“She’s not half as pretty as Nellie,” Jace said, smiling. “Nellie has a way of looking at a man…well, she makes me feel as though I could do anything. Since I met her I’ve been doing
some sketches for a steering mechanism for a boat. It’s the first time I’ve drawn anything since…” He trailed off, remembering Julie’s death, but for once not feeling empty.
“They’ve poisoned her mind against me,” Jace said softly. “They tell her I’m up to no good, then tell her she can’t see me. I don’t even get an opportunity to defend myself. If I could just get her away from them for a while, maybe I could show her that I’m not a bad sort.”
“You can’t kidnap her,” Houston said thoughtfully. “Women don’t take well to kidnapping.”
Jace didn’t smile. “I’ve already dismissed the idea. I thought of kidnapping her onto a boat and sailing her around the world, but Colorado is too far from the ocean.”
Houston blinked. “There must be some less drastic measure you could take. Is there something Nellie loves, loves above all else in the world?”
“Kids,” he said quickly. “I think maybe that’s why she does anything her bratty sister tells her to do. She thinks of Terel as her kid. I volunteered to give her a few kids of her own, but now I don’t guess I’ll get the chance.”
Houston stood. “There. You have your answer.”
Jace looked blank. “You mean impregnate her?”
She grimaced. “Of course not. Give Nellie what she really wants and she’ll come to you.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Think about it, Jocelyn,” she said as she put her hand on his shoulder. “If you want Nellie, it looks as though you’re going to have to fight for her. If you want her enough and fight hard enough, I think you can get her, but it’s not going to be an easy courtship. One of those to a customer.”
Jace took Houston’s hand and kissed it. “You’re not going to help me figure out what to do, are you?”
“No. You just have to open your eyes and look, and you’ll be able to see what needs to be done.”
He smiled at her. “I wish I’d met you before Kane did. I would have given him a run for his money.”
She smiled. “He had me picked out since I was a child. I never had a chance, and neither would you. Now, I must go in and see to my children.”
As she walked away Jace called out after her, “Would you like a puppy?”
“Send it over,” she said, laughing.
When he was alone Jace thought about what Houston had said. There must be a way to win Nellie.
Nellie was in the kitchen, which had to be a hundred and ten degrees. The stove was going at full heat to cook the pastries for the tea Terel was giving the next day, and to warm the six irons on top. Nellie was bending over the heavy ironing table, applying a fluting iron to the delicate ripples in Terel’s silk blouse.
The changes in the Grayson household in the past week had tripled Nellie’s work. Terel’s new popularity had greatly increased her need for freshly washed and ironed clothing. Nellie had tried to get Anna to help with the load, but the stupid girl had left a hot iron on the skirt of one of Terel’s best dresses and ruined it. Afterward, Charles said Nellie had better see to the ironing herself as he could not afford to have clothes ruined.
So Nellie was trying to keep up with Terel’s ever-increasing wardrobe and to cook for the many guests now flooding the house. Terel said she couldn’t accept invitations without extending some herself.
Through all the ironing and the cleaning and the cooking, Nellie kept thinking of that glorious afternoon she had spent with Mr. Montgomery. She also thought of the day he’d come to the kitchen and kissed her in the pantry.
She slammed an iron down on a pink brocade skirt. So much for courting, she thought. She hadn’t had a word from him since that day in the pantry. Terel often told of him, though—of how he was at one social event after another and how he had been seen often in the company of Olivia Truman.
“Terel was right about him,” she muttered, trying to make herself feel grateful to her sister for warning her away from the man. But every time she thought of the afternoon with him, a part of her wanted to see him again. Part of her didn’t care if he was after her father’s money or not.
“Hello.”
Nellie jumped half a foot at the sound of the voice, and when she saw Jace, before she thought, she smiled warmly at him. Quickly, she caught herself. “You should not be here, Mr. Montgomery,” she said sternly, trying to look away from him, but in truth she wanted to memorize his features.
“I know,” he said, humbly, “and I apologize. I came to ask for your help.”
“Help?” she asked. Remember, she told herself, this man is only interested in your father’s money. He is the worst kind of scoundrel. “I’m sure you can find someone else to help you with whatever you need.”
“I need a recipe.”