Ticket to Tomorrow, page 7
part #1 of A Fair to Remember Series
"But right now—" His eyes twinkled. "How would you like to travel the world... without ever leaving the fairgrounds?"
Annie's mouth dropped open. "Just how do you propose to do that?"
Nick winked. "Come with me and find out." He turned left, and they headed toward an area away from the main part of the fairgrounds.
Annie glanced up at a white building on their right and came to a halt in the middle of the walkway. "Am I seeing things, or are there children playing up there on the roof?"
Nick laughed and pointed out the fence around the roof's edge. "Believe it or not, it's a playground. This is the Children's Building. Parents can drop their children off there while they see the fair and know they're in competent hands. Not a bad idea, actually. I probably would have enjoyed that more myself as a youngster than traipsing around through all these buildings for hours on end." He pursed his lips and regarded the rooftop play yard. "Although I probably would have been inclined to scale the fence and see if I could shinny down the side of the building."
Annie broke into a smile. "I can believe that." Nick's love of adventure seemed an integral part of him. She looked straight ahead and drew back when she realized where they were headed. "Isn't that the Midway?"
"That's it." Nick's eyes glowed. "Gateway to adventure." Something in her expression must have given away her apprehension. His eyebrows drew together. "What's wrong?"
"I've, uh, heard stories about..." She broke off, too embarrassed to continue.
Nick's frown disappeared. "You're worried about its respectability." A look of understanding shone in his eyes. "First of all, let me assure you that perfectly respectable women go through the Midway every day. And secondly—" His deep brown eyes grew even darker. "I would never take you anywhere that would compromise your reputation."
Annie studied his face a long moment, then nodded. She could read the truth in his eyes. This was a man she could trust. With a lighter heart, she looked again at the entrance to the Midway Plaisance. A sense of girlish excitement bubbled up within her. "Is this where they're building the Ferris wheel? Could we see that?"
Nick threw back his head and laughed. "That, and a great deal more. This way..."
Annie followed, letting him thread their way through the chattering throng. A profusion of voices rose up around them: flat Midwestern twangs and soft Southern drawls mingled with languages she didn't recognize.
They slid past a group of people and forged on ahead. Off to her right, Annie spotted a man in a slouch hat leaning against a pillar. He paid no attention to the tumult around them, but stared directly at her.
She caught her breath in a quick gasp and averted her eyes. Was that the man she'd seen outside Mrs. Purvis's earlier? She looked back, but the man was gone.
Annie tried to control her breathing, not wanting Nick to see her sudden tumult of fear. Surely it couldn't have been the same man. Then again, why couldn't it be? Reason reasserted itself. Thousands of people thronged the fairgrounds daily. Why shouldn't that man—if it was the same one—choose to do the same? It was merely a coincidence, nothing more.
Determined to recapture her lighthearted mood, she turned her attention back to Nick, who was pointing out sights of interest. "We're passing the Irish Village now. Across the way is Hagenbeck's Animal Show. And there—" He pulled her to one side and pointed straight ahead.
Annie saw it then—a great steel skeleton rising to the sky, its spokes sticking out like a giant spider's legs. And people were planning to ride to the very top of the monster! She drew in a shuddering breath. "Oh my goodness."
"Quite the feat of engineering, isn't she? Ferris has done himself proud. What do you say, would you like to take a spin on her when she's finished?"
Her eyes traveled upward, trying to imagine what it would be like to sail high above the buildings, the fair, the city itself. "I don't think so." Her voice came out in a tiny squeak.
Nick shook with laughter. "In that case, let's focus on something a little more down to earth. How about some lunch?"
Annie tore her gaze from the mammoth wheel. "Is it lunchtime already? Oh dear. Silas—"
"Is undoubtedly so busy demonstrating the carriage that he has no interest whatsoever in food right now. Come on." He gestured toward a point farther along the Midway. "I hear the German Village turns out a wonderful schnitzel."
* * *
"Mm, this is delicious." Annie took another bite of schnitzel and savored the veal cutlet's spicy flavor.
"I'm glad you think so." Nick swiped at his mouth with his napkin and gazed around the outdoor eating area with a look of pleasure. "I acquired a taste for them when I was in Stuttgart."
"You've been to Germany?"
"The show toured Europe last year—Germany, Belgium, England, and Scotland."
"That must have been exciting." She hid a grin and added in a casual tone, "The only contact I ever had with Europe was meeting the Spanish Infanta."
Nick's fork stopped halfway to his mouth. "You met the princess?"
Laughter bubbled out despite her attempts to stop it. "If you could call it that. She stopped by the booth." Annie took a long sip of carbonated soda. "She seemed quite taken with the carriage and Silas, but I'm afraid she didn't find me of any interest whatsoever."
A slow smile spread across Nick's face. "That just goes to prove what they say about most royalty being nothing more than halfwits."
Annie laughed again, her earlier irritation with the woman's overbearing manner slipping away. "She certainly made me feel like one." She toyed with her food, hoping Nick didn't notice the flush she felt creeping up her neck. She wasn't used to receiving such open compliments.
"Maybe I didn't show the proper amount of awe. It was obvious she was used to everyone in her retinue bowing and scraping every time she lifted her finger." She regretted the caustic note in her voice as soon as the words were out.
"What did she think of—"
Annie gasped and reached out to grip his arm. "There she is now!"
Nick glanced over his shoulder. "Who?
"Her. The Infanta. See her? The blond woman right over there, walking to that table on the far side of the seating area."
Nick swiveled around in his chair. He watched for a moment then looked back at Annie, his eyebrows raised.
"So where are all the bowers and scrapers? All I see is a woman having lunch alone." He smiled and picked up his fork again. "It must be someone with a passing resemblance."
Annie focused on the woman intently, watching her every move. "It's her. Did you see the way she carried herself, as though she owned the fairgrounds and everyone on them? I'd recognize her anywhere."
Nick tilted his head to one side. "But why would a princess be out here alone on the Midway? That doesn't make sense."
Annie bristled at his obvious disbelief. "I'll prove it to you." She scooted her chair back and moved away from the table.
Nick caught her hand. "What are you doing? You can't just waltz up to a perfect stranger and ask if she's the princess of Spain."
"If she isn't, the worst she can do is think I'm mentally unbalanced. But it is her. I'll show you." She pulled away from his grasp and wove her way through the tables. Behind her, she heard Nick's chair scrape back and the sound of his footsteps following. Good. In just a moment, he would find out she was right.
Halfway to her goal, a man stepped into her path. "Ah, Señora Trenton."
Annie stopped short, trying to place the dark-haired stranger. Recognition came, and her face brightened. "Señor Díaz, isn't it?"
A smile wreathed his face. "It seem we both have a good memory for faces. Speaking of which..." He nodded in the direction Annie was headed. "Am I mistaken, or was it your intention to approach the Infanta?"
"So it is her?" Annie cast a smug look at Nick, now standing beside her.
Díaz inclined his head. "Sí. But as impolite as it seems, I beg you not to do so." He beckoned to Annie and drew both her and Nick aside to the shelter of an overhanging roof draped with vines. He lowered his voice to a whisper. "You saw the entourage that attended the Infanta?"
Annie nodded.
"There are times when so much ceremony becomes very tiring for Her Highness. She longs for the freedom to move about on her own, the freedom you yourself enjoy. As you have perhaps already guessed, the Infanta is a woman of strong personality." His apologetic smile told Annie he hadn't forgotten the slight she received at the Infanta's hands earlier.
"Even back in Spain, she embraced the idea of going around incognito, able to experience the simple pleasures without being recognized. You can sympathize, I am sure."
Annie nodded slowly, responding to his earnest entreaty. "Yes of course. I'd never thought about it before, but I'm sure that must be very difficult."
Díaz spread his hands. "And so I am sure we can count on you both to respect her privacy and not give her little secret away?"
Annie returned his smile. She had accomplished her goal of proving herself right. No need to disturb the Infanta.
Nick tugged at her arm. "We'll be happy to oblige. It's a good thing the princess has you around to keep an eye on things."
"I do my best." Díaz bowed from the waist and drifted back into the shadows.
Annie followed Nick back to their table and began gathering up the remains of their meal. She slanted a triumphant smile his way.
"All right." Nick's genial tone showed no offense. "I admit it: You have an amazing eye for detail, and I'll never doubt you again. How's that for an apology? Is that good enough, or shall I go back to the counter and see if the menu here runs to a helping of crow?"
Annie laughed and abandoned her pretended hauteur. "That will do nicely, thank you. No need to eat crow."
"In that case, what do you want to see next? It appears the Infanta is off limits, so what would you say to a look at Hagenbeck's trained animals?"
9
"Mrs. Purvis!" Annie stared through her open bedroom door in disbelief. Backing into the hallway, she hurried to the stairwell and leaned over the railing. "Mrs. Purvis!"
The landlady bustled into the parlor and craned her neck to peer up the stairs. "What is it, child? You nearly gave me apoplexy."
Annie pointed toward her door with a shaking finger. "Someone has been in my room. What happened?"
Unperturbed, Mrs. Purvis trotted up the stairs. "I was in there this morning as usual. Just tidying things up, you know. I'm sure I didn't disturb anything." She reached the landing and joined Annie at the open doorway. "After all, it's a landlady's job to—" Her eyes widened, and her mouth formed a circle when she looked inside. "Oh. Oh my!"
She took a cautious step inside the room. "I assure you, my dear, this was none of my doing."
"I never thought it was." Annie joined her, standing transfixed at the utter devastation that met her eyes: clothes strewn everywhere and drawers upended, then tossed carelessly on the floor.
"But who could have—" She was cut off by Silas, bleating from his doorway.
"Annie," he called. "Something has happened. Come and see."
Oh no. Not his room, too! Annie flew down the hallway with Mrs. Purvis puffing in her wake. They skidded to a stop at Silas's door. His belongings had been subjected to the same upheaval as Annie's.
Mrs. Purvis clapped her hands to her face. "It looks like we've had a burglar." She turned and ran back to the stairway. "I'd better check downstairs and find out what's missing. Oh, I hope they didn't take my mother's silver!"
She returns moments later, a puzzled expression creasing her face. "Everything seems to be in its place. The downstairs is just as I left it."
Annie looked up from where she knelt in the midst of the debris littering her floor. "Nothing of ours has been taken, either, as far as I can tell."
"How very curious. What kind of burglar turns two rooms inside out, then doesn't steal anything?" The landlady turned to Silas, who hovered in Annie's doorway, and clasped her hands beneath her chin. "Oh, Mr. Crockett, whatever shall we do?"
He shot a pleading look over her head at Annie, but she was too distracted to take charge of Silas's problem.
"I don't understand it." She stood up and prodded a pile of clothing with the toe of her shoe. "Should we call the police?"
Mrs. Purvis turned from Silas and patted her hair into place. Her curls dangled around her face like tiny sausages. "They won't be very interested, I'm afraid, seeing as how nothing was stolen. I guess the only thing for it is to clean things up and hope it never happens again."
Annie nodded absently, already weary at the prospect of spending her evening bringing order from this chaos. A thought struck her. "How did they do all this without you hearing them?"
Mrs. Purvis knitted her brow. "I went out early this afternoon to do some shopping. It must have happened then." She shook her head slightly. "But how did they get in? None of the windows are broken. I checked while I was downstairs."
Years of dealing with Silas prompted Annie to ask, "Did you lock the door when you left?"
"Well, of course I—" A pink flush tinged Mrs. Purvis's cheeks. "At least, I think I did."
"Maybe we should all make an effort to see that it's kept locked from now on," Annie said gently.
"You're quite right." Mrs. Purvis nodded as though she had come to the same conclusion. "And now I ought to be seeing to our supper." She paused a moment in the doorway. "Maybe they know something I don't. Do you suppose I've been looking in the wrong places all these years?" Without waiting for an answer, she hurried downstairs.
10
Fifty-first and Indiana. Annie folded the paper containing Mrs. Purvis's written directions and mounted the steps to the elevated platform.
Five minutes later, a northbound train rumbled into the station and Annie boarded, taking care to select a seat by herself to keep her clothes as wrinkle free as possible. She straightened her lace-trimmed, shirred bodice and box pleated skirt, both of the same deep blue hue. Today she needed every detail of her appearance to be as perfect as possible.
The train started up, hesitated, then surged ahead with a burst of speed. Annie swayed with the rocking of the car and fixed her gaze outside the window. She noted details of the scenery as they passed, wanting to focus her attention on anything but the ordeal that lay ahead.
Clickety-clack, clickety-clack. The sound of the wheels marked off their progress with relentless rhythm. Annie's thoughts turned at an equally rapid pace. What kind of reception would she get from the in-laws she had never met? Were the Trentons really as well-off as Will described?
Trees lined sections of the track, their leafy crowns even with the elevated railway. Annie watched them flit by and tried to pretend she was a taking pleasant drive through a wood instead of speeding through the midst of a great city. That notion was dispelled as soon as the leaves and branches gave way to rows of brick apartment buildings. Annie alternated between looking down on rooftops and staring straight into third-floor flats.
The train jolted again, and Annie braced her hand against the seat back in front of her as they slowed for another station.
In the building opposite the platform, a little girl sat in the window of her flat. Her golden curls hung in ringlets along her plump, rosy cheeks. She watched the approaching cars, making eye contact with Annie when the train ground to a halt. She seemed so close, Annie felt she could reach out and touch her.
She stared back, captivated by the child's calm acceptance of this noisy intrusion into her world. The little girl raised her hand and curled her fingers into a shy wave.
Annie smiled and waved back, trying to ignore the twinge of longing even that brief contact brought. If she and Will had children, would they have looked anything like that little girl? She knotted her fingers in her lap and tried to regain her composure as the train pulled out again, bringing her ever closer to her destination.
* * *
Could this be the right place? Polished columns flanked the entry, and a turret dominated the right front corner, giving a castlelike effect to the three-story brownstone. Annie's heart sank. She had expected something nice, but this went far beyond her wildest imaginings.
Lord, give me strength. I have to do this for Will. She pushed open the wrought iron gate and climbed the stone steps.
A man dressed in somber black answered her tentative knock and stared coolly when she gave her name. Looking as though he would like nothing better than to close the door in her face, he stepped back and allowed her entry, then ushered her into a drawing room that opened off the central hallway.
"Please wait here." The condescending note in his voice nullified the courteous words. He glared at Annie as though expecting her to make off with the silver the moment his back was turned, then disappeared into the recesses of the house.
Annie took advantage of the respite to catch her breath and study her surroundings. The rich furnishings reflected the elegance of the house's exterior. She made a slow circuit of the room, careful not to jostle the numerous tables filled to overflowing with bric-a-bric and objets d'art.
Something flashed in the sunlight that streamed in through the bay window. Annie stepped closer to investigate and gasped when she recognized a near duplicate of the basket-shaped vase she had admired in the Tiffany pavilion.
She reached out to touch the delicate latticework then pulled back, remembering the butler's suspicious attitude. Closing her eyes, the better to concentrate, she listened intently but heard no approaching footsteps. With her pulse pounding in her throat, she stretched out her hand again. Turning the vase over, she quickly looked for the maker's stamp. There it was: Tiffany & Co.
Annie clutched the little vessel in both hands and set it back in its place with infinite care. The cost of the items on display at the fair was still fresh in her mind. Turning around, she scanned the room again with a new appreciation of its contents.
