The Bride Next Door

“Was there anything else?”

“I was wondering if you knew about the door in the wall behind your cupboard?”

What was she talking about? “A door? Are you certain?”

That got her back up. “I know a door when I see one.”

Everett moved toward the stairs. “Show me.”

She marched up ahead of him, then wordlessly waved him toward the far wall.

Everett drew closer to the cupboard, studying the wall behind it. Sure enough, there was the obvious outline of a door. How had he missed spotting it in all the time he’d lived here?

“I take it from your reaction you hadn’t noticed it before.” Daisy was right at his shoulder. “What do you suppose is in there?”

He glanced at her, and she had the grace to blush.

But Everett was curious now, too. “Let me just shift this over so we can find out.”

Everett put his shoulder to the cupboard, waving off her offer of assistance. That done, he grabbed the doorknob and twisted. It was locked. “This cupboard was here when I moved in. I wonder...” He felt along the top of the cupboard, and sure enough, he found a key.

Daisy’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “Must be something mighty important in there to keep it locked up.”

Was she expecting a treasure of some sort? It was more likely to be nothing but a shallow closet. He quickly unlocked and opened the door, but instead of finding the storage space he’d expected, he faced the backside of another door.

“How strange,” Daisy said, her disappointment evident. “It’s not even deep enough to store a sack of flour. Maybe it’s where they kept their brooms.”

“It’s not for storage at all.” He moved aside so she’d have a clearer view. “This back wall is another door. I believe this is an upstairs access between our buildings, with a lock on both sides for privacy.”

“You mean that other door opens from my side?” She studied it closer. “I haven’t reached this far in my cleaning yet, but I can picture just where it might be.”

She straightened. “How about that. The original owners must have been good friends to set this up.”

Everett nodded, still mulling over the implications. “I believe I heard somewhere they were brothers.”

“That makes sense.” Daisy nodded in satisfaction. “Their families probably did a lot of visiting back and forth.”

He dusted his hands. “Either they had a falling out or the new owners valued their privacy when the buildings changed hands.”

“That’s a shame. Neighbors should be, well, neighborly.” She tilted her head thoughtfully. “But there’s no reason we can’t make use of this.”

What in the world was she thinking now? “Miss Johnson, I—”

“How would you feel about leaving the doors open whenever I’m over here cooking?”

Before he could respond, she quickly continued.

“With such easy access, I can work on a few things at my place while the food simmers. And I can even check in on Kip occasionally while I’m at it.”

Somehow that arrangement didn’t seem quite respectable. “I don’t—”

But she wasn’t finished. “Oh, and don’t you worry, I won’t skimp on the work I’m doing for you. I’ll only go over to my place when I’m not needed here.”

He shook his head irritably. “I don’t mind you splitting your time, as long as the meals are prepared properly. But there are proprieties to be observed.”

Her brow furrowed, and then she waved a dismissive hand. “I really can’t see how that would be an issue. After all, I’ll be over here cooking for you just about every day, and we haven’t made a secret of that. What difference can it make if that door is open when I’m at work here?”

It went against the grain with him to give even the appearance of bending the rules of polite society. Still, she was making sense in a roundabout kind of way. “If I agree to this, and I haven’t said I will, then I need your word that that animal of yours stays on your side of the wall.”

“That won’t be a problem.” Her eagerness was palpable. “This would be such a big help to me in getting my place livable more quickly.”

“I suppose there wouldn’t be any harm in it.” Though he still wasn’t fond of the idea. “But only during your working hours. And it would probably be best if we don’t spread the word about this easy access between our apartments. Some individuals might take it amiss.” Did she understand what he was saying?

“Thank you. I promise I’ll handle it just as you say. And don’t worry, I’ll keep my side securely locked when I’m done here for the day, just as propriety dictates.”

Maybe she’d gotten the message, after all.

She straightened. “Now, I’m going right over to my place to see if I can find my door and the key that goes with it. It seems the previous residents really wanted to shut each other out.”

“Family disputes can be among the bitterest.” Everett pushed away the memory of his own father.

She was still studying the door. “If I’m recollecting the layout right, I think there’s a rickety bookcase in front of the door on my end.”

He knew a hint when he heard one. “I suppose you’d like me to help move it.”

But she shook her head. “Oh, no, I was thinking out loud, not asking for help.”

She might say that, but it would be ungentlemanly not to lend a hand after her comment. “Of course. But I’ll accompany you all the same.” Besides, he was curious to see what progress she’d made since the night she’d arrived.

As soon as she opened the door to her place, her dog raced up, tail wagging. He jumped up, planting his front paws on her skirts, and she gave his head an affectionate rub. “Hey, Kip, did you miss me, boy? I promise we’ll go for a walk just as soon as I check something out upstairs.”

The animal was every bit as foolishly cheerful as his mistress.

The front room was mostly bare but surprisingly clean. Daisy had apparently scrubbed the floors and walls until there wasn’t a speck of dirt to be seen. Interesting that she’d worked on the downstairs before the living quarters upstairs.

She caught him looking around, and smiled proudly. “There’s still a lot to be done, but I’m making progress. Right now I’m trying to decide if I want to buy yellow paint or blue paint for the walls. Yellow would be brighter and cheerier, but blue would be more relaxing and remind folks of the blue skies of springtime. What do you think?”

He had a feeling she wasn’t talking about muted shades of those particular colors. “I favor more sophisticated colors, such as white or gray.”

Daisy wrinkled her nose. “Where’s the joy in that?”

Joy? What an odd thing to say about a color choice. But apparently, the question had been moot.

She moved to the stairs and her dog stayed right on her heels, seemingly determined to make up for the time they’d been apart. “I warn you,” she said over her shoulder, “I haven’t done much to fix up the second floor. You’re liable to get a bit of dust and grime on you.”

“I feel sufficiently warned,” he said dryly. Just because he liked to maintain a neat appearance didn’t mean he was averse to a little dirt when there was no help for it.

The upstairs wasn’t as cluttered as the downstairs had been that first night, but it was every bit as dusty and unkempt. Gus had really let the place go. It made him wonder if there were soundness issues with the structure itself. Everett studied the walls and ceilings more closely. But there were no visible water marks or signs of crumbling woodwork.

He followed Daisy to the wall that adjoined his, and sure enough, once you knew where to look, the door was evident. He helped her shift the clutter away from the wall and they discovered the key still in the lock, so finding it wasn’t an issue. When they opened the door they found themselves looking into his apartment.

Her smile widened to a broad grin. “This is wonderful—I’ll be able to get twice as much work done now.”

“Just remember, the dog stays on your side of the wall.”

“Don’t worry, he knows his place.”

Everett very deliberately turned and headed down Daisy’s stairs to make his exit. Regardless of how “neighborly” the prior tenants had been, there would be no use of that adjoining door as a shortcut access other than during her working hours.

He would not do anything to set the local tongues wagging. Regardless of how innocent a person was, perception and reputation were everything.

* * *

After Everett left, Daisy took Kip for a walk. As usual, she grabbed a cloth bag so she’d have something to hold anything edible or useable she found along the way. At the last minute, she remembered she needed to gather the stuffing for her mattress ticking, so she grabbed a larger gunnysack as well.

Once on the edge of town, she let Kip have his head and followed wherever the animal led, only redirecting him when he seemed headed for mischief.

This was only her second day here, if you didn’t count the night she arrived, and already it felt familiar, comfortable. Everything was falling into place just as she’d hoped, even better than she’d thought possible.

She could build a good life here. She’d already made a few acquaintances that, in time, she hoped could bloom into true friendships.

The discovery of that door between her and Mr. Fulton’s places had been exciting, something unexpected and fun. Sharing a secret with him made her feel closer to him somehow, even if he didn’t feel any of that excitement himself.

Too bad her employer-neighbor seemed unable to appreciate a bit of adventure. Did he realize how much he was missing by being so guarded? He seemed to like reporting on what was happening around him much more than experiencing it.

Was that because he’d never felt swept up in the joy of letting his imagination run free, of focusing on the fun in whatever situation you were in? That was probably hard for him to do, what with his inflexible, cynical outlook on things. Instead of looking at that doorway as something fun and exciting, he’d seemed more concerned with how it might look if word got out about it. Looking for warts instead of dimples again.

Then she caught herself up on that thought.

She had no right to judge him. She had no idea what had made him the way he was. Maybe he’d never been taught how to have fun. Or maybe something had happened that made it hard for him to see the silver lining in things.

Well, if that was the case, it was up to her to show him how to relax and not hold on to his need for control so tightly.

Now, if she could just figure out how to accomplish that...

Chapter Seven

Saturday morning, Daisy arrived at Everett’s office a few minutes after nine o’clock. It was a beautiful day and one that promised to be highly productive.

“Good morning,” she said cheerily. “Fine day, isn’t it?”

Her boss glanced up, then went back to looking at his ledger. “I suppose.”

Not a very cheery response. “The butcher had some fine-dressed venison this morning,” she continued. “I hope venison is something you like.” She was already planning the way she would cook it up with a thick, rich onion gravy and some beets and dandelion greens seasoned with bacon on the side.

“Venison is fine.”

He still seemed to be paying little attention to what she was saying. She hefted the basket and tried one more time to get something other than a distracted response. “By the way, I opened the door on my side of the wall when I left this morning. But don’t you worry. I made sure Kip understands he can’t cross the threshold.”

This time he did look up and actually met her gaze. “You made sure...” He gave her a look that seemed to call her sanity into question. “And do you honestly think he understood?”

Maybe drawing him out hadn’t been such a good idea. “He’s actually pretty smart.”

“There’s nothing pretty about him,” he said dryly.

“Mr. Fulton!”

“Sorry.” His tone sounded anything but. “Just see that you reinforce that little talk you two had with some firm discipline if he doesn’t appear willing to follow directions.”

What would he do if she stuck her tongue out at him?

Cheered by the image that evoked, Daisy turned and headed up the stairs. As soon as she set her market basket down, Daisy opened the adjoining door. Kip was sitting there waiting on her, his tail wagging furiously. Daisy stooped down and ruffled the fur on his neck. “Hey, boy. What do you say we prove Mr. High-and-Mighty Fulton wrong? I’ll pop over and visit you occasionally, but I have a job to do so you’ll have to stay over here.”

Kip gave a bark, which she took as agreement, so with one last pat, she stood and returned to her work. Today she was determined to conquer the eccentricities of the stove, and turn out bread rolls that were perfectly golden-brown.

Yes, sir, there would be nothing for her employer to fuss about today.

* * *

All morning, Everett heard the sounds of Daisy bustling around in his kitchen, more often than not humming or singing some cheery song. He could also hear her talking to her mutt, carrying on one-sided conversations as if the raggedy animal could actually understand her words.

He gave in to the urge to go upstairs and check on her at about ten-thirty. It only made sense, he told himself, to make certain things were going as they should with this new arrangement of theirs.

The angle of the adjoining door was such that, once his shoulders topped the second floor, he was able to see through it to her place. Her dog sat at the threshold but, as she’d promised, no part of him was across it. How had she managed to make her pet obey—especially when the food smells were so tempting?

Beyond the animal, he could see enough to tell him that she’d made quite a bit of progress since he’d been up there yesterday. Despite himself, he was impressed with how much she was getting accomplished.

The dog barked. Everett wasn’t sure if it was a greeting or a warning, but it caught Daisy’s attention and she turned, smiling when she spied him.

“Hello. If you’ve come to check on the meal, I’m afraid it’ll be another hour or so until it’s ready.”

Feeling as if he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t—which was ridiculous—he tugged at his cuff. “Not at all. I just need to fetch something from my room.”

He strode purposefully to his bedchamber, grabbed the notebook he kept by his bedside, then headed back out.

“I want to thank you again for letting me prop these doors open,” she said as he neared the stairs. “I’ve already been able to get quite a bit of work done in my place this morning.” She nodded toward the door. “As you can see, Kip is behaving himself just like I told you he would.”

Everett made a noncommittal sound and, with a nod, headed back downstairs.

When she called him upstairs for the noonday meal, Everett deliberately took his time. No point appearing overeager.

“Your oven and I are getting along much better today,” she said as they took their seats at the table. “You won’t find nary a scorch mark on these rolls.”

Again she asked if he’d like to say grace, and again he passed the task to her. He noticed the speculative look she gave him, but he kept his expression bland. There was no reason for him to explain himself.

He didn’t pray aloud, or pray much at all if you got right down to it. The clergyman who held the living on his father’s estate in England had made certain he was familiar with the Bible and that he attended church services regularly. And for most of his childhood, Everett had been quite faithful to those teachings.

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