A Wife by Christmas by Callie Hutton Read Free Book Online Page B

Colbert—Max—had given her. Goodness! She fanned her face with her hand. What had ever possessed her to allow such liberties? What must he think of her? A harlot, most likely. She’d never felt all those wonderful sensations before. If anything, it left her curious as to what would come next if they’d been somewhere else. Somewhere all alone.
    She shook her head. It would behoove her to remember Max Colbert embodied the type of ideas she despised. Nothing had changed between them. She still believed he looked for a way to have her fired.

    After a quick wash with the pitcher of water in her room, Ellie smoothed her hair back and left to join the other women at the table.
    Later that evening, Ellie and Rose strolled arm in arm on their way home from another Women’s Rights meeting. After exchanging hugs and promises to see each other in the morning, they parted ways, and Ellie continued to the boarding house. Once she reached Eleventh Street, she made a detour and headed toward Evergreen. Within minutes, she stood in front of Mr. Colbert’s boarding house.
    She should walk right up that porch, ring the doorbell and ask to speak with him. She cringed. Women knocking on the door of a bachelor boarding house at night would be labeled ‘fast’ and with a ruined reputation, Mr. Colbert would have grounds to fire her.
    There had to be another way. However, time grew short. Quietly, hoping no boards on the porch would creak, she climbed the stairs, knelt down, and peeked in the window of the front parlor. Five men occupied a couch and two chairs, a few reading the newspaper, two others in a deep discussion. Mr. Colbert was one of the newspaper-readers. She sat back on her heels and sighed. If only she could get the envelope with the money back, he’d have no proof to show Mr. Ridley tomorrow.
    Carefully, she went back down the stairs. She pulled her coat collar closer and shoved her hands in her pockets. Defeated, she slowly continued her walk home when she glanced to the side of the boarding house. The scant moonlight cast a light on a wooden ladder lying on the ground against the house. No, don’t even think about it. You can’t do that.
    Yes, she could. If she climbed into Mr. Colbert’s room and found the envelope, he’d have nothing to show Mr. Ridley tomorrow. It wasn’t really stealing, she told her conscience. It belonged to her. She would merely be recovering her own property. Before her conscience could come up with a better argument, she hurried to the ladder and lifted it. Heavy. For sure, she couldn’t drag it far.
    Which bedroom would be his? She snuck around the house, studying the second floor. The room to her right had a small light burning, and the only windows with both shades pulled down, precisely halfway. Both of them. She smiled. There couldn’t be two men in one boarding house with such a penchant for orderliness. It had to be his. If it turned out it not to be, she would go through the other bedrooms until she found Mr. Colbert’s.
    Sweat broke out on her forehead. She must be crazy. She would be sneaking around the bedrooms of bachelors. Good Lord, what was she thinking? Her body racked with shivers. She rubbed her palms over her upper arms and continued on home. Two minutes later, John Ridley’s sad face floated into her mind. He would be beaten. His poor dying mother would be beaten.
    She had to do it.
    The ladder weighed a ton. She winced when a small piece of wood embedded itself in her palm. She managed to get the ladder up and held her breath when she leaned it against the house. Someone may have heard the thump it made. Her stomach knotted. When no one raced out the front door yelling for the police, she started to breathe again. Inhaling deeply, she started up, one step at a time. Don’t look down.
    As she reached the top, she shoved the window open, and stood still to listen for someone shouting at her. No sound except the thundering of her heart. She took two steps more and