Arthur wagged his index finger back and forth, pretending to chastise her, even though she really was very funny. God, Ella would have burst out laughing had she heard that tease.
“How about March?” Charlotte suggested. “I can check the calendar for the equinox.”
“Perfect. We should prepare the invitations soon, then. Oh! Mr. O’Connor can print them!”
“WhoisMr. O’Connor?” Emma asked.
“He’s...” Arthur wanted to say something akin to “the most perfect male specimen to have ever lived,” but for obvious reasons, he could only say something so ridiculous to Jesse himself. Possibly also to Charlotte in private. “He’s a man who works for me. He’sverysmart. And kind. And—and creative! Really, Emma, you’dlovehim. We’ll invite him to the party as well. We have to. Everyone will want to meet him once they see his idea for the... the paper roller thing.”
Emma let out an impish laugh, then covered her mouth with her hand as though to stifle it. Nothing could temper Arthur’s excitement, though, even Emma’s obvious condescension. He knew that Emma was simply in that stage of life when she thought she knew better than everybody. And unlike his own parents, Arthur wouldn’t let it bother him.
“Alright, then, I’ll write up the wording for the invitation,” Charlotte said. “And this will be positioned as a party to celebrate...”
“Well, we can’t say ‘to celebrate Mr. Arthur Hughes’s monumental achievement of being selected to exhibit in the most spectacular event of the century,’ unfortunately.” Charlotte’s eyes flickered to the ceiling, and Arthur held back a laugh. He cupped his chin and tapped the side of his face with his index finger as he tried to think of something better to write on the invitation. “Perhaps something like, ‘to celebrate the upcoming Chicago World’s Fair and recognize the tireless efforts of those involved with its planning.’ Yes, something like that. We won’t name Mr. Burnham specifically since I haven’t received his permission to tether his name to my event, but he’ll be flattered nonetheless, I think.”
Charlotte smiled warmly. “Sounds perfect, Arthur.”
“It will be the party of the century to commemorate what will be the fair of the century!” Arthur exclaimed before enthusiastically clapping his hands together once. “Now, I would like some wine to celebrate. Are you two interested as well?”
“Really? Even me?” Emma asked.
“Even you,” Arthur said.
Emma smiled brightly. “I would love some!”
Arthur locked eyes with Charlotte “Would you look at that? News of the party lifted her spirits immediately.”
“I think it was the offer of wine,” Charlotte said with a bemused shake of her head.
“Good enough.”
Arthur turned on his heel and started toward the kitchen to fetch a bottle of wine. Shortly thereafter, he returned with his favorite red and three wineglasses. After opening it, he poured some wine for each of them, though slightly less for Emma.
“Let’s toast to Mr. O’Connor,” Arthur said, “whose idea will secure my place in the fair, which will in turn elevate our beautiful household and my wonderful family to where we belong. Soon, we will be some of the most respected people in Chicago. Even morerespected and revered than my parents once were.” Arthur wasn’t sure whether any of that made sense to Emma, but oh well. What really mattered was that soon, he would no longer feel shackled by his rebellious past. Finally, his parents would see him as more than a rebellious, foolhearted boy, and so, too, would everyone else. He held his wineglass high. “To my newforeverfriend, Mr. Jesse O’Connor.”
Clink.
***
Arthur was in his bedroom, trying on his third cravat of the evening. Once he had the lavender silk fabric positioned exactly the way he liked it, he paused and inspected himself in the mirror, turning his head this way and that. Blue, especially pale blue, was more his color than purple, but he had a soft spot for lighter purples—lavender and lilac and mauve. All of those were currently fashionable, too, which was rather fun. He wanted to look stylish for Jesse. After one more minute of scrutinizing his reflection, Arthur secured his cravat with a beautiful diamond-studded pin.
Charlotte walked into the room.
Spinning on his heel to face her, Arthur threw out his arms and smiled.
“Thoughts?” he asked.
“You look very elegant,” she replied, a small, probably slightly exasperated smile tugging on the corners of her lips.
“Good,” he said. “Has Emma goneto Lizzie’s?”
“Yes, she has.”
Arthur blew out a forceful breath. His stomach flip-flopped from the combination of nervousness and excitement. Charlotte touched his arm.
“Don’t worry, Arthur, I’m sure the evening will go well.”
“I hope so. It’s a huge step forward in our relationship, having Jesse here. If our neighbors see him, for example, then they’ll probably wonder who he is, which isn’t exactly a problem, though I’ll eventually have to tell them that he’s an employee from one of my print shops. I’m not sure how they’ll feel about that. I mean, I’ve never seen someone like Marshall Palmer befriend one of the men who works in his textile plant. I have to assume that people will think it’s strange.” Arthur began to pace. “Not to mention what Gertrude or Patrick might think. If I were to ever have Jesse spend the night, I’d have to tell them the truth. And, God, how could I not want him to spend the night someday? I can only imagine how wonderful it would be to wake up here next to Jesse.” Arthur stopped his nervous walking and smiled a wistful smile. “His hair would be a mess, both from slumber and from, well, probably from other things.” He took a pause and wiggled his eyebrows. Charlotte chuckled, shaking her head. “And he’d look so handsome in the light from the morning sun. How spectacular it would be to hold him from the very moment we awoke and—”
