A Chance Meeting in Glasgow

Chapter 6

Miss Gordon had described Mr. Spears as an angel, but Katherine felt it was probably outside an angel’s standard operating procedure to make tempting offers.  She imagined tempting offers were more in line with the operating procedure of…no, that was unkind.

“I fear staying will make rather a long evening for me, Mr. Spears.” 

“Yes, Miss Cameron, of course, and to that end you are more than welcome to make use of my suite between now and the evening meal.”

Katherine was entirely out of her experience and wasn’t sure what kind of offer was being made.  He continued, “I would be happy to have one of the upper floor maids take you up.”

Katherine began to believe that a very kind offer had been made; the sort of offer one might get from a man who would give you his coat in a rainstorm.  “Mr. Spears, you are generous and thoughtful.  I’m hardly dressed for a public dinner though.”

“Miss Cameron, it’s a hotel dining room and there is no need to adonize.  The majority of the men will be wearing sack suits like the one I have on – oh...”  He snapped his fingers.  “…my Glasgow tailor called them lounge suits.   Anyway, there will even be some number of people in traveling clothes.  I will wait here for you in the lobby; I assure you that everything will be fine.”  He ended the debate by waylaying a passing maid.

Katherine smiled back at him.  Her heart was pounding.

The ride all the way up to the eighth floor in the ascending room was a delightful combination of terror and thrill for Katherine, but it did not get her quite prepared for entering into the suite.  The combination sitting room and study was comfortably furnished in a masculine style, and there was even a small fireplace.  She gasped when she saw the windows and scurried over to look out.  Despite the rain and falling light she could make out the panorama from St. Mungo’s in the north across to the university and some little way down the Clyde.  She let out a deep breath.

The maid carefully hung the greatcoat and discretely returned her to the mundane.  “Shall I wait, Miss Cameron, or…?”

“No, thank you.  I’ll be fine,” Katherine replied distractedly.

“Very well.  The washroom and water closet are off the bedroom.  I shall leave the room key here by the door.”  With that the maid left Katherine alone in the suite.

She tried and failed to take it all in.  There was a ship model on the desk.  Was it his ship?  She looked it over but was entirely ignorant on such matters and couldn’t see anything special about.  There was a small safe behind the desk – how important does a man have to be to have a safe in his hotel room?  She tiptoed across the room toward the open passage diagonally opposite the entry.  She leaned in the doorway, and immediately leaned back out, her heart pounding and eyes closed tight.  The bedroom.  A massive four-poster bead.  His hands on her thighs.  She shivered.

She willed herself back to a state of composure.  Mr. Spears had at every turn treated her with nothing but unselfishly charity, and the use of his rooms was merely an extension of that.  She had to quit acting like – well, actually, she had been acting with less maturity than his little friend Miss Gordon.  She was a 36-year old woman; it was time to behave as such.  “Where’s that washroom,’ Katherine said aloud, giving herself some courage.

She walked past the big bed, careful to stay out of its reach, and entered another doorway.  Down the little hall behind the armoire there was a water closet – right in the midst of the other rooms! – of a new design she was not familiar with.  Around the corner from that...