Courting Susannah by Linda Lael Miller

Aubrey, well, that was probably a good thing.Like Ethan, Mr. Hollister had a charm entirely his own.
    She smiled. Julia had always been the sought-after one. It felt good to be wanted, even desired. “Yes,” she said. “I mean,yes, I’ll have dinner with you.”
    He regarded her appreciatively for a long moment. “Splendid,” he said. “I’ll come for you around seven o’clock, then.”
    Susannah nodded, a little dazed. Her life had changed so quickly, from a dull procession of days to an adventure of sorts,and she would need a little time to adjust gracefully. “Seven o’clock,” she affirmed with another nod, and then Mr. Hollistertook his leave. Only after he’d gone did she realize that she did not even know what he did for a living.
    Susannah stood in the entryway so long, pondering the turn her fortunes had taken, that she was barely ready when the carriagearrived, a sleek, imposing thing, shining in the fall sunlight.
    Clad in one of her own dresses, over which she wore a blue woolen cape purloined from Julia’s wardrobe, her hair plaited andpinned up into a bright coronet at her nape, Susannah allowed herself to be handed into the costly vehicle. The scent of someflowery cologne lingered amidst the smells of leather and cigar smoke, and she began to wonder, uncharitably, if this wasMrs. Parker’s carriage, temporarily conscripted for the transport of an otherwise indigent and wholly self-appointed nurse.
    She straightened her spine as the coach jostled and pitched over the rutted streets leading down one of Seattle’s steep, raw-bonedhills, already feeling defensive. When the driver brought the team to a halt in front of an imposing structure with an elaboratebrick facade,bearing the legend
A. Fairgrieve, Proprietor and Founder
in giant brass letters, she was downright uncomfortable.
    She got out of the carriage without waiting for the driver to climb down from the box and open the door for her. She was nomore important than anyone in Aubrey’s employ, and it wouldn’t do for people to go treating her as though she were.
    She could not help being aware of glances from passersby as she mounted the wooden steps to the sidewalk, crossed the splintery,weathered boards, and pushed open the door. A bell chimed overhead, in stalwart brass notes, and she paused on the thresholdfor a few seconds, assessing her surroundings and charting her course before shutting out the cool wind that swept uphillfrom the waters of the sound.
    The store was even larger than it looked from outside, and there was so much merchandise that she was, for a moment, dazzled.Besides the inevitable picks and shovels—Julia had written that Aubrey owed his fortune mainly to the seemingly endless processionof miners streaming north in search of gold—there was a whole wall of fabric and ribbon, another of books and periodicals.The establishment offered patent medicines of all sorts, as well as farm equipment and tools, ready-made garments, boots andshoes, and a surprisingly comprehensive array of toys. The aromas of fine tobacco, rich coffee beans, and fresh tea filledthe air, along with a twinge of smoke from the large metal stove in one corner.
    A clerk came forward immediately, smiling. “Miss McKittrick?” he inquired. “We’ve been expecting you. Please—come in.”
    Mercifully, the spell was broken, and Susannah managed a faltering smile. She wanted desperately to appear confident, butin fact she had never been in such an emporium before. At St. Mary’s, there had been no causeand certainly no funds. Nantucket boasted only a few small shops, and islanders grew what vegetables they could, ate thefruits of the sea, and bartered for the goods they could not supply for themselves.
    â€œI should like to look at baby things, please,” she said, squaring her shoulders a little and raising her chin.
    The clerk smiled. “Indeed. Mr.