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Doctor Kemper inhaled a deep, shaky breath.
Chapter 11
Doubt that the stars are fine;
Doubt that the sun doth move;
Doubt truth to be a liar,
But never doubt I love.
—WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Lauralee looked proudly at her bedroom again, this time feeling even more wonderful that it was all hers. Abner had carried the last of her travel bags into the room and she had already arranged her clothes and toilet articles where they belonged.
She was overwhelmed at how lovely it was. Everything smelled so clean, fresh, and new.
And the view from the window was so different from the one at the orphanage where she saw only the dull, brick wall of the hospital next door.
Now she could see miles of beautiful trees and lawn that stretched out from the Peterson House.
“I’ve a present for you, as a welcome, my dear, to our household,” Nancy Peterson said as she stepped into the room.
Lauralee turned around, her face flushed from the excitement of the day.
Her eyes widened when she gazed at the package wrapped in beautiful pink tissue paper, a white satin bow tied around it. “What is it?” she asked, thrilled at the thought of receiving a special gift from a special person. During her long stay at the orphanage she had never received any gifts except at Christmas.
Even then it had only been something used that had been donated by those who felt sorry for the children who lived there.
Today there were no other children grabbing for her gift.
It was hers, alone.
Lauralee’s fingers trembled as Nancy brought the wrapped package to her.
“My dear, take it and open it,” Nancy said, smiling sweetly at Lauralee as she gently shoved the gift in her hands. “Before your arrival, Abner and I went shopping together and picked this out for you. We hope you like it.”
Lauralee sat down on the edge of the bed and gently removed the satin bow and laid it aside.
Then, breathless, she unfolded the tissue paper until a small box was revealed. A wonderful fragrance wafted from it, similar to the one worn by her aunt.
Lauralee’s eyes widened and she smiled up at Nancy. “Oh, but surely it isn’t,” she said, guessing what her gift was, without actually seeing it. “It surely cost so much.”
Nancy sat down beside her. “My dear, go ahead and open the box,” she said, her dark eyes gleaming happily.
Feeling almost giddy, Lauralee raised the lid and saw a bottle of perfume cradled in a bed of maroon velvet. She sighed and took the bottle into her trembling fingers. After unscrewing the lid she splashed some of it on her fingers. Placing her fingers to her nose, she inhaled. The fragrance was so tantalizingly sweet she closed her eyes and sighed.
“There is something more.” Nancy gently took the perfume from Lauralee and gave her another beautifully wrapped gift.
Bubbling over with excitement Lauralee smiled at Nancy, then quickly opened the second box. She found a tin of talcum powder with the same fragrance as the perfume in the box, and some soft pink balls the size of marbles.
“Those are bath oil beads,” Nancy explained when she saw the question in Lauralee’s eyes. “When your water is warm enough you place these beads in it. They will melt and spread such a wonderful oil through the water. Your skin will be soft, beautiful, and fragranced.”
“I have never seen anything like it,” Lauralee said, rolling the small beads around in the palm of one of her hands. “How can these melt . . .”
Her words were stolen when Nancy suddenly dropped the bottle of perfume and grabbed at her chest. When the bottle hit the floor, not even the soft cushion of the carpet could stop it from breaking. Perfume splashed and spread everywhere, the scent overpowering.
But Lauralee’s concern was not over the broken bottle, the ruined carpet and bedskirt of her bed, nor the spilled perfume that she had momentarily cherished as hers. She was totally stunned and frightened over Nancy’s condition.
