Bicycle Built for Two by Alice Duncan Read Free Book Online Page A

didn’t
like it. How did people sink this low? Was their destitution their
fault?
    He’d always believed poverty to be a
man-made condition, and one in which only the meanest of souls
wallowed. But most of these people were women, and the few men he
saw didn’t look particularly debauched. Rather, they looked
sick.
    But surely, they had family members who
could help them. Didn’t they? Alex discovered that all of his
preconceived notions about good and bad and wealth and poverty were
getting muddled up, and he decided to think about them later. Right
now, he wanted to discover what business had taken Kate Finney to
this awful place. And in his carriage, too. Alex managed to work
himself into quite a respectable huff when he considered how kind
he’d been to bring her here and how rude she’d been in return. She
hadn’t even thanked him.
    The nurse looked surprised to see such a
well-dressed gentleman here, in the Charity Ward. “May I help you,
sir?”
    Alex presumed the woman was a nun, since
Saint Mildred’s was a Catholic institution. He didn’t hold with
popery, although he was tolerant enough to allow Roman Catholics to
exist in his city. “I’m looking for—” He stopped speaking all at
once, realizing he had no idea whom he was looking for. “Yes?” The
nun smiled kindly upon him.
    “Um, Miss Kate Finney was
visiting—someone—here. I, er, wanted to know . . .” Good Gad, he
hadn’t until this minute realized how flimsy his motivation
was.
    “Oh, Kate.” The nun laughed softly. “Dear
Kate. I’m afraid that no matter how hard she tries, or how much she
prays, her mother still has consumption. And I’m also afraid that
even if Kate had a lot of money, there’s only so much that can be
done for Mrs. Finney.”
    “Her mother?” Alex swallowed. “Er, yes. Mrs.
Finney. Exactly.”
    “Are you here to visit Mrs. Finney?” The nun
looked skeptical, as if she couldn’t credit such a fine gentleman
having anything to do with a member of the Finney family.
    Alex hesitated for a moment, then discovered
his mouth making up his mind for him. “Yes,” he said, surprising
himself. “I’m here to visit Mrs. Finney.”
    “Are you a member of the family?” The nun
eyed him strangely. She reminded Alex of an all-white penguin, with
her arms folded and her hands tucked into the sleeves of her
habit.
    “Employer,” he said promptly. “My name is
Alex English, and I’m a member of the Agricultural Board at the
Columbian Exposition. Miss Finney works for me.” In a manner of
speaking. At least she worked at the Exposition at his whim. The
notion gave him no comfort. Actually, he was beginning to feel like
Little Red Riding Hood’s Big Bad Wolf, and the sensation was not to
his taste.
    The nun’s air of confusion vanished and was
replaced by one of pleasure and surprise. “How nice of you to take
time to visit, Mr. English. Most employers don’t care, I’m afraid.
It’s such a comfort to know there are kind hearts in our city.”
    Guilt attacked Alex. He
fought it off as if it were a mugger in the park. Dash it,
he was a
kind-hearted person!
    “Follow me,” the nun said, still smiling. “I
think Mrs. Finney is asleep, but she might be able to see you. She
is,” she whispered confidentially, “is in rather poor shape, I
fear. She’s had quite a difficult life, I understand.”
    Alex said, “Mmmm.” He didn’t want to hear
about Mrs. Finney’s difficult life.
    “This is her cot.” The nun stopped beside a
bed that looked as if somebody had just climbed out of it and left
a jumble of covers in her place.
    Slowly, reluctantly, Alex walked up to the
bed. He didn’t want to look down for fear of what he’d see, but he
forced himself.
    Damn. His worst fears were realized. What
had looked like a jumble of covers was the sheet-clad body of a
tiny, emaciated female form. “My God,” popped out of his mouth
before he could stop it.
    The nun gazed down at the woman on the cot,
her sadness