Storing Up Trouble, стр. 85
“Difficult question, was it?”
She shook aside her thoughts and grinned. “Apparently so, but yes, I am looking forward to the evening ahead.”
Edgar leaned closer to her. “I’ll be watching out for you, Miss Beatrix. You’re sure to encounter ladies who saw you working at Marshall Field & Company, and I would hazard to guess that those very ladies, once they see you on the arm of one of Chicago’s wealthy bachelors, will not want to make the evening pleasant for you.”
“Thank you, Edgar. It’s no wonder my aunt is so fond of you.”
“And I’m fond of her as—” Edgar abruptly stopped talking, cleared his throat, then gestured her forward. “Norman is waiting.”
Knowing Edgar had revealed more than he’d intended, Beatrix smiled and walked down the hallway. Moving down the stairs, she made her way to the receiving room, where Norman was waiting.
The sight of him left her grinning.
Even though he was looking dashing in his formal evening attire, he’d wound a scarf around his face, obscuring half of it. His eyes, however, could clearly be seen, and those eyes were directed at cats that had formed a semi-circle around him, all except for Phantom, who was winding his way around Norman’s legs, purring up a storm.
“Ah, Beatrix,” he began, lifting his head. “I could use some . . .” His words trailed to nothing as eyes that were watering rather profusely widened.
“Assistance?” she finished for him, striding forward and bending over to snag Phantom, her attempt failing when Phantom released a hiss and batted a paw at her.
“You’re a menace,” she told the cat before Edgar stepped in, scooped Phantom up, and strode from the room, the other cats following a second later.
She shook her head and returned her attention to Norman, who’d yet to say another word and was still staring at her with wide eyes.
“I forgot you’re sensitive to the cats,” she said, which didn’t earn her so much as a blink from Norman in return.
“I should have had Edgar close them off in a room before you arrived,” she tried again, earning a single blink from Norman, who continued to remain mute.
She took a step closer to him. “Are you all right?”
He lowered the scarf and frowned. “Hard to say.”
“Are you having a reaction to the cats?”
He shook his head, then shook it again, quite as if he thought the shaking might resolve the issue. “It’s not the cats,” he finally said. “I’m having a reaction to you.”
“What type of reaction?”
“One that has me feeling as if I’ve been struck by one of the electrical currents I’ve been trying to perfect, all due to your incredibly unexpected appearance.”
Her lips curved. “My appearance has left you feeling as if you’ve been struck by electricity?”
“Quite. An unusual sensation to be certain.”
Warmth began spreading through her. “I do believe you’ve just given me the oddest yet nicest compliment I’ve ever received.”
Norman tilted his head. “That would suggest you’re feeling somewhat agreeable toward me, which means this might finally be an appropriate time to delve into what I said last week about you joining the family.”
Beatrix’s pulse kicked up just a notch until she thought about what he’d actually said. “Have you purposefully neglected to broach that topic with me?”
“Of course I have. You’ve proven yourself to be a lady with a, forgive me, slightly questionable temperament, and I knew right after I told my mother you’d be joining the family that you were annoyed by my proclamation. Because of that, I also knew I’d need to approach the topic with you as delicately as possible, while also wanting to do so when you weren’t annoyed with me.”
“I haven’t been annoyed with you all week.”
“Your tone right now suggests differently.”
Beatrix blew out a breath. “I suppose it does at that.”
Norman took hold of her hand, brought it to his lips, and placed an unexpected kiss on it. “Which means now is hardly the moment to continue on with this particular conversation.” He smiled. “Your aunt mentioned that you enjoy dancing, so perhaps, after I’ve had the opportunity to waltz you around the dance floor a few times, you’ll be in a less annoyed frame of mind and more amiable to the idea of me broaching the matter again.”
The thought of Norman waltzing her around caused her pulse to pick up again and also had any annoyance she’d been feeling toward him disappearing in a flash.
Chapter 31
It was a night that could certainly see his life changing, especially if he could somehow convince Beatrix that she wanted nothing more than to marry him.
Granted, he’d not offered her an acceptable proposal of marriage yet, nor had he been expecting to all but declare his intentions to his mother the week before, but ever since he’d done that, he’d been contemplating the idea of marriage . . . frequently. That contemplation had convinced him he truly wanted to marry Beatrix, which meant all that was left to do now was formally ask her for her hand.
He’d been hoping to do that before they left for the ball, but since he’d apparently made an unexpected muddle of matters, he was going to have to try his hardest to avoid annoying Beatrix again. He didn’t really try to annoy her often, though, it simply seemed to happen whenever he was least expecting it.
Stepping from the carriage after it came to a stop, Norman held out his hand and helped Beatrix to the ground, another jolt