“Did she and Captain Caleb fall in love immediately?”
“He did. He didn’t know it then, but he did. As for Valentina, at first she despised him.”
“Isn’t that always true of Great Romance?” Alix turned full circle, then came to face him.
“Perhaps to read about, but not to experience. Their meeting came about because the Captain returned from his long voyage earlier than expected.”
“Just as Izzy and I did,” Alix said. “And if we hadn’t shown up early, I wouldn’t have met Jared.”
“Are you referring to your sister?”
Alix laughed. “I can believe Izzy was my sister in another life. I guess that next you’ll be telling me that an alternate me knew Jared.”
“You made buildings together,” Caleb said. “Many of the houses on this island are yours. You drew them; he built them.”
Alix found herself laughing again. “What a marvelous prevaricator you are! You must meet my mother. With your plotting and her writing you’d be a perfect match.”
“We were,” he said.
“Yes, of course. You couldn’t be anyone other than Captain Caleb. But how could Valentina ever despise you?” Alix couldn’t help flirting with him. If there was ever a man made to flirt with, this was him. His eyes had a soft, bedroom quality, and combined with the beautiful dress, she was beginning to feel like the most desirable woman in the world. Long ago, Alix had found that with a mother like hers, she needed to be smart and talented and accomplished. When it came to pure sex appeal, no one could compete with Victoria. But right now this man was making Alix feel like she was a temptress.
“You see,” Caleb said, “when the Captain arrived back on Nantucket, he didn’t know who Valentina was. She’d come to the island after he left on a voyage to China, so he hadn’t seen her.” He turned about, then came back to Alix with a look that said he’d been away from her much too long.
Her face was close to his. He was clean shaven and she could smell his skin. It was salty and oh, so very male.
A new tune played, this one softer and slower. Caleb held out his arms to her. It seemed the most natural thing in the world to slip into them. He led her into a waltz that was so light she wasn’t sure her feet were touching the ground. Around and around they went, higher and higher.
Alix put her head back and closed her eyes. When she opened them she was glancing down at the window, down at the stacks of artifacts. She and this man seemed high, high up, above the floor. As an architect, she knew it wasn’t possible, the ceiling was too low, but right now she didn’t feel like a businessperson of any type. The beautiful white wedding gown swirled around her body, nearly surrounding the two of them in a soft mist. Within her, she could feel a deep sense of herself as a woman. All the enticing, alluring touches that made her who she was were coming out of her, radiating.
And this man, this beautiful man, was making it happen.
Alix let the sensations and feelings seep into her body. The music grew louder, as though there were an orchestra in this vast room. She smelled food and perfume. She heard laughter and people talking. When she looked down, there was light: golden, glowing, and warm. It was candlelight, flickering and radiant, illuminating the flushed and rosy skin of a hundred people.
Alix seemed able to see beneath the floor. The entire downstairs was awash with light and laughter. “I see it,” she whispered, clasping Caleb’s hand tighter.
“Who do you see?” he whispered back.
“My mother! The men are around her. She looks like she does in the mornings before she puts on makeup. I’ve never seen her eyebrows unplucked.”
“That’s Valentina,” Caleb said softly. “Who else is there?”
“Many people. That man looks like my father.”
“He is John Kendricks, a widower and the schoolmaster, but he also built this house while the Captain was away,” Caleb said. “Do you see yourself? Perhaps you’re John’s daughter. There on the window seat.”
“Oh, yes. The girl with the sketch pad reminds me of myself. What is she drawing?”
“A house, of course,” Caleb said. “Do you see Parthenia? She would be with your father. They were deeply in love.”
“There!” Alix said. “Is the pretty woman beside him Parthenia?” The woman was standing to one side, smiling, but not laughing and chatting as the other people were. “She seems very quiet.”
“She is.”
“Who is the gray-haired man? He looks like Dr. Huntley.”
“That’s the Captain’s father,” Caleb said. “He will do anything for his son.”
Alix closed her eyes again and the music grew louder. Opening her eyes, she smiled at Caleb. “Yesterday I was calculating how much cement to order for a job. Now I’m wearing a beautiful gown and dancing on air. Literally. By the way, where is the Captain?” Still breathless from the dance, she looked for him.