Rivals of Fortune / The Impetuous Heiress by Jane Ashford Read Free Book Online Page A

she realized that she would not. Her steps slowed, and she hung her head a little. She had been rude, she supposed, and unreasonable. Why had she spoken so? Thinking back over their talk, Joanna really could not tell. What had made her so angry? She had been silly. But could Selina not see that she didn’t wish to hear her uncle’s silly gossip?
    She walked on more slowly, her mood alternating between chagrin and defiance, and her eyes focused unseeingly on the grass at her feet. She did not see the figure picking flowers in the field to her right until she was hailed and turned to find Constance Williston beside her.
    â€œHow deeply occupied you were,” said Constance. “I hope I do not disturb your thoughts.”
    â€œNo,” replied Joanna, but her tone was not welcoming.
    The older girl reddened slightly. “I was picking wildflowers,” she added, showing her basket of blooms. “My mother loves them so. But she is too busy with the children to look for them. So I try to make up a bouquet now and then for her room.”
    The delicate blues and yellows in the basket attracted Joanna in spite of herself, and she bent to smell. “They’re lovely.”
    Constance smiled, her rather narrow face lighting. “Aren’t they? I found one bluebell, down by the stream. It’s so late, but all the more beautiful for that, don’t you think?” She pulled out this flower and held it up.
    Joanna nodded but said nothing.
    â€œAre you going home?” asked Constance. “I must pass by old Mrs. Rouse’s on my way, to leave some liniment Mother made for her. I could walk along with you.” She sounded both eager and uncertain.
    Joanna blinked. Since Constance had returned from school, she had thought little about her beyond twinges of envy at the older girl’s apparent assurance and graceful height. Now, the tone of her voice made Joanna examine her more closely. Constance looked like someone who expects a rebuff, yet is still hopeful. And suddenly, Joanna realized that Constance must be very lonely in this neighborhood. She and Selina were the only girls near her age; Constance’s sisters were all much younger. And the two of them had shut her out completely. Some of Joanna’s envy melted, and she said, “Of course, do come along, I am very stupid this morning and have been quarreling. You must forgive me.” She frowned as soon as she had said this, for she did not at all wish to tell Constance that she had quarreled with Selina.
    But Constance said only, “Splendid,” as she dropped into step with Joanna. And immediately afterward, she began to talk innocuously of flowers once more.
    Joanna listened more attentively than she might otherwise have, thinking that Constance was very understanding. She asked a few questions about the flowers in the field around them, and the other girl answered with a surprising amount of knowledge. This had gone on for some minutes when Constance abruptly stopped speaking and said, “But you mustn’t let me prose on in this way. Father says that I am mad on the subject of flowers. I didn’t mean to bore you.”
    â€œYou did not,” said Joanna quite truthfully. “You certainly know a great deal about wildflowers. Did you learn it at school?”
    The older girl nodded, her cheeks reddening slightly. “The senior teacher interested me in the subject, and I—I took it up on my own. You must think me very silly.”
    Joanna’s eyes widened. The idea that she could think this very superior girl silly startled her. “Not at all. I only wish I had gone to school. But my father wished to educate me himself.” She sighed as she remembered the long sessions in his study, where she had understood perhaps a quarter of the things her father said.
    â€œOh, it is you who were lucky,” replied Constance quickly. “My father says that yours is one of the most brilliant