Chapter 10 #3
“My family’s making a donation as well,” Yuri said, his head tilted to the side.
Rosalind dropped her gaze to the table.
“Well, that settles it,” Mrs. Pembroke said. “Let’s name it the Amos, Pembroke, Caldwell Community Library after all of us. In fact, do we have a list of everyone who’s made donations so far?”
“Right here.” Yuri slid the paper across the table.
“There are seven names.” The older woman flashed a smug smile in Rosalind’s direction. “Why not use all seven of them in the library name? The Amos, Pembroke, Sorenson, Caldwell, Ulbricht, McCreedy, Devereaux Community Library. Then it’s fair to everyone.”
“No one wants to list seven surnames before they get to the word library,” Mr. Bixby drawled.
“Well, I don’t want it named after the Caldwells.” Mrs. Pembroke crossed her arms over her chest. “They already have enough things in this town named after them.”
“Fine. We’ll call it Pembroke Public Library,” Mr. McCreedy snapped. “Happy?”
Mrs. Pembroke glared at Mr. McCreedy. “I didn’t say it had to be named after us.”
“But you did suggest it.” Mr. Bixby made a few more notes on his paper.
“Why don’t we take the week to think on it?
” Yuri closed his notepad. “We have a meeting scheduled for next week already. I have the budget on the agenda for then, and hopefully we can vote on which parcel of land to purchase at that time too. Let’s all take this next week to come up with our top three names, and we’ll discuss them at the meeting as well. ”
It was a logical suggestion, but Rosalind couldn’t ignore the feeling of heaviness that settled over her. She didn’t know what the library would end up being called, but she wasn’t going to be able to convince the committee to name it after her family.
The moment Yuri closed the meeting, she rose from the table and headed for the door, walking as quickly as she could without looking like she was rushing.
She was half afraid Yuri might call after her and try to strike up a conversation.
In fact, there was a part of her that very much wanted to ask him why he’d told Bryony about her letters.
But Father would want a report on the meeting as soon as she got home, and the last thing she wanted to do was talk to Yuri before she faced her father.
She skedaddled into the hallway, then headed down the stairs and made her way to the front door.
Only then did she discover that it was pouring rain.
The coach was currently waiting for her, but it was raining so hard, she’d be soaked through by the time she reached it.
Father would be even more furious if she returned disheveled, and she’d left her umbrella in the meeting room beneath her chair.
At the very least, she needed to turn around and go back for it, and she should probably wait for the rain to subside a bit too.
She started back down the hallway, passing Mr. Bixby and Mr. McCreedy on the stairs. She expected to pass Mrs. Pembroke and Yuri at some point too, but she made it all the way back to the meeting room before she found them. They were still inside having a conversation.
Sure enough, her umbrella was where she’d left it beneath the chair. She pushed open the door a bit, intending to get the umbrella and retreat without interrupting anyone, but Mrs. Pembroke’s clipped words stopped her.
“I don’t want her on the board.”
Yuri shook his head, one hand resting casually on the back of a chair. “You don’t get to choose who your fellow board members are, Henrietta.”
“The only reason she’s here is because her father bought her position with that ridiculously large donation.”
“And the same can’t be said for you and your husband?” Yuri nodded at Mrs. Pembroke. “Aren’t you here because of his donation?”
The woman stiffened further. “It wasn’t as large as the Caldwells.”
A rich chuckle filled the room. “No one else’s ever is. That family has almost as much money as God. But Rosalind has good ideas. She was the one who suggested putting the library by the water and opening up a temporary location so we can start ordering books.”
“She wants to name the library after herself.”
“No. Her father wants the library named after him. Rosalind will get married at some point, then change her name and move away, and nothing about the library will ever be attributed to her. Everyone who hears the name will think of her father or her uncle, maybe both.”
The woman gave an indignant huff. “I meant it when I said I don’t want it called Caldwell Memorial Library, or Caldwell Community Library, or Caldwell anything.”
“Then come up with three good names for next week, and we’ll put all the suggestions to a vote.”
“Her ideas shouldn’t even be included. They’ll be exactly what I just listed—Caldwell, Caldwell, Caldwell.”
“She deserves a voice as much as you or me or anyone else.” There was something hard beneath Yuri’s tone, but he kept a pleasant look on his face. “Now be careful on the walk home. It’s raining rivers out there.”
“My husband sent me with the carriage, but thank you.” Mrs. Pembroke turned and strode toward the door, her steps crisp and her back ramrod straight.
Rosalind scampered a few feet down the hall, then ducked into a recessed doorway, pressed herself against the wall, and shut her eyes. Not that closing her eyelids could make her invisible, but it helped calm her breathing and cool the sweat dampening her palms.
Sure enough, the click of the older woman’s boots headed down the hall in the opposite direction.
A creak sounded too.
That was odd. Old buildings had many noises, but the creak had seemed close. Perhaps—
“Rosalind?”
Her eyes flew open.
Yuri Amos stood a few feet away, wheeling the large chalkboard from their meeting room.
She unpeeled herself from the wall, then smoothed her skirt.
Not that making sure her skirt was presentable would hide the fact that she’d been pressed flat against the wood paneling, but it at least gave her hands something to do.
“I-I’m sorry. I was just . . . I forgot my umbrella beneath my chair. ”
He raised an eyebrow. “I saw that. But this isn’t the room where we met.”
Her fingers curled into the fabric of her gloves. “You were talking to Mrs. Pembroke when I returned, and I . . . that is . . . it didn’t seem like a conversation that should be interrupted.”
Yuri leaned one arm against the chalkboard. “So you decided to hide?”
Something about his words made her shoulders tighten, but his tone wasn’t mocking. If anything, he seemed bewildered.
Then the half smile dropped from his face. “How much of the conversation did you overhear?”
She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter.”
“It matters to me.”
“I didn’t hear enough to be of consequence.”
“If that were true, you wouldn’t have hidden so that Henrietta wouldn’t see you when she left.” Yuri lowered his voice until it took on that soft, gentle tone he always seemed to use with her. “I want you on the library committee, Rosalind.”
She blinked. “You do?”
“Of course. You have good ideas, and I’m told you love reading.”
She let out a short, breathy laugh. “Evidently I don’t have a good idea for naming the library.”
Yuri ran a hand through his dark hair. It should have caused him to look disheveled. His hair was already thick and unruly, with several strands falling over his forehead. But somehow the movement only drew attention to the strong lines of his face and the warmth of his brown eyes.
Did he realize how handsome he was, with his easy smile and tousled, wind-blown hair? With that strong jaw shadowed with just a bit of stubble?
She swallowed. She had no business thinking Yuri Amos was handsome.
“Did your father put you up to suggesting the library be named after the most generous benefactors?” he asked.
“Yes, but it looks as though I’m not going to be able to get the building named after him, am I?”
“I doubt it.”
She tangled her hands in her skirt. She could already feel the pain in her ribs, or maybe her other arm, wherever he decided to take out his anger. Hopefully it wouldn’t be on her wrist. That was still sore.
She might even have a punishment waiting for her when she got home, since she hadn’t gotten the name voted on tonight. She could tell her father they were voting on the name next week in hopes that she’d get only one beating, but there was no saying whether that plan would work.
“Are you all right?” Yuri stepped into the recessed doorway. “You look upset. Do you need something? Is there anything I can do to help?”
She swallowed again and shook her head. “Why are you being so nice to me? I’m supposed to be furious with you, and you’re making it impossible.”
His brows pulled together. “Furious with me? Why?”
“Because of the letters. Because I told you not to tell anyone. And now your whole family knows.”
“You were supposed to meet me before I left for San Francisco, and I didn’t . . .” He took a step back and raked a hand through his hair. “I hated leaving Sitka the next morning not knowing what had happened.”
“Why? We’re not very close friends. You just help me from time to time. That might make you a good man, but it doesn’t make us friends.”
“I say it does.”
“You don’t understand. Your family knowing about the letters increases the chances that my father will find out.
” She wanted to pace, to release some of the frustration building inside her, but there was nowhere to move.
Yuri was still crowding her into the small space between the hallway and the door, and he was so close she could smell the scent of rain on his coat.
And she wasn’t scared. Even if she did slap him for betraying her, she somehow knew he wouldn’t hit her back, and that just made her want to cry.
Because her father would definitely hit her back. More than once.
“I’m sorry.” He stepped closer, crowding her even more.
She couldn’t bring herself to care. If anything she wanted him to step even closer, and maybe to wrap one of those long arms around her.