“Ah.” Camellia, capably folding away the lovely sheer veil into its covering of tissue paper, paused. “Molly.”
“Uh-huh.” Attention diverted, she was stuffing her stockinged toes into the small white kidskin pumps set out for use.
“Molly.” Camellia put both hands on her sister’s shoulders to give her a little shake. “Listen to me. You’re leaving shortly with a man you know very little about, to begin a partnership for the rest of your life. Please, dear—please. If anything goes wrong, or if you’re terribly unhappy for some reason, understand that you can always come home again.”
“Come home? Where is that, Cam? Back to the boarding house? Or into the spare room here, with you and Ben?”
“It doesn’t matter. We’ll work something out. Just promise me. Promise you’ll remember that.”
“Oh, Cam.” Dimples bloomed with the girl’s sudden wide smile. So contagious. So heartwarming. How could anyone resist such charm? “Did you see the way Quinn looked at me? We’re in love, you silly thing. We’ll be fine. I’ll be fine. You worry too much.”
Chapter Six
“OH, QUINN, ISN’T IT a beautiful afternoon?”
“Uh-huh.”
“And wasn’t it a beautiful ceremony?”
“Sure enough.”
“And weren’t we lucky to be given such a beautiful sendoff from my family, and from everyone who joined us for the celebration?”
“S’pose so.”
When she was happy, when she was excited, when all was right with her world, Molly often wriggled like a tiny ecstatic puppy. She did so now, wrapping both arms around the crook of Quinn’s elbow, jostling his grasp of the reins so that, for the merest of instants, he lost control.
“Molly, have a care, if you please!”
Reuben, the mild-mannered old bay Quinn had rented from Abel Norton’s livery, along with the surrey in which the couple was riding, sent a disgruntled look back over one shoulder. Humans! his eyeroll seemed to say.
“Oh,” said Molly, deflated as a small child whose toy had just been stolen away. “I’m sorry.”
Couldn’t he just have laughed and snuggled her close, as any newly married man might be inclined to do? Couldn’t he simply delight in her company, as she was delighting in his? During their oh-so-brief courtship, she had not noticed this tendency toward a quick temper in her betrothed, nor his critical attitude. He had made sure to show her only his best, to give her only love and tenderness in his every word, every motion, every gesture.
Or was it possible she had seen solely what she had wanted to see?
“This house you’ve rented—”
“As a sop to you, my dear. We might have lived right there at the Drinkwater, convenient to everything. But you insisted upon having some sort of permanent habitation.”
“Uh. Well. All right, yes, I supposed I did. At any rate... this house—do you know if it has furniture and supplies? I mean, we’ll certainly need food right away. And the proximity of a well. And the basics of human habitation.”
“Your sister sent along quite a gunny sack full of comestibles. Canned goods, a whole ham, I believe, and so on—stored right in the back of this surrey, as a matter of fact.” He jerked a thumb, to indicate direction.
“I’ve only one change of clothing along,” Molly murmured worriedly, as if to herself. “And just a few personal things.”
“Not to worry. Camellia even made me promise to bring you back tomorrow, to retrieve some of your belongings. And, yes, the place has a well. And furnishings. They may not be as imposing as what you’re used to, but I have no doubt you’ll adjust. No grand piano, as you may realize.”
She was leaving behind the beloved instrument that had traveled so far with her, that she had hoped to move into her first home. Biting her lip to repress a stab of pain, Molly stared off into the distance and willed the tears not to fall. Silly baby. She was simply feeling tired, and a tad disappointed. Probably very normal reactions for a girl coming almost straight from her wedding, and needing to adjust to change.
Straightening her spine with determination, Molly once again pulled up a smile. Disappointed. Why was she disappointed? Just because Quinn wasn’t falling all over her with love and affection? Just because he wasn’t raving at how fabulous she had looked on this day of all days, how perfect her figure, how richly black and curly her hair, how wonderfully turquoise her eyes?
“Do you think you’ll be able to find work you’re interested in, here at Turnabout?” she asked casually.
Only to see his face darken. “You’re just full of questions, aren’t you?”
She refused to cringe away from the tone of his voice. “Well, yes, Quinn. What you do will affect the future for both of us. And we ought to discuss any subject that comes up, oughtn’t we? Just to clear away any potential problems? I’d like to help in any way I can, but—”