What Are You Doing New Year's Eve? by Catherine Stein

Author:Catherine Stein [Catherine Stein]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Catherine Stein, LLC
Published: 2019-11-23T00:00:00+00:00

⏣ 8 ⏣

The instant the window opened Maddie knew she’d never catch Will in time. She whirled, her skirt spinning around her, then raced from the ballroom. She took the stairs two or three at a time, bounding down to the ground floor and flinging herself out the front entrance while startled guests and staff hurled worried questions in her direction.

Outside, cold wind whistled down Fifth Avenue, the noise mingling with the puffs and rumbles of the fanciest steam cars whisking their wealthy owners to the grandest New Year’s celebrations. The lengthy line of vehicles in front of the townhouse declared Mrs. Ashton’s gala to be among the finest.

Maddie’s head whipped back and forth, looking for Will, but the crowd was too dense to see much past the house. With the streets as bustling as they were and the weather bitingly cold, the outdoors couldn’t have offered him much refuge. Maddie forced herself to think. Where might he have gone?

The sound of a fist pounding against wood nearby cut through the drone of arriving guests.

“Open up, dammit!”

Will.

His voice drifted up from just below her, at the bottom of the basement stairs. Maddie ran to the steps and leapt down to his side just as the servant’s entrance swung open. Will’s jaw dropped open in shock.

“M-Maddie?”

She propelled him through the door, into the warmth of the house.

“Is there a problem, Mr. Ashton?” asked the young maid who had opened the door.

“No, no problem,” Will replied. His voice had a slight tremble to it. He hadn’t yet recovered from the scene upstairs. Maddie longed to wrap her arms around his waist and hug the discomfort away. “I simply needed a less-chaotic entrance to the house. Thank you.”

The girl made a little curtsy and scurried away.

Will sagged against the wall. “Maddie, you shouldn’t be here,” he said, not looking at her.

“Do you need time alone? Can I fetch you anything? Water? Brandy? A book to read?”

Silence descended. Maddie waited. She wouldn’t press. Not after witnessing his terrified escape from the party. She didn’t ever wish to be a source of distress to him.

“I think… I think I’m okay,” he said at last. He had yet to look at her, but his voice had evened out, and he wasn’t shaking. “Brandy would be welcome. There’s some in the library cabinet.” His head turned, just enough for him to glimpse her. “If you’d like to accompany me?”

“You know me, Will. I never say no to a library.”

The hint of a smile on his lips warmed her insides. He was coming back to her.

“This way.” He motioned down the dim hall. “We’ll take the back stairs.”

Maddie followed in silence through the working areas of the house, until the sounds of the party reached her ears. Will quickened his pace, leading her down a hall and through a door, closing and locking it behind them before flicking on the electric lights.

Maddie gasped.

Bookcases ran from floor to ceiling over every wall, their shelves filled to capacity, every tome arranged with loving care.

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