He did have a choice, of course. He could leave her here, to a life of luxury with Maxwell. And Winthrop. Seeing her here, dressed in fine clothes and surrounded by luxury, made him realize how easily she would adapt to this kind of life. With Winthrop. at her side, she would ease effortlessly into Philadelphia society. The thought of her and Winthrop together tore through him like the sharp blade of a knife, and the pain grew worse when he realized that Felicity would have nothing to fear from Winthrop. Any whelp that bastard begot would, of necessity, be a runt.
"Mr. Logan?" a female voice asked. He turned back to the lady sitting beside him. She had entered the box with a male companion who was now paying court to Felicity, but the lady seemed unconcerned over that fact. "I asked you about your ranch. Exactly how large is it?" She gave him a simpering smile and fluttered her fan coyly.
She really was an attractive woman, Josh noted objectively. Flirtatious, too. And she probably thought him a complete boor for ignoring her to stare at his own wife. "That's hard to say, ma'am," he replied perfunctorily. "You can cover it end to end in one day if you have a fast horse, though."
Her fan fluttered again as her eyes widened in a manner calculated to please his male pride. "Good heavens, as big as all that?" she exclaimed breathlessly. "You must tell me all about it."
At the moment, Josh could think of nothing he wanted to do less, but he obliged the lady. If he was not exactly enthusiastic, if the lady now thought him boring, too, that was her problem. Josh simply could not work up any zeal for impressing another woman, not when his own wife was so obviously making an impression of her own.
Felicity glanced up to catch Josh staring at her, his gray eyes shuttered to conceal his inner thoughts. He did not look pleased, but even frowning, he was the most handsome man in the room, especially dressed in the new evening clothes. She had hardly recognized him in such elegant attire, but then she had hardly recognized her own reflection staring back from the mirror, either. Everything about this evening was like a dream, including the group of young men who were intent on amusing her. The only thing that seemed real was Joshua's frown.
It made her uneasy, knowing as she did that he would be watching her for signs that this kind of life tempted her the way it had tempted his mother. Then she wondered if perhaps there was more to it than that. Perhaps he was a little jealous about the attention she was getting from the young men. The thought stirred her, awakening a new feeling of feminine power. Even though he had not said the words for a long time, he did care for her, he did love her. She would cling to that thought. She flashed Joshua a reassuring smile before turning back to the young man who was addressing her.
On Sunday afternoon Richard took them for a ride out to Fairmount Park. As they crossed the Girard Avenue Bridge which spanned the wide Schuylkill River, Richard gave them a running history of the development of the park. He explained that earlier in the century, the city council had become concerned over maintaining the quality of the city's water. In 1855, they had annexed Robert Morris's estate at Lemon Hill, along with thirty-three additional acres, to the existing Fairmount Water Works. From this land, they created an extensive public park which served the dual purpose of protecting the water supply and providing a natural haven for all those who lived in the city.
As they left the racket and clamor of the city behind and entered the quiet verdancy of the park, Felicity began to understand the necessity for such a place of refuge.
"And that is the Zoological Society," Richard said, pointing out a large area below them dotted with various buildings and enclosures.
"What is a Zoological Society?" Felicity asked, trying to decide if the buildings really did have bars on them.
Richard laughed indulgently. "It's a zoo," he explained. At her blank look, he added, "They keep wild animals there so people can come and look at them."
"How cruel!" Felicity said, thinking of the poor animals cooped up in cages like that.
A little nonplussed, Richard tried another tack. "But the animals are very well treated. When the weather is a little warmer, we'll go see them. Then you'll understand. Just think of all the city people who would never get to see animals otherwise."
"Do city people really need to see wild animals?" Felicity asked, interested to note that Richard had no answer.
He was silent for a long time, making Josh realize that this was the first time he had seen Richard at a loss for words. As much as he disliked Felicity's cousin, Josh understood that his dislike stemmed from the natural animosity he would feel toward any man who rivaled him for Felicity's affection. In another situation, he might not have found Richard's company so offensive. The man was certainly a perfect host and a knowledgeable conversationalist. If he hadn't been quite so handsome and charming-and quite so obviously enamored of Felicity-Josh could easily have tolerated him.
Under other circumstances, Josh might even have liked Philadelphia. Although he did not care for the congestion and noise of the city, he did enjoy the activities available in such a place. And now that he had seen this beautiful park, he could even understand why people might consent to live here.
"This is where the Centennial Exposition will be held," Richard announced triumphantly, piquing Josh's interest in the jumble of half-completed buildings and construction materials that had just come into view.
Felicity drew a blank until she recalled something Blanche had told her. "Oh yes, the fair to celebrate America's centennial," she exclaimed, peering out the carriage window. But the confusion before her gave no indication of the glorious triumph Blanche had foretold. "I thought it was going to open soon," she said.
"Well, it was supposed to open in April, but they've moved the date to May now, because of construction delays," Richard explained, giving the buildings another, more serious, inspection. Secretly, he agreed with Felicity's assessment that the fair still did not look anywhere near ready for the scheduled May 10 opening date. The first of March was already past. "Well, well come for the opening-day festivities, and you will see for yourself that Philadelphia can rise to any challenge," he said with false bravado. "They say that President Grant himself is coming to cut the ribbon."
"You mean General Grant?" Josh could not resist asking, reminding Richard that Grant was not well loved in all parts of the country.
"They say that the main building is the largest in the world," Richard reported with a strained smile. Although he was flushing slightly, he refused to acknowledge Josh's barb. "And every country in Europe will have a building displaying their industry and achievements."
As Richard continued to point out items of interest on their tour, Josh recalled Richard's previous offhand remark about coming to the opening day of the Exposition. That was over two months away. Just how long did he think they would be staying? Josh had a ranch to run, and spring was the busiest season of the year. He could not possibly stay in Philadelphia that long.
But Felicity could, he realized suddenly. She had no responsibilities calling her back to Texas. Was that what Richard had in mind? He had already promised to escort them to more plays and to concerts and all the various entertainments offered in this great city. If such a prospect impressed Josh, how much more would it impress someone as innocent as Felicity, a girl who had known no other home but a wagon before coming to Josh's ranch?
And even the Rocking L could not compete with the enticements Richard offered, as Josh well knew. No wonder Josh's mother had been unable to bear living on an isolated ranch in Texas after knowing this kind of life. For the first time, Josh was able to understand the forces that had drawn his mother away from him and his father. But understanding someone's reason for doing something and allowing the same thing to happen again were two entirely different things. If Richard hoped to lure Felicity away with his fancy city life, Josh would be ready for him.