Hyacinth (Suitors of Seattle) Read online

  He looked at her in surprise. "I was never in love with Amaryllis. She was just a friend to me. For a while, I thought there might be more, but I kissed her once, and there was just nothing between us."

  How could he talk to her about kissing her sister? "You kissed Rilly?" Her heart fell. She hated the idea of him kissing her older sister.

  "Well, yes, but it meant nothing. She was in love with Alex, and honestly, kissing her was really boring." Lawrence hated admitting it, but he'd really not enjoyed kissing her. Maybe there was something wrong with him.

  She blinked a few times. "Kissing my sister is boring? Why do you say you want to court me then?"

  Lawrence swallowed hard. He was making a muck of things. "I'm sure kissing you wouldn't be boring at all." He didn't mention that just touching her hand made him feel things that even kissing her sister had never made him feel. He knew it wasn't gentlemanly to even speak of what he felt with her.

  Hyacinth looked at him in astonishment. "You've thought about kissing me?" she asked. Is that what he was saying?

  He was only making things worse, but he was going to stay his course. "Yes, I've thought about it. A lot."

  "What do you think about it?" Hyacinth had never imagined how a man would feel when he thought of kissing her. She wasn't certain if she was asking him because she wanted to know or because it would help her write a kissing scene in her book.

  Lawrence looked around them, seeing that they were alone and away from a streetlight. He took her hand in his. "I've thought about how soft your skin would be and about how good it would feel to have your lips pressed against mine. I've thought about touching your hair and feeling your body pressed up against mine." He looked down into her eyes by the light of the quarter moon. "May I kiss you Hyacinth? May I make my dreams a reality?"

  Hyacinth stood looking up at him, astonished at his words. She'd never felt so drawn to a man before, as if his words had somehow mesmerized her, putting her under his spell. She nodded slightly, knowing her mother would never approve of her kissing him on the street this way, but just then she didn't care. She wanted to know how it would feel to kiss him as well.

  He used the hand which he held tightly in his grip to pull her closer, his other hand going to her waist. He was nervous, because he really didn't know much about kissing. The only time he'd ever kissed a girl had been Amaryllis, and that hadn't turned out well at all. Slowly, he lowered his head, stopping a breath from her lips to whisper, "I dream about this every night," before pressing his lips to hers.

  Hyacinth was surprised by how soft his lips were as they pressed against hers. She'd never kissed a man, and truthfully, had never thought about what it would be like to kiss a man. She'd thought about it in an intellectual sense of course, thinking about how her characters would react, but she'd never thought about her lips actually touching those of a man.

  As soon as his lips touched hers, she felt a flutter in her stomach, as if he were tickling her. She took a step closer to him, pressing against him like he'd mentioned. She liked the feel of his hard chest through their coats. Her hands moved up to wind around his shoulders, not really knowing what was proper, and at that moment not caring. She liked his lips against hers.

  Lawrence slowly raised his head, his hand stroking her cheek, and softly running over her hair. "You're so beautiful, Hyacinth."

  She shook her head. "No, I'm not. Not like my sisters." How could anyone think she was beautiful?

  He sighed and took a step back. "I'm allowed to think you're beautiful. Kissing you was...so much more than I'd hoped for. Will you let me court you, Hyacinth? Can I be your beau?" He couldn't make it plainer that he was interested in her than that.

  "I..." She had no idea how to answer him. He couldn't really want to court her, could he? Her sisters were all so much more than she was. She had always felt as if she were lacking. How could he have singled her out for affection? It just wasn't possible. Was it?

  "Please?" he asked.

  Slowly, she nodded, overwhelmed with emotion. She wasn't sure which feelings were stronger -- her certainty that he was making a mistake and would be happier with one of her sisters or her feelings of affection for him? Was she attracted to the man or the writer?

  He smiled, leaning down to kiss her cheek quickly. He caught her hand in his and headed toward their house. She wasn't certain what to say, but after a minute, she remembered his laugh at the table. "Why were you laughing during dinner?"

  He shook his head, obviously embarrassed by her question. "I'd rather not say."

  "Please tell me! What about my family amused you?" She hadn't seen anything funny in their normal dinnertime conversation, but she'd love to understand what he was thinking.

  He sighed. "I was thinking that if we married, and had friends over, no one would entertain our guests, because we'd both be too busy observing everyone and thinking how we could work it into a book."

  She turned to him in surprise. "I was thinking about how I could put my family into a book. Thinking about how different it is without Jasmine around." Jasmine had been gone for a long time, over two years, but she still couldn't get used to how much quieter it was without the mischief-maker.

  He nodded. "I could tell."

  "You're really thinking about what it would be like to be married to me?" she asked, astonished that he could even want to picture it.

  "Constantly. I think you'd be a wonderful wife."

  They got to her front door, and he leaned down to press a kiss to her cheek. "Say my goodnights for me."

  She nodded. "I'll see you at the library tomorrow?"

  "I'll be here to walk you there in the morning."

  She smiled. "I do know the way to the library."

  "I wouldn't want you to be accosted on your way there. I'm sure you'll agree that you're safer with me beside you."

  "Oh, yes, of course. I always get accosted on my way to the library."

  "Well, it won't happen tomorrow, because I'll be beside you." He winked at her, and with a kiss on the cheek, he walked away, whistling quietly under his breath. Hyacinth had agreed to let him court her. Did life get better than this?

  Chapter Three

  Women appreciate things that smell good more than any man ever could. Consider putting a mint leaf in each of her pockets so her hands will smell good when she pulls them from the pockets of her coat. Likely, she will never find it, but will wonder why her hands are always smelling so good. She will be thrilled to later find it was you, but don't brag about it. It might be wise to wait to tell her until your tenth wedding anniversary. William Livingston, Advice Column to Lonely Men published in The Seattle Times, December fifteenth, 1896.

  Lawrence put down the paper and smiled. He would go into the woods to get some mint later. He'd have to look up what it looked like at the library, of course, but he was an intelligent man. He could easily figure it out.

  He whistled as he walked to the library on his own that morning, knowing that Hyacinth would spend the day with her mother. When he'd asked her about it, she'd muttered something about having to be fitted for some dresses she hated and didn't want to talk about it. He hadn't pressed her.

  He entered the library with a big grin on his face, tipping his hat to Amaryllis who sat in her usual chair behind the desk looking a bit green. "Are you all right?" he asked. He was truly concerned about her, because she looked terrible. He knew better than to say that to a woman, though.

  She nodded, her hand covering her mouth. "I'm expecting again. I'll be like this for another month or two."

  He took a step back, not wanting to think about her expecting a baby. "I...need to do some research." He hurried to the back of the library and found the book he was looking for. He wanted Amaryllis to be his sister-in-law someday, and already thought of her as a sister. He didn't want to think of her doing anything that could lead to her having a baby.

  He found the horticulture books and looked up mint leaves, carefully drawing one in his notebook he ca
rried everywhere with him. He wasn't a good artist, but he was certain he'd be able to find the plant mentioned in the book.

  Instead of spending the day in the library as he usually did, he headed out of town on horseback and tied his horse to a tree once he reached the forest. He'd never been much of an outdoorsman, so it was more than a little difficult for him to wander through the wooded area by himself. He had a pistol in his pocket ready to draw on any bears or large animals that came near him.

  He wandered until he found a patch of leaves like he'd seen in the book. They were growing on a small bush, in clumps of three. He carefully tore them off the vine with his gloved hand, slipping them into his pocket. He had three of them, so he could put one in each of her pockets. She'd be charmed by his efforts, but he'd be certain not to tell her he'd done it as Mr. Livingston suggested. He was more than a little thankful for the advice the newspaper columnist gave him every week, knowing it was all bringing him closer to Hyacinth.

  He hurried back to his horse, looking around him the whole time, worried about animals jumping out at him. When he reached his horse, he breathed a sigh of relief, thankful to be back safe and sound.

  He went to Hyacinth's house, knowing she'd said her mother would have her home by early afternoon because she'd started to enjoy an afternoon nap every day now that most of her girls were married off and on their own.

  Hyacinth came to the door, blushing prettily when she saw it was him. He liked that about her. He'd been careful not to try to be alone with her too much, and they'd only kissed on that one night, when she'd agreed to let him court her. Her blushes were sweet, though, and he hoped she never stopped.

  "Would you like to go for a walk?" he asked. He had the mint leaves in his hands and planned to drop them into her coat pockets when he helped her on with her coat. It was the perfect way to do it without her noticing.

  She nodded. "That would be nice. We could walk down to the park." She turned to the closet and got her coat out, handing it to him as she always did before turning her back to him so he could help her put it on.

  She put her gloves on, because it was chilly, but put her hand through his arm as they walked. It felt odd having a beau as all her sisters had, because she'd never expected it. It occurred to her then that she hadn't talked to her aunt about Lawrence yet, and maybe it was time. "How would you feel about dropping in on my aunt Harriett instead of going to the park? She's a wonderful woman, and I'd love for you to meet her."

  Lawrence shrugged. "That would be nice." He liked the idea of her wanting him to meet her relatives.

  They both observed the world around them as they walked, neither feeling the need for endless chatter. Finally, he said, "Tell me about your aunt."

  Hyacinth smiled. "Aunt Harriett is a lovely person. She moved here to marry my uncle Max about eight years ago, I think? I'm pretty sure I was ten at the time, so that would be right. She was a mail order bride." She didn't know why she was so proud of the fact that her aunt had been a mail order bride, but she was. There was just something about it that sounded terribly adventurous to her. When she finished her current book, she thought she might write one about a mail order bride and her journey west.

  "A mail order bride? Really? I've heard of them, of course, but I've never actually met one."

  "You will today. Aunt Harriett actually owned her own mail order bride agency, and she sent out brides to all sorts of places. I love to hear her tell of the matches she helped to make. The women were on adventures." Hyacinth's voice held an air of wistfulness as she spoke.

  "You almost sound like you'd want to be a mail order bride."

  She shook her head. "Oh, not me! Daisy became a mail order bride, and it worked out really well for her, but not for me. I wouldn't have the courage to face the unknown that way." She couldn't imagine giving up all power over her own life for a man that way. She preferred to be in control of her own destiny, thank you very much.

  "Your sister Daisy was...three sisters older than you?" He was trying hard to keep the order of the sisters straight, but there were so many of them.

  "No, two sisters older. Amaryllis was three older."

  "Is Daisy happy?"

  "Oh, yes! She married Eli King in Montana. Jasmine even went out and stayed with her while she was carrying her first. They got to be really close, and Daisy said she's not even a demented nincompoop anymore, but I'd have to see that to believe it."

  "And didn't you say Jasmine married someone out there?" Thinking of the young lady he'd met while he was escorting Amaryllis as being a married woman was a bit of a stretch for his imagination.

  "Oh yes. Well, she married a man who was really already married, but he thought he was a widower. It was...a strange situation to say the least."

  "Sounds like something someone ought to write a book about," he said with a wink.

  She laughed softly. "You know, I might do that some day!" She went up the walk to Uncle Max and Aunt Harriett's house and knocked on the door.

  Harriett opened it herself, which surprised Hyacinth. She was very pregnant, again, and Hyacinth knew she'd been told to take a lot of naps. "Hyacinth! It's good to see you!" Harriett hugged her tightly. "This must be Lawrence. Your mother has told me about him."

  Hyacinth sighed. "I'm sure she has. The rumors of my engagement have been greatly exaggerated." She stepped in with Lawrence right behind her, following her aunt into the parlor she favored. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

  Harriett sighed. "You know, it's much harder being pregnant at thirty-eight than it was when I first came to Seattle at twenty-six." She sat down, her hand immediately going to her knee to rub it.

  Hyacinth took a spot on the sofa, and Lawrence sat beside her. She remembered how angry her sister Daisy had said her husband was at being investigated without his knowledge, so she decided to just get things out in the open so he would know. "Harriett will need to investigate you before our relationship can go any further. She'll look into your background and make certain you have no history of illicit behavior before coming to live in Seattle." She said the words quickly, worried about his reaction.

  Lawrence looked between the two women, trying to determine if they were joking. When he realized they weren't, his face spread into a slow grin. "What's your process for investigating young men? I've never heard of such a thing. This is fascinating!" He wondered how he could work a woman investigating men into a book. There had to be a way.

  Harriett laughed. "You're handling the investigation much better than some men I know." She pulled out her notebook so she could write down vital information openly. "What I'll do is take down your birth date, city of origin, mother's name, father's name, and we'll go from there. I have a man who does most of the legwork, but he'll do so by means of a private investigator rather than going out East himself. He has a wife now, and he has no desire to travel that far."

  Lawrence gave her all of his information quickly. "How do you find a man to do that kind of work for you? You must trust him a great deal." Lawrence had people he trusted, of course, but no one he felt he could trust enough to do the kind of work she was talking about.

  Harriett nodded. "I've known him for a long time. He's been a father figure to me, and there's no one I trust more. He'll do a good job for me and for the girls I help."

  When she said nothing else about how she'd found the man, Lawrence nodded. "I'm pleased that Hyacinth has someone like you looking out for her." He hated the idea of the sweet girl beside him marrying a scoundrel.

  Hyacinth smiled at him, glad he'd accepted the situation so easily. She had never planned to hide it from her future husband, but his easy acceptance made it a great deal easier for her. "Aunt Harriett is an amazing woman. She started the Battered Women's House here."

  Lawrence looked at Harriett with new respect. "I've never heard of such a thing, but I'm glad it exists. What's the purpose of the house? To give the women a place to talk about their problems?"

  Harriett shook her head, jumpi
ng into the subject happily. "No, the house is a place for women to go when they fear their husband will continue hurting them or even kill them if they don't leave. They're helped to find jobs there, so they can support any children they may have or just support themselves. The man who does my investigating for me lives there with his wife, and they help the women. I think houses like that should be in every city in the entire nation."

  Lawrence nodded. "If women are in danger, they certainly need a place to go. I'm glad to hear we have something like that here in Seattle." He'd never heard of a house like that before, but he thought it was an excellent idea.

  They spoke more of the house before finally leaving an hour later. Lawrence smiled at the woman as she limped before them and opened the door. He liked her a great deal. "It was nice meeting you, Mrs. Farmer."

  "It was good meeting you, Lawrence. I hope you'll be part of the family celebration at Christmas time."

  Lawrence's eyes widened. "If you're inviting me, I'll definitely be there for it."

  "Well, it's being held here, so consider yourself invited. We usually meet up around eleven on Christmas morning, and we open gifts and have Christmas dinner together."

  "I will be here then! Thank you for the invitation, Mrs. Farmer." He had spent all his Christmases alone for years, so the idea of having somewhere to go on the holiday thrilled him. His mother was still in New York, and now that she'd remarried, he didn't feel like he would be welcome if he wanted to go home for the holiday.

  As they walked back toward her home, Lawrence asked the question he'd been afraid to ask Harriett. "Does she limp because she was abused herself?" He knew the question was rude, but he liked to know people's motives for what they did.

  Hyacinth sighed. "You know, she's never said why she limps. At least she hasn't told me, but I do think that's why. She's very passionate about women being careful not to get themselves into abusive situations, and she makes sure any abused women know where the battered women's house is. She does her best to keep it from being general knowledge, though."