Glittering Promises by Lisa T. Bergren Read Free Book Online Page B

me.” He hooked a thumb to his chest and leaned slightly toward Wallace.
    “Back away, lad, before you do something you regret,” Wallace said, warily eyeing the young man.
    “Indeed!” Morgan seconded. “You are behaving most abominably, Andrew! I insist you remember your place.”
    Andrew ripped his gaze to the right, still shaking his head, pacing a few steps and then turning back to the patriarchs, the veins in his neck pulsing in fury. “My place is head of the Kensington & Morgan Enterprises.”
    Wallace frowned. “Perhaps you’ve misunderstood. Nothing has changed in that regard, Andrew. There is more than enough for one man to handle.”
    “But you have placed me in a subservient position to that…that girl out there,” Andrew said, pointing a shaking finger to the doorway. “A girl who knows nothing about the work that is ahead of her.”
    “That girl is my daughter,” Wallace said, steeling his tone. “And I shall not leave her side when it comes to running the mine until I’m confident she can run it as well as any man. Now you must do as your father encouraged, Andrew. Remember your place. You’ve already said too much.”
    Andrew drew a long, shaky breath and stared at Wallace. “Forgive me, Mr. Kensington. But you must know I become impassioned because it is not only for me and my family that I feel the weight of these issues, but also because I hope to provide well for Vivian when we become man and wife. I cannot help but feel that you have taken bread from her cupboard and placed it in Cora’s.”
    “Andrew—” Morgan began.
    “No! Absolutely not!” Wallace said, striding over to Andrew and looking up at him. He jabbed at him, almost touching his chest. “The Kensington-Diehl Mine has absolutely nothing to do with my other children. The only reason I discovered gold and copper in Dunnigan was because Cora was there. Had she not…well, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation. So I advise you to quit pouting over what you don’t have and instead be grateful for the significant sum that it will add to the Kensington fortune and possibly, in the future, your own.”
    “Surely you see that I could manage the mine with ease,” Andrew said, a slight whine creeping into his tone. “There wouldn’t be much to learn at all.”
    Wallace drew himself upward, resting his hands on the end of his glass-knobbed cane. “I have made my decision. Now you have one choice. Move forward with the spirit of gratitude, the desire to help Cora, not hinder, and all will be well. For all of us.” He stepped even closer to Andrew. “But if you broach this subject again, or do anything to harm my objective to aid Cora in becoming the most successful gentlewoman America has ever seen, you shall answer to me .”
    ~Cora~
    The papers were signed, and my father instructed a local banker in town to establish an account for me and then deposit an enormous sum that evening. In celebration, I invited the entire group and our hosts out to supper at a local osteria , and when the bill was presented to me, I paid more for the meal than my family had spent at the Dunnigan mercantile in six months’ time. It took my breath away, and as we drove home, I felt numb, dizzy by what had transpired over the day. But I also felt free, giddy with delight.
    Only when Will escorted me to my room and kissed me good night by the door did I feel the first twinge of unease, the slightest distance, from him. “Wait,” I said, grabbing his hand as he turned to go. He turned back to me, but only partway, a question in his eyes. “Will, are you…all right?”
    “Yes, fine,” he said dismissively. “Just feeling weary.” He cocked a half smile. “I always do about now on a tour, but few tours have been so…involved.”
    I smiled and played with his fingers, holding his big hand in both of mine. I looked up at him. “It’s a lot to take in.”
    “It is,” he said, moving to cover my shoulders with his hands. He leaned