Chapter 16

Then he said, "When I was twelve, my father took me to see a house he had helped build. We stood across the road because servants used the front steps, not masons. He pointed to a wall and said, 'There. That will stand longer than the man who paid for it.' I thought he was proud of the wall. Later, I understood he was proud of having made something useful."Phoebe listened."I wanted to build new things," he continued, "to be noticed, to prove I belonged in rooms where my father would have waited outside." He looked around the ballroom. "But this place has taught me something: sometimes ambition is not making the world say your name; sometimes it is helping what matters endure."Phoebe's throat tightened. "You have done that," she said."Not alone."Their eyes met in the dim light."You have made the town remember itself," he said. "That is no small thing."She tried to smile. "I have sold ribbons and bullied committees.""You have saved more than plaster."The words settled over her with a tenderness she could scarcely bear.From the card room came laughter and applause; someone had won a hand. Life continued, warm and bright beyond the doors.Phoebe said, "I am afraid."Jonathan turned fully toward her. "So am I.""You?""Constantly."She smiled faintly. "You conceal it well.""So do you."The honesty between them was more intimate than any compliment. He took one step closer, then stopped, as though asking permission without words. Phoebe did not move away."Phoebe," he said at last, very softly.Her name in his voice was a door opening. "Yes.""I cannot offer you grandeur.""I have never cared for grandeur.""I have my profession, some savings, and prospects that may improve if I do not continue angering wealthy men.""That is a serious condition.""I am unlikely to meet it."She laughed, and he smiled. Then his expression grew earnest."I love you," he said. "Not because Voss threatened you. Not because gossip pushed me toward honor. I love you because you see what others overlook, because you defend what cannot defend itself, because you make courage practical, and because every room I enter is altered if you are in it."

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