Page 55 of His Unforgettable Bride
“Then what happened?”
The lawman hauled me to the orphanage. I attempted to run away twice, but I was caught, beaten, and broken both times.”
Gray hugged her shoulders as the door behind them creaked open, and they sprang to their feet, the cat jumping down.
Cy stuck his head outside, his hair still unruly from slumber. Stocking-footed, he held a magazine under his arm. “You two better get inside. Tabitha is up for the day.”
Gray nodded at Cy. “Thank you for the warning.”
Once alone again, Gray reached for Juliet’s shoulder and squeezed. “You are not alone, Juliet. We shall solve this problem together.”
She hadn’t intended to confess so much, not for a minute. But he was a good listener. Somehow, he offered reassurance and safety, exactly what she needed most.
“I shall distract Tabitha while you slip up the back staircase.” Gray opened the door and headed inside.
She tarried outside a moment longer. Her hands had grown cold and stiff, so she stuffed them in her skirt pockets. As her fingers brushed Ruby’s note, her heart sprinted. She’d shoved the tattered paper inside after changing out of her nightgown.
What she touched was more than a scrap of paper.
She possessed evidence.
Seventeen
Politeness is very essential to the righttransaction of that great business of a woman’s life, shopping.
How dare Ruby blackmail Juliet? Ever since the upstart had left the lawn at dawn, Gray had thought of little else while laboring in the tearoom.
He slammed his hammer against a nail, driving the little piece of iron into the floor. Then he leaned back on his haunches and reached for another. When his fingers found nothing, he turned for a closer examination, wiping his brow with his sleeve. “Are we out of nails?”
From the top of a ten-foot ladder, Icala examined the new ceiling. “You’ll have to ask Cy.”
“Where is he?”
Icala twisted around, a wrench poking out of his shirt pocket. “It is three o’clock. Therefore, he is in the library for mid-afternoon tea with the sisters.” Icala wriggled his brows and grinned. “My hunch is he’s sweet on Livy.”
What? Not in a dozen years would Gray pair the two. Perhaps their waltz had sparked a romantic interest in one another. Dancing with Juliet had nearly started a wildfire inside him. But Livy and Cy? “Some claim opposites attract.”
With his eyes on the ceiling, Icala said, “Are you referring to Cy and Livy—or you and Juliet?”
Gray smiled at the good-natured jesting but refused to admit or deny anything. As much as his attraction to Juliet had grown recently, he continued to rein it back as much as possible—which truthfully grew more challenging with every passing day. Not even reminding himself of his ready-made life somewhere awaiting his return helped to contain his feelings for her.
Was he to live in limbo forever? Merciful heavens, he hoped not. But if his memories never returned, when was the right time to move on and build a new life? And what would such an endeavor resemble? Would it include Juliet? Had she meant what she told Ruby this morning, stating he wasno one? Or was she merely trying to protect him from the wily thief?
He stood and dusted down his trousers, then scrounged for nails, lifting a tarp and digging through a barrel. After searching the entire room without success, he paused to assess their progress with the conversion. The place was transformed a little more with each passing day.
The walls were in place, a new floor was nearly complete, and Icala hoped to finish the lower ceiling by tomorrow. They had designated a location for the new stove, attached a sideboard to the far wall, and added a door to the back storage area. Next, they’d paint the walls. But only if the sisters finally agreed on the color.
The satisfaction of working with his hands and building something out of nothing had seeped into Gray’s bones. Whether Alex Sherwood or not, he had discovered a profession to love and a direction to follow. But would he change careers if a different livelihood awaited his return one day?
Icala descended the ladder and set it against a bare wall. “Find what you seek?”
“Not even a broken one. I shall ask the boss, though I hesitate to interrupt his tête-à-tête.”
Icala laughed, squatted, and riffled through the box’s assortment of tools. “Better you than me, my friend.”
Chuckling, Gray left the tearoom and followed the cobblestone path to the house as the sun rolled toward the western horizon.
Ahead, Juliet placed a saucer of milk on the back step and waved at him. “How is it going in there?”
