BooksBarbecue
Back A Gilded Lady Save as PDF
Chapters (50)
  1. Cover
  2. Half Title Page
  3. Books by Elizabeth Camden
  4. Title Page
  5. Dedication
  6. One
  7. Two
  8. Three
  9. Four
  10. Five
  11. Six
  12. Seven
  13. Eight
  14. Nine
  15. Ten
  16. Eleven
  17. Twelve
  18. Thirteen
  19. Fourteen
  20. Fifteen
  21. Sixteen
  22. Seventeen
  23. Eighteen
  24. Nineteen
  25. Twenty
  26. Twenty-One
  27. Twenty-Two
  28. Twenty-Three
  29. Twenty-Four
  30. Twenty-Five
  31. Twenty-Six
  32. Twenty-Seven
  33. Twenty-Eight
  34. Twenty-Nine
  35. Thirty
  36. Thirty-One
  37. Thirty-Two
  38. Thirty-Three
  39. Thirty-Four
  40. Thirty-Five
  41. Thirty-Six
  42. Thirty-Seven
  43. Thirty-Eight
  44. Thirty-Nine
  45. Historical Note
  46. Questions for Discussion
  47. In 2021, look for Luke Delacroix’s story in
  48. About the Author
  49. Back Ads
  50. Back Cover

Nathaniel gaped at the crowd filling the Esplanade in the center of the fairgrounds. As far as his eyes could see, there were people everywhere. Ticket receipts indicated that 116,000 people had arrived in the park today, and the local police chief estimated that more than half had come to the Esplanade for the president’s speech. Sixty thousand people. How to manage them? It boggled his mind, and he could only pray to God as the president stepped up to the podium.

Please, he silently implored. Please be with us today and let this be safe.

American flags framed the podium. Behind the stage were bleachers filled with invited guests wearing formal clothes despite the heat. Four tables at the base of the stage held the journalists, busily scribbling on their pads.

How to scan a crowd of sixty thousand? The people at the back looked as tiny as ants. Nathaniel tried to comfort himself with the thought that to those distant throngs of people, the president looked just as tiny. No sharpshooter, no matter how skilled, could accurately shoot that far. He kept his eyes trained on those closer to the stage. Almost everyone looked hot but excited as the president began his speech.

“Expositions are the timekeepers of progress,” the president declared. “They record the world’s advancements. They stimulate the energy, enterprise, and intellect of the people, and quicken human genius.”

Nathaniel loved that phrase, quicken human genius, for it was exactly how he felt. He felt on the cusp, as though his life was destined to morph into something new and exhilarating soon. Was it because this assignment would be over in nine more days? He was so eager to begin the rest of his life. He wanted to be free again.

He continued scanning the crowd with hope filling his spirit. A new day was coming, and evidence of the future was all around him. The fair was filled with inventions, blazing light, and promise for the days ahead. This afternoon he would stand guard over the president at a reception, but tonight he would watch the fireworks alongside Caroline.

And in nine days it would be September 15th, when his future could truly begin.

divider

Ida’s sister, Pina, rejoined the presidential party in Buffalo, giving Caroline the opportunity for a free day at the World’s Fair. While most of the fairgoers crowded the Esplanade to hear the president speak, Caroline was on a desperate quest to find someone who could translate the single Hebrew line from Luke’s latest missive. These letters were far more important than she’d realized. Luke knew about the bombing of the road to Havana, and she hadn’t spotted his warning in time. She would do better in the future. His latest letter told her to cut the link to the Flying Dutchman in Key West. But what did that mean?