The Husband List Read Online Free PDF Page B

right now,” she said as she got the last of her straps undone.
    She stood and smoothed her skirt.
    He eyed her suspiciously. “A lecture?”
    “Yes, on last year’s Columbian Exposition. What did you think I was here for?”
    He began to reply, but Caroline knew she’d find his explanation less compelling than the lecture.
    “Never mind,” she said. “I’m already late.”
    She was almost up the museum steps before she noticed that Jack was behind her.
    “You’d better hurry back to the picnic. Harriet will be waiting,” she half teased as he pulled even.
    “She can keep,” Jack replied. “I want to hear this lecture you find so important.”
    She smiled. “You don’t think there’s really a lecture, do you?”
    His skeptical expression remained firmly in place. “I’ll keep you company, if you don’t mind.”
    “Suit yourself.”
    By the time they reached the library, the lecture had begun. All seats were taken. Caroline stood behind the last row and allowed herself only one smug smile at Jack for not having believed her.
    The assistant curator giving the talk was so far away, and the lighting so poor, that Caroline knew she’d scarcely be able to see the photos. All the same, she’d stay. There was no telling when she’d be able to orchestrate a museum day again.
    Jack stood by her side, arms crossed over his chest. About five minutes into the lecture, he leaned close and said in a low voice, “Let me see if I understand this. You’re attending a lecture about an exhibition that’s over and done with, which itself was just displays about how people in other lands live.”
    “Yes.”
    “That’s life third-hand.”
    Didn’t he think she knew that?
    “I’m lucky to be here at all,” she quietly said. “Mama thinks if I’m seen in a museum, I’ll be labeled a bluestocking. And certainly my parents didn’t let me go to Chicago last year.”
    A silver-haired woman with spectacles who was seated in front of Caroline turned around and shushed her.
    She whispered sorry and then glared at Jack.
    “If you don’t like it here, leave,” she whispered.
    Instead a large hand curled around her wrist.
    She tried to tug free, but he mouthed, “Trust me.”
    Jack led her out the door and down the hallway.
    “Where are we going?” she asked.
    “To life once removed.” He looked down at her and smiled. “That’s an improvement, don’t you think?”
    “Yes,” she agreed.
    He released her wrist and ushered her down the main set of stairs. The heels of her boots tapped a quick rhythm on the marble as she worked to keep up with his longer stride.
    They stopped outside a crowded exhibition hall that bore a sign reading ALASKA .
    “I wish I could have had you here a few weeks ago,” Jack said as they took their place at the end of the line.
    She glanced up at him. “The exhibition opened only last week.” This, too, had been one of the spots she’d hoped to visit today. “How did you get in?”
    “I’ve met Lieutenant Emmons,” he replied.
    Some girls fancied stage actors or opera singers. Caroline dreamed of explorers. Emmons was both an officer in the navy and a renowned photographer and collector of Alaskan artifacts.
    “You’ve met him? Where?” she asked. And, yes, she had sounded a little breathless.
    “In Alaska,” Jack replied casually. “Three summers ago.”
    “Really?”
    He smiled. “Yes, really.”
    “And the wildest place I’ve seen is Central Park,” she said, feeling a little glum. “What’s it like in Alaska?”
    “Savage,” he said. “Beautiful. Wild. I’ve seen the blue ice of glaciers drop into the sea, and whales breach, and flocks of puffins work to get their fat bodies from the sea and into the air.”
    “Stop,” Caroline said. “You’re making me jealous.”
    “Then go there. See the world. You’d eat it up, Caroline.”
    “I can’t. The only thing I’m allowed to see are flocks of nobles in need of a fortune.”
    He was silent for a moment.