скачать книгу бесплатно
Millicent made a face at his back and followed. Dear Lord, please help me to do this.
She felt Matt’s frustration with her as she began to work again. It fairly radiated off him. But he’d have to get over it.
Millicent took shot after shot of the park, and anything else she found interesting, before turning to Matt once more. “Will it be all right if I get a few photographs of John and Elizabeth and your men?”
“I suppose so. I’ll move your camera—”
“No, I’ll use my Kodak for those. I don’t want them thinking they need to pose. I’d rather get some more natural shots.”
“Do you want me to bring your tripod and camera?”
She shook her head. What she wanted most was distance from Matt. “No, unless they’re in the way. I’ll just walk around—you don’t need to keep watch over me. I’m not going anywhere close to the edge.”
“Millicent, I’m responsible for your safety—”
“I know. And can assure you, I’m not going to do anything to put myself, or your job, in danger. I just want to get in an inconspicuous place to take photos of your crew at work, and to be truthful, you watching my every move makes me nervous.”
Matt closed his eyes and sighed once more, and Millicent sensed she was pushing his patience to the limit but he did make her nervous. “I’ll just stand right over there and get my shots.” She pointed to a place near the elevator where she’d have a good view of the work going on.
“All right. But don’t move from that spot without my knowing it.”
“I promise.”
* * *
Matt watched as Millicent took her Kodak out of her bag and walked over to where she could get the shots she wanted. The woman pushed his patience like no other. But at least over by where his men were she’d be safely away from the edge and he’d be able to keep an eye on her no matter where he was. He breathed a sigh of relief as she began to take her snapshots.
He really thought she might have been sick there for a minute, but he had to give it to her, the woman had grit. He went about his business, making sure the men who weren’t speaking to John and Elizabeth were doing their jobs. It appeared they were trying, although they did occasionally glance over at Millicent. But if they caught his eye on them, they quickly got back to business.
She was very pretty. She wore a blue skirt and a striped shirtwaist of two shades of blue, and her light blond hair was covered with a white hat trimmed in those same shades of blue, making her eyes the color of the sky. He couldn’t blame his men for looking at her; he found it hard to keep from doing so himself. However, keeping Millicent and the Talbots safe while they were up here was his main job, so he didn’t have to keep from watching Millicent.
But when he looked over at her, he found her taking aim at him and he quickly turned and spoke to one of his men. This was turning out to be one of the longest mornings he’d ever spent up here. After about a half hour more, John came up to him and told him they were leaving for the day.
“I can’t thank you enough for this, Matt. We got enough for our first article from talking to Burl and that new young man he’s training. No need to speak to everyone today—not if we’re coming every week.”
“Good, I’m glad you got what you needed.” They walked over to pick up Millicent’s tripod and large camera and took them over to where Elizabeth stood with her. Matt released a sigh of relief that Millicent wasn’t quite so pale now. Perhaps it’d become easier for her with time.
“Do you need me to help get any of your equipment down?” Matt asked Millicent.
“I don’t think so.”
“I’ll take it,” John said. “No need to disrupt your work any longer than we have. We’ll get a hack and make sure Millicent gets home safely with it all.”
“Well, I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t see you all down safely.” Matt joined them in the elevator for the trip down. “I think Millicent got some good pictures for you today.”
“Oh, I’m sure she did. That’s why we wanted her to join us. Millicent has a knack for finding the very best shots, some we’d never even think to get,” Elizabeth said.
Matt set the elevator to go to the ground level and as it picked up speed, he looked over at Millicent to find her looking down and grasping the handrail that ran all the way around the elevator. Her knuckles were white, telling him that she wasn’t any more comfortable in the elevator than she’d been on the top floor. Why was she putting herself through all this? If she was as good a photographer as John and Elizabeth claimed, there’d be other opportunities to get her photographs in the paper, to make a name for herself. It must be pure stubbornness on her part.
Still, something in the way she held herself made him want to put his arm around her, hold her up and protect her.
The elevator came to a jerky stop and he couldn’t keep himself from grasping her arm. “Are you all right?”
She looked up at him, her eyes brilliantly blue in a face that’d gone quite white once more. She gave a brief nod. “I am, thank you.”
“I should’ve warned you that going down is a faster ride than going up.” Her eyes were huge and he felt horrible that he’d not told her sooner. Even Elizabeth looked a little pale.
Millicent gently pulled away and followed Elizabeth and John out of the elevator, leaving Matt feeling like a cad for giving her a hard time earlier. “I’ll see you back at Heaton House.”
She only nodded as John hurried to procure a hack for the group. Matt waited until they were on their way before going back up to where his men were working.
He pulled out his pocket watch. Only thirty more minutes and they’d break for lunch, then he’d have to wait the whole afternoon before he could go home and find out how Millicent was doing. He shook his head and sighed. Why hadn’t he tried to talk his boss out of this harebrained idea?
* * *
Millicent went straight to her room when she arrived home, then to the bathroom to get a cool washcloth to put on her head. She lay down on the bed, covered her pounding forehead with the damp cloth and closed her eyes. Dear Lord, thank You for getting me through this morning. Please help this pain disappear and let me not give away how horrible I feel at dinner tonight. I can’t let Matt sense how much I dread going back. Please help me to get past this sick feeling. In Jesus’s name, amen.
Thankfully, she soon dozed off and was able to sleep the afternoon away. By dinnertime the throbbing pain had eased to a dull ache and she felt well enough to freshen up. She gave a little more color to her cheeks by pinching them. At least she didn’t have to go back to Park Row for another week. Surely that would get easier as time went on.
She made it downstairs just as Mrs. Heaton was calling everyone to dinner and she was glad that she didn’t have to join the others in the parlor. But Matt seemed to be at her chair before she was and as he pulled it out, he whispered, “How are you feeling?”
She forced herself to smile at him. “Better. Thank you for helping me find the shots I wanted and for putting up with us.”
He seemed taken back for a moment before he smiled and said, “Only doing my job. I’m glad you’re feeling well.”
He looked as if he truly cared, and Millicent couldn’t resist that smile. “Thank you. So am I.”
Mrs. Heaton asked Stephen to say the blessing, and as Gretchen and Maida began to serve dinner, she turned to Millicent.
“How did your day go, dear? Was the view as wonderful as Matt claims?”
“Oh, the view is magnificent, Mrs. Heaton. It’s all Matt’s said and more.”
“You didn’t get dizzy?” Julia asked.
Dear Julia, she would ask a question Millicent didn’t want to answer. But she couldn’t evade answering—not with Matt sitting next to her. “I did a bit. I bent and turned too fast, but I managed. Barely.”
“She toughed things out,” Matt said. “But I thought for sure she was going to—”
“Matt! Not at the dinner table!”
He chuckled and shook his head.
“Did you let her get too close to the edge, Matt?” Julia asked.
“I did not. Nor will I. But the first time up that high can make a person a little light-headed.”
“I’ll get used to it,” Millicent said. She had to.
“I think it’s very brave of you to face your fears, Millicent dear,” Mrs. Heaton said.
“I don’t know how brave I am, Mrs. Heaton. But it’s the chance of a lifetime for my career. This will enable me to open my own shop much sooner.”
* * *
There it was again—her career, her business and her shop. He’d never met a more independent woman who was so determined to make her own way. His ex-fiancée wouldn’t follow him to New York and wanted to go her own way, but he’d never gotten the impression she didn’t want a man to take care of her, like he did from Millicent. From what he’d heard from back home, Carla had already found a man who owned his own business and was now planning their wedding.
But with Millicent’s plans, there didn’t seem to be any room in her life for a man who might want to make a living with her, take care of her. Not when she was determined to do everything herself.
Matt couldn’t deny she’d been brave today and he admired her for it. She’d also looked very vulnerable and he’d wanted to hold her until the world stopped spinning for her. But she’d pulled away from him and made it clear she didn’t need or want his help.
He sighed as he tried to listen to the conversations going on around the table. But he couldn’t get his mind off the woman beside him. She still didn’t feel well; he could tell because she’d only taken small portions of each dish and now she seemed to be just moving everything around on her plate.
A look of relief came over her face as others began to get up from the table and he pushed his own chair back to help her with hers. Everyone headed to the parlor, but Millicent hung back for a moment.
“You coming, Millicent?” Julia asked. “We could play a game of charades if you do.”
Matt watched Millicent take a deep breath, as she seemed to draw on some inner strength. He was certain she wasn’t going to let anyone know how bad she felt.
“All right. I’ll play for a bit,” she said, confirming his instinct. But that realization both vexed him and saddened him as she followed the others into the parlor. That she’d taken this assignment and was putting herself through unnecessary stress made him want to shake her. But the fact she did and was so resolute about keeping her word—even if it made her lose her appetite—made him want to comfort her. But that seemed to be the last thing she’d want from him—and that saddened him most of all.
Over the next hour she did seem to relax and enjoy herself and for her sake he was glad. Surely the worst was behind her. She’d gone up and faced her fear of heights even though it hadn’t been easy. Maybe by next Friday she’d feel more comfortable. He’d pray she would. And that he wasn’t so...tense when she was there. Perhaps his frustration wasn’t with her at all but with himself.
Chapter Four (#ulink_8d91c367-be55-5dde-a4b1-c03b1dbe6c3d)
The next day Millicent woke up early, dressed and hurried up to the darkroom on the third floor to develop the photographs she’d taken at the Park Row Building. She’d slept better than she thought she would after napping most of the afternoon the day before, but then she and Julia and Emily stayed up late working on the albums for Mrs. Heaton. They’d definitely decided one wouldn’t do—there were too many photos and too many years to put in it. And Millicent looked forward to taking more photographs to put in them over the coming years.
But for now she needed to concentrate on the ones she was developing. She placed the paper in the developer solution and began to grin as the first image became clear. She could tell it was a great shot. Millicent rinsed it, fixed it and washed it, then hung it up before going on to the next plate. By the time she’d hung them all to dry, she was confident Elizabeth and John would be pleased with the outcome.
She especially loved the ones of the Statue of Liberty and the others showing the landscape out from the top of Park Row. After she finished the developing, she cleaned up her equipment and left the photos to dry completely while she went down to breakfast.
Almost everyone was there and she hurried to fix her plate at the sideboard before joining them around the table.
“Slept in, did you?” Stephen teased.
“No, I’ve been working. I wanted to get the Park Row photographs developed before we take off for the day.”
“Take off? Where are you all going today?” Joe asked.
“I have to work but Julia and Millicent are going to the Ladies’ Mile and out and about,” Emily informed him.
Millicent hoped Emily didn’t mention the suffrage meeting she and Julia were going to before they went shopping. But Emily put her fears to rest when she turned the conversation around. “What are you men doing today? Got another ball game lined up?”
“As a matter of fact, we do.” Matt’s gaze caught Millicent’s and his smile made her chest tighten. He seemed to be in a very good mood. “How did your shots turn out? I’d like to see them before you hand them over to John and Elizabeth.”
“I’d be glad to show them to you once they are completely dry. I want to get them to the Talbots before Monday.” And then she could forget about going back to Park Row for a few days at least.
“I’ll be glad to walk you over, if you’d like,” Matt offered.
Why was he being so nice? He didn’t like any of this and it’d been obvious yesterday. “I’ll telephone Elizabeth now to ask if this evening or tomorrow will be better—unless you have plans?”
“No, after dinner or tomorrow will be fine with me.”
Millicent nodded and hurried out of the room and asked the operator to ring through to the Talbots. Elizabeth picked up after only two rings and was quite excited to hear the photos would be ready that evening.
“Oh, please do bring them over tonight, if it’s not too much trouble.”
“Not at all. Matt said he’d walk me over, so we’ll be there after dinner.”
“Wonderful. We look forward to your visit.”
Millicent hung up the receiver and turned around to find Matt standing behind her. She placed a hand over her rapidly beating heart. “Oh! I—”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you. Emily just left for work and Julia has gone upstairs to get ready for your outing, so thought I’d save you a trip back to the dining room. When did she say would be best?”
“This evening.”
“Good. I’m sure they’re eager to see them.”
“I think so. I’m excited about showing them. You can look at them at the same time since you’re escorting me over.”
“That will be fine, as long as I get to see them.” He grinned. “I’m sure you got some great shots. It was interesting to watch you at work.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
He seemed almost as surprised at his answer as Millicent was at his comments. She shrugged. “Well, I do love what I do and I hope it shows in each photograph I take.”
“I understand. That’s how I feel about what I do, too.”
“Millicent!” Julia called. “Are you down here? I’m ready to go when you are.”
“Yes, I’m right here.” Millicent hurried into the foyer, with Matt right behind her. “I’ll go get my hat and reticule.”
Julia looked surprised to find Matt with her. “Oh good. We don’t want to be late.”
She turned back to Matt. “Have a good day.”
“You, too.”
Millicent started up the stairs as she heard Matt ask Julia, “How can you be late for shopping? The stores are barely open.”
Her steps slowed as she waited for Julia’s answer. “We don’t want to be late for any sales. Things fly off the shelves if it’s a good one, and they usually are on Saturdays.”
“Oh. That makes sense.”
Millicent took a deep breath and hurried up the rest of the stairs. At least he didn’t ask if they were going to another one of those meetings.
