Storing Up Trouble, стр. 94

Annie shrugged. “You and I have always been very similar, Beatrix. And the only time I ever experienced difficulty sleeping was after your father and I first met.” She blew out a breath. “Your grandmother, Mrs. Howard Waterbury, didn’t approve of me at first as a suitable bride for your father. My father, as you know, made his fortune in mining and had no illustrious ancestors to impress New York society when he moved here. Because of that, and because the Waterburys are firmly of the Knickerbocker set, your grandmother did everything in her power to dissuade your father from courting me.”

“But he obviously wasn’t dissuaded.”

“He did have reservations, though, after his mother, sister, aunts, and even a few friends began telling him how unsuitable I was. He stopped calling on me for a good month without any explanation, which caused me more than a few sleepless nights, trying to figure out where the charming gentleman with whom I’d fallen in love had gone.”

“Clearly that charming gentleman returned at some point since you’ve been married to him all these years.”

Annie smiled. “He did, but only after I took matters into my own hands. You see, one day I’d taken my horse to Central Park, and Arthur was there with a group of his friends. He had the audacity to ride past me without so much as a doff of a hat, and something inside me snapped. I chased after him and told him he was being an idiot. I then told him that while he apparently felt I was socially unsuitable, four other gentlemen, all of whom actually wanted to marry me and didn’t care about my lack of grand social status, had already approached my father to ask for his blessing to court me.” Annie’s smile turned smug. “Arthur came to his senses in a remarkably short period of time after realizing he was about to lose me forever, and that, my dear, was the end of my sleepless nights.”

“What did Grandmother Waterbury think of that?”

“Oh, she wasn’t pleased at first, but I managed to grow on her, and we eventually enjoyed an amiable relationship.” Annie sat forward. “Is the trouble you’re experiencing with a man a direct result of his mother?”

Seeing no reason to deny that a man was the root of her sleep deprivation of late, Beatrix nodded. “To a certain extent, but Mrs. Nesbit isn’t worried about my social status, although she was at one time, when no one was aware that I’m an heiress or a member of the New York Four Hundred.”

“You didn’t let anyone know who you are?”

“I wasn’t hiding it, but after Aunt Gladys arranged for me to take on a position at Marshall Field & Company, I decided that I wouldn’t benefit nearly as much from that position if everyone there came to the conclusion I was only working in a store as some type of lark.”

Annie was out of her chair and moving for the door in the blink of an eye. Opening the door, she let out a small shriek when Arthur and Mr. Parsons stumbled into the room, sheepish smiles on their faces as they then went about acting as if they’d not been eavesdropping.

“I’ve brought additional treats,” Mr. Parsons proclaimed, walking out of the room again and returning a moment later, pushing a second cart.

“I’ll help pour more coffee,” Arthur said, and after he did exactly that, and after Mr. Parsons handed out fine bone china plates with cake, cookies, and fruit on them, everyone took a seat and turned their attention to Beatrix.

“Start with the store,” her father suggested.

“I think she should start with the adventure she mentioned she had on the train getting to Chicago,” Mr. Parsons said, a remark that suggested he’d been eavesdropping from practically the moment he’d left the room.

“I think she should start with the gentleman responsible for her sleepless nights,” Annie argued.

“A Mr. Nesbit,” Mr. Parsons said with a nod.

“How about if I just start at the beginning?” Beatrix suggested.

“That works for me,” Arthur said.

It took over an hour to get most of the story out, what with how everyone kept interrupting her and demanding she expand on a few of her adventures—such as the train heist, the demotions and then dismissal from the store, the many suffragist meetings she’d attended, the remaking of Theodosia, her visit to jail, the cats who wanted to plot her demise, the relationship between Aunt Gladys and Edgar, and then . . . question after question about Norman.

“I’m still a little unsure about why you and Norman suffered such a disagreement with each other,” Annie said slowly when Beatrix paused to take a sip of coffee. “Although I am beyond thrilled that you’ve finally met a gentleman you care about, which is what I was hoping would happen when I sent you off to stay with Gladys.”

“I thought you sent me off to stay with Aunt Gladys because I’d landed myself in jail.”

“Twice, dear, you landed yourself in jail twice, and don’t think I’ve forgotten about that other time when you almost landed in jail, when you were with the oh-so-charming Poppy Blackburn.” Annie regarded Beatrix over the rim of her coffee cup. “And speaking of Poppy, before I forget, she and her lovely husband, Lord Reginald Blackburn, are currently not in town, having gone to Kentucky to visit her parents. I believe they’ll be back soon, what with Poppy expecting a new addition to their family right around Christmas.”

“Then I’ll see her when she returns since I’m not intending on going back to Chicago.”

“You mustn’t be hasty about that,” Annie countered. “Before I got distracted with thoughts of Poppy, I was about to tell you the true reason why I sent you away from New York, and no, it wasn’t because you landed in jail.”

“Was it because I misled you about my relationship with Thomas Hamersley?”

“No, although I was certainly annoyed with you for being less than truthful with me about that