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With a glance across the table, she found Abram, his honey-brown eyes holding a promise of what could be… In another moment, Orris wondered if it were merely wishful thinking.

Mama’s voice cut into their moment like a knife through butter and he blinked away. Normally, Orris was not so brazen with men. With Abram, she found she could not help herself. Nor did she want to be proper.

“Also, ladies, in the coming days, your cousin will be introduced to society by Queen Victoria. I expect for your miniatures to be made most efficiently. Mr. Fain here has prioritized our needs so that we may endeavor to get the last of you married. Once he is done, we shall make an announcement in the London Herald.”

“I appreciate you for including me, Aunt Seraphine,” Gladys said.

“I am hopeful your father has not disregarded my letter and is on his way back to London as we speak. I should think he would be happy for you to marry someone who is at least as fit a match as the person he’d selected for you in Chicago. Let us pray, anyway.”

“Yes, ma’am. My father can be reasonable at times, although I do believe he will be quite upset that I did not speak to him before departing the ship.” Gladys held her head down for a moment, the first sign that she may have realized how worrisome her disappearance might have been.

“In the end, I hope he is more concerned with what is best for you. If you would not have been happy in the marriage, then there is no point, is there?” Violetta reasoned, her views too seeming to have changed.

“You are right, Violetta. Most parents only want for their children’s happiness,” Myrtle said.

“Yes, and for them not to be destitute,” Mama said.

“Mama, surely, you are jesting?” Violetta choked out.

“Of course, of course. A bit of humor.” Mama chuckled, a laugh with very little mirth contained therein.

The servants began to serve the first course and pour the wine to go along with it as they continued their meal. Soon, the conversation shifted to lighter things. Orris was nearly in a fit by the time dinner had ended.

She excused herself from the parlor, declining the last round of tea before bed. Instead, she went up to her bedroom and waited. As she hatched the plan to abscond to Abram’s room in the night, she made sure to cover herself. She should not be there, with him, alone. She should not have wanted to, either. Part of her was afraid to go through with it, but something about him called to her, even in the night.

In her mind, she could see him there in the future. By her side. There had been no one, ever, whom she could see in such a position before. She racked her mind in an effort to understand how he had managed to grab her interest, and what was more, how he had managed to retain it.

She looked at herself in the mirror while she waited. The gown was no more than a sheer shift, something she would never have revealed in the light of day. Right then, she could not think of anything she would rather wear. She would have delight in his touch, would she not?

No, those were the wrong thoughts to have. They were not wed. They were not even courting. And he certainly would not hear of it, not when he was fighting for his life and mourning his friend. Or perhaps he was not interested in her in that way to begin with?

He certainly looked at her as if he were.

It is not right to give away your virtue…

She could hear the words plain as day in her mind. The warnings she had been provided her entire life.

But what of the woman who would not be wed? Orris wasn’t sure if that was even something she wanted. Was she to be alone, never having been touched by a man simply because she could not find one she’d wanted to marry?

They were all ridiculous questions. There was no right answer. God and country believed women should abstain. She should value herself enough to hold on to something so sacred. That was what she would do. No matter how handsome, no matter how she felt the strings of lust tugging at her.

And that would be the end of it. At least, that was what she told herself.

Eventually, the noise in the house died down. She opened her door and peeked out to make sure that there was no one about in the hallways.

Once she was sure, she headed to the third floor, where the guest bedrooms were. The first on the right was where she expected to find Abram.

With a light tap on the door, she waited for his voice to give her permission to enter. Looking both ways as she waited, she prayed no one would find her. By the time he’d responded, her heart was beating in her throat.

Quickly, she turned the knob and walked inside, pressing her back against the door as she worked to catch her breath.

She had put on a housecoat over her nightrail. It was closed tight, so there was no risk of him seeing her undergarments.

“Orris, what are you doing up here? If we should be caught, there would be hell to pay.” His eyes had gone wide, roving over her before he looked away, as if he had been burned by the sight.

“I won’t get caught. I just needed to help you with the correspondence. If there is a lot of them to go through, it shall take you forever. Needless to remind you, but if there is a death threat on your head, we do not have all the time in the world. I just thought I should help you. What should I have done?”

“Not this. Your brother-in-law will murder me if he finds out that you are in my room unaccompanied. Unchaperoned. What were you thinking? No, you must leave right now before we are discovered. I’ll not have someone questioning your virtue.” Abram walked over to her and grabbed her by the forearm.