to Gussie, you hear? She’d have my neck if she thought I’d looked cross-ways at another woman.”
“How could you help it?” Nicholas asked, gloom coating each word. “I don’t need to be smitten by a stranger. One who won’t even be here long enough to form an attachment.”
“You’re thinking about—”
“Don’t even say the words,” Nicholas warned him. “I’m not going to dillydally around with a woman here on a short-term basis when I’ve got an eye on Patience Filmore. I have a notion Miss Donnelly would put demands on a man, when all he’s asking for is something temporary. If I marry Patience one day down the road, I’ll still be my own person.”
Cleary only shook his head and shrugged. “You’re right there. You’re the least of her concern. Patience is interested in the money you’ve got in your bank.”
Nicholas took affront. “You don’t think I’m gentleman enough or handsome enough for the lady?” And yet, he knew that Cleary wasn’t too far off the mark. Patience was definitely a lady with an eye to the future. And being the owner of the only bank in town gave him an edge.
“Hell, you can probably talk her into marriage without any trouble at all,” Cleary said harshly. “But will you be happy with her?”
“Happy?” Nicholas felt his throat close as he uttered the word. “What does that mean?” And yet he knew. Knew that Cleary and his wife shared a life he found himself observing at times with a sort of awe and envy he’d always thought beneath him. “I’m not a homebody like you, Cleary. I think Patience will suit me just fine.”
“Speaking of which…” Cleary lifted a brow and nodded at a woman heading in their direction. “I need to be across the street,” he said, tipping his hat at the lady in question before he stepped down from the sidewalk.
“Nicholas.” Patience was blessed with abundant dark hair that hung in a series of ringlets from beneath her bonnet. Her blue eyes were wide and fringed with equally dark lashes, and she had an hourglass figure that drew the eye of every man in her vicinity, no matter where she went.
And yet, all Nicholas could see this morning was that there was an enameled look to her, as if she had spent hours perfecting the image she portrayed. His own smile was equally feigned as he offered his arm. She swept to his side, her skirts wrapping around his trouser legs as her slender fingers touched his forearm.
On the other hand, Carlinda had looked a bit frazzled at the breakfast table, her hair curling against her temples and brow, her morning gown a bit wrinkled, having been hauled from her luggage for the occasion. She’d apologized for being late, then spent long moments fixing a plate for her charge before she once more sought his attention.
And in those moments he’d filled his eyes with her soft contours, her rosy cheeks and the hastily pinned-together, russet-hued curls that perched high on her crown, several of them already on a downward slide as she shook her head in response to a query.
“Nicholas?” Patience called his name, her voice curt as she broke into his thoughts. “What in the world are you thinking of?” she asked. “I’ve been telling you about the party Saturday at the Millers’ home, and I do declare, I think you haven’t heard a word I’ve said.”
“My mind is on a problem at the bank,” he told her, lying without a speck of guilt. The woman had lost her attraction for him, almost overnight, it seemed. And for the life of him, he didn’t know how he’d go about shedding her presence from his daily routine, wishing glumly he’d never given her any encouragement.
For the pursuit had been from her direction, he recognized, almost from the first. She’d set her cap for the banker, and been persistent in the chase. And he, idiot that he was, had allowed it. Had, in fact, aided and abetted her in her determination to win his favor. Now she stood before him and he thought how wonderful it would be to hold a magic wand in his hand, just for a moment, so he might wave it over her lush form, sending her back to wherever she’d come from this morning.
Instead, he forced a benign smile to appear. “I have to get to my desk,” he said, his words apologetic. “I’ll try to find time to call on you later today, Patience.”
Her pout had lost its appeal, he decided, as she allowed her rosy lips to form a small moue, and then fluttered her lashes in what he’d once thought was a beguiling manner. Miles removed from the open, honest glare he’d received from the woman in his study only last evening.
His stride was long, as if he could not escape Patience quickly enough, and he crossed the dusty street, heading for the bank where his clerk, Thomas, was sweeping the wide sidewalk before the open door.
“Good morning, Mr. Garvey,” the young man said cheerfully. “Beautiful day, don’t you think?”
“Depends on your viewpoint,” Nicholas said with a grunt, his long legs carrying him into the high-ceilinged lobby, leaving behind an employee he knew must be puzzled by his employer’s mood. Normally a polite gentleman, the events of the day thus far had not endowed him with hope for the future of this episode he’d managed to entangle himself in. There wasn’t a bit of sense in shedding Patience from his existence when he’d be waving goodbye to Carlinda Donnelly in less time than it would take to truly make her acquaintance.
And with that decision attended to, he opened his office door and settled behind his desk. “Thomas.” The single word sounded much like the roar of a mountain lion and Nicholas winced, then took a deep breath.
Women. They were at the bottom of almost all the problems he’d faced in his life, in one way or another. And the conundrum facing him today seemed only to prove that fact. It was a good thing that marriage was definitely on the back burner. He was a man who enjoyed his freedom.
She’d been given the grand tour and decreed the house lovely, and, even more important, comfortable. The housekeeper’s bright eyes were avid with curiosity and she seemed determined to make Carlinda welcome. “I’m sure Mr. Nicholas will be home for dinner,” Katie said cheerfully, her cloth moving rapidly as she dusted the bannister.
Her hair, once flame-red, if Carlinda knew anything about such things, had now settled into a hazy color of grey over auburn. As might her own one day, she thought. A wide smile on Katie’s lips sparkled with goodwill and her feet moved smartly as she made her way through the work inherent in keeping such a large home clean and polished to within an inch of its life. Carlinda hovered in her wake, feeling useless with nothing to accomplish.
It seemed a walk was in order, and she pressed a dress from her valise and one for Amanda for the occasion. “Are you certain you don’t need any help?” Carlinda asked for the second time, hesitating by the front door. Her charge tugged impatiently at her fingers, but she held back, guilt pushing her into the offer she made.
Katie only shook her head. “No, ma’am. You go on ahead and take the wee one out for a walk. She needs to get some exercise. Young’uns need fresh air and lots of it. Makes them healthy to breathe the morning air, it does.”
Reluctantly, Carlinda nodded and opened the heavy door. Leaded glass in long panes almost the length of its frame glittered in the sunlight, and she turned back to admire them as Amanda scampered across the porch.
“I’ll just leave it open,” Katie said, watching from the threshold. “You go on now and enjoy your stroll.”
Amanda was at the gate already, apparently puzzled by the latch, and Carlinda
