A Perfect Silhouette by Judith Miller

Author:Judith Miller
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Historical Fiction;Love stories;FIC042030;FIC042040;FIC027050
ISBN: 9781493418633
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2019-06-02T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter

sixteen

MORGAN ROLLED OVER, GROANED, SAT UP, AND PLACED his feet on the cold wooden floor. Morning had come, and yet he’d slept little. A nagging fear that the drawings had been copied continued to gnaw at him. He’d revealed nothing of his suspicions to anyone other than Mellie. Each time he saw Mr. Harrison and Mr. Knoll, he longed to ask what either of them might know—if either man had removed the drawings himself or seen anyone else do so. Yet such questions would likely prove unfruitful. If one or both of them were responsible, they’d deny any wrongdoing.

There was also the fear of insulting the men, especially Mr. Harrison. Morgan didn’t want his actions to cause problems for Mellie. Besides, if they’d seen anyone looking at the drawings, wouldn’t they have told him about it? If the circumstances were reversed, he wouldn’t withhold such information. Of late he’d begun to wonder if he’d only imagined the drawings had been seen by someone else. Again, that was what he wanted to believe. But he knew better and just didn’t want to accept the truth. Now he must hope that someone else seeing the drawings was mere happenstance, that the person had no interest in looms or machinery and wouldn’t try to profit from what had been seen.

He’d been doing what Mellie had advised, praying and trying his best to trust that the Lord would protect him—and those drawings. Each time he saw Mr. Baldwin, he considered mentioning his fears, but he still hadn’t been brave enough to do so. He wanted to trust that all would go according to plan and God would protect him.

Thus far, it seemed to be working. The prototype had proved a success, and work had begun on the first of three machines. Although they could have begun a limited production of the new bags, Mr. Baldwin insisted they wait until they could manufacture in greater quantity and so secure the lion’s share of the market before any competitors came along. While Morgan could understand the man’s point, he worried Mr. Baldwin’s rationale might be somewhat skewed. But then who could say what the future held? Mr. Baldwin could change his mind at any time. He hadn’t been in the mill yard for the past two weeks, so who knew what he was thinking?

Morgan had inquired about the inventor’s whereabouts, but Mr. Hale was evasive. He’d shrugged and said Mr. Baldwin had business elsewhere and hadn’t given a date for his return. While the response had seemed odd to Morgan, he was relieved that he didn’t have to face Mr. Baldwin right now.

This morning, as he strode into the machine shop, his thoughts were occupied with seeing Mellie later in the day. He was eager to ask if she’d consider a Sunday afternoon outing together. Though he was pleased to spend time with her at the shop, they were seldom alone. Mr. Harrison had recently advertised her silhouettes in the Manchester newspaper and in several other nearby towns, as well.

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