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“He seemed caught up, as if something upset him when he saw the suitors,” Gretchen said, speaking very slowly, “but in truth, I cannot be certain.”
“I cannot be either.” Rosaline shook her head. “We can only guess at his thoughts, Chloe. If you want an answer to your question, then there is only one person who can provide it.”
Chloe knew what Rosaline was referring to. The mere possibility made Chloe turn away and look out of the windows once again, but he wasn’t there. Ladies were hurrying toward the door, clearly ready to begin shopping.
Chloe fixed a false smile in place and opened the door, welcoming them inside.
“Come in, please have a look round, and if you need any help, I’ll be at the counter.” She closed the door behind her customers and then hurried to the counter, where Rosaline and Gretchen were waiting for her with their heads bent together.
“So? What will you do, Chloe?” Rosaline asked, her voice a hurried whisper.
“I may prove to be a fool, but . . .” Chloe glanced between her customers, her friends, and then the sketchbook she still had in her hands. When she found Leo’s note in the cover, she noticed the way he had signed it.
He hadn’t put “Yours etcetera,” or “Yours sincerely,” no. He had put “Yours.”
What if that means something?
“I have to ask him,” Chloe said, surprising herself with the resolution in her voice. “I have to ask Leo what this gift means, and . . . how he feels about me.”
Chapter 19
Chloe
“Well, I can hardly turn back now,” Chloe murmured as she walked up the stairs of Leo’s building, heading toward his lodgings. Even as her breathing became stuttered with nerves, she urged herself on, determined to learn the truth.
All night she had barely slept, tossing and turning. Her thoughts and anxiety about the morning kept her awake. She had found herself questioning the possibility that Leo could care for her. She would imagine a life with him, imagine declaring her feelings and his reply, then she would fear the worst. She worried they were all dreadfully mistaken, and Leo was simply a friend who had given her a very kind gift. That thought kept her awake more than any other.
As Chloe reached his door, she breathed deeply, not quite knocking yet. By the time she lifted the courage to knock on the door, she found it opening.
“Oh good God!” Leo jumped back from the door, a hand to his heart.
“Sorry, did I scare you?” Chloe said, a smile reaching her lips as Leo stepped back. He tripped over some shoes by the front door, but he managed to stay straight and kick them out of the way with surprising ease.
“You could say that.” Leo turned to face her. “Is there a reason you are standing on the other side of my door without announcing yourself?”
“I was about to knock,” Chloe insisted, though she realized how thin the answer sounded. She had been standing there for a few minutes, and she just had to pray Leo could not see the nerves on her face.
He was standing by the door ready to leave, with a briefcase in his hand.
“Are you leaving for work?” she asked carefully.
“I have a moment.” Leo placed the case down on the hall table. He seemed nervous, his hands fidgeting more than usual, before he turned back to face her. “What can I do for you?”
“I came to thank you.”
And say so much more!
Yet she kept that thought to herself. Uncertain how to begin, how to ask Leo if he cared for her, Chloe said the only thing she could.
“For the gift,” she said hurriedly. Her words prompted Leo to smile, lighting up those handsome features.
“You liked it then?” he asked, seeming eager to hear her answer.
“Do you need ask? I love it!” She nodded, so keen to assure him she was grateful. “I have already started drawing my new designs in it. I’ve never had such a sketchbook before, so I had to come and thank you personally.”
“You’re most welcome. It was the least I could do after your gift.” He pulled the pocket watch out of his waistcoat in emphasis, holding it up. Chloe smiled to see that he carried it with him, before he returned it to his pocket.
A silence fell between them, as they stood just smiling at each other. Chloe noticed Leo looking away before she did, as if painfully aware of the silence.
