Macgowan Meets His Match. Annette Broadrick

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СКАЧАТЬ said that the man who had come looking for her had come from Scotland. She considered that information to be a lead of sorts. How strange. A man by the name of Dumas from Edinburgh knew who she was. Was it possible that she had been adopted there? What if the man was her father, trying to find his adult daughter? Maybe he’d moved to America since she was born. If so, that would explain his accent.

      Now he was back and was looking for her. Did it matter that she bore no resemblance to him? Perhaps she looked like her mother.

      Since meeting Morwenna, Jenna knew she didn’t want to stay in Cornwall. There was nothing to stop her from looking for work in Scotland. Perhaps she’d find Mr. Dumas there and he could explain his connection to her.

      The thought calmed her. She didn’t have much of a lead, but it was something. Someone knew of her existence and had come searching for her. The thought gave her some comfort.

      At the moment, it was the only comfort she had.

      Chapter Two

      “I see that you’re Australian, Ms. Craddock. What brings you to Scotland looking for work?”

      Jenna sat before a Ms. Violet Spradlin, who ran an employment agency in Edinburgh.

      “Actually, I was born in the U.K. and haven’t been back in several years. I decided to move to Scotland because I find it breathtakingly beautiful. Since I have no family, I can choose to live wherever I wish, so I chose this region.”

      “I see.” Violet shuffled through several papers before she looked up. “You have an excellent work record according to this recommendation. I’m impressed with your skills for one your age—twenty-five, right? You must have started working quite young.”

      “Yes.”

      Violet sighed and said, “Unfortunately, we don’t have very much to offer at the moment. It’s the nature of the business, you know. I may get several calls in the morning needing someone immediately. One never knows. I hope that you aren’t depending on finding a position right away.”

      “I understand.”

      Violet peered over her glasses. “How can I contact you if something turns up?”

      “I’m staying at a small inn on the outskirts of the city. If you like, I can check in with you every day or so.”

      Violet glanced at the file and muttered to herself, “Ah, now I see. You put your present lodging down as your address.” She looked at Jenna thoughtfully, tapping her pen against the desk. “I don’t suppose you’d be interested in a position where room and board is offered, would you?” Before Jenna had a chance to respond, Violet continued. “No, probably not. The position isn’t here in Edinburgh and I can’t guarantee that you would find your working conditions all that pleasant.”

      Intrigued by Ms. Spradlin’s manner, which seemed to be more discouraging than encouraging, Jenna said, “I wouldn’t mind relocating. And being offered lodging as well would make things considerably easier for me, at least, at first.”

      Violet rose and went to a filing cabinet nearby. She thumbed through several files before saying, “Ah. I knew it was here somewhere.” She pulled out a thick manila file and returned to her desk. She looked at Jenna. “I’m not necessarily recommending this position to you, you understand.”

      “Yes, I understand.” Jenna wondered what the position could be that it warranted such a warning from the woman.

      Violet opened the file and began to read. “Sir Ian MacGowan needs a person with good secretarial skills to transcribe his dictation for his novel.”

      “Oh. An author.”

      “Well,” Violet said slowly, “I suppose you could call him that, although I don’t think he’s sold anything. He was in an automobile accident a few months ago. Normally he lives in London. However, he decided to return to his family home to rest and recuperate. I believe the process of writing is helping to keep him occupied.”

      “Oh.” Jenna pictured a white-haired gentleman, possibly a little overweight, who wasn’t ready to retire quite yet. “You said you don’t necessarily recommend this position. I’d like to know why. It sounds like just the position for me. It probably isn’t a permanent one, but working for Sir Ian would give me time to get acquainted with the area.”

      Violet sighed and removed her glasses. She massaged the bridge of her nose as she stared myopically at Jenna. Without saying anything, she carefully cleaned her glasses and replaced them. It was obvious to Jenna that the woman was trying to decide what to say. Was the man some kind of monster? she wondered.

      Finally, Violet spoke. “Do you see these papers?” She waved her hand at the open file. “They represent the applicants I have sent Sir Ian during the past several weeks.”

      “He didn’t hire any of them?” Jenna asked. What an odd man.

      “After complaining incessantly about the lack of qualifications in the women he interviewed, he finally settled on one who stayed two weeks. The second left after three days.” She sighed and shook her head.

      “Is he a sexual predator?”

      Violet looked startled for a moment before she broke into laughter. “No, no, no. I didn’t mean to give you that impression. He’s just a very difficult man to work for.” She sorted through the papers, reading portions out loud. “‘He’s short-tempered and impossible to please,’ says one. The other says, ‘He set impossible time limits on the work I was doing. He’s really impossible.’”

      “Ah,” said Jenna, nodding. “I know just the kind of boss he is.” She smiled. “My last employer was that way when I first started to work for him.”

      Violet’s eyebrows rose. “Really. That surprises me. According to his letter of recommendation, he hated to lose you. In fact, if I didn’t know better, I would think this was a letter recommending you for sainthood,” she said archly.

      “He was a very busy man, and until I was hired he hadn’t had much luck finding someone who could work with little direction. Once I got past his gruff exterior and convinced him I wasn’t a ‘lazy twit’—I believe his words were—we managed to work quite well together.”

      Violet nodded, smiling slightly. “I see. Perhaps you will have more success with Sir Ian than the others.”

      “When could we set up an interview?”

      Violet’s brows rose. “Oh, he no longer interviews. He said it takes too much time out of his day. He told me to find someone who wouldn’t pester him to death with questions and comments and hire her.”

      “Sight unseen?”

      “If you think you might want the position, of course. Perhaps you might try it and see. If you don’t like it you will at least know you tried and perhaps by then something else will have turned up for you. So, what would you like to do?”

      Jenna weighed her options. She didn’t want to spend any more of her reserves than necessary if she had an opportunity to work. “I would at least like to meet him. Perhaps we’ll both agree that I won’t suit it, but I dislike turning down the offer without meeting him.”

      “Good. СКАЧАТЬ