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“How do you do, Miss Pearce? I am delighted to make your acquaintance. Your parents have been a welcome addition to our little Pasadena set this year,” said Mrs. Barnes.

“Thank you, madam,” said Adele, glancing around the dusty station road. “Are my mother and father unwell? I had expected to see them.”

“As I was already coming to collect Mrs. and Miss Gorman, I suggested to your mama that I might escort you to their hotel,” said Mrs. Barnes. “Albert will ensure that your luggage follows.” The lady gestured to a young man dressed in green livery with gold braid at the shoulder who stood next to the carriage.

The realization that her parents were not there took her aback. She could understand Papa not greeting her, but surely her mother would come to the railway station to greet her only child after Adele had embarked upon such an arduous journey.

Still, it was Mama who had taught her that a lady did not betray uncomfortable emotions, so Adele held her chin high, and said, “Very well.”

Mrs. Barnes’s driver helped the ladies into the carriage. Adele squeezed in next to Miss Gorman, who was swiveling about on her seat, trying to take everything in.

“Isn’t it extraordinary?” breathed Miss Gorman. “There are so many more people here than I expected.”

“Our winter season has not yet started, but already some families have begun to arrive,” said Mrs. Barnes.

“Do you think I shall receive any invitations?” asked Miss Gorman.

Mrs. Gorman leaned over to pat her daughter’s hand. “I have no doubt you will do very well here.”

“I am having a dinner tonight where you may meet some of my more intimate friends,” said Mrs. Barnes. “Then, if you wish, you may accompany me as I pay calls this week.”

“Oh, I would like that very much,” said Miss Gorman.

Adele turned to look out at the road, wishing she’d had the foresight to carry her parasol with her rather than leaving it packed in one of her two trunks. It wouldn’t do for her to burn on her first day in this inhospitable place.

“Is it always so hot in Pasadena?” she asked Mrs. Barnes.

“The weather will begin to cool in the fall,” the lady said.

“But it’s October,” she said, confused.

Mrs. Barnes smiled. “That’s the end of the summer here, Miss Pearce.”

How had Adele’s father, who practically wilted if the fire was stoked too high at supper, lived like this for so many months?

The carriage lurched away from the pavement lining the dirt road. As the railway station with its huge white sign with “Pasadena” painted in bold black letters receded, Adele could feel the dust from the many vehicles’ wheels on the road settle grainy on her parched tongue. She held up her lace-trimmed handkerchief to cover her mouth, stifling the hot, dry smell of dirt.

“The hotel is only there,” said Mrs. Barnes with sympathy, gesturing to a huge white building with a red roof looming a little way down the road. A bridge spanning the width of the road connected it to another across the road.

That was the Hotel Green? The enormity of it must be some sort of attempt to inject a degree of importance and grandeur into the place. Why else would they need so much space? Surely there were not so many people who wished to stay in a place like Pasadena.

In the short minutes it took for them to reach the front of the hotel, perspiration beaded her brow, her feet pressed uncomfortably in her black leather boots, and sweat rolled down her back under her woolen jacket. When the carriage rolled to a stop, Adele found herself grateful for the shade of the bridge.

“Thank you, Mrs. Barnes,” said Adele, determined not to let her manners slip no matter that she was no longer at home in London.

“It was my pleasure, Miss Pearce. I hope we shall see more of one another very soon,” said Mrs. Barnes.

Adele accepted Mrs. Barnes’s driver’s hand to climb down from the carriage. He carried her traveling case for her into the hotel’s lobby, handing it to a man in a dark suit who stepped forward and placed a hand to his chest to execute a neat bow. “Miss Pearce, I am Mr. Ballard, manager of the Hotel Green. It is my pleasure to welcome you.”

“Thank you,” she said, slipping her handkerchief into her skirt pocket.

“Your mother has requested that you join her in the Moorish Room as soon as you arrive. It is one of our ladies’ rooms.”

“Very well.” She had thought to spend some time freshening her appearance before seeing her mother, but she suspected that if Mama found she’d delayed their reunion, Adele would incur her displeasure.

“If you will follow me,” said Mr. Ballard.

Adele cast a glance back over her shoulder at Mrs. Barnes’s carriage. She caught the lady’s eye and Mrs. Barnes smiled, giving her a nod as Mrs. Gorman chattered away happily at Mrs. Barnes’s side.