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Susan laughed at that. “Elizabeth and I have both been switched, but you little ones never received the kind of discipline you needed.”
“Oh, Elizabeth had some clever punishments she came up with when we were particularly poorly behaved.”
After supper, Alice offered to help with the dishes, but Susan shook her head. “No, you go and walk with Albert. You two need to get to know each other a bit before the ceremony tomorrow.” She looked at Albert sternly. “Notice I said a bit. Don’t make me trail along behind the two of you, telling you that you’re touching too much.”
Albert grinned. “Hey, I’m marrying her tomorrow. What more do you want from me?”
“For you to be a gentleman until you say I do. After that, I’m not worried about it because you won’t be my responsibility. You’ll be hers.”
As the two of them left the house together, Alice grinned at Albert. “Susan doesn’t trust you as far as she can throw you.”
“Oh, that’s not true. She’s just annoyed that we didn’t tell her who you are. No big deal. It was good, though, wasn’t it?”
Alice laughed. “I certainly enjoyed it!”
“I thought we could walk over so you can see our house. Susan and Mrs. Hackenschleimer made certain it was clean enough for a wife to be brought into.”
“That was kind of them,” Alice said, feeling a little shy now that she was alone with Albert. “I’m looking forward to keeping house.”
“Really? Does anyone really enjoy keeping house?”
Alice smiled. “It’s so much better than the store where I was working back in Beckham. I did all the stocking, all the cleaning…it will be nice to clean something and know that if someone trudges mud inside, I’ll know who it is and have the right to raise my voice to them.”
“Aww, man. Are you going to be yelling at me about muddy floors?”
“Not if you don’t make them muddy,” Alice said reasonably.
He led them to a house less than half the size of his father’s. “It’s not much, but I think it’s perfect for us to start a family in.”
She nodded. “It looks like it.”
Albert led her inside, showing her the kitchen and the parlor. “It’s only got three bedrooms, but Pa helped me put in a bathroom, just like we had at home.”
Alice clapped her hands together. “I’m so excited to have a bathroom. I cannot tell you what a treat it’s always been to go visit Elizabeth, and now I’ll have one too. It’s like a dream come true!”
He chuckled, taking her by the waist and pulling her toward him. “Well, then I think I deserve a kiss for thinking about it, don’t you?”
She smiled, stepping closer to him. “I think I could manage that. I wondered for so long how it would be to kiss the man I’m marrying, and I’m so happy to find out.”
“I did kiss you earlier…”
“Not the same thing. Anyone could have walked up then.”
“Fine. First real kiss then.” He slowly leaned toward her and lowered his mouth to hers, pressing a light kiss against her lips. Alice couldn’t be content with such a soft kiss, so she wrapped her arms around his neck, and she slowly opened her mouth under his, returning the kiss.
Albert lifted his head, giving her a surprised look, before leaning down to kiss her again, this time deepening the kiss immediately, his hands stroking her shoulders and down her back. When his hand cupped her breast, she broke the kiss and stepped back. “I think this is what Susan was worried would happen.”
“Susan’s a smart woman,” he said, panting slightly. “All right, let’s look at the rest of the house.” He led her to two bedrooms with a door open between them. “I figured the extra room could be for a baby.”
“Perfect. And there’s a room upstairs for when they get a little older?” she asked.
“Yes! I’ll show you!” He led her up the stairs, and the room she saw was huge. “We could even put up a wall if we don’t want boys and girls sharing a room.”
“That would be wise,” Alice said. “Back home there were several bedrooms, and we all rotated between them. I’ve never had a room to myself except on rare occasions, and I’m excited to have my own room for just one night.”
“I guess that means you’re not going to complain about sharing my bed straight off?”
Alice shook her head. “Why bother? We both know where everything leads to, and I really like kissing you. I don’t think lovemaking will be a chore with you.”
