“I agree that it’s a lackluster painting,” she added. “But I like it better than the one in the Corcoran, for nothing could be as frightfully dreary as that hausfrau reading a letter.”

“You still prefer the fake Vermeer of the girl with the rabbit?” he challenged.

She flashed him a delightfully flirtatious glance. “Why would I confess to such a thing when you will use it as ammunition against me? In your eyes, it will be proof that I value the silly and sentimental over the ponderous lady with the letter.”

That was exactly what he was about to do, for she loved that rabbit painting even though it was a complete and total fraud.

“You can’t imagine how much I’m looking forward to September 15th,” he said, watching her carefully. A tiny tilt of one side of her mouth was the only indication she understood his meaning.

“We are of like mind,” she responded.

It was time to rejoin the others, and they turned to leave the museum, walking with a respectable eighteen inches between them. He’d never felt closer to her.

Caroline found the trip back east less eventful than the first half. There were fewer stops as they traveled through the plains of Wyoming and Nebraska, and by the time they reached the Midwest, Ida’s energy was flagging. The president still made the scheduled stops at stockyards and factories in Illinois, but Ida decided not to leave the train. That meant Caroline needed to remain on the train as well.

It was embarrassing how often she stationed herself by the wide portrait window as the presidential party departed. She always watched Nathaniel, so tall and formal, conferring with local police at each stop. She loved his sober comportment and calm diligence. Other people in the crowd might have open collars and sleeves rolled up due to the heat, but never Nathaniel. He wore his black vest and suitcoat everywhere. Was it to hide his shoulder holster or in simple deference to the president? Either way, she liked his formality. She liked everything about him, including the restraint he showed in keeping his distance from her, even though he chafed against it as much as she did.

They made more stops in densely populated Ohio and Pennsylvania, but Caroline breathed a sigh of relief as they reached New York, for a special visit had been planned to see Niagara Falls. It was not an official event, rather a private excursion requested by the president. He and Ida had vacationed at Niagara Falls as newlyweds, and he wished to relive the memory.