Noelle. Diana Palmer

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СКАЧАТЬ to get up and pace the floor to subdue the nightmares.

      “You have your own demons,” she said, recognizing the fleeting pain in his eyes.

      “Don’t we all have them?” He sighed heavily. “What about our redheaded houseguest?” he added. “Tell me about her.”

      “She’s very kind,” she said. “She can cook if she’s ever needed in the kitchen, and she doesn’t mind hard work.”

      “That isn’t what I asked.”

      She grimaced. “She’s sweet on Andrew, and vice versa. He was attracted to her at once. When he found out her circumstances, he insisted that she come here. Her family died in the flood that hit Galveston in the fall of 1900, and she’s been living in Victoria with an elderly uncle. But he has the offer of a good job in Galveston and she was terrified to go back there. Perhaps the uncle wanted to be rid of her. So Andrew invited her to come and live with us.” She tucked a fold of her dress into place. “He knew you wouldn’t like it, but he said that he did contribute to the household accounts and he’d be responsible for her keep.”

      “He contributes ten dollars a month,” Jared remarked. “The rest he spends on new boots and fine livery for his carriage.”

      “Yes, I know. But his father was good to Edith.”

      “And to you. I remember. Andrew is the cross we must bear for his father’s kindness.”

      “That was unkind and uncharitable.”

      “I’m not a kind man,” he reminded her, and for an instant, the old, wild look was in his eyes.

      “I might agree if I didn’t know you so well. You’re kind to the people you love.”

      “There were only ever two—you and my mother.”

      She smiled gently. “You might find a woman who could love you and marry one day, Jared. You should have a family of your own. I won’t live forever.”

      “Andrew will,” he muttered darkly. “And I expect to find myself responsible for him until I die.”

      “Cynicism does not suit you.”

      “I find that it sits heavily on me of late,” he returned, tapping the boot on the foot he’d crossed over his knee. “When I started practicing law, I wanted to be on the side of justice. But lately, more and more, I find myself on the side of money. I’m tired of helping the rich disinherit the poor. Ambition has paled for me in recent months. Now, I want to do some good.”

      “I’m sure you already have. But you will find worthy people here in need of representation.”

      “Yes. I think I will.” He narrowed one eye. “Is Andrew serious about Noelle?”

      She grimaced. “Who can tell? Andrew is fickle. He was trying to court Amanda Doyle for a brief time…You remember her father, Jared—he has a big house in town and three daughters. He fought in the cavalry in the Indian Wars.”

      “Yes,” he said as an impression of a dignified old man flashed before his eyes. Like himself, Doyle had grown up in wild times, but his daughters had been protected from everything unpleasant and his wife was a socialite.

      “But Miss Doyle would have nothing to do with Andrew,” his grandmother continued. “It was about that time that he went to Galveston and found Noelle.”

      “And devastated her with his swagger, no doubt,” Jared murmured dryly.

      “Dear boy, he does cut a dashing figure with his exaggerated war record and his blond good looks and his arrogance.”

      “And his youth,” Jared added, chuckling. “Your houseguest seems to class me with the aged and infirm.”

      “She knows nothing about you,” she reminded him. “And you seem to be encouraging her mistaken impression of your character.”

      “Let it lie,” he said. “She seems to be no more than a bad-tempered child, but if she came here expecting someone to support her for the rest of her life, she’s going to be badly disappointed.”

      His grandmother flushed. “I never thought of the imposition it would mean to you, bringing her here,” she said, embarrassed.

      He held up a hand. “You were coerced,” he said simply. “I know Andrew, remember. But we know nothing of this girl. She could be anybody.”

      “Andrew said that her uncle was well known, and the family was a respectable one,” she told him.

      He didn’t want to know anything about the girl. She irritated him too much already.

      “And it occurred to me that Andrew might have brought her here because he was considering marriage,” his grandmother added.

      He didn’t like that. He laughed coldly. “Andrew isn’t ready to settle down,” he added deliberately, more for his own benefit than hers. He leaned back and rubbed gingerly at his sore leg.

      “Do you intend asking her to leave?” Mrs. Dunn asked slowly.

      “I might,” he replied. “It depends on what I learn about her. Let’s say that she’s here on suffrage until I make a decision.” He smiled at her. “I’d like to hear more about these new organizations springing up in Fort Worth, the ones you’ve been writing me about. What exactly is the Civic Betterment Project?”

      Chapter Two

      It rained on Jared’s first morning at home. He walked to the window of the dining room while he waited for the family housekeeper, Mrs. Ella Pate, to get breakfast on the table. Mrs. Pate did all the cooking and washing for the family. The elegant house was well kept and had all the most modern conveniences, including a very nice big bathroom with sound plumbing.

      The tangles of pink roses on the bush outside the window were in glorious bloom, but they didn’t impress the man on the other side of the windowpane. He saw neither the silver droplets of rain sliding down the glass nor the roses. His eyes were on the past, which being in Fort Worth had brought back most painfully to his mind.

      This house wasn’t the one that Jared’s mother had lived in with his stepfather; it was newer. But even if the house was different from the one his mother had died in, being with his grandmother had kindled painful memories of his late mother and the past. He hadn’t expected that.

      “Aren’t the roses nice, Mr. Jared?” Mrs. Pate asked pleasantly. “Old Henry keeps the bushes in order for us, although Miss Brown likes to putter around out there—in men’s overalls—when he isn’t looking. She has the touch with vegetables, not to mention flowers.”

      Mrs. Pate’s starchy comment about Noelle’s choice of clothing amused him. He could imagine how straitlaced Fort Worth would take to a young woman in men’s clothing working in full view of the street. He wondered what else she had the touch for, but he didn’t say a word. She came from poverty, and he still wasn’t certain if her reasons for being here didn’t have something to do with improving her own situation.

      His grandmother came through the dining room doorway with Noelle just behind her.

      “Good СКАЧАТЬ