press, the grocery stores, and in our kitchens.” Then she turned her steely glare on Gray. “And we will fight it in the halls of Congress. Mark my words, Mr. Delacroix. Passing those laws will be a challenge, but we’ll get there eventually.”
She slapped the magazine down on the table, drew a calming breath, and then adopted a pleasant smile. “Now. Let me wrap up the watercress sandwiches for your train ride back to Boston. Mr. Feldman, shall we also send them home with the apricot tart? I think we shall! I’ll have the secretary wrap it so it will travel well.”
Mrs. Sharpe led them down the hallway toward the front of the building, stopping briefly to make arrangements for a hansom cab. It was hard for Gray to contain his sense of triumph as they walked down the hall. Annabelle instinctively reached for his hand, and he grabbed it, squeezing tight. They’d done it. They haddone it. Mrs. Sharpe noticed their clasped hands, but he couldn’t have let Annabelle go right now if his life depended on it.
When they reached the foyer of the building, Mrs. Sharpe leaned over to speak in a stage whisper into Annabelle’s ear. “I shall expect a wedding invitation in the near future!” she said with a large wink at Gray.
Anabelle choked on her breath, but Gray smiled. “Mrs.Sharpe obviously has crystal clear vision,” he said with a wink of his own.
As they headed out the door, he carried the box of sandwiches in one arm and clasped Annabelle’s hand in the other. The weather was wet and miserable, but the second they stepped onto the portico, Annabelle could no longer contain herself. With a shriek of happiness, she leapt into his arms for a hug. He almost dropped the box but returned her embrace as laughter bubbled up from deep inside. Rain drizzled down on them, but he didn’t care. For the first time since he’d embarked on this audacious quest, it looked like they would actually succeed.
“Look, there’s Captain Haig!” Annabelle said.
Sure enough, Haig huddled beneath the awning of the pharmacy across the street. He cupped his hands around his mouth and called out to them. “How did it go?”
Gray didn’t even have time to open his umbrella before Annabelle started dashing across the street. He followed, splashing through rain puddles, to tell Haig everything. It couldn’t have gone better if he’d written the script himself.
“It was perfect,” Annabelle gushed as they reached the pharmacy. The dash through the rain had left water dripping from her hair into her eyes. Gray passed her his handkerchief, and she took it, flashing him a brilliant smile as she dried her face.
“She’s right,” he told Captain Haig. “The editors are complete opposites, but they were both appalled by the applesauce and will help spread the word. Annabelle, you were pitch-perfect.”
“Tell me!” Haig ordered, and Annabelle obliged. Gray watched her face as she spoke, her eyes sparkling with excitement. She embodied laughter and optimism and steadfast determination. Being with her felt like wind in his sails, filling him with buoyant optimism. He couldn’t even concentrate on what she was saying to Haig; all he could see was the joy in her eyes as water dripped off her hair. She glowed with happiness.
But sobering thoughts intruded. What was Luke doing at this exact moment? Was he hungry? Sick? If he caught some tropical disease, would they let him see a doctor? While Gray and Annabelle dined on watercress sandwiches and apricot tart, Luke sweltered in a prison cell.
For a few hours this morning, he had forgotten Annabelle’s betrayal, but he remembered now, and the pain was raw and real. Annabelle kept chattering, still bubbling with excitement as his gaze tracked to the rain spattering in the street. Soon they would be on the train to Boston, and then they’d board thePelicanfor the two-day journey to Washington. He would be trapped with this radiant person who reminded him of everything good in the world.
He couldn’t do it. Annabelle and her luminous optimism was out of his reach now. The moment he tried to join in her happiness, his mind would inevitably stray back to Luke and her role in his downfall. Luke had earned his place in that prison, and Gray couldn’t let it darken the rest of his life. Somehow he would forge ahead to build a future with a good woman beside him, but that woman could never be Annabelle. Her bright exuberance would be a constant reminder. He needed to put her behind him and try to move forward. This afternoon’s triumph would forever mark the end of this bittersweet chapter in his life.
A pair of horses pulling a hansom cab clopped toward them, and he raised his umbrella to draw the cabbie’s attention. Annabelle and Captain Haig kept up their lively stream of conversation as they boarded, but all Gray could concentrate on was how to say good-bye to her forever.
Annabelle was still floating on air as the carriage delivered them to the Springfield train station. Captain Haig peppered her with questions the entire ride, and she joyously answeredthem. Gray had retreated back into silence but she wasn’t dismayed, for this afternoon had been a breakthrough. She and Gray had worked and laughed together. She couldn’t expect him to leap back into the whole-hearted relationship they’d had earlier, but they were moving in the right direction.
Ahead of her was another voyage on thePelican, and they could begin repairing the rift between them. Her hope inched even higher as Gray helped her alight from the carriage, looking so deeply into her eyes that she felt as though he was trying to memorize them. He opened the umbrella over them both as he guided her toward the train station. When the wind picked up, he angled the umbrella to shield her, and she was almost sorry when they arrived at the overhang before the station.
He collapsed the umbrella and held the door for her and Captain Haig. “Wait here,” he said as they stepped into the small lobby of the train station. “I’ll get our tickets.”
The interior of the station was charming, with wooden floors, coffered ceilings, and plenty of seating. The train to Boston didn’t leave for an hour, so she found a table in the station’s café, ordered a pot of tea, then offered Captain Haig some of the delicate watercress sandwiches. He devoured them all before Gray returned.
He handed a ticket to Captain Haig, then turned to her, his face somber. “Annabelle, will you come with me?”
She tried not to worry as she followed him to the opposite side of the station, where potted ferns created an alcove of privacy. Gray’s expression was serious but not angry. Moving forward wasn’t going to be easy, but they were on their way.
He turned toward her as soon as they were both behind the ferns, but didn’t meet her gaze. It looked like he struggled to find words as he clenched the tickets in his hand. She wanted to tell him not to be so nervous, but patience was probably best right now.
“Annabelle, I can’t see you anymore,” he said, still staringat the ground. He opened his wallet and extracted a few bills, holding them out along with a single ticket. “This ticket will take you straight to Washington. I’m afraid it won’t be possible to take you back on thePelican.”
Her jaw dropped open. “What are you talking about? I’m not going with you?”
He finally met her eyes, and they were full of regret. “This is my fault,” he said. “I don’t ... I can’t...” He tried a few more times but kept struggling to form the words.
Then the rumble of an incoming train interrupted him. Brakes squealed, steam hissed, gears clicked. He clenched his jaw and waited until the roar of the engines quieted.
“I’m never going to be able to forget what happened,” he said in a voice aching with tenderness. She wished he were angry, because it would have been easier to stand up to anger. This pained, regretful side of Gray was excruciating. “Please understand,” he continued. “I don’t think you did the wrong thing where Luke is concerned. If I were in your shoes, I might have done the same. But when I look at you, I still think of my brother, and I don’t think that will ever change.”
What could she say to that? She simply stood frozen and stared at him while her heart split into pieces.
“Take the ticket, Annabelle.”
