There was no out-talking Mama. “Yes, ma’am.” Ester sat back down and took up the horrible knitting needle again as the women helped her friend out of the parlor.
In a couple of minutes, the sounds of laughter came from the hall, loud, deep masculine voices.
Bex opened the door to the parlor. “Sir, you want to come inside here or to your study?”
“I’m going to let…you two have pri…be alone.” He offered a big smile to her. “Daughter.”
Ester smiled big, too. One of her heroes was walking a little better. The other gave her a smile that would melt icehouses.
Papa slid off his coat and handed it to Jonesy, then pushed his hat to the boy, too.
Jonesy stood proud, grinning in his new shiny blue livery as he loaded up his arms with their outer gear before dashing off.
Clancy shook his head. He didn’t look happy, but he didn’t look sad, either. Maybe he’d get used to all the additions to Nineteen Fournier.
“Clancy,” Papa said, “help me to my study. Chess later, Bex. I…look forward.”
“Yes, sir,” her husband said. “It’ll be my pleasure.”
Ester laughed as Bex closed the door. “You know Papa will keep you busy until you tell him what he wants.”
“What could that be?” He tugged at his cream and gold waistcoat as he sat beside her, yanking at his dark blue breeches, yawning loud and long.
She wasn’t the only one who was sleepy, and that made her smile grow wider. “He wants you to agree to live here.”
His face became serious with a hint of a frown as he picked up her awful needlework. “Well, you said you weren’t a couch woman who could knit. You were truthful. What is it?”
“A cap for Theodosia’s new baby-to-be.”
He twirled the yellow thing about his pinky. “Yes, I can see that now. Will the baby have one tiny head or four?”
She gave him an elbow. “No. Don’t even think that about a sweet baby.”
Bex picked up the newspaper. “Well, you’re already bored with me.Tsk. Checking the advertisement section for someone new?”
He flipped the paper open before she could stop him, and he landed on the fold with Gilroy’s caricature of the abolitionist meeting last night. His expression became dour. “That woman looks nothing like you. Your curves are larger and more delightful. But you do look very well in your birthday…dress.”
Face fevering, she shook her head.
He sighed. “Ester, I didn’t want you and your father bandied about in the papers.” He dumped the pages back to the table. “I’m more trouble than I am worth.”
“Not possible.” She reached for him, loving the scent of chamomile and honey on his breath. When she kissed his frown away, she leaned her head on his chest, that spot made for her. “Absolutely worth it. So much so that both my parents want to know if you will live here.”
“You think you can butter me up, kissing me with the softest lips I’ve ever known?”
She smiled up at him, staring at him with confidence in their love. “Yes.”
“Keep trying, then, Ester. It may help me come to a decision about something. The weather. Dinner? Something.”
She elbowed him again.
“Will you quit? You’re going to bruise a rib.”
She shook her head. “Bex, I do want to be here. I feel like I’m getting to know my mother all over again. And it does my heart good to see Papa moving about with a sharp, clear mind, even if his speech isn’t quite there.
Bex kissed her forehead. “Well, chess will involve vocal lessons. I’m going to see if practice can help.”
“My sister, Ruth, and her son, they’ll be coming soon. With you here, everything’s complete, but I understand if you want to leave. As your wife, I’ll go with you. I won’t live without you.”
