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Giving him a quick nod of thanks, it crossed
her mind how trusting he was of her. He hadn’t even questioned what she wanted with them. This thought triggered an unexpected glow in her gut so that when she reached for the pen, her movements were much collected this time. She removed the cap off the ink well and dipped the pen, then placed her hand over the top sheet and signed her name in dark bold lettering.
“There,” she said, dotting the ‘i’ in her name. “That should be sure to raise a few brows.” After tying the bundle back up, she turned and handed it to Jay, only to find him openly watching her. “What is it?”
Slowly he shook his head and reached for the petitions as a hint of a smile began to spread across his lips. “You never cease to amaze me. You do realize how your grandfather will react when he sees your name?”
“I have a pretty good idea,” she admitted, and then told him, “It shouldn’t be any surprise, however, I’ve told him where I stand.”
His brow arched. “You did?”
She nodded. “Didn’t think I had it in me?”
Crossing his arms, he looked down at her with a look of approval. “Honestly, no.”
“Well, that just goes to show you, Jay Colby,” she told him, grabbing his arm and turning him toward the exit. “From now on, don’t leap to judgment so quickly.”
He laughed and allowed her to push him toward the kitchen. “I guess you’re right, princess.”
She walked him to the back entrance and just as he was about to walk across the threshold she stopped him. “Jay.”
“Hmm?” He turned and looked down at her.
“Good luck.” Erika offered him her prettiest smile.
He stilled, his eyes locking with hers, until slowly they lowered to her mouth, causing her to shift uncomfortably beneath their scrutiny. Her smile vanished instantly causing his gaze to swing back to her eyes. Offering her an uncharacteristic wink, he said, “Thanks. Cause that’s what I’m going to need. Plenty of luck.”
As she watched him leap upon his horse and head into town, she was startled by an irksome feeling suddenly sitting heavily in her chest. Giving the back door a slam, she questioned this unexpected change in mood. There really was no explanation for it, except for when she thought of that wink it ignited the urge to stomp her feet in a frustrating tantrum.
For the only other time she had ever seen him perform the act before, was when he was openly flirting with the young lady’s about town. Erika, by no means, appreciated being treated like some common girl he deemed pretty. She most definitely wanted to stand alone.
* * *
Once Erika’s anger subsided, nerves started in awfully fierce. She began to doubt her hasty decision to add her name to the petition. She wasn’t entirely sure how her grandfather would react, but no doubt, he would surely blow his top.
Nervously, her eyes kept shooting to the enormous grandfather clock in the hall entrance and wondered just how long did it take for a man to propose a bylaw and leave. He had been gone for nearly two hours now and although Erika could be down at the stage rehearsing, she knew it would be fruitless. Her mind couldn’t concentrate on anything but what could possibly be happening in town hall.
To help keep her mind occupied, she tried to busy herself around the house. When Fiona finally finished cleaning the upstairs rooms and returned to the kitchen, Erika followed her trying to find something to do. But after finding her presence to be a nuisance, the housekeeper had eventually kicked her out and Erika, once more, wandered the bottom floor of the house.
She found herself standing in the entrance of her grandfather’s study staring at Jay Colby’s clothing. She wondered how he would react if she burned them. This brought a smile to her face and took some of the tension out of her tightly wound nerves.
Going over to the sofa, she then collected the clothing with the intention of folding and putting them away, but as she gathered them close, a musty scent drifted up from the well-worn garments. The unmistakable smell of animal stench mingled with male sweat filtered through the hair in her nostrils. The foul smell should have had her turning away in disgust, but instead she lifted the clothing and brought them beneath her nose to inhale deeply. There was something about this particular odor that made her feel comforted.
Shaking herself of the foolish notion, she folded them neatly and took them up to her own bedroom. No need to take the risk of having her grandfather unexpectedly returning and finding Jay’s clothing spread out in his study. After laying them gently on the chair in front of her fireplace, she left the room and shut the door firmly behind her. For some odd reason, she didn’t want the temptation of coming back into that room.
Fifteen minutes later, Fiona caught Erika once again loitering in the grand hallway in front of the clock. “Child, you’re going to wear out the wax on the floor if you don’t stop pacing.”
“I can’t help it,” she admitted. “He’s been gone so long.”
“What makes you think he’d come back here,” she said, while giving her a disapproving frown.
“He’ll come back.” She knew without a doubt. “Besides, he’ll want his clothes.”
“Eh?” The woman shot her a quizzical look.
Erika grinned. “I bought him a new suit for his meeting.”
The woman’s brows rose skyward. “You did, did ya?”
