When we arrived at the inn, I was surprised at its grandeur. The clapboard siding was painted a pretty blue with black shutters at the white-trimmed windows. The third floor boasted half a dozen dormers and two tall chimneys.
Marcus entered the establishment without hesitation, and I followed with the dressmaker’s son behind me.
The proprietor had two rooms available on the second floor and gave Marcus both keys, promising to have two baths brought up soon. He made no comment about the packages, nor did he ask more questions than necessary.
After the boy delivered the packages to my room, Marcus paid him and sent him on his way.
I stood in the room, admiring the canopied bed, the ornate bureau, and the matching washstand. It was luxurious and strange after living on the ship for months.
Marcus walked to the window and looked down at the street. We’d been alone countless times before, but it suddenly felt different. This was my room, and soon I would be transforming back into the woman I had been before I met him. I swallowedthe fluttering nerves and tried not to think about donning a gown and facing him as myself, for the first time.
“Thank you,” I said to him. “You didn’t have to go to all this trouble.”
“If I could—” He paused and then turned to me, his voice raw with emotion. “I would give you the world, Caroline.”
A knock at my door signaled the arrival of the servants with a tub and buckets of hot water.
“When you’re ready,” he said, walking toward the door, “I’ll be downstairs waiting.”
For the second time that day, my voice was robbed of speech, so I simply nodded.
With one lingering glance, he left my room, allowing me to become Caroline Reed once again.
The warm bath and lavender-scented soap were so splendid, I wanted to stay in the bathtub for hours. Yet the longer it took, the less time I had with Marcus.
After washing my hair and body, I stepped out of the tub and began the task of dressing. Nanny had always helped me in the past, tying my stays, arranging my petticoats, and pinning my stomacher. It was possible to dress myself, but it took longer than I wanted, and I missed her gentle, gnarled hands as they worked while her tender voice regaled me with stories from her past. She was the only reason I was eager to return home.
When I was finished, I stood before the mirror in the rays of the afternoon sun and marveled at the transformation.
The gown fit my body as if it had been made for me. The delicate lace caressed my forearms, and the heavy skirt belled in a becoming fashion, accenting my waist and bosom, which was finally free of the binding. Marcus had purchased a pair of slippers for me, and they were so feminine and delicate compared to the buckled shoes I’d been wearing for weeks.
I left my other clothes in a pile on the chair. I planned to return them to the servant at Middleburg, though I would leave the binding behind.
After I was dressed, I brushed out my hair, allowing it to dry around my shoulders. Just like 1927, my hair here did not have a natural curl, so I had to be creative to style it. Thankfully, it was thick, which made it easier, and the soap had softened it. The dressmaker had packed some hairpins, which I used to turn up the tresses in a series of loops and braids.
My stomach was filled with nerves as I worked, wondering what Marcus would think when he saw me this way. I’d never been so worried or preoccupied with my appearance before. I wanted to please him, though it hardly mattered. This was the last evening we’d spend together, and I wasn’t even sure how much time we would have. Perhaps he would leave in search of someone to purchase the plunder on theOcean Curse, and I would be alone in my room.
The thought saddened me, so I chose to focus on whatever time we had left.
When I was ready, I took a deep breath and left my room in search of Marcus.
It felt strange to walk with such heavy skirts again, to feel the brush of the petticoats against my legs and hear the rustling of the silk.
Butterflies replaced the heaviness in my stomach the moment I saw him. He must have left the inn to find a tailor and a barber, because he was wearing a fine suit of clothes, his face was freshly shaved, and his hair had been trimmed. His coat was dark blue with a row of shining brass buttons down the front. His breeches were the same color as his coat, but his waistcoat beneath was cream with gold needlework. He wore cream-colored stockings to the knee and gold-buckled shoes. At his throat was a cream-colored stock, and his dark hair was still damp but clubbed at the back with a black ribbon.
His broad shoulders filled out the coat magnificently as heleaned against the window frame, a tankard in hand, staring out at the street.
When his gaze shifted to me, he slowly straightened, and his face filled with wonder. His eyes traveled from my feet up to my coiffure, and they shined with approval.
I’d never felt so lovely in all my life.
“Caroline.” He said my name in such a way, it sounded like he was trying to convince himself that it was truly me.
I stood on the bottom step, my hand on the newel post, holding me like an anchor.
Marcus set his tankard on a nearby table and walked across the room, his dark brown gaze never leaving mine. When he arrived at the foot of the stairs, he reached for my hand, and I placed it in his.
With elegance and tenderness, he brought my hand to his lips. “I always knew you were bonnie,” he said for my ears only, “but you’ve taken my breath away, lass.”
