Maren said. “On your mark, get set...go!”
The same thumping resumed, this time coming closer to the back hall, and then moving farther away.
What in the world?
John opened the door and stopped short.
Miss Maren stood near the front door in a filmy pink gown, her blond curls piled high on her head. Her cheeks were rosy red and her green eyes shone.
She saw him standing in the doorway and grinned, the ever-present dimples gracing him with their appearance. “Hello, Dr. Orton.”
Lilly and Charlie halted on their trek down the front hall in their roller skates and sheepishly turned to look his way.
“Hello, Papa,” Lilly said with a squeak.
Mrs. Gohl stood just inside the dining room, a smile on her face. The moment John looked at her, the smile dropped and she scurried off to the kitchen.
“Miss Maren—” He couldn’t find the right words to convey his astonishment. What had she been thinking? The children had a nursery filled with toys—why were they scuffing up the front hall with their roller skates?
“They should sleep well tonight,” Miss Maren said, a triumphant look on her face. She cocked a wry eyebrow. “I wish I could say the same for Laura.”
“What is the meaning of this?” John finally demanded. “Why are my children riding roller skates in the house?”
Miss Maren looked toward the window and waved her hand. “Because it’s snowing outside.”
“I know it’s snowing outside—but what does that have to do with my children roller-skating inside?”
“Surely you wouldn’t want them roller skating outside right now, would you?”
He crossed his arms. “I don’t see why they need to roller-skate at all.”
Her expression became perplexed. “Because they’re required to spend an hour in physical activity every day, and they chose roller-skating.”
Charlie and Lilly hadn’t moved a muscle as they stared at John, and he recalled his earlier decision about reprimanding Miss Maren in private. “Children, take off your roller skates and prepare for supper.”
“Are we in trouble?” Charlie asked.
They knew better, even if Miss Maren did not. “Yes—”
“No,” said Miss Maren.
Lilly and Charlie looked at one another, their own confusion evident in their tilted eyebrows. Anna had never contradicted John in front of the children.
Never.
John looked at the governess, his voice as even as he could manage. “Please join me in my office.”
Miss Maren still looked a bit bewildered, but she nodded her assent and followed him across the hall and into his domain.
When they were both inside, he closed the door. “Have a seat.”
She clasped her hands in front of her gown and sat in the chair he indicated. Her dress was covered in lace and looked as out of place in his home as the lady who wore it. Anna had only dressed in such a fashion on rare occasions when they went out in the evening. Why Miss Maren dressed this way was a riddle to John—but he wished she would stop. It was far too difficult not to notice how attractive she was when she looked like this.
“Have I done something wrong?” she asked, her eyes beseeching him.
He took a seat at his desk. “Maybe the question I should ask is if you’ve done something right today—” The moment the words left his mouth, he wished he could retrieve them. “I apologize. That was unnecessary.”
Miss Maren’s innocent expression fell and her face was filled with pain. “What have I done?”
He hated to see the pain he had caused her—but he needed to address his concerns. “I have three grievances I’d like to discuss with you.”
“Three?”
“I had an interesting phone call from Mrs. Kingston this afternoon.”
Miss Maren’s mouth opened in surprise. “Did she really call you? I didn’t believe Charlie and Lilly when they told me she would.” She put her hand up to cover a giggle. “Doesn’t the woman have anything better to do?”
John wasn’t laughing.
She sat up straighter and her giggle disappeared.
“She said my children were running about the streets, acting like hooligans.”
Miss Maren’s brow jumped. “Hooligans? They weren’t causing any problems. They were just catching snowflakes on their tongues.”
“Mrs. Kingston said when she approached you to deal with them, you mocked her.”
“Mocked—?” She looked stunned.
John had never met a woman with such vivid expressions.
“I didn’t mock her, I simply told her the children were having fun catching snowflakes and she should try it sometime.”
John wanted to groan. “Mrs. Kingston is a very important member of Little Falls society, and when she’s displeased with you, everyone is displeased with you. If she had a mind to, she could easily destroy my medical practice with a few flicks of her tongue.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
It was, but John wasn’t in a place to change the intricate societal web Mrs. Kingston had spun. “If you are still planning to have the tea party with Lilly on Sunday, I’d advise you to make a call on Mrs. Kingston in the morning and apologize for any misunderstanding.”
“Me?” She pointed at her chest. “Apologize?”
“I will not have Lilly’s heart broken when no one comes to your party.”
“Would people really snub me because of Mrs. Kingston’s opinion?”
John leaned forward, wanting to make himself clear. “Yes. Don’t you have women like her in Chicago?”
Miss Maren’s heavy expression filled with more pain. “Of course we do.” She sat for a moment, as if contemplating her options.
“There’s nothing to think about,” John said. “Either you apologize to Mrs. Kingston, or your plans for the party will be ruined—and Lilly will be devastated. I cannot allow that to happen.”
“I would never want to hurt Lilly.”
“Then you’ll go?”
She nodded, her face sincere. “Right after I drop Lilly and Charlie off at school.”
“Good—now for the other items we need to discuss.”
She sighed. “What other transgressions have I committed that I’m unaware of?”
“Mrs. Kingston—”
She unclasped her hands. “Mrs. Kingston, again—?”
“Mrs. Kingston,” he said slowly, “told me you had come out of the mercantile.”
“And?”
“What were you doing in the mercantile? Or downtown for that matter?”
She closed her mouth and didn’t answer, studying him as if to gauge his response to an unspoken confession.
“Miss Maren?”
“Where’s the harm in going downtown?”
“That’s not an answer.”
“But it’s a legitimate question. Isn’t it my job to exercise the children and expose them to things outside this home?”
John