Janet Barton - A Home for Her Heart

“Yes, and thank you. You were a great help today.” Elizabeth couldn’t deny she had been.

The trolley stopped a block away from Michael’s office and Millicent stepped into the aisle.

“Do you want us to wait for you?” Elizabeth asked.

“No need to. I’ll see you both later.” She gave a little wave and hurried down the aisle.

John had been sitting across the aisle, but he quickly moved to the empty seat beside Elizabeth, filling the seat up much more than Millicent had. Elizabeth caught her breath as his shoulder touched hers when he leaned near to say, “I think she did get some good shots. Hopefully we’ll be able to use one or two for our articles.”

“I hope so.”

“Although I’d like to do a little more investigating before handing my article in. All we really have is the pictures, if they turn out, and a tenant who’s being harassed by a bully of a landlord. And that’s pretty normal for the tenements.”

“Yes, sadly, it is.” She thought about how John hadn’t hesitated at paying Lacy’s rent. “That was very nice of you to take up for Miss Hardin. And to offer to pay her rent.”

John shrugged. “I hate seeing people bullied like that. Besides, you and Millicent helped with the rent, too. And it’s a good thing. I didn’t have the whole amount with me, but either way I was going to make sure Brown gave her a little more time.”

John was so aloof at times it was easy to wonder if anything really touched him. But obviously, someone about to be evicted did. His quick action had warmed Elizabeth’s heart. He’d always made it plain that his goal in life was to break a big story and to get promoted to lead reporter at the Tribune. But with his actions today she began to think there might be more to him than that. Was it possible John wasn’t quite as full of himself as she’d always believed?

Chapter Three

It was after dinner before Elizabeth and John got a chance to look at the photographs Millicent had taken that morning. John had disappeared downstairs as soon as they arrived back at Heaton House, and Elizabeth and Kathleen decided to go window-shopping at the Ladies’ Mile, trying to get a better idea of what kind of trousseau she wanted.

Going shopping with Kathleen made Elizabeth realize how much she’d taken for granted over the years. A.T. Stewart’s Dry Goods, Macy’s and Hearn’s—all of those along the Mile were the kind of stores she’d always shopped in, but for Kathleen, it was new and an adventure.

Elizabeth had never had to check price tags to determine if she could afford something, and watching Kathleen do so now humbled her.

“I love this wrap, but oh, my, the price is quite dear.” Kathleen touched the silk fabric as if it were a piece of gold.

Elizabeth had to fight the urge to tell her she’d buy it for her—Kathleen had a lot of pride and wouldn’t appreciate it, especially now that she had a decent position. Instead, she thought she might give it to her as a wedding gift if she didn’t find something she liked at a more reasonable price.

“Why don’t we try Macy’s? They might have something a little less expensive.”

“Yes, let’s go there. I do remember seeing something similar to this in there a while back,” Kathleen said.

“I like going to Macy’s. They do try to keep their prices down a bit. I always enjoy finding something I like at a better price.” And she did. She’d found she could use more of her allowance to help others early on, if she shopped wisely and had money left over. Her father hadn’t liked her spending her money on the needy, saying he gave enough to charities.

Now she and Kathleen proceeded to search the sales at Macy’s, finding exactly what her friend wanted for less money in short order.

It’d begun to stress Elizabeth that her friends in the city didn’t know that she could afford to buy anything that caught her fancy—didn’t know she didn’t have to work for a living. Even though she wasn’t trying to hide the fact, she’d not made an effort to let them know she was wealthy in her own right from her grandmother’s inheritance—not to mention what she stood to inherit from her father one day. But she didn’t like living the life of the wealthy, other than being able to help at different charity functions.

When she’d moved to New York City, she hadn’t wanted to be hired because she was the daughter of Charles Edward Reynolds of Boston and she’d been honest with her editor, who agreed to let Elizabeth use her mother’s name for her articles. Mrs. Heaton and her son knew who she really was, but she’d asked them to keep it private. She’d wanted to be known as one of the boarders and didn’t want to be treated differently because she didn’t really have to work. She wanted to be one of them. Only now that she’d lived at Heaton House for several years, she wondered if she’d done the right thing.

She didn’t know how to tell them she didn’t need to work for a living. What would they think of her? Would they think she lied on purpose? Would they be disappointed in her? Think less of her? How would it affect her friendships with them? Much as she longed to quit feeling she was keeping secrets about herself, she was very afraid of the consequences of letting the people she cared about know she wasn’t exactly who they thought she was.

“Are you upset about anything, Elizabeth?” Kathleen asked. “You seem a little down in spirit.”

“Oh? I’m sorry. My mind was wandering.”

“No need to be sorry. Perhaps you’re tired. We did stay up very late last night and you were out and about early. Do you think Millicent got some good photos?”

“I hope so.”

“I suppose we should be going back or we’ll be late for dinner,” Kathleen said. “Thank you for coming with me.”

“You’re welcome. Thank you for asking me to come. I think you’re right, however, and we should be getting back.”

When they saw the line for their trolley, they decided to ride the El instead. Hurrying up the steps of the nearest stop, they got in a shorter line, bought their ticket and boarded while people still waited in the trolley line. They found a seat and looked out the windows at the city.

“I love riding up over the streets,” Kathleen said.

“So do I. It’s a different view altogether.”

They pointed out different sights to each other as they rode along. “Look, you can see the building Matt is working on from here. I don’t know how those men work so high up in the air.”

“Neither do I,” Elizabeth said. “But I love the way the skyline is changing with the taller buildings.”

They were at their stop in no time and walked the rest of the way to Heaton House. The aroma drifting through to the foyer told them Mrs. Heaton had planned a great meal, but it was quiet downstairs as no one had come down to the parlor yet. Happy they weren’t too late, Elizabeth and Kathleen rushed upstairs to their rooms to change clothes.

They never dressed for dinner during the week—Mrs. Heaton said it was just too much trouble for working people and it made it much easier on the boarders. But on the weekends and special occasions they did dress up and everyone seemed to enjoy it.

Elizabeth chose one of her favorite dinner gowns, a sleeveless green silk with a sweetheart neckline. It felt summery and cool and she felt pretty in it. She pinched her cheeks in the mirror and pinned up an errant strand of blond hair before leaving her room. She met up with Millicent in the hall.

“Elizabeth! I’m glad you’re back. I can’t wait to show you and John the photographs. I think they turned out very well.”

“I can’t wait to see them. Perhaps after dinner—”

“What are you doing after dinner?” Kathleen asked, coming up behind them and following them down the staircase.