ToLoveaLady by Cynthia Sterling Page B

pretty good idea.”
    “Does the idea bother you?”
    She hunched her shoulders. “I suppose it ought to, but maybe it’s better if she builds out here than in town, with the school and the churches staring her in the face.” She glanced back over her shoulder at the tall, white-haired woman. “And I like her. She seems. . . kind. So maybe she’s good to her girls.”
    “I like her, too.” Cecily smiled, relieved to have her judgment of Madame confirmed.
    “I feel sorry for her, though,” Abbie said. “Maybe not so much for her as for the women who work for her.”
    “Because of the work they do?”
    “Because they don’t think there’s anything else they can do.” She flushed. “Not that I’ve known many women like that, but I’ve met a few. I’ve been to a few cattle auctions and such when they were the only other females around, so I guess it’s only natural that I talked to them. Most of them don’t have much education, or any family to help them along.”
    Cecily thought of Fifi and Estelle scrawling their Xes in place of a signature. What would it be like, not knowing how to read, having to trade on the fact that you were a woman in order to make a living?
    Madame LeFleur joined them under the oak tree atop the hill. “I think I could like it here,” she said. “My girls could get plenty of fresh air. I might even plant a garden.” She turned to Abbie. “How much?”
    They reached an agreement on price, then started down the hill, back toward the horses. Cecily fell in step beside Madame LeFleur. “I have a proposition to make to you,” she said.
    “A proposition, mademoiselle? ” Madame raised her eyebrows in alarm.
    “Nothing untoward, I promise.” Cecily put a hand on Madame’s arm. “I’d like to teach Estelle and Fifi to read. It would help occupy my time while I’m here and it would help them, too.”
    Madame looked thoughtful. “I ought to say no, since as long as they are ignorant, they are more likely to stay in my employ.” She shrugged. “But then again, perhaps I will start a trend for educated companions. We may add poetry readings to our schedule of entertainments.” She laughed and patted Cecily’s hand. “You may teach the girls if you like, my dear. And remember, when the time comes for you to wed your handsome lord, I will offer lessons of my own to ensure a happy marriage.”

Chapter Six
    When Charles returned from selecting the new calves and arranging for them to be transferred to the Double Crown later, he found two telegrams awaiting on his desk. He slit open the first and read:
    Delighted C. arrived safely. Happy to have her stay with you as long as needed. M.
    He read the message through a second time, then tossed it onto the desk and began to pace. Of all the devious maneuverings! You’d think Marbridge would be worried sick about his only daughter, off on her own in the wilds of America. Instead, the man was practically celebrating the fact that she was off his hands. If this was the kind of attitude Cecily had to live with, it was no wonder she’d run away.
    He paused and stared at the second telegram. He didn’t have to be a soothsayer to know who had sent this second post. He could practically see the angry words emanating from it.  
    Sighing, he picked it up at last and opened it.
    Marbridge tells me you have his daughter. Don’t know what you said to convince her to join you, but now it’s done marry the girl and return home immediately. B.
    The Earl never changed. Of course this entire mess was Charles’s fault. Never mind Cecily’s role in the whole affair. Neither man seemed to care one whit about the danger she’d put herself in coming here, the emotional turmoil that must have driven her to such uncharacteristic rebellion, or the possibility that she was making a huge mistake trusting so thoroughly in a man she scarcely knew.
    Not that Charles would have harmed one hair on her pretty head, but who was to say another man would be so