Rebecca Hagan Lee by Gossamer Read Free Book Online Page A

more than ever, so James decided to do whatever he could to waylay her fears. “Blast the rumors.” James did his best to temper his strong reaction. “I’d rather have the whole nation think of me as a procurer than allow any more of these innocent children to die.” He turned his attention back to the baby in his arms, and smiled when she yawned at him. “The rumors about me are just that, Mrs. G.—rumors,” James met his housekeeper’s hard gaze without flinching. “They don’t bother me. And I sincerely hope you don’t let them bother you.
We
know the truth.
We
know I’d never do anything to hurt my girls. I want only the best for them—the best life possible. And I’m more than willing to see that they get it.”
    Mrs. G. gave a sharp understanding nod, before allowing herself, and her employer, another rare smile. “Don’t think I pay any heed to gossip,” Mrs. G. told him, “nor am I wanting to leave your employ. But”—she hesitated a moment—“with three little ones already, and no governess, and now this little mite, I just don’t see how I can manage.”
    James smiled his most reassuring smile. “Don’t worry about a thing, Mrs. G., I already have a governess in mind.”
    She raised her eyebrows at that.
    “I met her at the hotel in San Francisco. She’s young, capable, and experienced,” James said. It wasn’t a lie. He had met her at the hotel in San Francisco. And Elizabeth had told him she’d been a teacher.
    Very familiar with the kind of experience James’s previous governesses had had, Mrs. G. was more than a bit skeptical. “How experienced?”
    “She left a long-standing position as a teacher in a school back East to come west.”
    “And you think you can talk a teacher with that kind of experience into leaving San Francisco to come to a tiny mining town when she’s sure to have plenty of better opportunities in the city?”
    “She needs a job,” James said simply, praying it was true. “And we need a governess.”
    Mrs. G. still looked skeptical. “And what if she already has a job before you get back to San Francisco?”
    “I’ll double her best offer,” James said. “Triple it, even. I’ll do whatever it takes, pay whatever she wants, to get her here.”
    Penny-wise Scotswoman that she was, Mrs. Glenross seized the opportunity. “And what about me?”
    James bit back a smile. “Well, of course, it goes without saying, that since there will be at least two more mouths to feed and bodies to take care of”—he glanced down at the baby—“I’ll be doubling your salary and adding a healthy bonus as a thank-you for staying on. Deal?”
    “Deal,” Helen Glenross agreed.
    “And now that that’s settled,” James continued, “have you told the Treasures about their newest sister?”
    “No, sir, I was waiting for you. I had just gotten them fed and bathed and tucked in for a bit of a rest And a time I had doing it, too. I finally had to promise I’d wake ’em as soon as you got home.”
    “We’ll go upstairs to see the girls in just a minute, but first we have something very important to take care of.” James focused all his attention on his housekeeper. “What shall we name her, Mrs. G.?”
    “It’s April,” Mrs. Glenross replied.
    “And what gemstone represents the month of April?” he asked.
    Mrs. G. thought for a moment. “A diamond,” she replied.
    “Then, Diamond, it is.” James leaned down and gently nuzzled the infant, inhaling the newborn scent of her, Would he ever tire of seeing a newborn child open her eyes and fix her unfocused gaze on him? Would he ever tire of feeling the warmth of a baby’s body in his arms or fail to be enchanted by the simple rise and fall of her tiny chest? Would there ever come a time in his life when he could look at a baby girl and not remember … No, James toldhimself. Never. He blinked at the sudden stinging in his eyes as he pressed his lips against the baby’s forehead. “Welcome home, little