Page 35 of On a Midnight Clear
“I don’t find you cowardly in the least,” Stella assured him.
“Anyone would have been caught off guard by that swarm of young ladies. When you offered to walk me home after my literary society meeting, I thought only of the convenience of us both being on campus at the same time. I didn’t consider the likelihood of my ladies ambushing you. ”
Frank stepped away from the building and came alongside her. “I’ll be better prepared next time.”
Next time. How strange that two simple words could spread such warmth through a person. Feeling as if she’d just been hugged, Stella steered their trajectory toward the creek that ran along the west side of campus.
“When the weather is nice, I like to follow the creek home. It’s not a very direct path, but it’s peaceful and affords a rather scenic view.”
“Sounds like an excellent route.” He fell into step beside her, allowing her to lead the way.
Neither said anything as they wound through the students milling around the buildings, but as they left the school behind, the silence between them began to grow uncomfortable. Stella searched for something to say that didn’t have to do with the weather and came up empty.
Thankfully, Frank filled the void. “Tell me something about yourself that I don’t know from your letters.”
“All right. Let’s see...” Her mind remained stubbornly blank.
She’d already told him of her hobbies and activities. He knew of the passing of her mother and her literature studies. She’d shared her favorite books, confessed her lack of singing voice, and even mentioned her fondness for the color green. What else was there to tell?
“How about your middle name? Do you have one?” Frank offered, and Stella latched onto the simple topic with relief.
“Celeste.”
“Stella Celeste.” His gaze left the trail ahead long enough to caress her face before dipping back down. “It suits you. A star in the heavens.”
She blushed at the poetic-sounding compliment even though she knew he was just reciting the literal meaning.
“My father has always been fascinated by astronomy, and I happened to be born one month after the discovery of Sirius B, the companion star to Sirius. Papa read the paper by George Phillips Bond on the subject and decided at once that I was to have a name fitting of such a find.”
Frank’s head came up. “I remember studying that paper. Bond ran the Harvard observatory at the time. A pair of telescope makers in Cambridgeport alerted him of the find, I believe.”
“That’s right. Alvan Clark and his father.” She smiled. Not many people around here knew of the Clarks or cared much about their work from nearly three decades ago. It was nice to share the story with someone who could appreciate it the way she and Papa did.
“How about you?” she asked when silence threatened to intrude again. “Do you have a middle name?”
“I do. Nothing quite as stellar as yours, however.”
She chuckled softly at his pun. “I’m sure it’s delightful.”
“The name itself is fine. It’s the repercussions that carry unfortunate results. In fact, I tend not to share it with anyone unless legally required to do so.”
Stella slowed her steps as they reached the creek. Instead of turning to walk along the bank, she halted and pivoted to face him. He was choosing to share something private with her. Something intimate. Her pulse quickened. “You have me quite intrigued, sir.”
“Like yours, my father has long been fascinated by scientific matters. One of his favorite hobbies around the time of my birth was to research historical mathematicians. His favorite was John Napier, a sixteenth-century Scottish scholar and the Eighth Laird of Merchiston. He apparently came to be known as the Marvelous Merchiston.”
Stella stifled a giggle. “Oh my.”
“Quite the moniker, isn’t it? Father said he was deserving of the title since he discovered logarithms, invented a calculating device known as Napier’s bones, and popularized the use of the decimal point.”
“Three quite impressive accomplishments. I suppose those could qualify him for ‘marvelous’ status.”
“My father thought so. Of course, he also thought it marvelous to saddle his son with the name Napier .”
“It could have been worse. You could have been named for Anaxagoras, my father’s favorite.”
Frank chuckled, a rich, delightful sound that instantly made her heart lighter. “Yes. That’s certainly worse. Although it would have helped with my secondary problem.”
“And what problem is that? To my ear, Frank Napier Stentz carries a very distinguished ring.”
Frank shot her a self-conscious grin. “Try just the middle initial. See how that rings.”
“FrankN. Stentz?” It took a moment, but when she repeated it to herself silently at a faster clip, it hit her.
Laughter exploded from her in a burst. She slapped a hand over her mouth to try to hold it in, but when she caught the twinkle in Frank’s eyes, she gave up the fight.
A man with ties to the nativity after all. And one apparently possessed of enough humility and humor to poke fun at himself while inviting her to know him better. Could anything be more charming? Or dangerous?
Losing her heart to this man would be so easy. But would it lead to losing her father?
Stella fell silent as she resumed their walk along the creek. She’d promised Mama to take care of Papa, and she’d not go back on her vow. If the Lord didn’t make a path for her to somehow keep them both, she’d have to let Frank go.