That was really what made her so nervous, the memory of how wonderful she had felt in his arms, at least until he had frightened her. And the knowledge that she wouldn't mind being there again under the right conditions. Of course, there were no "right conditions." Such behavior was evil and wanton. She would do well to remember that and do what Mr. Logan had commanded and forget it ever happened. Except she couldn't.
So she was only too happy to announce, "I'm afraid this is the last one. I've lost the light," as she closed the lens cap on what seemed to be the umpteenth portrait that day. Back in the wagon, she stood by silently as she allowed Cody to develop the final negative.
He had caught on surprisingly quickly, but then, she reminded herself, she had, too, once upon a time. The job wasn't really difficult, just time-consuming. It was making the plates in the first place that required the skill, spreading the collodion evenly so that no bubbles or bumps would appear in the final pictures and so the plate could evenly absorb the exposure. Shooting the pictures themselves also required skill and an eye for what would look good in a photograph. The making of the final prints required yet another level of skill, to judge the length of time required to develop the proper tones.
"Miss Felicity?" Cody asked.
"Yes?"
"Do you think… I mean… could you teach me how to make pictures? How to do the plates and all the rest of it?"
The wagon was too dark to see his face, but Felicity could imagine the eagerness that would be lighting his eyes. She hated to have to turn him down.
"I can show you how to make the prints, and I'd be glad to show you the rest of it, too, except…" Her voice trailed off wistfully as she experienced a sharp jab of disappointment.
"Except what?" he urged.
Felicity sighed. "Except that I won't be around here much longer to teach you anything." There, she had said it, and it sounded even worse than she could have imagined.
"Where are you going?" he asked, genuine concern in his voice.
"I… I don't know," she admitted reluctantly.
She heard Cody turn to face her in the confines of the wagon. "What do you mean, you don't know?" he asked.
"I mean, I haven't decided yet," she amended, trying to soften the impact of her words, as much for her own benefit as for Cody's. "Mr. Logan has told me I can't stay here and-"
"I know. He told me that, too," Cody said. "But surely you'll settle someplace nearby."
"Like I said, I haven't decided yet," she said, feeling all the hopelessness of her situation.
"Don't you worry none," Cody comforted her. "Mr. Logan'll see that you're taken care of."
"Thank you, Cody," she said, grateful for his concern but uncertain whether she was grateful that Mr. Logan would be taking care of her. She found the idea quite disturbing.
Josh stood outside, leaning up against a live oak tree and smoking a cigarette. He was watching the wagon, waiting for Felicity-and Cody-to come out. The other men were busy carrying the props from the photographs back where they had come from, but Josh was only vaguely aware of their movements at the corner of his range of vision. All his attention was focused on the wagon. All his thoughts were focused on the occupant of the wagon.
So she was going to be around for a while, he thought, knowing that the fact should disturb him but only mildly surprised to find he was rapidly getting used to the idea. She really was a pretty little thing. And she could cook. And although he hadn't kissed another woman in quite a while, he could not remember ever enjoying it more. Felicity. Even her name had a pleasant sound about it.
Candace had been watching the direction of Josh's gaze and finally strolled over to where the rancher was standing. "What do you suppose is taking them so long?" she asked casually.
Josh frowned. He had been wondering the same thing himself. He threw down his cigarette and ground it out with his boot heel. Then he strode purposefully over to the wagon.
Just as he reached it, though, the door came open, and Felicity stepped out. "All we have left to do is put the camera away…" She completely forgot what she was saying when her gaze met Mr. Logan's. "Is something wrong?" she asked, certain that there must be from the look on his face.
Cody ducked out the wagon door behind her and reared back at the sight of Mr. Logan's expression.
Josh looked at her and then at Cody and then back at her again, comforted by how innocent they both looked. If Cody had designs on the girl, he was moving very slowly. Josh forced his tensed muscles to relax and managed a reassuring smile. "No, nothing's wrong. I was just coming over to see if you were about finished."
"Almost," Felicity murmured, a little nonplussed by the sight of his smile. "We just have to…" His eyes narrowed, making her lose her train of thought again.
Cody watched the exchange in fascination, knowing that neither of them was even aware of his continued presence. "I'll get the camera," he offered, but they paid him no mind.
"Hey, Cody," Gus called from across the yard. "We're all going into town tonight. You coming?"
It was Saturday night. They always went to town on Saturday night. Cody considered his options. "No," he called back. "I'm broke. I'll just stay here." And see what happens, he added silently.
Josh thought it surely must be time for bed. He was certain the four of them had been sitting in the parlor for hours. Unfortunately, when he glanced at the clock on the mantel, he saw that barely an hour had passed since supper.
He looked around the room. Candace was sitting off in the corner, quietly sewing and looking very smug about something. Josh shifted in his chair, the same chair that Felicity had photographed him in earlier that day. He let his gaze wander over to where Felicity and Cody were sitting on the settee.
The two of them were deep in conversation, Cody's brown head bent over her golden one, an expression of intense interest on his boyish face. Of course there would be, Josh thought acidly. The boy had every reason to be intensely interested. But he doubted that Cody was really all that concerned about photography, which was ostensibly the topic under discussion. Nobody was that interested in photography. The boy had Felicity fooled, though. She was explaining it all to him with an earnestness that indicated she was afraid he might just keel over and die if he didn't fully understand the process.
Felicity tried not to notice that Mr. Logan was staring at her. Again. He'd been watching her on and off all evening, as if he expected her to do something untoward. Earlier, after she and Cody had packed everything away for the night, she had gone into the house and washed up in preparation for supper. When she got to the dining room, the two men were there waiting, and she experienced the oddest sensation that they were waiting there for something special to happen. Nothing did, however, or at least nothing that she was aware of, and the meal passed in strained silence. With all the other men except Cody gone to town, she had nothing to distract her from the fact that Mr. Logan kept glancing up at her throughout the entire meal. It was very unsettling.
After she had helped Candace clean up the few dishes, she discovered Mr. Logan and Cody sitting in the parlor, looking every bit like two dogs about to quarrel over the same bone. But as soon as she entered the room, the two of them suddenly cheered right up and started acting as if they'd always been the best of friends. Mr. Logan even teased Cody a little about becoming a photographer himself. That was what had gotten the conversation started, and Felicity had been only too happy to begin his instruction. Talking to Cody kept her mind off the fact that Mr. Logan kept watching her.
Josh knew it was crazy, but he couldn't seem to help himself. He kept remembering what Candace had said about a wife. A sweet young wife. He could not seem to get the idea out of his head. Almost unconsciously, he compared Felicity to the other women who had been thrown in his way through the years. None were even half as pretty as Felicity. And none of them kissed like her, either. No wonder he had never seriously considered marriage before.