When they arrived home, a telegram awaited her. She’d asked the Old Man to send it, and when she opened it, the message read, “Gravely ill. Come home at once.” It was to be her excuse for leaving immediately, but she couldn’t go anywhere, not immediately or otherwise.
“Good news, I hope,” David said when she’d read it.
“My aunt is glad to know I’m being well taken care of.”
“You should invite her to join you here. We’d love to have her visit as well.”
Oh yes, she’d happily invite her imaginary aunt for a visit. “She doesn’t like to travel, but I’ll pass along the invitation when I write to her.” Which she would do immediately. The Old Man needed to know she hadn’t left the city. He also needed to know there’d been a big change in plan.
• • •
The doctor insisted that Anna remain in bed all day the next day, especially if she wanted to participate in Thanksgiving dinner the following afternoon. That left Elizabeth and David to their own devices.
“Dress warmly, Miss Miles,” he said after lunch. “I have a surprise for you.”
Elizabeth had a surprise for him as well, so she found the warmest dress in her stolen wardrobe and dug out the white fur collar and matching hat and muff she’d found in one of her many suitcases.
David hailed a cab for them on the next corner, and she looked at him in surprise when he told the driver, “Central Park.”
“Isn’t it late in the season for visiting a park?”
“They have carriage rides all year round, and it’s going to be almost sixty degrees today, so I thought we should take advantage of what is probably the last pleasant afternoon until spring.”
Elizabeth could not have agreed more. She’d seen the carriages many times but had never dreamed of riding in one.
A line of carriages waited, the horses’ heads drooping. David approached the first one in the line and paid the fee. The driver helped them into the open vehicle and covered them with a lap robe. The air was crisp but mild, and the sky was actually bright.
“Are you two on your honeymoon?” the driver asked, slamming the carriage door.
Elizabeth had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing out loud, and David actually blushed. “Oh no, nothing like that. At least not yet.”
“I understand,” the driver said, tipping his top hat to them.
Elizabeth didn’t have to feign her astonishment, but David’s face was the picture of innocence when he turned to her. “Are you warm enough?”
“Oh, yes.”
The carriage started with a jerk. David had given a lot of consideration to their outing today, choosing a very romantic activity. Under the lap robe, he could sit as close to her as he liked, although he was currently maintaining a respectable few inches’ distance. Although Central Park was far more appealing in any other season of the year, it would always hold a certain charm, with its acres of woodland nestled in the center of the busiest city on earth.
“I think I’m beginning to fall in love with your city, Mr. Vanderslice.”
“I hope you’re also developing a fondness for its residents as well.”
“For some of them, at least. You and your family have certainly made me feel welcome.”
“After Mrs. Bates told me how you’d conducted yourself in Virginia, how could we do anything less? We will be forever in your debt for the way you looked after Anna.”
“We all looked after each other, Mr. Vanderslice. I didn’t do anything special.” Which was perfectly true.
“Not according to Mrs. Bates. Honestly, Miss Miles, I don’t think I’ve ever met another female quite like you.”
Which was also perfectly true. David Vanderslice had certainly never met a grifter before. “I’m not sure that’s a compliment.”
“Oh, it is. The more I learn about you, the more I want to know.”
He wouldn’t like a lot of what he’d learn if he really got to know her, of course. “Knowing me would take a long time, I’m afraid.”
“I’m prepared to make the effort. Didn’t I tell you I’d like you to stay here forever?”
“And I’m sure you know I couldn’t possibly do that.”
“Why not?”
She shook her head at his teasing. “Because my home and my family is in South Dakota. An unmarried woman can’t just go to a strange city and start a new life.” Although that’s exactly what she was planning to do if she could escape Thornton, she realized.
“You’re right, an unmarried woman could not. Are you opposed to marriage, Miss Miles?”
“Why would I be?” she asked.
“Many of the suffragists are. They don’t like the idea of being under a man’s control.”
Of course they didn’t, but she couldn’t tell him she disapproved of marriage. “When you put it like that, I’m not fond of the idea. But not all men look upon marriage like that.”
“No, we don’t,” he said, clearly putting himself into that winning category.
“Does your mother approve of rights for women? I haven’t heard her express an opinion.”
“She isn’t as outspoken as Mrs. Bates, of course, but I think she supports the cause in her own way.”
“Even after Anna was arrested?”
David winced a little. “She wasn’t too pleased about that, as I’m sure you can understand, and that may have tempered her enthusiasm a bit.”
“Enough so she’ll forbid Anna to participate in any more protests?”
“I’m hoping Anna herself will decide that. She isn’t strong, as you know, and no one expects her to give her life for the cause.”
Elizabeth thought about the hunger strike and how none of them had hesitated to join it, especially Anna. No one had died, but many had been close to it. She only hoped the men in Congress came to their senses before someone did. But as the Old Man would undoubtedly remind her, she had a more urgent problem. “I have a feeling Anna won’t be sensible about her dedication to the cause.”
“Which is why she needs friends like you to advise her.”
“I’ll continue to advise her as long as I’m here.” She sighed. “But I don’t know how much longer that will be.”
“Miss Miles, if you don’t mind my asking, is there any reason you need to return to your home?”
“You mean besides the fact that it is my home?”