Arthur
It was Saturday morning, and there was a fresh blanket of snow on the streets of Chicago, which was making traveling to Putnam Press a tad trickier than it had been on Tuesday. Still, Arthur resolved not to let a few inches of white powder stop him from seeing Jesse, even if it meant having to take the little Albany cutter there by himself.
Clutching tight to the reins, Arthur heaved a forlorn sigh as the sleigh moved over the mounds of snow. Had it really been less than a week since he had brought those éclairs into the shop? It felt like a whole month must have passed. Every waking hour that Arthur had been forced to spend some way other than basking in Jesse’s wonderful presence had been torturous. Arthur held back a chuckle as that thought popped into his head. If Charlotte were with him right now, she would have rolled her eyes and chastised him for being so prone to histrionics.
Still, Arthur missed Jesse fiercely. Tuesday’s short conversation hadn’t been nearly enough. Arthur wanted to see Jesse when no one else was around. He wanted the two of them to have a chance to be playful together, as they had been a couple of times when Jesse had been teaching him how the presses worked. Which waswhy Arthur was heading to Putnam Press so early in the morning on a weekend. Jesse had mentioned that he worked on Saturdays to set the type for one of the little newspapers that Putnam printed. It stood to reason that he would be there by now. Composing took hours of work. Jesse would have had to start well before lunchtime to finish in time for other people to print the paper. And Arthur couldn’t wait to see him.
After a few more minutes of traveling, Arthur stopped his sleigh near Putnam Press and searched for a nearby hitching post or stable. Unfortunately, there did not seem to be a stable on this particular street (not that he could see, anyway), but there were a couple of iron hitching posts. Luckily, Arthur had thought to bring a blanket for his horse. Otherwise, he’d have felt terrible for having to leave her out in the snow for a couple of hours while he spent time with Jesse.
He tied his horse to one of the iron posts and covered her with the thick, woolen blanket. Then, he started back toward the shop, leaving his sleigh there. When Arthur reached Putnam Press, he thought that he might skip the knocking and surprise Jesse instead. He pulled open the door with a flourish. Unfortunately, this had the unexpected effect of startling poor Jesse, who was seated nearby. Letting out a yelp, Jesse practically fell out of his chair. He then swiveled to face Arthur.
“Whoops, sorry,” Arthur said with a chuckle.
“Jesus Christ, Arthur, what iswrongwith you?” Jesse snapped, blowing out a sharp breath. He placed a hand on his chest. “I think my heart might have stopped.”
“I wanted to surprise you,” Arthur explained. “And I think I succeeded?”
Huffing a laugh, Jesse rolled his eyes. “I was more frightened than surprised.”
Arthur laughed. “I’ll try not to make such a ruckus next time.” He took off his hat. “Anyway...” After hanging his homburg on a hook, Arthur began unfastening the buttons of his long, black overcoat, happy to see that there was no one else in the shop. “Good morning, by the way. Are you making the, ehm, the formes for the newspaper?”
“Obviously,” Jesse said, his curt reply made lighter by the teasing lilt in his voice.
“Mind if I watch?” Arthur said as he finished taking off his winter wear.
“I’m sure you have more important things to do.”
“Oh, uhm, no, I don’t. Actually, I came here to spend time with you. I thought you might be... interested? In seeing me?”
Jesse’s eyebrows shot up. He opened his mouth but closed it a moment later, as though he was too flummoxed by Arthur’s confession to think up a proper reply. It wasn’t exactly the response that Arthur had been hoping for, but he’d take it.
“I promise I won’t bother you,” Arthur said, taking one tentative step forward. “I won’t keep you from finishing your work, if that’s what you’re concerned about.”
“I...” Jesse shook his head. “No, I, uhm, I’m not worried.”
“So . . . may I watch you work, then?”
Jesse looked back and forth between Arthur and the letters in front of him.
“Sure,” he said slowly, like he reallywasn’tso sure whether or not he liked Arthur’s proposal.
Ignoring the heavy unease that had settled in the pit of his stomach, Arthur pulled up a chair next to Jesse. He hoped that Jesse wouldn’t see him as a nuisance. All Arthur wanted was for the two of them to have a chance to chat a little. Or, barring that, at least to be in Jesse’s presence for a while.
Arthur liked to think that Jesse had been pleased by his last visit to the shop. He could have sworn that he and Jesse had shared a few knowing looks during their short time together then. Arthur had taken care to hold back as much as he could, especially because there had been other employees nearby, but also because Charlotte had made him promise to. And Arthurhadheld back. He had only made one particularly flirtatious comment, and even then, he’d only made it because Jesse had been blushing so furiously that Arthur would have looked foolish had he pretended not to know what the man’s pink cheeks had meant.
God, he hoped Jesse wasn’t irritated that he had stopped by this morning. Perhaps Jesse wasn’t feeling the “little bolts of lightning” as strongly as he himself had been.
Doubt began to worm its way beneath Arthur’s skin, its terrible coils making him itch. Dammit, why was wooing the man he liked proving to be so stressful? With Ella, things had been much simpler. Not only because Ella had been a woman, either. Despite that fact, Ella and Arthur’s courtship had been plenty risky. Neither of their families had intended for them to end up together. He and Ella had been forced to sneak off in the middle of parties or else meet up in the nighttime while everyone else was asleep in order to spend time together. But Arthur hadn’t minded those things. In fact, he had even found them thrilling.
Age, it seemed, had cursed Arthur with circumspection. Not only that, but it had saddled him with more responsibilities as well—responsibilities to Emma and to Charlotte and to his staff. These things were making it hard for him to be as bold and as blunt as he would have liked to be otherwise in this situation. Had he been twenty, rather than thirty-six, he’d have been more sure of Jesse’s interest in him by now. Or lack of interest. Because he’d have likely kissed Jesse the moment he had pinned him to that printing press.
For the next couple of minutes, Arthur continued to watch Jesse line up the type letters on a little stick. His mind bounced between wondering about Jesse’s potential feelings for him and marveling at the man’s skill. All the while, the coils of unease made it harder and harder for him to sit still. Eventually, Arthur crossed his legs, only to uncross them not one minute later. Jesse seemed to not be paying him any mind. Instead, the man kept his focus on his work. Jesse’s unbroken focus only made Arthur like him more.
Fifteen minutes later, Arthur started to worry that he had come by the shop for nothing. Maybe Jesse had only said that Arthur could sit here because he hadn’t wanted to be rude. Especially to his employer.
Arthur winced. Oh, Lord, he was Jesse’s superior! Over the last week or so, Arthur had been trying hardnotto think about that. But now he couldn’tnotthink about it. Dammit, what was wrong with him? Why had he come here?
Arthur scooted his chair backward and pushed himself to stand.
