“We were discussing how bewildering it was to us when Mrs. Davenport didn’t put up a fuss about not being able to travel to the hotel,” Edwina said without a single bat of an eye. “Although I do believe any indignation she might have felt over missing this adventure was put to rest when Permilia offered to take Mrs. Davenport back to Rutherford & Company with her.”
“The treat of seeing where Miss Betsy Miller designs her creations was certainly brilliant on Permilia’s part,” Temperance said, speaking up. “Hopefully Permilia and Asher won’t be too long finishing up their business at the store, or else they might not be able to sail with Mrs. Sinclair when she finishes up whatever business it was she needed to finish before joining us here.”
“My mother won’t leave the city without Asher and Permilia,” Harrison said. “But since I know all of you promised Permilia you wouldn’t delve into too much investigating until she arrived, what say we enjoy ourselves with a nice game of croquet?”
As Miss Henrietta and Miss Mabel finally reached them, Harrison took hold of Gertrude’s arm, and having no reason to protest a game of crocquet, she soon found herself holding a mallet and having the time of her life.
“Did you just miss Gertrude’s ball on purpose?” Edwina demanded after Harrison took a turn and missed Gertrude’s ball that had been lined up directly in front of his.
“Have you ever known me to miss on purpose?” Harrison asked, sending Gertrude a wink before he turned back to his sister.
“Well, no, but you’ve also never missed such an easy target before, which is telling,” Edwina said before she took her shot, knocking Miss Mabel’s ball out of the way, and after that, it was war.
By the time the game was complete and Miss Mabel declared the winner, Gertrude’s sides were aching from laughing so hard and she’d once again fallen into the easy relationship she’d enjoyed with Harrison before he’d turned a little peculiar that day at Grace Church. The only thing different about that relationship seemed to be in the way Harrison watched her.
His eyes, always filled with one emotion or another, appeared to hold a new level of warmth she’d not encountered before, and that warmth was what was giving her hope—hope that he’d reconsidered and truly was contemplating declaring his intentions in the not too distant future.
“Wonderful game,” Miss Mabel said as Miss Henrietta nodded in clear agreement. “But now I’m going to suggest we ladies go and freshen up in our assigned rooms.” She looked to Harrison. “What time would you like us to meet you for dinner and where?”
Harrison smiled. “We’ll be dining on the beach this evening after we’ve taken an evening swim, so do make certain to wear the appropriate bathing costumes, because swimming in the sea at twilight is an adventure that shouldn’t be missed.”
“We’ve been assigned rooms?” Gertrude asked. “I assumed we’d be returning to the ship at some point and sailing back to the city.”
Harrison took her hand and tucked it into the crook of his arm. “We’re here on holiday, Gertrude, for an unplanned number of days, courtesy of my mother, who is feeling beyond guilty about what she put you through and is attempting to make it up to you by providing you with a bit of a treat.”
“I can’t accept such generosity.”
Harrison smiled. “Did my mother not have you carted off to jail?”
“Well, yes, but that was understandable. I did have Margaret’s belongings in my possession.”
“Stop being contrary and simply enjoy my mother’s generosity. You’ll have to get used to it eventually, so there’s really no time like the present to accustom yourself to accepting gifts from my family.”
Before she could get a single protest out of her mouth, Harrison passed her off to Miss Henrietta. Saying something about going with Agent McParland to see if any leads surrounding the mystery had turned up, Harrison then quirked a brow at McParland when that man started grinning, the action having McParland turning somber in a split second right before he and Harrison strode away.
“I must say I’m looking forward to a swim in the sea,” Miss Henrietta said as she prodded Gertrude into motion, but not in the direction Harrison had just gone. “And not to fret, ladies, because I’ve arranged with the concierge of the hotel to have bathing costumes delivered for all of us, ones that should be waiting in our rooms by now. To save time, feel free to change into those costumes, but do put a change of clothing into a bag. This hotel has numerous bathing huts they make available to their guests, so we’ll take our swim, then enjoy what will most likely be a charming dinner served on the beach.”
Entering the hotel through a side door, Miss Mabel produced keys from her reticule, handed them all around, and once they located their assigned suites, the Huxley sisters reminded everyone not to dawdle, then told them they’d all meet down by the beach in the next fifteen minutes.
Following Temperance, who’d unlocked the door of the suite Gertrude would be sharing with her, Edwina, and Permilia, when she finally arrived, she found the traveling trunk her friends had packed for her stored in a corner, while the garments that had been inside those trunks were already hanging in a large wardrobe on the other side of the room.
Moving across the main sitting room, Gertrude’s gaze traveled over the plush furnishings done up in a frothy pink, the light from the small chandelier made of sparkling glass casting a welcoming glow throughout the room.
Opening the wardrobe door wide, she found all the garments Permilia had chosen for her hanging in a line, her friend obviously having decided Gertrude would keep all of them, and thinking her friend might have need of an entire wardrobe for a holiday that seemed to have no set end date.
Reaching out to touch the soft fabric of a blue walking dress, the dress Harrison had enjoyed so much, Gertrude felt tears spring to her eyes as she was suddenly overwhelmed by how many people truly did seem to care about her.
She’d felt so alone for so long that now, when faced with the idea she wasn’t, her heart was filled almost to bursting, and a sense of peace she’d not realized she’d been missing was simply becoming a part of her everyday life.
It was as if after finally realizing God didn’t hold her responsible for her mother’s death, she was now able to move on with her life—a life that God expected her to make extraordinary and had shown her how to go about doing exactly that.
“I found the bathing costumes!” Edwina called from another room in their suite.
Dashing away a tear that had slipped out of her eye, Gertrude lifted her head and found Temperance watching her closely, but then, instead of questioning her, Temperance simply took hold of her hand, quite like Gertrude imagined good friends had done for centuries, and without saying a word, pulled Gertrude with her into the room where Edwina was holding up a bathing costume.
“These are quite different from what I’m used to wearing when I swim,” Edwina said as she wrinkled her nose.
“What do you usually wear?” Gertrude asked.
