Fair Game, page 17
part #2 of A Fair to Remember Series
To his great surprise, the Lord didn't seem to share his reservations. In fact, Seth had the distinct feeling he was getting some kind of divine nudge.
And that opened up a new dilemma. He had apparently been given permission to pursue a deeper relationship with Dinah. But how did she feel about him?
Seth stopped before a sculpture titled Diligence and pretended to study it. He sensed a certain attraction on Dinah's part, but that didn't guarantee she would be interested in the kind of lifelong partnership he had in mind.
He bounced on his toes and jingled the change in his pocket, earning a look of suspicion from the Columbian Guard who walked past. Seth pulled his hands from his pockets and tried his best to appear at ease.
The irony of the situation struck him. He had preached at several of the tent meetings, spoken to a crowd of hundreds without a qualm. But now the mere thought of baring his heart to one lone woman made him feel as though he were being turned inside out.
Was he doing the right thing? A single man living on a shoestring didn't have any business thinking about marriage. How could he hope to support a family on his meager income? And if he and Dinah were married, he would want to shower her with every convenience.
Seth pulled up short and tried to rein in his runaway imagination. What was he thinking? If today went the way he hoped, it would only be a first step, a testing of the waters, so to speak.
On his eighth circuit around the floor, he heard the elevator doors slide open. Heart pounding, Seth hurried over and felt his whole body relax when Dinah came into view.
A brilliant smile of welcome lit her face, then faded to a look of concern. Seth wiped his palms against his trouser legs and crossed the rotunda, berating himself for letting his anxiety show. Smile, you dolt. You're scaring her.
He forced his lips to turn up. "I've been waiting for you. Would you care to walk a bit?"
"Of course." Dinah's smile held a hint of reserve.
They passed under one of the great arches that formed the four entrances to the rotunda and stepped out into the waning sunlight. Seth hesitated, then walked straight ahead toward the Grand Basin.
They strolled along, looking like any of the other couples that filled the walkways. Except we aren't saying a word to one another. What was wrong with him? Now that he had Dinah to himself, he couldn't seem to summon up the courage to speak.
But how did a fellow go about putting something like that into words? "I think you may be the one God intends as my helpmeet. Do you feel the same way?" Not likely.
He had to do something to break this silence, though. He opened his mouth, but couldn't force any utterance past his dry throat. He swallowed and tried again.
"I wanted to talk to you."
Dinah looked up at him expectantly.
"I've given this a great deal of thought and spent a lot of time in prayer. I wanted to make sure God was in this and I wasn't just acting on my own feelings."
Her eyes shadowed. "You're going to tell me to step down from teaching the girls' class, aren't you?"
"What? No, not at all. You're doing a fine job there. I know you've been worried about the attendance, but we all have our setbacks from time to time."
Dinah nodded as if digesting the information. "Then what is it?"
When had the afternoon turned so warm? Sweat prickled under his collar and ran down the back of his neck. This was not going at all the way he'd planned. After struggling to reach this decision, he assumed the rest of the process would be easy. This was anything but.
Dinah watched him closely, waiting for him to speak. But how could he, with so many people milling around? Whatever made him think this would be a good place to tell her what was on his heart? For that he needed privacy. He needed...
A narrow craft skimmed past them and pulled to the nearby boat landing, where it discharged its passengers.
Inspiration struck. "Would you like to go for a gondola ride?" The childlike delight in her eyes told him he'd finally said the right thing.
He handed Dinah down into the boat and stepped back to talk to the gondolier.
The boatman accepted the fare Seth slipped into his hand. "The signorina is very beautiful. You want a private ride, just the two of you?"
"Yes, please." Seth felt in his pocket and pulled out a little more to add to the fare. "Could you give us a tour of the lagoon? A very slow tour?"
The gondolier gave him a broad wink and touched the brim of his flat-crowned straw hat. "I understand. You relax and let Giuseppe take care of everything, eh?"
Seth stepped into the craft and ducked under the canopy to join Dinah on the tufted seat. "Where are we going?" she asked.
"Nowhere in particular. I just thought it would be a nice way to relax on a warm afternoon."
A man on the landing untied the ropes that held the gondola fast and used a long pole to push it away from the mooring. The slender boat rocked gently as it responded to Giuseppe's touch on the single oar.
Seth leaned back against the cushioned seat, letting his earlier tension melt away. Beside him, Dinah sat perfectly still as if afraid she might tip them over if she made a sudden move.
"This was a lovely idea," she said. "I've wanted to ride one of these since the day I arrived. I can almost make myself believe I'm on a canal in Venice."
"Ah, Venezia." Giuseppe's voice carried from the stern. "The city of canals... and romance. If we were there, I would show you all the sights: the Piazza San Marco, the Basilica, the Bridge of Sighs. Here, I will point out the wonders of this magnificent exposition."
"That really isn't necessary," put in Seth. "We'd just like to—"
"Up ahead is the beautiful Columbian Fountain," their self-appointed guide intoned. "We turn now to the right, where we enter the North Canal."
Seth gritted his teeth. "This isn't the kind of tour I—"
The boatman made a show of pointing overhead as they passed under a bridge. "In Venezia, we have a tradition. When we go underneath a bridge, couples give each other a kiss. A nice custom, no?"
A wave of heat crept from Seth's collar to his hairline. The idea sounded more than a little appealing, but he couldn't very well go grabbing Dinah Mayhew and pulling her into his arms like some cave man. He didn't dare risk a look at Dinah, knowing she must feel as mortified as he did.
Giuseppe navigated them through the canal and steered them away from the huge bulk of the Manufactures Building toward the Wooded Island.
Dinah shifted on the cushion. "I'm glad to have this time when it's just the two of us. I've been wishing I could talk to you."
The simple comment heartened Seth. This idea of a gondola ride had turned out to be a brilliant plan. He should have thought of it earlier. He gave Dinah an encouraging smile.
She looked down at her clasped hands and gave a sheepish laugh. "I'm being silly. I've wanted to talk to you all afternoon, and now I don't even know how to begin."
Seth checked their location. Propelled by Giuseppe's sure strokes, the gondola followed the perimeter of the Wooded Island. Scores of people dotted the bank, but none were close enough to overhear them. "I'm here now. Go ahead."
"It's my father."
Of all the things on Seth's mind, that topic wasn't one he had hoped to hear. "What has he done now?"
"He found me over by the Woman's Building today. I was working, but that didn't bother him in the least. He wanted to talk to me, and he was determined to keep me around long enough for him to do it."
Seth knotted his hands into fists. "What did he want?"
"He's still bent on me talking to Abby. He insisted I set a time for us all to get together so I could tell her what a doting father he was."
The gondola slipped beneath an overhang of willows. The branches arched over their heads to touch the water on the other side, forming a leafy tunnel.
Behind them, Giuseppe murmured, "Is almost like a bridge, eh?"
Seth froze, suddenly consumed by Dinah's nearness. He slid a glance her way. She stared straight ahead, sitting absolutely still. A soft blush tinted her cheek.
Giuseppe sighed. "No? Ah well."
He pushed away from the island. "I will now show you the North Inlet, where water from Lake Michigan flows into the lagoon." He maneuvered the oar and steered them toward the northeast.
With an effort, Seth pulled his attention back to what Dinah had said. "So what are you going to tell Abby?"
"I don't know." Dinah stared out across the water. "He's my father, and I love him. But I don't want to bend the truth for him. What am I supposed to do?"
Seth offered up a quick prayer for guidance. "Life is full of choices," he began slowly, "but you can't choose your parents. Sometimes you just have to take them as they are, not as you wish they were."
Dinah swung around to face him, her eyes wide. "So you think I ought to go ahead and do what he wants?"
"No, what I think is that you need to find out what God wants you to do. The Lord expects us to honor our father and mother, but that doesn't mean we should break His other rules to do it."
He watched the buildings on the shoreline slip past. "You're right. You can't lie to please your father."
"If we go any farther," Giuseppe announced, "we're gonna be in the lake. We turn around now and see the north end of the lagoon." Suiting action to his words, he swung the gondola around.
The boat rocked with the quick change in direction, throwing Dinah against Seth's arm. She straightened and gave him an apologetic smile. "Here I've been rattling on, and you said you had something to discuss with me. What was it you wanted to say?"
She looked up at him expectantly just as the gondola glided under yet another bridge. Giuseppe cleared his throat.
Seth heard a grating noise and realized he was grinding his teeth. He turned around and shot their boatman a scorching glare. The way he felt at the moment, he could cheerfully leap over the curved back of the seat and throw the fellow into the water.
Giuseppe assumed a look of utter innocence and began crooning softly: "Sul mare luccica, l'astro d'argento..."
Seth sat back and listened to the mingled sounds of Giuseppe's singing and the water lapping against the sides of the boat. This was better. Much better. If the boatman would only continue his warbling, maybe he would leave off making comments long enough for Seth to say what was on his heart.
His gaze traced Dinah's features in the golden evening light that captured the last moment between day and dusk. Summoning up his courage, he leaned toward her. "When I first met you, I wasn't sure—no, that isn't right."
He cleared his throat and started over. "When you took over the girls' Bible study, I didn't know..."
A tiny pucker formed between Dinah's eyebrows. Her fingers curled into little balls, and she held her arms tight against her sides as if preparing to ward off a blow.
Seth could have kicked himself. This wasn't going the way he wanted it to at all.
The gondola veered in a wide arc to the right and slid under the bridge that led from Fisheries to the north tip of the Wooded island. Seth looked around, suddenly very much aware that in spite of all the teeming masses that swarmed the fairgrounds, no one could see them now, under this bridge in the graying light.
He started to speak again, then closed his mouth. Sometimes actions spoke louder than words.
Pulling Dinah into his arms, he covered her lips with his. From the stern, Giuseppe's voice swelled: "Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia!"
A long moment later, Seth pulled away, wondering if he had made his point successfully or just committed the biggest blunder of his lifetime.
Dinah stared at him, eyes wide and lips parted. A tiny vein pulsed in her temple. "That wasn't quite what I expected."
"That pretty well sums up what I wanted to say. Did you mind?" Seth braced himself for her answer.
She looked down at her hands, then peered up at him from beneath her lashes. A slow smile curved her lips. "No. I didn't."
Seth took her hand in his and counted his blessings while Giuseppe rowed back across the lagoon.
It had turned out to be a most satisfactory tour after all. When they got back to the landing, he just might give the gondolier a hefty tip.
20
"This is for you." Mrs. Purvis slipped an envelope from the stack of morning mail and handed it to Dinah. "It looks like another note from your aunt."
Dinah hesitated, not sure she wanted to see what was inside. She hoped against hope that it would bring joyous news saying they had heard from Gladys and all was well.
There's no way to know unless you open it. Bracing herself, she tore open the flap and unfolded the letter within. A quick scan told her that her hopes had been in vain.
"We still haven't heard from Gladdie," Aunt Dora wrote. "Not a single word. We can't imagine what could be keeping her from writing, can you?"
Dinah made a face. She didn't want to imagine what Gladys might have gotten up to on her own.
"Your uncle wants to go to Chicago and look for her, but his health is only getting worse, and worry over Gladys is taking its toll. I fear he wouldn't be able to stand the trip, and I cannot leave him to come there myself.
"I'm afraid it's up to you, Dinah. You are our only hope, and we pray God will guide you to find her quickly."
Dinah allowed the letter to slip from her fingers and flutter to the top of the dining table.
"Bad news?" Mrs. Purvis hovered at her elbow.
"In a way. My aunt wants me to track down Gladys. They still haven't heard from her." She pressed her hands to her forehead. "But I don't have the slightest notion where to begin! She didn't even leave a forwarding address with you."
Mrs. Purvis's head bobbed. "And those men didn't give me any idea where they were taking her things. To tell you the truth, I didn't think to ask."
"I've checked with the store, and none of her coworkers has any idea where she could be." Dinah plopped down in the nearest chair. "I feel like I've hit a dead end, and I don't know where to turn."
Mrs. Purvis sat down opposite her. "What about that young man of hers? Surely she wouldn't have gone away without letting him know."
"No," Dinah said slowly. "I don't believe she would. If I can locate Alan, surely he can tell me where to find Gladys." She sagged back again. "But I don't know where he lives, do you?"
Mrs. Purvis's features fell. "I guess it wasn't such a wonderful idea after all."
Dinah tapped her fingers on the linen tablecloth. "Wait a minute. He took her for that carriage ride the night she introduced me to him." She shoved away the memory of Alan and his distasteful advances. "She said they were going to drive by his home, but where was it?"
"Give me a minute. It'll come to me." Mrs. Purvis bowed her head in an attitude of deep thought. "She couldn't stop bragging about the place when she got back. It was two stories high and made of dressed limestone."
Dinah pressed her lips together. "Anything else?" Chicago boasted hundreds of limestone houses.
"With mullioned windows and a brick walk leading up to the front door." The landlady looked up and grinned. "And a stone lion next to the walk. She was quite taken by that lion."
"That's wonderful!" Dinah wanted to cheer. "But do you remember where it was?"
Mrs. Purvis tapped her lower lip and hummed softly. "Drexel? No, wait a minute. Colter and Cottage Grove. She said it was right on the corner."
Dinah jumped up and gave Mrs. Purvis a hug. "You're a wonder. I'll go there after work today and see what Alan has to say."
At the memory of his fingers trailing across her cheek, she added, "If I can get Seth to go with me."
Not even to ease Aunt Dora's mind did she want to face Alan Saunders again on her own.
* * *
"Thank you for coming with me." Dinah accepted Seth's help stepping down from the streetcar. "I appreciate it more than you know."
"I'd planned on leaving the fairgrounds a little early today to go down to the gym, so I'm glad you caught me when you did. I'd much rather be spending time with you than trading jabs with my buddy Mac." Seth smiled at her, then took stock of their surroundings.
"You said it's on the corner of Colter and Cottage Grove. That's only a block or two this way."
He took her hand and tucked it in the crook of his arm. Walking beside him felt so good, so right. If not for all the hullabaloo over Gladys, her world would be perfect.
They covered the distance quickly. Dinah looked at each of the four corner houses and pointed to one on the far side of the intersection. "That must be it. It's exactly the way Gladys described it to Mrs. Purvis."
She studied the limestone exterior as they crossed the street and went up the neat brick walk. The lawn was well tended, with artful groupings of flowering shrubs. Everything about the home spoke of understated good taste, hardly the picture she had formed of Alan after their meeting. Maybe this was part of the inheritance he mentioned. It would be easier to understand if someone else had been responsible for designing this lovely place.
When they reached the front porch, Seth raised the knocker and let it fall against the carved oak door.
Dinah pressed closer to him, resentment flaring at the thought of having to face Alan again. But surely he would have the information they needed. Then they would be just one step away from finding her cousin. When they did, Dinah fully intended to give Gladys a piece of her mind.
It was one thing for her act so spitefully toward Dinah. That kind of behavior would be nothing new at all. But what could she be thinking of, to treat her mother and father like that?
Caught up in planning what she would say to Gladys, Dinah jumped when the door swung open on silent hinges. A young woman in a black dress and white apron looked at them curiously. "May I help you?"
"We're here to see Mr. Saunders," Dinah said. "Is he at home?"
Confusion washed over the maid's face. "Mr. Saunders? I'm sorry, there's no one here by that name."
Dinah stared at the closing door. "Wait! Mr. Saunders." She enunciated the name with care. "Are you sure he isn't here?"
"I told you, there's no one—"
