Sometimes the restless demon inside was hard to tame. He wanted to strike out for the horizon or put on a uniform and fight someone. He wanted to test his strength until he literally could not keep swinging anymore. Temptation clawed at him, but his aching head and the rules of the Poison Squad precluded getting into a boxing ring. Anything that put unnecessary stress on his already abused body was disallowed by Dr. Wiley.
So, like a dutiful boy, he would head back to the boardinghouse for lunch, tuck a napkin under his chin, and eat whatever he was served without complaint.
Caroline’s rapid footsteps clicked on the sidewalk as she raced to catch up with him. “What’s put you in such a snit?”
“Just one of those days.”
He didn’t need to say anything else. He and Caroline shared a crib until they were a year old. They grew up side by side. No one knew him as well as she did, and he didn’t have to pretend with her. Around others he would crack a joke or pretend lazy indifference, but not Caroline.
“We all have those days, but try not to have them around Nathaniel,” she said. “He doesn’t know you very well yet.”
It was Luke’s fault that Caroline had to play peacemaker. Luke’s fault he’d been locked up in Cuba for over a year and caused his family untold misery. He needed to tamp down this low, mean part of himself and do better.
“I’ll be on good behavior,” he forced himself to say.
“And you will come with me to meet with the minister tomorrow?”
Gray would be giving Caroline away at her wedding, but Luke had agreed to do the readings, which was why he should talk to the minister about the selections. It was going to be the wedding of the year, with five hundred guests, including the president and three Supreme Court justices. Caroline never did anything halfway. She’d also invited plenty of people from the McKinley administration, for it was during her service in the McKinley White House that Caroline met Nathaniel. Caroline had sent an invitation to the former first lady, though it was doubtful Mrs. McKinley would attend. Caroline and Mrs. McKinley had an epic falling-out last year, and the wound still smarted for Caroline.
“I’ll be there. Are you sure the groom is going to be up for all the hoopla? He never struck me as the sort to kick up his heels and dance until dawn.”
“But he knows that I am, and he is happy to play along. Rather perfect, isn’t he?” Caroline flashed him a blinding smile. She and Nathaniel were opposites in every way, and yet he’d never seen her happier.
He folded her hand atop his forearm as they walked the four blocks back to the boardinghouse. “If I told you I wanted to marry someone who didn’t seem like a good match, but I swore she was the perfect woman for me, would you accept her?”
“Of course.”
She said it too casually. Too easily, as though she hadn’t really understood his question.
“Think carefully. What if she was a blue-nosed prude? A raging harridan with no fashion sense? Could you accept her?”
Caroline still seemed serenely nonchalant. “If you loved her, of course I would.”
“What if she was a Magruder?”
The light in her eyes faded. “Oh, Luke . . .”
He smiled a little sadly. “Yes. That’s what I’m up against.”
“Are you still trying to topple her father and grind her entire family into dust?”
“Some things never change.” Which meant a happy ending for him and Marianne probably wasn’t in the cards, but he couldn’t help wishing for it anyway.
Caroline gave him a quick hug. “Gray may pitch a fit, but I’ll stand beside you no matter what. If you choose Marianne Magruder, she will have my full support.”
“Swear it.”
She blanched. “What?”
“Swear it. Caroline, this may be more difficult than it seems. I’m not sure what I’m up against if she and I throw caution to the winds. I have this hankering to run away to San Francisco or sail into the sunset. With her.”
“Luke, I swear I will support you and whoever you choose to marry.”
A little tension faded from his spine. “Thanks for that.”
They had arrived at the boardinghouse, and he bid her farewell. He had completely lost his appetite but managed to choke down lunch. Everyone at the table seemed to feel as miserable as he did, and there was an odd sort of comfort in that.
By dinner he felt worse, and by nightfall he and everyone on the Poison Squad knew something was severely wrong.
Eighteen
Marianne couldn’t stay in Baltimore and attend Andrew’s birthday party as though nothing had happened. Until yesterday, everyone in the family thought the sun rose and set on Andrew Magruder, but not now. Her parents had a huge argument over what happened with Bandit. Vera sided with Andrew, while Clyde and her grandfather had been disgusted. Marianne simply wanted to escape the turmoil. When Clyde gave her permission to return to Washington and miss Andrew’s party, it triggered another round of tears and tantrums, but she left on the evening train without regret.
The whole affair made her heartsick. After returning to Washington, she went straight to her room and felt beneath her mattress where she hid the photograph of Luke holding Bandit. How wretched Bandit had been while struggling in the icy water. She and Luke both risked so much to rescue him, but she would do it again in a heartbeat.
She gazed at Luke’s image as he beamed with pride. He was the only person who would understand her grief right now. Her heart was splitting wide open, and she needed him for comfort. It was after ten o’clock at night, but if Luke knew how heartsick she was, he’d want her to come to him.
She returned the photograph to its hiding place, then set off for his boardinghouse, where she was surprised to see the building lit up like a Christmas tree. Maybe she shouldn’t have been. When twelve young men shared a house, surely there was a fair amount of carousing in the evening, even if it was a weeknight.
But she didn’t hear carousing when she stood on the porch. She knocked, and the door flung open only seconds later. A man in his shirtsleeves with a serious expression opened the door. She vaguely remembered him as one of the competitive brothers who boasted about his superiority in all things the day she came to photograph the men.
“I’m Marianne Magruder. I came to see Luke Delacroix.”
The man opened the door. “He’s here. Come inside. You can help with nursing duties.”
The front parlor looked and smelled terrible. A number of men lay on the sofas, and a few sprawled on the floor. Luke spotted her from where he was slumped in a stuffed chair in the corner.
He squinted at her. “Marianne? Is that you?”
“It’s me.” She crossed the room and knelt beside him, appalled at the pallor of his skin. “You’ve looked better.”
His smile was slow in coming, but he covered her hand with his and squeezed. “I can’t hear very well. And I’m dizzy. My head feels like it’s going to explode.”
Alarm raced through her, but she tried not to let it show as she pressed a hand to his forehead. “You don’t seem feverish.”
“But I’ve been puking all night. So have the other guys. That’s why we need to stay down here near the washroom.”