Rebecca Hagan Lee by Gossamer Read Free Book Online

accepted the bundle his housekeeper handed to him. James felt the warmth of a tiny body and immediately knew he held an infant in his arms. He shifted the blanket to the crook of his arm, then used his free hand to gently peel back the corners of the soft flannel so he could get his first look at the infant.
    As he stared down at the red wrinkled face and body of a female newborn who couldn’t have been more than a few hours old, James reached out and stroked the soft black strands of hair covering the baby’s head. He marveled at the feel of the baby’s tender skin beneath his fingertips, the shape of her nose and mouth, and the length of the dark eyelashes fanned against her cheeks. James ran his knuckles lightly down the delicate skin of the baby’s cheek, then touched her tightly balled fist with his index finger. Instinctively the baby grasped James’s finger.
    James grinned. “She’s a strong one, Mrs. G. A real fighter.”
    Helen Glenross stooped to pick up the mail, then rose to her full height and grinned back at James. Her thin, pinched features were wreathed in a broad smile as she shared the wonder of a new life with her employer. “Aye, that she is.”
    “Where did you find her?” James asked.
    “In the garden behind the greenhouse by the back gate. I had just gone into the greenhouse to pick strawberries for a shortcake. I heard a noise, felt someone brush against the back of my skirt. I glanced around, noticed that a few fruit and vegetable plants were bare, and figured we had another hungry sneak-thief. I went outside to make sure the back gate was secure and found this little moppet lying in a basket in the middle of a row of cabbage—between the regular cabbage and the bok choy. She couldn’t have been more than a couple of hours old.”
    James nodded. “Anything wrong with her?” he asked, an almost hopeful note in his voice as he automatically counted her fingers and toes. “Any deformities? Birthmarks?”
    Mrs. G. shook her head. “Not that I can find.”
    “Damn,” James muttered beneath his breath. He didn’t want to find that the innocent little girl suffered physical deformities; he only sought a sense of reason, of logic to the ancient Chinese practice of abandoning unwanted baby girls. James could almost understand a frightened superstitious young woman abandoning a deformed child. But this … This was beyond his ken. This ritual abandonment tore at his heart, saddened and angered him. Another perfectly healthy, absolutely beautiful baby had been abandoned, left in payment for a few pilfered fruits and vegetables, simply because she’d had the misfortune to be born female in a society that demanded that the firstborn child be male.
    “At least they brought this one inside the gate,” Mrs. G. said. “You nearly ran over Emerald. Remember?”
    How could he forget? The near-accident had frightened him out of ten years of his life. “The word must be finally getting around to every corner of Chinatown,” James said. “I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’ll gladly take in any unwanted female children.”
    Mrs. Glenross placed her hands on her hips and snorted in disdain, her thin lips flattened into a disapproving line. “The leaders of the Tongs most likely think you’re going to make slaves or concubines out of these precious little lambs. That’s probably why they’re allowing the poor mothers to bring ’em here.”
    “I don’t care what the Tongs think.”
    “But the terrible rumors going ’round about you …”
    James looked over at his housekeeper. So, Mrs. G. had heard the rumors about him, too. No wonder she was threatening to quit. He couldn’t blame the woman for being uncomfortable living in his household, now that she was alone with him, now that the last governess had flown the coop. Hell, he’d be uncomfortable, too. Nobody wanted to livewith a murderer—even a rumored murderer.
    He’d been lucky to find Mrs. Glenross, and he needed her now