The Mistletoe Kiss

Millicent made a face at his back and followed. Dear Lord, please help me to do this.

She felt Matt’s frustration with her as she began to work again. It fairly radiated off him. But he’d have to get over it.

Millicent took shot after shot of the park, and anything else she found interesting, before turning to Matt once more. “Will it be all right if I get a few photographs of John and Elizabeth and your men?”

“I suppose so. I’ll move your camera—”

“No, I’ll use my Kodak for those. I don’t want them thinking they need to pose. I’d rather get some more natural shots.”

“Do you want me to bring your tripod and camera?”

She shook her head. What she wanted most was distance from Matt. “No, unless they’re in the way. I’ll just walk around—you don’t need to keep watch over me. I’m not going anywhere close to the edge.”

“Millicent, I’m responsible for your safety—”

“I know. And can assure you, I’m not going to do anything to put myself, or your job, in danger. I just want to get in an inconspicuous place to take photos of your crew at work, and to be truthful, you watching my every move makes me nervous.”

Matt closed his eyes and sighed once more, and Millicent sensed she was pushing his patience to the limit but he did make her nervous. “I’ll just stand right over there and get my shots.” She pointed to a place near the elevator where she’d have a good view of the work going on.

“All right. But don’t move from that spot without my knowing it.”

“I promise.”

* * *

Matt watched as Millicent took her Kodak out of her bag and walked over to where she could get the shots she wanted. The woman pushed his patience like no other. But at least over by where his men were she’d be safely away from the edge and he’d be able to keep an eye on her no matter where he was. He breathed a sigh of relief as she began to take her snapshots.

He really thought she might have been sick there for a minute, but he had to give it to her, the woman had grit. He went about his business, making sure the men who weren’t speaking to John and Elizabeth were doing their jobs. It appeared they were trying, although they did occasionally glance over at Millicent. But if they caught his eye on them, they quickly got back to business.

She was very pretty. She wore a blue skirt and a striped shirtwaist of two shades of blue, and her light blond hair was covered with a white hat trimmed in those same shades of blue, making her eyes the color of the sky. He couldn’t blame his men for looking at her; he found it hard to keep from doing so himself. However, keeping Millicent and the Talbots safe while they were up here was his main job, so he didn’t have to keep from watching Millicent.

But when he looked over at her, he found her taking aim at him and he quickly turned and spoke to one of his men. This was turning out to be one of the longest mornings he’d ever spent up here. After about a half hour more, John came up to him and told him they were leaving for the day.

“I can’t thank you enough for this, Matt. We got enough for our first article from talking to Burl and that new young man he’s training. No need to speak to everyone today—not if we’re coming every week.”

“Good, I’m glad you got what you needed.” They walked over to pick up Millicent’s tripod and large camera and took them over to where Elizabeth stood with her. Matt released a sigh of relief that Millicent wasn’t quite so pale now. Perhaps it’d become easier for her with time.

“Do you need me to help get any of your equipment down?” Matt asked Millicent.

“I don’t think so.”

“I’ll take it,” John said. “No need to disrupt your work any longer than we have. We’ll get a hack and make sure Millicent gets home safely with it all.”

“Well, I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t see you all down safely.” Matt joined them in the elevator for the trip down. “I think Millicent got some good pictures for you today.”

“Oh, I’m sure she did. That’s why we wanted her to join us. Millicent has a knack for finding the very best shots, some we’d never even think to get,” Elizabeth said.

Matt set the elevator to go to the ground level and as it picked up speed, he looked over at Millicent to find her looking down and grasping the handrail that ran all the way around the elevator. Her knuckles were white, telling him that she wasn’t any more comfortable in the elevator than she’d been on the top floor. Why was she putting herself through all this? If she was as good a photographer as John and Elizabeth claimed, there’d be other opportunities to get her photographs in the paper, to make a name for herself. It must be pure stubbornness on her part.

Still, something in the way she held herself made him want to put his arm around her, hold her up and protect her.

The elevator came to a jerky stop and he couldn’t keep himself from grasping her arm. “Are you all right?”

She looked up at him, her eyes brilliantly blue in a face that’d gone quite white once more. She gave a brief nod. “I am, thank you.”

“I should’ve warned you that going down is a faster ride than going up.” Her eyes were huge and he felt horrible that he’d not told her sooner. Even Elizabeth looked a little pale.

Millicent gently pulled away and followed Elizabeth and John out of the elevator, leaving Matt feeling like a cad for giving her a hard time earlier. “I’ll see you back at Heaton House.”

She only nodded as John hurried to procure a hack for the group. Matt waited until they were on their way before going back up to where his men were working.

He pulled out his pocket watch. Only thirty more minutes and they’d break for lunch, then he’d have to wait the whole afternoon before he could go home and find out how Millicent was doing. He shook his head and sighed. Why hadn’t he tried to talk his boss out of this harebrained idea?

* * *

Millicent went straight to her room when she arrived home, then to the bathroom to get a cool washcloth to put on her head. She lay down on the bed, covered her pounding forehead with the damp cloth and closed her eyes. Dear Lord, thank You for getting me through this morning. Please help this pain disappear and let me not give away how horrible I feel at dinner tonight. I can’t let Matt sense how much I dread going back. Please help me to get past this sick feeling. In Jesus’s name, amen.

Thankfully, she soon dozed off and was able to sleep the afternoon away. By dinnertime the throbbing pain had eased to a dull ache and she felt well enough to freshen up. She gave a little more color to her cheeks by pinching them. At least she didn’t have to go back to Park Row for another week. Surely that would get easier as time went on.

She made it downstairs just as Mrs. Heaton was calling everyone to dinner and she was glad that she didn’t have to join the others in the parlor. But Matt seemed to be at her chair before she was and as he pulled it out, he whispered, “How are you feeling?”

She forced herself to smile at him. “Better. Thank you for helping me find the shots I wanted and for putting up with us.”

He seemed taken back for a moment before he smiled and said, “Only doing my job. I’m glad you’re feeling well.”

He looked as if he truly cared, and Millicent couldn’t resist that smile. “Thank you. So am I.”

Mrs. Heaton asked Stephen to say the blessing, and as Gretchen and Maida began to serve dinner, she turned to Millicent.

“How did your day go, dear? Was the view as wonderful as Matt claims?”

“Oh, the view is magnificent, Mrs. Heaton. It’s all Matt’s said and more.”

“You didn’t get dizzy?” Julia asked.

Dear Julia, she would ask a question Millicent didn’t want to answer. But she couldn’t evade answering—not with Matt sitting next to her. “I did a bit. I bent and turned too fast, but I managed. Barely.”

“She toughed things out,” Matt said. “But I thought for sure she was going to—”

“Matt! Not at the dinner table!”

He chuckled and shook his head.

“Did you let her get too close to the edge, Matt?” Julia asked.

“I did not. Nor will I. But the first time up that high can make a person a little light-headed.”

“I’ll get used to it,” Millicent said. She had to.