“Are you all right, miss?”
A man strode toward her out of the darkness. Obviously, he had no problem walking aboard a moving vessel. She nodded, wiped the moisture from her face. “I’m fine. It’s only that I’m unaccustomed to walking on a floor that quivers beneath my feet. It’s a little unnerving.”
The light from behind her washed over the man’s strong, well-defined features, flashed on his white teeth when he smiled. My, but he’s handsome. Warmth climbed into her cheeks. She turned her face away from a lantern hanging from the upper deck that would, no doubt, reveal her blush.
“It’s the thrust of the steamer’s engine you feel. The occasional lurch is caused by the paddle wheels when there is a steering correction.” The man stopped a few steps away from her. “The deck is a bit slick. May I assist you to your destination?”
He was younger than she’d thought. Perhaps in his midtwenties. A few years older than herself. She glanced across the distance to the railing and weighed her unease against propriety.
“Allow me to introduce myself.” The man removed his hat and dipped his head in a small polite bow that revealed a mass of short brown hair with deep waves crested by sun streaks. “Grant Winston, at your service.” He replaced his hat and flashed his smile again. “At least I am if you will permit me to be, Miss...”
“Bradley.” She drew her gaze from his disarming grin, nibbled at the corner of her lip. “I am going to the railing at the front of the ship. If you wouldn’t mind walking beside me...”
“It would be my pleasure.”
“Then, thank you, Mr. Winston. I accept your kindness.” She offered a silent prayer that she wouldn’t slip on the wet deck and stepped forward. Grant Winston moved beside her, matching his steps to her uncertain ones. She let out a sigh and took a tight hold when they reached the railing.
“Feel safer now?”
“I will as long as I don’t look down.”
He chuckled. A deep, pleasant sort of rolling sound that had a smile tugging at her lips.
“I take it you’re not a veteran steamer passenger?”
“I’m strictly a landlubber.” She laughed to cover the nervous tremor in her voice and peeked over the railing. Dark water flowed beneath the ship, brushed along the side in a sinister-sounding whisper. Her stomach flopped. “I didn’t know how intimidating water could be. I should have made Lincoln teach me to swim.” The name slipped from her lips without thought. Pain rose, squeezed the air from her lungs. She blinked, thankful for the rain that would hide any betraying shimmer of tears.
“Lincoln?”
The band of pain squeezed tighter. “My brother.” Bitterness tainted her voice. She drew a shallow, ragged breath, lifted her gaze and watched the lights on the shore morph to yellow blurs as the ship steamed toward the middle of the long lake. Don’t let him ask about Lincoln, Lord. Please, don’t let him ask. The ship lurched. Her kid gloves slipped against the wet rail. She gasped and tightened her grip.
“It might help if you look at the land ahead, instead of behind. See how it curves around? That’s why the captain changed course. The ship will steady now.”
His deep voice was calm, reassuring. The tension left her shoulders. Thank You, Lord. She gingerly shifted her position and searched for the spot he described.
He gestured ahead toward the right. “When we pass that outcropping, you’ll see lights among the trees on the hills at the Chautauqua campgrounds at Fair Point, though it’s still quite some distance away.”
The wind gusted. He swiped the water from the collar of his mackintosh and tugged it up around his neck. “I understand there are already a great number of people in attendance, though the assembly does not officially begin until tomorrow. And, of course, there are still people coming by steamers both from here in Mayville and from Jamestown at the other end of the lake. Two or three hundred on every ship. A friend here in Mayville told me the captains are leaving port at full capacity.”
If he was trying to distract her, it worked admirably. “So many?”
“Yes. It’s quite amazing really.” He turned toward her, leaned his hip against the railing. “The Chautauqua Assembly program seems to have caught the interest of people from all over. I’ve spoken with a family from Canada. And people from Ohio and Virginia. And, of course, New York and Pennsylvania.”
Oh, my! What had she gotten herself into? She swallowed hard and stared toward the outcropping he’d pointed out. The more people who attended her lectures, the better, of course. But she was no orator, only—
“Am I right?”
She started out of her thoughts, glanced up at him. “I beg your pardon?”
“I asked if you are attending the assembly.”
Her stomach clenched. “Yes, I am.” Because of you, Lincoln. And Father.
“I thought as much.”
She took a steadying breath, thrust her dark thoughts away. “And why is that?”
“Because I believe everyone aboard this ship, save the captain and crew, is headed for the Chautauqua campgrounds. And—” his gaze dropped to her hands gripping the railing “—I figure it had to be something like this advertised assembly to entice you to step foot on the Colonel Phillips.”
“You are correct, Mr. Winston.” Though not because I’m afraid of the water. The conversation had gone far enough. She wanted no questions about her reason for attendance—not with tears threatening. Nor did she want him to find her lacking in proper manners and judge her to be a woman of low behavior. She gave him a polite smile. “Thank you for your kind reassurance and assistance, sir. I’m most appreciative.”
He took a step back and made her a polite bow. “My pleasure, Miss Bradley.”
The steamer gave another lurch, headed into the wind and started around the outcropping. The rain slanted in between the decks. She clung to the railing and stared out over the water until Grant Winston’s footsteps faded away and there was only the patter of the rain against the hood and shoulder cape of her waterproof coat, and the whisper of the water against the ship. A well-brought-up young woman did not look after a young man—not even a kind, helpful one.
She let out a long breath and turned her thoughts to the two letters in her purse. Who had prompted those in charge of the Chautauqua Assembly to send her an invitation to lecture on temperance? Could it be the Mrs. Tobin Swan who had written asking her to lead a group of women in protest against the local vineyards and wineries? Her lips lifted in a grim smile. Wine had destroyed her family. It would be a pleasure to stop its production at its very source.
“Grant me success, Lord, I pray.” Her determination firmed. The solitude of the rainy deck was the perfect place to rehearse her lectures. The more she practiced them, the less chance that she would make an error or miss including an important point when she was speaking.
* * *
Grant leaned on the rail and watched the foaming water churned up by the side wheel. It was hard to imagine having a fear of the water. Going for a swim was his favorite way to end a summer workday. But then, he’d learned to swim when he was four years old. Of necessity. Of course, he’d been plenty afraid that day.
He stared down at the lake water and