“Why, yes…I mean…” The shopkeeper displayed his uncertainty before he made further reply. “I thought you were Mrs. Sinclair. Am I mistaken?”
“No,” Lenore returned quietly. “I guess not.”
Confused by her reply, he studied her closely. “Aren’t you feeling well, ma’am?”
She fanned herself with her handkerchief, this time with leisured strokes. “It must be the heat.”
The kindly man indicated several chairs that sat against the wall at the back of his shop. “Would you care to rest yourself for a moment?”
“No, I’ve sat too long as it is.” Her lips curved gently upward as she rejected his offer. “I was waiting in the carriage for my husband to return. I guess his business took a little longer than he expected.”
The man chuckled and nodded. “I know how that can go.”
She glanced around, wondering how she might dare ask him his name without having to explain her malady. He had seemed so befuddled by some of the questions she had already asked him. “I’ve thought of writing a journal to keep an account of everyone I know here in Biloxi.” She had seriously contemplated doing so, just to see if there were any names that pricked her memory. “And, of course, you would be a part of that list…. I was wondering how you spelled your name.”
“B-l-a-c-k-w-e-l-l.” He said the letters proudly. “J-o-s-e-p-h Blackwell.”
Blushing lightly, she waved her handkerchief before her warm face and laughed. She might have felt better had he a more difficult name, and she was half afraid she had given him the impression she was something of a dunce. “Just as I thought.”
“You must be planning on staying around these parts for a while if you’re thinking of writing a journal,” he observed.
“Oh, yes,” she replied. “At least, my husband hasn’t talked about going any other place. Besides, my father is staying with us.”
“Oh?” Joseph’s bushy brows raised in surprise before he chuckled. “How did you persuade your father to leave England? I thought you said he hated it here and refused to refer to the States as anything but the colonies.”
Her slender shoulders lifted in a small shrug. “I guess he just changed his mind.”
The shopkeeper nodded understandingly. “He probably couldn’t stand being away from his family. Sometimes it’s difficult for a father to admit that his daughter has desires contrary to his. It must have been a real blow for him when you decided to move here from England, coming all this way to live by yourself. By the way, how is your sister?”
A sad, wistful look replaced Lenore’s smile as that girl-child of her dreams flickered back through her memory. “She’s dead.”
“Oh, I really am sorry, Mrs. Sinclair.” The man spoke softly in sympathy. “I didn’t know.” He shook his head sadly. “First your husband, and then your sister. I’ve got to admire your spirit for being so brave after such losses.”
She glanced up at him in wide curiosity. “My husband?”
Joseph looked at her strangely. “Why, yes. You were a widow when you first came here.” He scratched his head in bemusement. “At least, that’s what I thought you said, but I could be wrong. We really never talked much, only to pass the time of day now and then. Why, it was hardly a month or so ago that I actually learned about your marriage to Mr. Sinclair.”
Her head swam with a flurry of confused images. From the vague, featureless forms, she knew instinctively that one was her father. Though he remained hardly more than a shadow, he stood with outstretched arms, bidding her to come and be comforted. A phantomlike form moved beside her, seeming to urge her toward the elder man, and this one she knew was Malcolm.
“There you are!” The familiar voice came from behind her.
Blinking, she turned as Malcolm hurried toward her, and for a brief moment, she had trouble sorting reality from illusion. In her mind she saw him being clapped on the back by a sturdy male hand.
“I didn’t know you were going to leave the carriage,” Malcolm chided a bit crisply. “You worried me, leaving like that.”
“I’m sorry, Malcolm,” she murmured. “I didn’t mean to upset you, but it was very hot out there.”
Malcolm realized Mr. Blackwell was watching them in a curious manner and reluctantly explained, “My wife has been sick. I hope she hasn’t bothered you too much.” He ignored the startled glance his wife shot him. “She’s been a bit confused lately and can’t seem to remember too well.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Blackwell responded kindly.
Malcolm smiled stiffly. “If you don’t mind, we must be on our way now.” He made the appropriate apologies. “I’m sorry. I had arranged to meet her father at a certain time, and we’re late now. Good day to you, sir.”
Holding Lenore’s arm in an almost painful vise, he escorted her out and across the boardwalk, then handed her into the carriage. He frowned at her when he took the place beside her. “I told you not to leave.”
“It was hot out here,” she complained with rising ire. “And you were taking your own good time. I think the only reason you wanted me to come is because you were afraid of what Ashton would do while you were gone.”
“I’m not afraid of that bastard,” Malcolm muttered.
“I can’t see why you were so persistent about me staying here. I had a nice chat with Mr. Blackwell.”
“Oh?” His eyes were cold as they came upon her. “What did the old man have to say?”
“Something interesting.” A light frown touched the creamy visage. “Why didn’t you tell me I was a widow when you married me?”
Malcolm’s brows lowered in pique. “I thought it would only confuse you more if you knew. That’s one of the reasons I’ve been trying to shield you from the gossip in town. I just didn’t know what kind of trauma it would cause.” He seemed most inquisitive as he asked, “What else did your friendly storekeeper have to relate?”
“Nothing, really. From what he said, I gathered he didn’t know me too well. We didn’t have too much time to talk before you came in.”
Relaxing back in the seat, Malcolm lifted his hat and wiped a handkerchief across his brow. “It is hot,” he stated in a more pleasant tone. “I’m sorry I wasn’t more considerate. I just got tied up and couldn’t get away.”
Lenore’s curiosity had not yet been appeased, and she ventured, “Do you know anything about my first husband?”
The heavy shoulders lifted casually. “I think some kind of fever took him shortly after the two of you were married. Beyond that, I don’t remember too much of what you told me about him, except that he lived on an island in the Caribbean.”
“His name…do you know his name?” Lenore pressed.
Malcolm ran the handkerchief along the inside of the hatband and glanced at her askance as he replied, “Cameron Livingston.”
“Livingston…Livingston…” She rolled the name over and over on her tongue, finding that it had a familiar ring. “Yes, I think I’ve heard the name before.” The delicate brows came together as she tested her given name with it. “Lenore Livingston? Lenore…Livingston. Lenore Livingston! Yes! I know I’ve heard it before.” She laughed, pleased at her accomplishment. “Perhaps I’m beginning to remember again. Oh, that would be so nice if I could.”
The dark eyes turned to her above a wan smile. “It’s been some time now since your accident. I’m beginning to wonder if your memory will ever come back and if you’ll remember what we once meant to each other.”
“I remember more than I did when I came here,” she admitted. “It’s coming back slowly, but at least I’m making progress.”
Malcolm reached for the thin valise that he had tossed on the far seat. “There are some papers here your father wants you to sign. We’re going now to meet him. Are you up to it?”
“Do you suppose we can make it another day?” she asked. The intolerable heat had drained her. “I don’t feel up to reading right now.”