Waiting for Spring by Amanda Cabot Read Free Book Online Page B

and Jeffrey had spent so little of that time with her that, were it not for David, she could almost believe her marriage had been a dream. But David existed. He and the fear that the baron would find them were the legacies of Charlotte’s marriage.
    â€œLet me arrange your train.” Gwen’s habitual smile was back in place as she turned her attention to Charlotte’s gown. Made of apricot silk, it was similar in design to Gwen’s but had a higher neckline and an apron-style panel of darker silk that dipped gracefully below Charlotte’s waist and draped around her hips, flowing into an elaborate bustle and short train. Had she been making the gown for a ball, Charlottewould have lengthened the train so that it trailed behind her, but since they would spend most of the evening seated, she had left it the same length as the gown itself, barely clearing the floor.
    â€œIt’s not that I’m anxious to leave you and David,” Gwen said as she straightened the fall of silk. “I hate the thought of leaving you alone if I remarry, but I want Rose to have a father.” She looked over Charlotte’s shoulder, meeting her gaze in the looking glass. “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if both of us found husbands?”
    â€œI’m not ready.” I’m not sure I ever will be , she added silently. “It would take a special man to accept David.” And even if he did, Charlotte wasn’t certain she could trust her judgment. She had believed Jeffrey was the man God intended for her, and oh, how wrong she’d been. Jeffrey had showered her with material possessions, but he had not given her what she craved: true love.
    Gwen shook her head. “That special man is out there. I know he is. And if he’s in Cheyenne tonight, he won’t be able to take his eyes off you. Apricot is the perfect color for you.”
    â€œI wanted us both to be walking advertisements for Élan. That’s why I made our gowns out of colors that complement each other.” Charlotte wouldn’t tell Gwen there was another reason she’d chosen the apricot for herself. Though she knew he’d be at the opera house tonight, she doubted Barrett Landry would notice her. But if he did, she wanted him to see that he was right about the color flattering her. And if that wasn’t a silly reason to use the most expensive piece of silk in the store for herself, she didn’t know what was.
    Half an hour later, Charlotte marveled as the carriage she’d hired approached the opera house. She’d seen the buildingat least a dozen times when she’d strolled through her adopted city, but that had been during daylight. Now that the sun had set, everything looked different. Lights blazed from the arched windows. Though the mansard roof was shadowed, the windows in the two dormers and the fancy round one that some called an oeil-de-boeuf or cow’s eye window gleamed, leaving no doubt that this was one of Cheyenne’s most impressive buildings.
    â€œOh, look,” Gwen whispered as they joined the crowd that filed through the front door, then up the grand staircase to the second floor lobby. “The chandelier is even more beautiful than I’d heard. Do you suppose there really are fifty-two lights?”
    Charlotte didn’t need to count the bulbs. Whether it had fifty-two or some other number, the chandelier was magnificent, providing decoration as well as illumination. Miriam had told her that until the city was electrified, the chandelier was rarely lit because of the unpleasant smell from the oil, but now it was one of the most admired parts of Cheyenne. Like the building itself, the chandelier was designed to impress, and it succeeded. As discreetly as she could, Charlotte looked up, wanting to see the skylights that were almost as famous as the lighting fixture. During the day, light spilled through them, but now though the glass expanses were dark, a close to