Hyacinth (Suitors of Seattle) (12 page)

Lawrence turned around and saw the blush on her face, helping her clear things up.  "You have nothing to be ashamed of, you know," he said softly.  "I was the one who started everything."
  He didn't want her to think she'd done anything wrong.  He planned to marry her just as soon as he could after all.

"But I knew very well that what we were doing was wrong, and I should have stopped you.  I can't let a man take liberties like that just because it feels
good."  She shook her head, more than a little embarrassed by the passion she'd shown him.

"Does it?"

"Does what?"

"Does it feel good?"  Lawrence needed to know that she enjoyed his touch as much as he enjoyed touching her.

She nodded slowly.  "It feels amazing."  She knew she shouldn't admit it, but she couldn't seem to stop herself.  "I wish we never had to stop."

He smiled, glad they'd come on the picnic after all.  If she felt that strongly about how much she enjoyed being touched by him, then they would suit very well.

*****

Later that afternoon, Lawrence was trying to work, but all he could think about was how Hyacinth had looked with her hair mussed as she lay on her back on the blanket.  He had to convince her to marry him soon.  He wondered if she would marry him on the day he asked her.  He closed his eyes envisioning how it could be. 

"Hyacinth, would you do me the great honor of being my wife?" he would ask as he knelt on one knee at her feet.

She would clasp her hands together and look at him adoringly.  "Oh, I can think of nothing I would like more.  Let's go to the preacher now.  I don't need anyone there but you."

When his mind started to venture into the wedding night, and he was fantasizing about how soft her skin would be under his fingertips, he knew it was time to stop.  A nice walk in the cold rain might cool his libido.  Something had to.

*****

"Are you going to marry Lawrence?" Mary asked later that afternoon as she and Hyacinth sat in the parlor knitting.

Hyacinth shrugged.  "I don't know, Mama.  Sometimes I think he's the only man I would ever want to marry, and sometimes I think that he's too crazy to even think about marrying."

Mary smiled.  "I think it's only love for you that makes him crazy.  He seems perfectly normal when he's not doing one of the special things he does for you."  Mary had noted her daughter's swollen lips and mussed up hair when she'd come in.  It hadn't taken a genius to know what had happened with Lawrence.  "You enjoy when he kisses you, don't you?"

Hyacinth blushed.  "I do like his kisses.  Is that wrong?"
  She said a silent prayer that it wasn't, because she wasn't going to give up his kisses no matter what her mother said about it.

Mary shook her head emphatically.  "If you didn't like his kisses, I would tell you that you shouldn't marry him.  But, if you like them as much as I think you do, I think you need to just ask him why he goes crazy on Tuesdays.  There has to be some sort of perfectly logical explanation.  No man just wakes up once a week and says, 'I'm going to do something incredibly stupid today.'"

Hyacinth giggled.  "Lawrence does." 

"I don't think that could possibly be true."  Mary frowned.  She wished she could come up with some sort of plausible explanation for the man's craziness.  "Ask him about it."

Hyacinth sighed.  "If he goes crazy next Tuesday, I will ask.  Otherwise, I'm just going to assume it's all been my imagination, and he's as normal as everyone else."  She would definitely like to think it had all been her imagination.  No woman wanted to be married to a man who was crazy one-seventh of the time. 

Mary shook her head.  "We all know he's not as normal as everyone else is.  Especially on Tuesdays."  She thought about it for a moment.  "I wonder if Amaryllis has some idea of what's going on with him?  She knows him better than I do, and she's known him longer than any of the rest of us."

"I guess I could ask her," Hyacinth mumbled.  She wasn't looking forward to having to see her sister again anytime soon, though.  Not after Amaryllis had caught her rolling around on the floor with Lawrence.  What was she thinking to do that in the middle of the public library?  There were better places to go and kiss your beau.  There had to be.

Chapter Nine

If you have trouble learning to speak to a woman, find someone else to practice on first. Maybe you could try speaking romantically to your friend, your sister, or even your mother.  Most any woman would be thrilled to help you learn to romance someone.  Just make certain it's not a woman who is in love with you that you choose.  That might be awkward.
 
William Livingston, Advice Column to Lonely Men published in The Seattle Times, January twenty-sixth, 1897.

Lawrence read the column once more and thought about who he could practice on.  Of course, for him there was only one answer.  He'd have to talk to Amaryllis.  So she'd know he wasn't losing his mind, he carefully cut the article from the newspaper so he could show her.  Today was Hyacinth's day to spend with her mother, so it was the perfect day to practice. 

He went to the library as soon as it opened and walked straight to the front desk where Amaryllis was seated.  She was putting a stack of cards in alphabetical order, and he waited until she stopped for a moment and looked up at him.  "Lawrence.  Good to see you.  Where's my sister?  I see she's not attached to your lips today."

Lawrence blushed.  "She spends every Tuesday with your mother.  I think she avoids me on Tuesdays, to be honest with you."
  He frowned as he said the words, even though he knew they were true.

"Why would she do that?"

He shrugged, not wanting to elaborate.  "I have a favor to ask you."  He needed to be honest about what he was doing.  There was no way he could practice on Amaryllis if she didn't know.  It would be awkward enough as it was.

"If it involves picnic baskets and my younger sister, the answer is a very firm no.  I don't ever want to walk in on what I walked in on
last week again."

Lawrence made a face.  "No, this is worse.  At least for me."
 

Amaryllis sighed.  "Worse? Is that even possible?"

"Well, you see I've been taking advice from a columnist in
The Seattle Times,
" he began, briefly explaining about the advice he'd received from the paper.  "The column comes out every Tuesday.  This week's advice is to practice talking romantically to a woman you feel at ease with.  For me, in Seattle, that's you.  So, I want to talk to you later, when you're not expecting it, and I want to try and be romantic.  I thought you'd rather I didn't just walk up to you and start doing it."

Amaryllis let out a slight giggle.  "You want to practice courting on me so you can court my sister?"

Lawrence frowned.  "I know how ludicrous it sounds, but that's what the column says to do."  He dug into his pocket and handed it to her. 

When Amaryllis read it, she shook her head.  "Oh, Lawrence.  This man has no idea what he's talking about.  Just be yourself and Hyacinth will love you.  I honestly think she already does."

He sighed.  "But can I practice on you?  Please?"  Mr. Livingston's advice had worked well so far, and he wasn't about to abandon the man now.

Amaryllis shrugged.  "I suppose, but if Alex walks in and sees you sweet-talking me, I won't be responsible for the consequences.  He might very well go insane over something like that.  You're not exactly his favorite person in the world anyway."

"Your husband needs to trust you more."  Lawrence shook his head at her.  "There's one person who will not be welcoming me into the family with open arms." 

"No, he won't.  Everyone else likes you, though, so just ignore Alex."

Lawrence went back to sit at his usual table and work.  He knew that Amaryllis had a school group dropping in that day, so he'd approach her after.  What he really wanted to do was practice his marriage proposal on her.  It had to be just right before he proposed to Hyacinth. 

*****

Hyacinth sat in her room tapping away at her book.  Her mother was feeling under the weather so she wanted to take the time to write on her regular day off.  She felt like she was getting very close to the end of the book, and she was putting every spare moment into it.  She'd gotten proficient on the typewriter, typing much faster than she'd ever written.

She paused reading over a section.  She wasn't certain if she'd gotten a detail correct.  She sighed.  She was going to have to go to the library and see if she could get the answer there, or she'd have to see Lawrence.  She really didn't want
to seek Lawrence out, because it was Tuesday, and there was no telling what he would do.

She was rather surprised he hadn't been by already that morning, doing something absolutely insane.  That's what Lawrence did after all.  Acted crazy on Tuesdays.

She left a note for her mother and bundled up.  It had snowed overnight, and she wore her coat, scarf, hat, and mittens for the ten-minute walk.  Once she arrived, she stomped the snow off her boots, and hung her coat in the entryway to the library, listening closely as she heard Lawrence's voice.  She didn't really want him to see her, so she'd wait until after he sat down.

"Amaryllis, there's no one in this world that I adore more than you.  You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, and I love you more than I've ever dreamed I could love a woman.  Will you marry me?"

Hyacinth blinked a few times in astonishment.  Did her beau really just propose to her married sister?

She walked into the library unable to stop herself and confronted Lawrence.  "I don't know what your problem is, or why you go crazy every Tuesday, but I'm telling you now.  I don't ever want to see you or hear from you again.  I hope you have a great life being in love with a woman who's already married."
  She turned away from him and started for the door.  Suddenly, her research didn't seem at all important, and she knew she'd not be able to write another word that day.

Lawrence felt his heart drop into his stomach.  He knew he'd have to explain everything, but how?

Amaryllis quickly stood and caught Hyacinth's arm as she started to leave.  She pressed something into Hyacinth's hand.  "This will explain everything.  Lawrence will be by to talk to you at eight this evening. He'll take you for a drive."

"I won't go."
  She never even wanted to look at the man again.  How could Amaryllis think she would?

"Read that and I think you will.  Please,
Hy.  Give him a chance."  Amaryllis's voice was pleading. 

Hyacinth nodded once to acknowledge her sister's words before leaving the library.  She tucked whatever Amaryllis had given her into her pocket, her eyes too full of tears to read just then.

As soon as she was gone, Lawrence looked at Amaryllis.  "I've really messed up now."

Amaryllis shook her head.  "She loves you.  When she realizes you were just listening to really stupid advice every Tuesday, she'll come around.  She'll read it.  She's not one to throw away love just because she's angry."

"I hope you're right."  His eyes stared at the door Hyacinth had gone out of.  She hadn't even stayed at the library to do whatever business she needed to do. 

*****

The entire way home, Hyacinth had alternated between shaking with anger and crying her eyes out.  She'd never had her heart broken, because she'd never given her heart to anyone before.  When she arrived home, she hurried into her room, threw herself onto her bed and had a good cry. 

Finally, when she'd cried herself out, she looked at the piece of paper Amaryllis had pressed into her hand.  It was a clipping from the newspaper.  As she read the words, her jaw dropped with astonishment.  She recognized the words, of course.  She'd written them.

In June, as soon as she'd finished school, she'd gone to
The Seattle Times
to ask for a job as a reporter.  The editor had simply laughed at her.  "Who do you think you are?  Nellie Bly?"

She'd left the office, discouraged, but not feeling strong enough to argue with him.  She'd then invented a man's name and written to the editor, asking if she could write an advice column for men to help them woo women.  The editor had readily agreed, and she had quickly written twenty-six short columns that would be printed once per week for six months. 

After three months, the editor had asked for more, because he'd gotten several letters from men who had said they enjoyed her column.  She'd shot off a few more, and had saved most of the money she'd earned, but spent a bit on Christmas presents for her family.

So...that's why Lawrence had acted crazy every Tuesday.  He'd followed her advice.  She hadn't actually read any of the articles as they'd come out, but she had saved the single sheet of the paper every week.  She went to the bottom drawer of her bureau where they were all hidden, and got out the ones since Lawrence had come into town at the beginning of December. 

Reading them slowly, she could tell exactly which had been written and how he'd reacted to it each week.  The newspaper had changed her advice from 'buying flowers' to 'buying flour.'  The editors needed to be shot.  She wondered how many other women throughout the area had been plagued with such a literal interpretation of her terrible advice. 

She vowed then and there she would not write any more articles on how to woo women, because she was hopelessly bad at it.  Today's advice was the worst yet.  He'd been practicing a marriage proposal on Amaryllis, and she'd walked in on it. 

Her advice had all seemed logical as she'd written it, but it just hadn't worked out the way she'd planned when it had ended up in Lawrence's hands.  Well, at least she knew he wasn't losing his mind every Tuesday.  He was just following some really insane advice to the best of his ability.  And she could fault no one but herself for giving him the terrible advice.

*****

Lawrence was half-afraid as he pulled up in front of the Sullivan home at precisely eight that evening.  He took a deep breath as he walked to the door, thankful that it wasn't raining or snowing.  They'd be cold on their drive, but at least they wouldn't get wet as he did his best to help her make sense of what he'd done the past two months while he was courting her.

He went to the door, not certain exactly what to expect, but Hyacinth was waiting for him with her coat on, all bundled up and ready to go.  He was unable to read her face as he helped her into the buggy, and he didn't say anything as he immediately headed to the outskirts of town so they could talk.

"I need to apologize to you," Hyacinth whispered softly.

He turned to her in surprise, pulling over to the
side of the road immediately.  They were out of the main part of town, so no one would see them if they were to stop.  "Why would you apologize to me?  I'm the idiot who proposed to your sister today."  He shook his head.  He still couldn't believe she'd overheard him ask Amaryllis to marry him.

"But you proposed on the advice of someone you considered to be a love expert."
  She took a deep breath, knowing it was time for him to know who his real mentor had been, but afraid of how he would react to the knowledge.

He nodded.  "I did.  You don't think he's a love expert?"  Amaryllis had told him over and over that the man giving advice in the column was clueless about
how a woman should be courted.  He wasn't certain if she was right, but he did have a lot of faith in Amaryllis.

"I know he's not.  You see...I wrote those columns."  She looked down at her hands, refusing to meet his eyes.  "I wanted to work as a reporter for the paper while I worked on my book. I thought it would be a good way to brush up on my writing skills, but the editor just laughed at me.  So I wrote to him, as a man, and suggested my column.  He gave me a trial, and he liked my work, and the men in the area all said the advice was helping them, so I kept writing it."
  She had never been so ashamed of anything she'd done in her life.

Lawrence gaped at her.  He had been taking advice on how to court a woman, from the woman he was courting, and neither of them had known it.  "I...don't know what to say."
  He was mortified.  Absolutely mortified.

"When you did the things you did, I thought you were crazy.  Seriously, I thought you needed to be admitted to an asylum one day every week, because the things you did were that out of the realm of normalcy."  She shook her head.  "I...I had no idea how bad the advice I was giving was until you tried it all on me.  I can now say, without a doubt, that I should not be giving anyone courting advice.  I'm terrible at it.
  Everything that seemed like a good idea when I wrote it down was really bad in practice.  I don't know why I suggested some of those terrible things, other than I needed more ideas to fill the column."  She felt like crying.  "I wonder how many other men in town took my horrible advice."

Lawrence wasn't sure what to say to that.  He'd loved the advice he'd received from her, even if it had all been a bit...odd.  "I liked the advice.  I felt like it gave me clear direction in how to approach you."
  He hated letting go of the idea of William Livingston.  He'd almost considered the man a friend, but he was really a woman.  It was...difficult to comprehend. 

Hyacinth shook her head.  "It didn't though.  I had almost decided there was no way I could marry you because you were crazy.  It was like you were two different people.  Six days per week, you seemed perfectly normal, and you were just who I wanted you to be.  Then...one day per week, you became someone else.  I couldn't figure out what your problem was."
  She looked at him as a thought occurred to her.  "Did you put mint leaves in my pockets to make my hands smell good?"