This abrupt change of subject gave Garrett pause. Callie was trying to tell him something, something personal, perhaps. But what? What was going on inside that complicated mind of hers? He could simply ask, but he suspected she wouldn’t answer him candidly.
Besides, the day was slipping away and he had a lot of work still to do.
“We can’t help Fanny until we know more,” he said reasonably.
“I guess not.” Callie released a resigned sigh. “Let us pray Molly can convince her to see reason.”
He nodded.
But then Molly’s words came back to him with alacrity. If Fanny doesn’t love Reese enough to want to marry him, then maybe, maybe she’s making the right decision.
Pulling out his watch, he flipped open the lid and read the time. “I need to get back to the office.” He refocused on Callie, then glanced around the darkened landing. “Will you be all right if I leave you here alone?”
Her withering glare was answer enough. Right, his mistake—Callie was a grown woman of twenty-three, more than capable of taking care of herself in her own home.
“I’ll try to stop by again soon,” he said. “If not later this afternoon, then tomorrow at the latest.”
“Will you speak to Reese after you return to the office?”
“I don’t know. Perhaps.”
Her eyes went cool, accusatory.
“Stop looking at me like that. For all I know, he might have already left for the day.” Though Garrett doubted it. Reese was nothing if not dedicated to his work.
Maybe she’s making the right decision...
He heard Callie say something more, something about his duty as an older brother to his hurting sister, but Garrett had already started down the stairs. He waved a hand in farewell, exited the boardinghouse. And just kept walking.
* * *
“It occurs to me,” Molly said to Mrs. Singletary as they awaited Garrett’s arrival in the blue parlor later that evening, “that a night at the opera is an odd place to begin your business association with Mr. Mitchell.”
The more she thought on the matter the more she realized how truly out of character the request had been. There could be no opportunity to discuss their plans, or any other business for that matter. That left one glaring reason for the invitation.
Mrs. Singletary was, indeed, playing matchmaker. With Molly and Garrett as her current victims, er...beneficiaries.
Molly stifled a groan. She couldn’t fall for Garrett again. She’d given far too much of herself to him once before, only to suffer unspeakable heartache. There’d been no letters once he’d gone away to school, no contact when he’d come home on breaks and certainly no cause to hope he’d change his mind about them.
As time and distance had brought healing, Molly had moved on with her life. Or so she’d always thought. Today had shown her that a part of her would always belong to Garrett. He’d been her first love, her first kiss, her first everything. There was no erasing that sort of shared history.
However, that didn’t mean she was willing to open her heart and let him trample on it again.
“Nonsense, my dear, his joining us this evening makes perfect sense.”
Did it? Molly had her doubts.
Calm as you please, Mrs. Singletary picked up her enormous cat and set the animal on her lap. Weighing in at nearly twenty pounds, Lady Macbeth’s fluffy black-and-white fur spilled over the edges of the chair.
While stroking the cat’s back, the widow slid a look at Molly out of the corner of her eye. “Aside from getting to know the young attorney better, this is an opportune time for you and Mr. Mitchell to become more comfortable in one another’s company.”
Decidedly uncomfortable, Molly’s stomach dipped at the prospect of spending the evening with Garrett. She was already on edge after her conversation with Fanny. Her friend had explained herself in excruciating detail, sharing reasons Molly understood all too well. And that brought her back to Mrs. Singletary’s frustrating, albeit well-meaning, interference in her life.
“You want me to become more comfortable with Mr. Mitchell, nothing more?”
“It’s as simple as that.”
Possible. But not probable.
Unable to stand still any longer, Molly moved restlessly through the elegantly decorated room. She wove a path around the brocade furniture and randomly placed tables adorned with priceless trinkets. Her footsteps caught the rhythmic ticking of the large grandfather clock Mrs. Singletary had purchased on her last trip to London.
Unfortunately, the slow, soothing cadence did nothing to ease Molly’s agitation. “Why is this so important to you?”
For all intents and purposes, she’d called her employer’s bluff. Would Mrs. Singletary admit to her plan now, or continue to play coy?
“I saw the stiff way you two interacted with one another this afternoon. If Mr. Mitchell and I are to work closely together, it’s essential you and he smooth out your differences before we begin.”
Molly should have guessed the observant woman would have noticed the charged atmosphere in the man’s office. “Garrett and I aren’t at odds with one another, if that’s what you’re implying.”
It was shameful, really, how familiar Molly had become with lying in the past few months, a flaw that didn’t speak well of her character. She should draw up a formula for cleansing her jaded soul. She would spend more time in the Word, of course. And—
“So it’s Garrett now, not Mr. Mitchell?” The other woman smiled craftily, her dark eyes warm and full of steely purpose.
Oh, Mrs. Singletary was a slick one. Unmistakable resolve was in her eyes now, just behind that matchmaker gleam. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate what you’re trying to do, but I—”
“What is it you think I’m trying to do, dear?”
“You are attempting to help me find my one true love.”
“Am I?” The question sounded as smooth as cream wrapped inside the woman’s innocent tone.
“Mrs. Singletary, please, no more pretense.” Molly pinched the bridge of her nose. “You have made no secret of the fact that you believe every person has only one soul mate.”
“I do indeed believe that, yes,” she agreed without an ounce of remorse. “But in my observation, only a blessed few find one another on their own. Most couples need a nudge in the proper direction.”
Not Molly and Garrett, for one very simple reason. “We are not one another’s soul mate.”
“Do you deny having feelings for the man?”
“I’ve known him all my life,” she hedged, swiveling away and taking another turn around the room. “Of course I care about him. He’s the brother of my dearest friends.”
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”
Absorbing the fact that the older woman cared enough to want to see her happily settled, Molly stopped walking and closed her eyes. She adored Mrs. Singletary, truly she did, and was ever grateful to be in her employ. But this madness had to end.
“You are focusing your efforts in the wrong direction. Garrett and I will never be more than friends.”
Mrs. Singletary arched a brow. “You seem convinced. Is there more to the story you aren’t telling me?”
Oh, there was definitely more. But Garrett would be arriving any moment. Molly couldn’t risk him walking in during