Read Online Waiting for Spring by Amanda Cabot - Free Book Online Page B

It wasn’t a matter of class. Barrett knew that. Unlike Miriam’s parents with their rigid ideas of social standing, Richard had never before denigrated a person simply becauseof the work he did. There had to be something else bothering his friend. Barrett took another bite of pie, chewing carefully as he thought about what Richard had said.
    â€œIt sounds to me as if you fancy Miriam yourself.”
    There was a second of silence before Richard said, “It’s you and your career I’m worried about. That’s all.”
    The words rang false.

    If Warren had been thirty years younger, he might have jumped with joy, but legs that were more than half a century old did not take kindly to such exuberance. Instead, he poured himself a glass of whiskey and toasted his good fortune.
    She was perfect. Not beautiful, but not ugly, either. Not so young that people would gossip, but young enough that she could give him a child of his own. Best of all, she was respectable. Highly respectable, unlike the women who saw to his other needs. No one would look askance if Warren married a hardworking widow with a small child. They’d applaud him for his kindness. They’d see that he was indeed an upright citizen, a man worthy of membership in the Cheyenne Club.
    Gwen Amos was perfect.

    â€œYou shouldn’t have disappeared with him.”
    Miriam took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. “I didn’t disappear. Richard and I remained on the sidewalk in full view of anyone who came outside. And, Mama, I might add that there were many who did.”
    Her mother picked up the silver-backed mirror from Miriam’s dressing table and scrutinized her reflection. Apparentlypleased that she had not discovered any new wrinkles, she nodded briskly. “What exactly did you talk about?”
    â€œMusic. Richard told me that although he enjoyed the Ninth, his favorite piece by Beethoven is the allegretto from the Seventh Symphony.” As Miriam had expected, her mother rolled her eyes. She might as well be speaking Greek for all Mama understood. Perhaps that was why the memory of her conversation with Richard lingered in Miriam’s mind. It was the first time she’d found someone who shared her love of music enough to spend a quarter of an hour discussing the finer points of two melodies.
    Barrett would have listened politely if she had told him that the tempo was slightly too slow during the first movement of tonight’s performance, but he wouldn’t have understood. Richard did. Barrett would have agreed if she’d announced that the “Ode to Joy” was a magnificent piece of music, and then he would have changed the subject. Richard was different. He’d asked her why she cared for the Ode, what specific aspect of the music touched her heart.
    Richard might not be as handsome as Barrett. He might not be quite as wealthy. He might not be a man her parents would consider a suitable son-in-law because he had no aspirations outside of Wyoming, but he challenged her in ways no other man had. That was the reason—the only reason—she couldn’t stop thinking of him.
    â€œMusic!” Mama sniffed. “I suppose that’s perfectly respectable, but make sure it doesn’t happen again. Even though the man is almost old enough to be your father and no one would think you were interested in him, you wouldn’t want people to have the wrong impression, would you?”
    â€œNo, Mama.”

    Two days later, Charlotte pinned on a hat and slid her hands into gloves. Though she was only going next door and could forgo a cloak, no well-dressed lady would consider leaving her home without a hat and gloves.
    â€œI should be gone only a few minutes,” she told Molly, who was watching Élan in her absence. It was a quiet time in the shop, and Charlotte needed a few items for David. Gwen had chuckled over the fact that Charlotte, whose creations dressed many of