Seth edged between them and Dinah, taking on a protective stance. "Why don't the two of you collect your friend and go back to holding down those porch steps?"

  Billy and the other man moved to comply.

  Seth remained on the alert. "Billy, you ought to know better than this."

  "I didn't mean nothing by it." The youth shot a baleful look at Dinah. "Besides, she ought to know better than to come wandering down around here alone." He and his friend hoisted their fallen comrade between them, and the three of them shuffled off.

  Dinah clamped her hand over her mouth and sagged back against the building, not trusting her legs to support her. She closed her eyes, trying to rid herself of the image of the trio closing in on her. She sensed Seth moving closer to her and opened her eyes. "I was so scared. If you hadn't come along when you did..."

  "What were you thinking, coming down here on your own?"

  Dinah shrank back from the anger blazing in his eyes. "I wanted to visit the girls and get to know their families. It was awful, Seth. It's bad enough to see these places from the street, but actually going inside and seeing the way they live..."

  Seth's expression didn't soften. "I know they way they live. Why do you think I told you never to come down here alone?"

  His anger sparked her defiance. "It wasn't just idle curiosity. I've come up with a plan. I arranged for passes for all of them to come to the exposition this Saturday. I needed to speak to their families to let them know and get their permission. I could hardly expect them to let their daughters go off with a total stranger, could I?"

  Seth stared at her, his chest heaving. "You're taking them to the fair?"

  "Yes, I am. Especially after today, I think it's important to give them a glimpse of the world outside, to let them know something exists outside these deplorable conditions."

  Seth's lips thinned into a narrow line. "That may be, but you should have discussed it with me first." He drew one step closer and pointed his finger at her. "You cannot come down here on your own again. Do you understand me? I can't face the idea of something happening to you, which it almost did."

  "I'll admit I shouldn't have stayed out this late, but—"

  "Early or late, it doesn't matter. You are not to come down here alone. Period. If you can't promise me that, I'll relieve you of your position as the leader of their class."

  "I'm picking them all up at nine on Saturday morning. They're little girls, and they can hardly go out wandering around Chicago on their own."

  "I'll pick them up and meet you at the fairgrounds." Seth's voice held a note of finality.

  "But I already told them—"

  "I'll let them know the plan has changed. They know they can trust me. It's either that or we cancel the outing altogether. That's the way it has to be. Is that clear?"

  "Quite clear, Reverend Howell. And since you're so concerned about my welfare, I wonder if you would be willing to escort me home now?"

  Dinah didn't know which was worse: being shut out by Seth's cold silence, or trying to keep up with his long, rapid strides.

  The exertion cleared her head after her recent scare, something Dinah regretted, since it let her mind roam back over the recent turn of events. Looking back, it was all too obvious she had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. She remembered how frightened she had been, standing there like a deer at bay until Seth appeared and leaped to her rescue.

  But his anger at her had transformed her gratitude into humiliation in the blink of a eye. Looking at it from his point of view, she could see exactly why he felt the way he did. She had made a huge mistake in going into those streets on her own, but she wasn't about to admit that to him. Not when he held his jaw set in that stubborn line. Not when she knew she had just fulfilled all his worst expectations of her.

  Dinah watched the way he strode along, completely sure of himself in this setting. The contrast between them couldn't have been clearer: He belonged there, she didn't. It was as simple as that.

  How am I supposed to do this? Her heart sent up a silent prayer. Why would You call me to work with these girls and then not give me the means to do it? As many blunders as she had made in her efforts to reach them, she couldn't shake the conviction that this was what God wanted her to do. But she wouldn't be able to do it if Seth relieved her of her position.

  And if she didn't have the class, she would no longer have any reason to spend time with Seth. That loss would be as much of a blow as losing contact with her girls.

  No, losing Seth would be worse. Much worse.

  She slanted a look up at him. How did he feel about her? One minute he stood up as her protector. The next, he yelled at her as if she were a nitwit.

  Dinah choked back a sob. She had made an utter mess of things, no question about it. Creating problems seemed to be the only thing she was any good at. If she had been a better daughter, her father would have wanted to be with her instead of palming her off to be raised by relatives. If she'd only had the sense to talk about this with Seth before setting out on her own, maybe he wouldn't be angry with her now.

  Despair welled up within her, and she wanted to wail like a frightened child. Would she ever be anything other than a failure? It seemed as if she had let everyone down—her father, Seth, the girls. Even God.

  They had nearly reached the boarding house when Seth slackened his pace and let out a deep sigh. "I'm sorry," he said. "When I saw those men closing in on you, it scared the daylights out of me. But I should never have taken it out on you like that."

  Dinah nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She had gone limp with relief at the sight of Seth coming to her rescue, then stiff with shock when he turned his anger upon her. Now his tone had changed again, and she had no defenses in place to deal with his concern.

  "You've won most of the girls over," he went on. "You're doing a good job with them."

  "Then why aren't they coming to the class?"

  "Give them time. Think of this as a test. They still see you as an outsider, but once they get to know you—"

  "That's exactly what I was trying to do today! To let them and their families know I really do care for them, that they aren't some project I'll abandon later on."

  The tenderness in the look Seth turned upon her turned her knees to jelly all over again. "The idea was fine. The way you went about it nearly got you into big trouble." He caught her hand in his and stroked his thumb along the backs of her fingers. "I'll make you a deal. You come up with all the ideas you want, but talk to me first before you go putting them into action. Agreed?"

  "I will." Dinah's steps dragged as they approached Mrs. Purvis's front porch. The way he was looking at her now, the idea of parting from him seemed unendurable. "Would you like to come in and talk some more about my plans for Saturday?"

  One corner of his mouth tilted up in the smile that always made her heart quicken. "There's no time like the present. Do you think your landlady would mind?"

  Dinah laughed. "I think she'll be upset if you don't. She really seems to like you."

  Seth reached past her to open the door. As he did, his shoulder pressed tight against hers. Dinah froze, seized by a sudden longing for him to wrap his arms around her and hold her close. She drew in a shaky breath and raised her eyes to meet his gaze.

  His face was only inches away, so close she could see the fine lines etched around his eyes. Dinah's heart seemed to stop beating while she waited for him to make a move.

  The lines around his eyes deepened, and he nodded toward the open door. "After you."

  With her cheeks ablaze, Dinah stepped inside.

  "I thought I heard someone." Mrs. Purvis appeared in the parlor doorway, a damp dish towel still in her hands. "Oh good, you found her. This just seems to be a day when everything is working for the best."

  "Would it be all right if Seth came in for a while?" Dinah asked, hoping her humiliation wouldn't be obvious to the others.

  "Of course!" Mrs. Purvis waited for Seth to close the door, and then herded them toward the parlor. "I can't wait to tell you both. I've had the most wonderful news."

  Caught up in the landlady's excitement, Dinah found herself laughing despite her embarrassment. "You two go ahead. Give me a moment to run upstairs and put my reticule away." She reached the bottom step and saw Gladys standing at the top of the stairs.

  "It's about time you got home. I've been waiting to talk to you."

  Dinah stepped back and turned to follow the others. She could put her reticule away later. "I'm afraid it will have to wait. Mrs. Purvis wants to speak to me."

  Gladys sniffed. "Fine. Since I'm obviously not invited to this little tête-à-tête, I'll go back to my room and finish my letter to Mother. We'll talk when you aren't so preoccupied."

  Dinah didn't bother to reply. She bolted across the entry hall and fled toward the parlor.

  "Why don't the two of you sit here?" Mrs. Purvis waved them toward the gold damask settee. Dinah lowered herself onto the stiff cushion, suddenly aware of how little room was afforded by the settee's narrow confines.

  Seth didn't seem to mind, though. He leaned back and propped his ankle on his other knee as though he felt right at home. Dinah tried to emulate his relaxed air despite the fact they were sitting so close she could feel a tingle whenever his arm brushed against hers.

  Mrs. Purvis pulled up a side chair and sat opposite them. She pulled a letter from her skirt pocket. "I got the most marvelous news today, and I just have to share it with someone. You'll never guess what it is." She looked at them expectantly.

  Seth laced his fingers around his knee and grinned, obviously getting into the spirit of the game. "A long-lost uncle went to his eternal reward and left you his entire estate?"

  Mrs. Purvis gurgled with laughter. "Nothing like that. My dear Randolph provided quite well for me with this house... and more, if I can ever find the rest of it. But that's neither here nor there." She smoothed the envelope on her knee and beamed at Dinah.

  "One of my former boarders just wrote to tell me she's getting married."

  "How nice." Dinah exchanged a quick glance with Seth, who looked as confused as she felt.

  "It's most satisfying, you see, because I had such a hand in bringing it about."

  Enlightenment dawned. "The engagement, you mean?"

  Mrs. Purvis simpered. "I recognized the potential for romance the moment I set eyes on the two of them together. I knew from the first that it was meant to be." Her bosom rose and fell on a deep sigh. "Annie is such a dear girl, and Nicholas is a fine figure of a man, especially when he's all decked out in his Western garb. He was a rider with Colonel Cody's Wild West Show, you know." Her face took on a dreamy expression. "She'll be Annie Rutherford now. Isn't that wonderful?"

  Seth's brows drew together. "Rutherford? Big, brawny fellow who wore a fringed buckskin jacket?"

  "That's Nicholas to a T! You know him?"

  Seth leaned forward and rested his forearms on his knees. "I took some of my boys on a tour of the Wild West Show. Nick Rutherford spent some time with them, and then he and I had a talk while they were seeing the rest of the grounds."

  He smiled. "I remember him telling me about a woman he hoped to marry. He seemed like a fine fellow. I'm glad to hear things have worked out for him." He stared at his hands as if lost in thought. "It seems like he mentioned an uncle, as well."

  Mrs. Purvis's eyes misted, and she stroked the envelope with a tender touch. "Ah, yes, his uncle Silas. A remarkable man. Truly remarkable. For a time, I thought... But it wasn't meant to be. Apparently my gift for matchmaking extends to others but not to myself." She darted a quick glance at Seth and Dinah and resumed her perky expression.

  "But I do have a gift. I see that now, and I feel it is my calling to recognize young love and help bring it to fruition." She bestowed a benevolent smile on the pair of them, then hopped up from her chair. "Well, I have things I must be doing. I'll leave the two of you alone to chat."

  Her sudden exit left Dinah feeling even more awkward than before. She shifted uneasily on the horsehair cushion and slid a sideways glance at Seth. To her amazement, he was grinning broadly.

  "Do you think the last part of that little speech was directed at us?"

  Dinah sputtered with laughter, despite the heat that flooded her face. "She isn't exactly subtle, is she?"

  Seth turned toward her, putting himself in such close proximity she could feel the warmth of his arm through her sleeve. "Maybe not subtle, but perceptive." His eyes darkened, and he stretched his arm along the back of the settee, letting his fingertips brush against her shoulder. "Definitely perceptive."

  Dinah's throat went dry. So she hadn't imagined the surge of attraction at the front door. She felt Seth's hand cup her cheek and let her eyelids flutter closed, the better to focus on the sensation of his thumb trailing across her temple.

  "I thought you were talking with Mrs. Purvis." Gladys's strident voice broke into the tender moment.

  Dinah sprang back. "She just left. She had some news she wanted to share with both of us."

  "You didn't seem to have any interest in my news."

  Dinah gritted her teeth. "I'll be available in a few minutes. Reverend Howell and I have a few things to discuss."

  Gladys plumped down on the chair vacated by Mrs. Purvis. "I'll wait until you finish."

  Seth got to his feet. "I don't guess we have too much more to talk about tonight. Let's plan on my picking up the girls and meeting you at the entrance at Terminal Station on Saturday morning. Does that sound all right?"

  Dinah rose to stand beside him. "Yes, that would be fine. I'll see you to the door." Out in the entry hall, she whispered, "I'm sorry. My cousin doesn't seem to have any understanding that other people's business might be as important as her own."

  "It's all right." Seth's smile took away the chill of disappointment. "We really didn't need to say much more about Saturday. I just wasn't ready for our talk to end."

  The tingle was back again. "I'm glad you think taking the girls to the fair is a good idea."

  "It's a wonderful idea. You're wonderful, as a matter of fact." Seth's eyes darkened, and he leaned forward. Dinah's head tilted back of its own accord, and she watched his face draw nearer.

  Heavy feet stumped across the hallway floor. "Aren't you finished yet?"

  They sprang apart as though they'd been scorched. One corner of Seth's mouth quirked upward in a rueful smile. "I'll say good night now." He opened the front door and gave Dinah a conspiratorial wink. "I think I'll go home and brush up on my Poe."

  Amusement warred with frustration as Dinah closed the door behind him. "All right, Gladys, what's your big news? Are you having problems at work?"

  "My job is going quite well, thank you. I've already made a number of sales. But my news is about something very different." Gladys struck a pose. "I thought you might like to know that I have a beau."

  "A beau?" Dinah tried to keep the skepticism out of her voice. From the anger that flared in Gladys's eyes, she apparently failed.

  "I should have known you'd be jealous. You arrived here before I did, but you haven't managed to attract the interest of anyone besides your penniless street preacher."

  It took all Dinah's effort to ignore the barb. She leaned back against the door and studied her cousin. "You've been here such a short time. Where did you meet this person?"

  Gladys's mouth pinched until the corners turned white. "'This person' has a name: Alan Saunders. He came into the store looking for a necktie. One of the other girls started to wait on him, but he moved over to my station and started talking." She pressed her palms together and sighed. "It was like fate stepped in and took a hand."

  "You met him at the store? No one introduced you?"

  Gladys bristled. "He's a regular customer. The other girls have seen him plenty of times before."

  Dinah shifted uneasily. "But, Gladys, what do you really know about him?"

  "Everything I need to. We had a very nice conversation that first day, enough that he realized he wanted to get to know me better." Her lips parted in a triumphant smile. "If you were home more in the evenings, you'd know I haven't been frittering away my time sitting here alone."

  Alarm bells started clanging in Dinah's head. "He's been here?"

  "Only to pick me up." Gladys looked around the entry hall with an expression of disdain. "Do you think I want to entertain him in that dingy parlor? Or have our batty landlady come knocking on the walls while I'm trying to carry on a conversation?"

  "So Mrs. Purvis hasn't met him? This doesn't sound right. I hardly think Aunt Dora and Uncle Everett would approve."

  "I'm not looking for their approval or anyone else's, especially not yours." Gladys's chin trembled. "I just thought you might be happy for me."

  "And you think taking up with a perfect stranger is a wise thing to do?"

  "How well can you say you're acquainted with your preacher friend? Do you really know anything about him, other than that he works in the slums and hasn't been able to find a position at a respectable church?"

  "At least I know his ministry is recognized by Mr. Moody and his coworkers." Dinah whirled and headed to the foot of the stairs. "I have a headache, Gladys. Please tell Mrs. Purvis I won't be down for supper."

  Gladys mounted the steps right behind her. "Don't be so dramatic. You just don't want to admit I've managed to attract a suitable beau when you haven't." She dogged Dinah's steps all the way down the hall. "He's quite handsome, too—hair the color of fresh-churned butter and eyes like a clear sky on a spring morning..."

  Dinah fumbled with her doorknob. "I need to lie down now."

  Undeterred, Gladys went on. "A strong, manly chin, and the way he says my name!" She let out a ripple of laughter. "It sends goose bumps up and down my spine just to hear him speak."

  "He sounds like a regular Adonis. Now would you please let me have a little time alone?"

  "I knew it." Gladys preened herself. "You're jealous."

  Dinah's hand tightened on the cool metal of the doorknob. "I am not jealous, believe me. But we aren't back on the farm, either. I don't have to listen to your trumped-up stories if I don't want to—and I don't. Good night."

 

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