Chapters (50)
- Cover
- Half Title Page
- Books by Elizabeth Camden
- Title Page
- Dedication
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Historical Note
- Questions for Discussion
- In 2021, look for Luke Delacroix’s story in
- About the Author
- Back Ads
- Back Cover
It was impossible to sleep that night, for it might only be a matter of time before a crack in his security split wide open, and there’d be nothing he could do.
Twenty-Six
The following weeks would forever be crystallized in Caroline’s mind as an enchanted interlude, so different than anything she’d ever experienced in her life. In San Antonio they visited the Alamo and were serenaded by a mariachi band. In El Paso they were greeted with armfuls of roses, and President McKinley walked right up to the border, where he shook hands with the Mexican president.
Their traveling caravan moved through endless western vistas dotted with buffalo and wheat and an immense sky. They visited army outposts, ranches, and even an ostrich farm, where the hatching of two huge eggs was so fascinating that they delayed their departure to stay and watch. The beaming farmer named the newly hatched birds Mr. and Mrs. McKinley. They went through the desert southwest, where she had her photograph made while standing beside a cactus that towered more than twice her height.
In California they walked through fragrant orange groves and tasted pineapple freshly cut from the stalk. Ida’s sister, Pina, and her niece Mary joined them in California for the last few weeks of the journey, which meant Caroline had more free time.
More than anything, Caroline looked forward to seeing the Pacific Ocean for the first time. In San Luis Obispo, they were scheduled to tour an old Spanish mission, but all Caroline could dream of was a chance to see the ocean only ten miles away. Ida was well cared for by her sister, and Caroline nagged Nathaniel to take her to the coast.
“Sullivan and the local sheriff can guard the president, and we’re so close I can smell the salt in the air. Please?”
Her cause was helped by Rembrandt and George, who both wanted to see the Pacific as well. She could see the longing just beneath Nathaniel’s austere expression and decided to tease him into temptation.
“George will assure we will be well chaperoned, so you need not fear I shall compromise your famed modesty.”
He cracked, giving her one of those closed-mouth smiles she adored, and agreed to rent a carriage to take them to the coast. It was a dusty ride as the carriage lurched over bumpy paths, but at last they arrived, and Caroline hiked up her skirts to climb the scrub-covered ridge, for the roar of the ocean could be heard on the other side.
“Oh my word,” she whispered upon seeing it. How different it was from the ocean in Virginia, where the harbors were heavily developed and protected by breakwaters. Here she stood on a rugged cliff, buffeted by the wind as she gazed at the splendor below. George scrambled down the cliffside toward the beach, but Rembrandt had lugged his equipment to the top of the ridge.