Chapter 5

CHAPTER5

“It was kind of you—the way you offered to help Mr. Bowen.”

Something about Ellie’s expression brought back a memory, only Lewis couldn’t quite place it. Approval. No, belief. Belief in him. That was what came to mind as she smiled at him in the museum in the lower level of the Roman-arched carriage bridge that led onto Hotel Belleview’s grounds.

She cocked her head. “Why are you looking at me that way?”

“Which way is that?”

“Particularly…”—she shifted her own gaze away—“intensely.”

Lewis rotated his cap in his hands. “You remind me of someone—you have, since we met.”

“Oh? Who?”“I wish I could remember. I fault the threatening stare of the alligator behind you for my discombobulation.”

She didn’t even turn around before breaking into laughter. “He is an ugly fellow, although the children seem fascinated by him.” She moved aside to allow a set of boy and girl twins to drag their apologetic mother closer to the stuffed specimen which had been posed in a painted river with a backdrop of potted palms. “I’ll be just as happy if he’s the only one I see this trip.”

He’d have to bring Cora here. It might prove an acceptable indoor amusement if she’d gotten sunburned frolicking on the beach this morning. “Agreed, but I must admit, I’m intrigued by the steamboat excursions up the local rivers.”

“That might be nice…viewing the wildlife from the safety of a boat. I’m not sure how I’d make time for it, though.” Ellie grimaced as they moved along to a display of raccoons in some plaster trees. “I’m afraid Ada is keen to swim and golf and take the bicycle trails—and basically do all the athletic things for which I lack the required skill.”

“Oh, I doubt that.” Lewis refrained from assessing her slender form, which looked plenty lithe to him. “But if you’d like, I can let you know if I sign up for an excursion.”

“That would be very kind of you.” Her gloved fingers moved along the top of her reticule. “I’m sure Ada and Jesse would jump at the opportunity.”

Going without Ada and Jesse seemed much more appealing—an unexpected fact that momentarily robbed Lewis of a response.

“Why did you do it?” Ellie’s light aquamarine eyes drew him back to the present. When he merely stared, she prompted. “Offer to help him?”

“Ah, yes.” He cleared his throat. “Let’s just say someone once helped me at a pivotal moment. One small but well-placed gesture has the potential to change another’s life.”

“It must be satisfying to wield that kind of influence.” Her soft reply almost got lost in the loud guffaws of a passing group of adolescents.

“Do you not believe that we all do?”

“Once, I did.” The corners of her mouth danced upward. “I like that you do.”

He smiled. “Does that mean you’ve resolved your doubts about me?”

Ellie pushed a strand of damp blonde-brown hair from her cheek. “Who said I had doubts?”

“Your reserved manner spoke loudly enough. But then, I suppose you are accustomed to looking for the worst in gentlemen.”

Her eyebrows flew up as though he’d pushed a button.

Lewis extended his hand, placating. “As Ada’s companion, of course.”

“Oh.”

“It was clear that her mother had appointed you as her doorkeeper of sorts.”

She resumed walking, taking a moment to study a stuffed bald eagle on its perch. “Hers and her siblings’ before her.”

“If Jesse can raise himself from his humble clerking position, perhaps the search will be over—although, I admit, I’m still curious as to where I fell down.”

She blinked rapidly at him. “Skulking around the basement where the workers were unloading nefarious cargo? Wearing tokens of affection which proclaim someone’s love for you? And then…disappearing into rooms on the fourth floor…” She turned away, her cheeks going crimson.

“You followed me to the fourth floor?” Lewis couldn’t restrain his indignation—more that he’d failed to notice her tailing him than that she’d had the audacity to do so. Again.

She shrugged as she inspected a pelican depicted in a marshy area. “I must be thorough to earn my keep as the Hastings family detective.”

A slight, raw edge to what was meant to be a humorous statement checked Lewis’s ire. Then he caught a glint of moisture in her eyes, and his heart went soft. Had someone dashed her own hopes? If so, they shared a commonality too premature to reveal. “Does the meat empire invite such avaricious types, then?”

“Apparently.” She scoffed.

He stepped closer, lowering his tone. “My dealings in both the basement and the attic were with a business acquaintance.”

“But—” She caught her lower lip between her teeth, looking away.

“But what?”

“I saw…a red sleeve.” Her face returned to a similar color.

Lewis chuckled. “He’s very flamboyant in his choice of loungewear.”

Her eyebrows hit her goggles again. “If you say so. I fear to inquire what sort of business this might be…although I might suspect.” She pressed two fingers over her lips.

He couldn’t wait to hear this. “Do tell.”

Ellie’s eyes rounded with a delight that made Lewis’s heart race. Did she have any idea how fetching enthusiasm made her? “I think…he’s one of those firework artists.”

He chortled. “Just how much did you overhear in the basement?”

“That the supplies were delicate and irreplaceable, and everyone knows the hotel makes the farewell ball unforgettable. So am I right?”

“Would you be dreadfully disappointed if I said no?”

She stopped bouncing and her face fell. “I think I might. Nothing is more magical than fireworks.”

The irony of her words nearly sucked the air from between them, especially when he leaned closer and asked, “You like magic, Ellie?”

Nope. Not all the air was gone. Her gasp consumed the rest.

He touched her sleeve. “Forgive me. I was trying to ask permission earlier—”

“Pop-py!” The delighted squeal stole their focus moments before a nine-year-old body in a summer sailing dress thudded against him.

Lewis’s arms closed around Cora before the reality of her appearance registered. The flushed-face nanny huffed up right on her heels.

“Poppy Lewy! I told Nurse we might find you here.”

Knowing Cora’s unusual name for him coupled with the nature of her arrival would rock Ellie, Lewis took in her stunned countenance before responding. “But you I did not expect to see. You’re supposed to be collecting seashells with that little girl you met at breakfast.”

“We did.” Cora spoke with breathless enthusiasm. “Ever so many. All shapes and sizes. I’ll show you when you come back to our rooms. But then Emily wanted to swim and Nurse wouldn’t let me.”

The plump, middle-aged employee raised both hands. “A body my age has got no business prancin’ about in glorified undergarments. I told her she’d have to wait until you could go in with her.”

Lewis turned a frown on the woman he paid well to suffer just such indignities, but Ellie’s stiffened posture necessitated that he produce an immediate explanation. “Miss Hastings, I’m afraid you’ve stumbled on another of my secrets.” One he had not been ready to reveal quite yet. “Well, not a secret exactly, but a part of my life I prefer to keep private. Meet my ward and niece, Cora Garrett.”

“Your w—oh. My.” Ellie blew out a little breath.

“Yes. The giver of those tokens of affection you observed.”

“I—I see.” And her tone suggested she did…now.

Lewis drew Cora forward by the hand. “Cora, say hello to my new friend, Miss Ellie Hastings.”

Cora obliged with a charming smile. “Hello.”

“Hello.” Ellie squatted down and extended her hand to shake Cora’s. “Aren’t you a regular little Heidi, with your braids and freckles?”

“That’s exactly what Uncle Lewy says all the time!”

“But you call him…Poppy?” Her frown returned, questioning this time, as she stood.

“Your ward? How did we not know that you had a ward?” Ada drew up behind them with a big stick of saltwater taffy and a grinning Jesse, rescuing Lewis from an awkward explanation. Ada pierced her cousin with a pointed stare that suggested she found Ellie’s detective skills lacking.

Lewis slid his cap into his duster pocket. No use attempting to explain away this part of his life now. “Cora lives most of the year with my parents, but I often take her on my travels. As my legal ward, she is my responsibility…and the biggest joy of my life.” He squeezed the child’s shoulder and briefly sought Ellie’s gaze. It was fixed on Cora, her expression unreadable.

His niece waited long enough for Lewis to make introductions before asking Ada about her candy. “Where did you get that?”

“In the gift shop just back there.” Ada tilted her head, and her hat wobbled as she stepped in front of Ellie.

“What flavor is it?”

Ada widened her eyes. “Strawberry.”

“My favorite!” Cora pulled on Lewis’s hand. “Can we go get some? Please?”

“No need.” Ada bent and offered the candy stick to his niece. “You can have mine. I haven’t bit off it yet.”

Cora’s slack expression and leaning posture suggested she would dive into a vat of the sticky, sweet mess if given the opportunity. “Oh, but don’t you want it?”

Ada held up a paper bag. “Jesse got me two.”

Would the girl wait for his permission? Pride warmed Lewis from head to toe when Cora sought his gaze. He nodded, and she took the treat, bit into it, and closed her eyes in bliss.

Lewis touched the top of her silky nutmeg-colored hair. “What do you say to Miss Hastings?”

Her brown eyes popped open. “Thank you!”

“You’re most welcome.” Ada straightened with a smile, bumping into Ellie, who stepped back, looking a bit uncomfortable. “What does one come to the beach for but swimming and saltwater taffy?”

Cora snuck a wry glance at her nanny. “Well, at least I’ve gotten one of those now.”

“I haven’t been to the beach yet, either, and it’s plenty warm enough to swim.” Ada beamed. “What do you all say we skip teatime and go right now?”

Cora hopped up and down, grabbing Lewis’s arm. “Huzzah! Can we? Can we, Poppy?”

He shrugged. A good swim would wash the grit off him and drain the energy out of Cora before bedtime. “I’m game. How about everyone else?”

Murmurs of ascent followed. Had Lewis imagined Ellie’s reticence? How would she react now that she knew he came with what other women had viewed as baggage? The smile she offered him was but a shadow of her earlier ones, and she headed for the exit with a singlemindedness that made his heart sink.