A Love For Keeps (Truly Yours Digital Editions) (13 page)

“It won’t take a minute. I must get the mementos that mean so much to us. Take Natalie to safety. I’ll be right behind you.”

“No, Rose, you must come now! The fire is almost here!” Abigail grabbed Rose’s arm, but her sister pulled away, losing her balance. Abigail screamed as she watched her sister tumble from the landing to the bottom of the staircase. She rushed to help her, but Rose was badly hurt. By then the flames had reached the house.

“Get … Natalie to … safety,” Rose whispered before she passed out. Abigail grabbed the child and ran, intending to come back to help Rose, but when she turned back, the house was engulfed in flames. Nate showed up and rushed past her, trying to save his wife. But flames surged out of the house, and it was too late.

As she and Nate tried to comfort each other in those moments, hugging Natalie close, Abigail hated herself for the errant thought that came to mind.
Finally, Rose is out of the way
. Maybe now, Nate would make her his wife.

Abigail shook her head, trying to push away the guilt she’d felt that day. She had loved Nate long before he married her sister. And ever since Rose’s death, Abigail had hoped that one day Nate would look at her and realize he loved her, too. Yet it had been four years since her sister died—four years of waiting and hoping.

It hadn’t been terribly hard. Nate wasn’t interested in anyone else. His life revolved around Natalie, and that was all right with Abigail. She loved her niece as if she were her own. Life hadn’t been bad. She spent a great deal of it with Nate and Natalie, and she had been hopeful that he would finally see it was in Natalie’s best interest for them to marry. Now time seemed to be running out, and she must do something. She hadn’t waited all these years to let some new woman come in and take away the only man she’d ever loved. It just wasn’t going to happen.

After Nate left, the girls went upstairs to get ready for bed, and Meagan helped her mother clean up the kitchen. It was then that she told her about running into Abigail.

“She’s not happy with me at all, Mama. I probably shouldn’t have accepted Nate’s invitation.” She put up the last cup and leaned against the doorframe.

“She’s not married to him, Meagan. He was free to ask anyone he wanted to accompany him to the gala. It was you he wanted to go with.”

“I know. But she is one of my customers now—not to mention that her father owns the bank that gave us the loan.”

“I doubt her father does business according to his daughter’s moods, dear. Besides, Nate runs that bank. I don’t think that Mr. Connors is that involved in the day-to-day managing of it anymore.”

“But he—”

“Meagan, I’m sure he has Nate’s welfare to consider also. After all, he’s the father of Mr. Connors’s granddaughter. He has her welfare to take into consideration, too.”

“That’s true. I just hope tonight doesn’t cause problems for Nate. Will you help me out of this gown, Mama?”

“Of course I will. I’m ready to go up, too.”

Meagan didn’t bring up the subject of Nate again while her mother helped her out of the gown. She hung it in the wardrobe while Meagan changed into her gown and wrapper. “You looked lovely tonight, my Meagan. I’m sure there wasn’t a woman there who looked any prettier than you did. I’m so glad you got to go.”

“Thank you, Mama. Many women there looked more elegant than I did, but I had such a wonderful time. It’s a night I’ll never forget.”

“I’m glad. Good night, dear.”

“Good night, Mama.”

After her mother left, Meagan read her Bible and said her prayers, but she still had a hard time getting to sleep. She was much too excited to settle down. She went downstairs and made herself a cup of tea, then took it back to her room and sat down in the chair beside her bed. It had been a night to remember. Nate had treated her as if she were the most special woman in the world, and for a while, she had felt as if she were … particularly when he’d held her in his arms and danced with her.

Then she remembered running into Abigail. Meagan took a sip of tea. She wasn’t sure how to act when the woman came into the shop this next week for a fitting, but she couldn’t worry about it now. What she must do was realize that she could never fit into Nate’s social group. She had enjoyed the evening and knew it was a night she would never forget. But she was beginning to care too much for Nate Brooks, and there was no future in that. Oh, how he made her stomach flutter when she was around him.

Meagan sighed and took another sip of tea. Although she was glad she’d accepted his invitation, part of her wished she hadn’t gone with him this evening. It was only going to make it harder to accept the fact that there was no future in giving her heart to him. There would only be heartache ahead. Abigail Connors had not liked it at all that Nate was with Meagan tonight. And even if he wasn’t interested in Abigail, she was part of his daughter’s family and could make life miserable for him.

No. For everyone’s sake, she had to stop dreaming about a future with Nate. It was going to lead nowhere. She took one more sip of tea and then got on her knees.

“Dear Lord, You’ve been with me through all the heartaches in my life, and I know You will help me now. I’m afraid I’m falling in love with Nate Brooks, but I would never fit into his social circle … nor would I really want to. We live in two different worlds, and I don’t see how they can ever merge. Please help me to accept that and quit thinking of him night and day. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.”

Knowing that she needed to put Nate out of her mind and quit dreaming about him was one thing, but during the next few days, Meagan found doing it was quite another. She saw him and Natalie at church, but Abigail had a grip on his arm as soon as the service was over, and they were out the door before Meagan had a chance to even wave. Natalie wasn’t coming in for a fitting until later in the week.

Abigail, however, would be in for a fitting on Wednesday afternoon. She brought her mother with her, and Meagan found that Mrs. Connors was nothing like her daughter. She was gracious and kind and had only good words to say.

“I’ve been meaning to come in and see about having you make me a few things. After I saw samples of your work at the gala, I didn’t want to delay any longer, so I insisted Abigail bring me with her today.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Connors. I have several magazines with the newest fashion plates. Would you like to look at them?”

“I’m not sure we have the time, Mother,” Abigail said.

“Of course we do, dear. I can look at them while you are changing and having your fitting. If I need to make an appointment to come in by myself, I’ll do that. But yes, Miss Snow, I would love to look at your magazines.” She settled herself in the settee and took the magazines from Meagan.

“My mother will be in shortly with tea, Mrs. Connors. She always brings some in this time of day.”

“That will be lovely, dear,” the older woman said. “I’d enjoy a cup of tea.”

“Very well, Mother.” Abigail sighed in resignation as she went behind the screen to change into the dress Meagan was making for her.

While Meagan could tell Abigail wasn’t very happy, she was quite relieved that Abigail’s mother was with her. Meagan had been dreading this fitting ever since the evening of the gala. From Abigail’s attitude, Meagan was fairly certain that if it hadn’t been for Mrs. Connors’s insistence, Abigail would have come by herself—probably to warn her away from Nate.

When her mother brought in the tea tray, Meagan introduced the two women and was very pleased that they seemed to like each other. She left her mother to serve tea to Mrs. Connors while she went to help Abigail with the hooks on her dress.

But even with both of their mothers in the room, Abigail managed to get in her barbs.

“How did you enjoy the gala?” Abigail asked.

“I enjoyed it very much.”

“I thought it was very nice of Nate to introduce you to so many people. Of course, that’s Nate. He’s always looking after the bank’s interests.”

Meagan took a sharp intake of breath at Abigail’s words. Was that why Nate had asked her to accompany him? It easily could have been. Her heart twisted at the very thought.

She didn’t know what to say, so she said nothing. Still, Abigail didn’t let up. For the rest of the time she was there, Abigail managed to let Meagan know that she had a prior claim to her brother-in-law. As she swept around the screen to show her mother the dinner gown Meagan had made her, she turned this way and that. “I think this will work for the dinner I’m hosting for Nate’s birthday, don’t you, Mother?”

She stood on the small platform Meagan had asked Mr. Adams to build for her to make it easier to pin hems. Abigail turned when Meagan asked her to, while she pinned the hem of the garment.

“It’s beautiful, dear. It would work for any dinner you might host,” her mother replied, watching her daughter turn slowly as Meagan pinned.

Once she was finished, Abigail slowly turned again, looking in the mirrors Meagan had set up in the shop. The red on red-striped silk did look wonderful on her, bringing out the blue in her eyes and her blond hair.

“I think I’ll have you make me a new gown to wear to the opera, too, Miss Snow,” Abigail said. “When Nate took me, although he told me I looked lovely in my blue silk, I realized I needed something new to add to my wardrobe for the upcoming season.”

Meagan felt another twinge at the mention of Nate taking Abigail to the opera. Obviously, the woman was trying to let Meagan know that just because he’d taken her to the gala didn’t mean that he was going to be escorting her anywhere else. Abigail was getting her message across quite well.

Making the woman another gown was the last thing Meagan wanted to do. She had been hoping that Abigail would satisfy whatever curiosity it was that brought her into the shop and have her make just this one dress and then leave Meagan alone. But it seemed she wasn’t going to do that. And as she was the daughter of the man who owned the bank and her mother was sitting in the very same room, Meagan couldn’t very well say no. “You are welcome to look over the new plates. I’m sure we can find something to please you.”

“I’ve found a few I like already. I’ll look them over again when I come for my next fitting.”

“Well, I’ve already found a few things I love,” Mrs. Connors said. “But I know my daughter is in a hurry, so I’ll come back in to see you next week if you have a time available for me.”

Meagan checked the appointment book she’d just begun to need. “Monday at two will work for me, if that is convenient for you.”

“That will be fine.”

“Miss Snow!” Abigail called from behind the screen. “Are you going to help me get out of this gown?”

“Of course,” Meagan said, hurrying to do just that. Abigail Connors couldn’t leave fast enough to please her.

“Abigail! Miss Snow was taking care of me.”

“I’m sorry, Mother. But we do have to change before we meet Papa for dinner at the Crescent,” Abigail said from behind the screen.

Meagan helped her out of the dress. “I should have this ready for you by Saturday. Would you like me to have it sent to your home, or do you want to pick it up and look over the plates again then?”

“You may have it sent to my home. Since I won’t need to come in for another fitting now, I will find the plate I like and pick out the fabric before Mother and I leave. I want to look my best this season.” She turned and looked Meagan in the eye and lowered her voice. “I plan on being Mrs. Nate Brooks by this time next year.”

Meagan held up the dress Abigail had worn into the shop, thankful for the yards of material that kept Abigail from seeing the tears that had quickly formed at her words. She blinked quickly and turned to hang up the garment she was making for the woman.
Please, Lord, help me to hide how this woman’s words have hurt. Please help me deal with all of this later
.

After Abigail’s hatefulness to her, the fact that she didn’t want to give her mother time to decide anything but was willing to stay a little longer for her own interests didn’t surprise Meagan one bit. Nor did it seem to surprise her mother, for she said nothing as Abigail picked up
Godey’s
magazine and flipped the pages.