It was a whimsical thought, but it matched her mood.
However, there was one big question on her mind.
“Liam?” His name still felt odd on her tongue. “My belongings are at my brother’s, and I wondered, well . . .”
“Where I intended for you to live?” he filled in for her.
“Yes.” Given that he’d had all of one night and one morning to arrange accommodations, she wasn’t expecting anything more than a room in a different boardinghouse. Or perhaps Liam had managed to sway Miss Darby and her brother to welcome them back as a married couple.
He wrapped her arm through his as they walked from the church. “I spoke with Jake Gilbert, and he offered us temporary use of one of the rooms at the hotel.”
“The hotel? But it isn’t built yet.” Had she heard him incorrectly? Besides, that was going to be Liam’s hotel, not this Gilbert fellow’s.
Liam gave a soft laugh. “No, the only hotel currently in this town. His family owns it.” He gestured off to the left, toward the mountains.
Tilly looked up, her eyes immediately meeting the large building that sat on a hill overlooking the depot. She’d certainly noticed the place, but she hadn’t asked what it was.
“It’s a beautiful building, and it’s a generous offer. I won’t overstay the welcome, particularly since we’ll be costing his family the use of one room. I’ll begin looking for something else immediately.”
“Of course,” Tilly said, but her eyes were still on that building on the hill. It was possibly the finest place she had ever seen, and she hadn’t even stepped foot inside yet. “How do you know Mr. Gilbert?”
“You’ve met him. He runs the land office. He’s a good man, determined to make it on his own without his family’s money.”
“He sounds a lot like you.”
Liam laughed again, pausing a moment to lead her around a particularly muddy place in the road as they crossed. “In ambition, perhaps. But my father ran a small business, not a hotel empire. We lived modestly.”
His words reminded her that there was still so much she didn’t know about him. “Where is your father now?”
“He’s passed on, with my mother.”
“I’m so sorry.” Tilly could hardly imagine no longer having either of her parents. Even if they were now hundreds of miles away, it was comforting to know they were still going about their daily lives on the farm.
“Thank you,” he said in a voice that was achingly sincere. “It’s been a few years, but it was the reason Deirdre and I came to Crest Stone. We wanted to come somewhere new, and I hoped it might be easier to open a business in a town that was still building itself.”
“It seems as if that was a wise decision,” Tilly said as they crossed the platform at the depot.
He smiled at her, and her heart soared. “Are you all right with walking up the hill? They only send the carriages down when the trains arrive.”
Tilly looked up the hill and wondered what sorts of wealthy folks thought that it was particularly long or difficult walk. “Let’s go. I can’t wait to see inside.”
It didn’t take long to make it to the large front doors. Liam opened one of the doors and stepped back to allow Tilly to go inside first.
“Oh.” It was all she could think of to say. They’d stepped into a large room with soaring wooden beams and roaring fires in hearths that banked each side of the room. A desk ran along the far wall, and a lovely staircase wandered up to the second floor, where a balcony overlooked the ground floor. People milled about, talking and resting on the comfortable looking armchairs around the fireplaces. A large, as-yet-undecorated pine tree towered in one of the front windows. Tilly could only imagine how beautiful this place would look done up for the holiday with ribbons and strings of popcorn and candles.
She tried not to stare as she walked with Liam toward the desk. In no time at all, he’d spoken to the well-dressed man behind the desk and received a key.
“We’re on the second floor,” he said.
Tilly nodded. They could’ve been in the broom closet for all she cared. If it was located in this building, she wouldn’t complain.
They climbed the stairs, and Liam led them toward a hallway that branched off to the right. They passed door after door. At the very last one, he fitted the key into the lock and turned. Tilly stepped into a lovely room with polished wood floors, pretty wallpaper with small flowers, and finely carved furniture. A soft, white spread sat upon the bed, and the prettiest pitcher and bowl Tilly had ever seen was perched upon the washstand. There was even a dressing table, a luxury Tilly had never had.
“I . . . I don’t know what to say,” she said as she turned in a circle in the middle of the room.
“It is awfully nice.” Liam looked just as impressed as she was. “We can’t stay here long. The money this room must bring in . . .”
Tilly nodded. She knew Liam must have felt guilty about occupying this space without paying, and she admired him for it. He was clearly a man who preferred to earn what he had. He was honest and hard-working and . . . she felt awful.
