Collision of The Heart by Laurie Alice Eakes Read Free Book Online Page A

long journey,” Ma pointed out. “And with the wreck, she’s probably a bit overwrought.”
    Not to mention seeing him again. Or maybe it was arrogant of him to think encountering him had any effect on her at all.
    He rose and returned to the kitchen. In the event Mia did rise for breakfast, he should make matters easier for her and vacate the house.
    He pushed open the door in time to see Rosalie tipping a few drops of laudanum into a cup of tea. She startled at his entrance, and a few more drops splashed into the cup.
    “What are you doing?” His tone was mild, his look sharp.
    Rosalie shrugged. “You know Mia. Unless she’s changed a great deal, she’ll be insisting she get up unless we make her sleep.”
    “Shouldn’t you let her choose whether or not she wishes to be drugged?” Ayden reached for the cup.
    Rosalie snatched it out of his reach. “She’s in pain from her wrist. The doctor recommended a few drops, but she wouldn’t let me get up for it last night.”
    “Ayden is right.” Ma reached for a clean cup. “You shouldn’t give her medicine without her knowing.”
    “All right. I’ll ask her.” Rosalie’s lips turned down. “But if she says no and then ends up dashing around town and hurting herself worse, it’ll be on your head, brother.”
    “If she says yes,” Ayden countered, “we’ll know she’s seriously hurt and maybe needs to see the doctor again.”
    And if she said no, he needed to make himself scarce.
    He strode to the back door and got his boots and coat. “I’m off to see if I can look for clues about that child’s people at the wreck, and then I’ll be on the campus.”
    “There aren’t any classes today.” Ma cast him a narrow-eyed glance. “Do you plan to move into the museum while she’s here?”
    “That sounds wise.”
    Or make Miss Finney an offer of marriage sooner than he had planned.
    He stamped his feet into his boots. “I have some weapons to examine and oil and two students to tutor.”
    “You and your tutoring.” Rosalie balanced a tray of tea and toast on her hip. “I’m surprised Charmaine endures it with such grace.”
    “Miss Finney,” Ayden said, “endures everything with grace.” He yanked on his coat and left the house.
    He couldn’t go out to the wreck this early. The sun had not yet risen, and he couldn’t take the horses into the cold so soon after they had eaten. He would head up to the campus. The museum, where he kept his collection of ancient weapons, always gave him shelter. He could lose himself in the work there for hours.
    Which he did. Between oiling each blade with loving care and making a few notes on blade details to ensure no erosion of the metal was taking place, and three interruptions by students anxious about their assignments, most of the day sped by him. One of his tutees was doing so well she was unlikely to need his help much longer. The other one, a male student, needed to play less baseball and read more history.
    When Ayden was about to close the museum and head out to the wreck, his third tutee appeared in the museum doorway.
    “This is Gerrett Divine.” Blushing, the student, Liberty Judd, indicated her companion. “He needs some vellum to recopy some plans that were lost in the wreck.” She flashed a glance at Divine, then back to Ayden. “He is an architect, a family friend I have known all my life.”
    From her blush and glance, Ayden suspected Gerrett Divine was more than a friend to Miss Judd. She did not need a distraction from her schoolwork at that point in the semester. She had little enough aptitude for formal education, though she was bright and lively and pretty enough to charm anyone. Perhaps Divine would help her decide whether she should buckle down to her studies or return to her family in the city.
    Ayden turned his attention to Divine. “I probably have some vellum you can have, though you may need to scrape it clean of ink.” He glanced at Miss Judd. “Where is he