Somebody Wonderful by Kate Rothwell Read Free Book Online Page B

talking. He stared at a crust of bread that lay on the table. “She won’t admit it and so I reckon she’ll have to do all her mourning when he goes. You’re the eldest. You’ll be in charge.”
    “That’s not fair, he’s practically a child.” Timona must have been tired or she would never have interrupted. Two pairs of blue eyes looked at her in amazement. She dropped her gaze to the greasy oilcloth.
    “I’m nearly fourteen,” said Rob indignantly. “I’m apprenticed to the blacksmith.”
    “I agree with Miss, er, Cooper. ’Tisn’t fair to you.”
    Timona gaped at Mick, surprised by his agreement. He continued, “But it won’t be for long, Rob. Just til you get to your uncle. T’others will count on you. Good thing you’re a strong lad. Sarey’ll be a help with the youngest ones. You’ll get by. But here’s the other thing . . .” Mr. McCann cleared his throat. “I wonder if you’ve seen the letter. Because it might be your ma wasn’t entirely . . .”
    Rob croaked. “Oh. You mean there might be no letter from Uncle Dave.”
    “And when your da passes on, you’ll have to move fast before you run out of money, and your mam goes back to her old job as barmaid and starts drin—” He stopped talking and coughed. When he darted a quick, wary glance at Timona, she resisted the urge to roll her eyes at him.
    Rob said, “I may need some help, Mr. Mick. And I need to borrow money to go out there. And I don’t know what all I have to do.”
    “A’ course I’ll help,” Mick said.
    “Me too.” Timona piped up. “I’ll help.”
    She looked up from the table and met Mick’s blue, frowning eyes. The chilled gaze disappointed her. A few hours before she had practically melted from the heat of those eyes.
    He tilted his head and examined her for a long moment, then said, “You’ll be back with your da, miss. We’re looking into that this morning.”
    She shrugged. “It appears to me you have enough on your plate, Mr. McCann. I think I worried too much for my father yesterday. I shall make sure that Papa’s secretary is with him. Then I need no longer worry.”
    “Secretary?” Mr. McCann’s face puckered as if she had said something obscene. “I thought your da was some kind of fool, the way you spoke of him. A secretary?”
    She picked up her mug and gulped down a swallow of dreadful, boiled coffee. She gathered the man was a tremendous snob about the English and, she now understood, about people with money. She had to step carefully until she had him ensnared.
    “Never mind the secretary. A fancy name for a type of caretaker.” She would feel guilty about calling Mr. Blenheim a caretaker except, come to think of it, the title often fit the poor gentleman’s job description. “We must worry about Mr. Tucker and his family. Not me.”
    Rob stood up. “It’s past my time, Mr. Mick. I’m off to Biggens’s shop. Glad to meet you Miss Cooper. Thank you for all of your help with the family and all.”
    Timona smiled. “It was a pleasure, Mr. Tucker. And I must apologize for speaking out of hand earlier when I said you were practically a child. I was a careless wretch when I was young, and I forget that other young people are far more responsible. If I were your mother, I would thank my lucky stars for giving me a young man like you to turn to.”
    Rob’s young face lit as if she had bestowed a medal on him. He tugged at his wool cap and sauntered out of the restaurant.
    Mick laughed. “Now you’ll have a slave for life, Miss Calverson.”
    “I meant what I said.”
    He studied her for a moment. “Yes, and it’s a good thing to have said, at that. Make the boy proud of himself—it’ll likely be the only reward he gets.” His last words sounded grim and Timona wondered if he spoke of Rob or himself.
    “There’s the reward of seeing his family thrive,” she ventured, and Mick smiled at her at last. He had the kind of eyes that sparkled when he was pleased.
    The crowd in