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Back A Gilded Lady
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

Daniel nodded and reported that he made runs to Cuba whenever a shipment of money came from Captain Holland. His mind kept wandering, jumping from topic to topic, jumbling names together, timeline confused. Over and over he spoke of Marta and her boy, Julian. He spoke of how he went out of his way to dive for conch since the boy loved them. Marta nagged him to come home, but how could he disappoint the boy?

“I thought we would have forever,” he said, staring out the window. “Forever is now only today. I don’t think I will live through the night.”

Forever is now only today. The phrase was a kick in Nathaniel’s teeth. How often had he told Caroline they could be together some vague day in the future? He had always put duty first. He’d always thought duty was a man’s highest calling, but what Daniel Perez had done to Marta was a shame. Had Nathaniel been any better with Caroline? He was on the verge of heading out to Milwaukee. He wouldn’t even take her down the street to the Smithsonian.

Wilkie grew impatient with the long pause and moved in closer to Daniel’s bedside. “Can you tell us who you stayed with in Cuba? I need the names and addresses.”

Nathaniel held up his hand. “You don’t need to answer that,” he said to Daniel. At Wilkie’s confused look, Nathaniel stood. “This man’s forever ends today. Let him spend it with Marta.”

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Hundreds of thoughts battled for Nathaniel’s attention on the train ride back to Washington. He didn’t know why God had put him in a position to have his greatest fear in the world come to life, but it had happened, and there was no undoing it.

One thing was certain. God didn’t inflict this so Nathaniel could retreat into a shell and become a soulless workhorse for the rest of his life. Caroline’s words came back to his mind. “You are unconditionally loved. Unconditionally forgiven. You are a child of God, deserving of more credit than you’re giving yourself.”

The McKinley assignment hadn’t gone well, but it was time to accept that he had failed. Failure was a normal part of being human, not a permanent condition. He had been kicked in the teeth, knocked down, and failed.

But he had the strength to get back up and be the kind of man Caroline Delacroix deserved. In the past few weeks, he had taken her for granted. It was time to do better.

They were still on the train when he told Wilkie he wasn’t going to Milwaukee.

“But you’re the best man for the job!” Wilkie said, looking at him with disapproval.