Surrender the Dawn by MaryLu Tyndall Read Free Book Online Page B

crack, Cassandra turned back toward Mr. Crane.
    He cleared his throat. “Very good. Shall we sit?” He gestured toward an iron bench beneath a maple tree.
    Reluctantly, Cassandra sat. The cold bars leeched the warmth from her body. Or was it being so close to Mr. Crane—who took the seat beside her—that caused her to shiver? He wasn’t such an unpleasant fellow. In fact, he’d always been quite courteous to her. But something in his eyes, in his subtle gestures, pricked at her distrust.
    Or maybe she didn’t trust anyone anymore.
    “Miss Channing.” He rubbed at his fingers as if he’d just noticed the ink stains upon them. “Your mother … I mean to say, I have asked …” His face reddened and he chuckled. “Do forgive me, Miss Channing. I’m usually not this inarticulate.”
    Oh, bother. He was going to ask if he could court her!
“Do not vex yourself, Mr. Crane. Perhaps we can talk some other time.” Cassandra stood, her gaze darting about the yard, seeking escape. He grabbed her wrist and stood. “Please, Miss Channing, don’t leave. What I am trying to say is, what I’m making a terrible mess of saying is, I have asked your mother’s permission to court you and she has said yes.”
    The sharp smell of ink bit her nose. Cassandra tugged from his grasp and took a step back. Expectation and vulnerability filled his eyes—so different from the confidence and hint of sorrow burning in Mr. Heaton’s eyes the night before. “Mr. Crane. I am deeply flattered. But my mother has misspoken. I am in no position to entertain suitors at this time. With my father dead and my brothers missing, surely you can see that I have more pressing matters to contend with.”
    He wrung his hands once again. “If that is all that concerns you, Miss Channing, I have your solution. I’d be honored if you’d allow me to assist you with your pressing matters. It is too much for a lady to handle alone.”
    Cassandra stiffened her jaw. “A lady can handle whatever a man can as long as she is given equal opportunity, sir.”
    He started to chuckle, but when his eyes locked with hers, his laughter withered on his lips.
    Mrs. Northrop’s head popped out from around the corner then disappeared. Mr. Dayle, still working in the garden, cleared his throat.
    Cassandra studied Mr. Crane. For one fleeting moment she considered asking him to invest her money in a privateer. But that idea dissipated when she realized she’d be forced to not only trust him, but she’d be forever bound to him if he agreed. “I am grateful for your concern, sir, but I cannot allow such kindness when I have nothing to offer in return.”
    “Oh, but you do, my dear.” Tugging on his lacy cravat, he lifted pleading brown eyes to hers.
    Cassandra nearly shriveled at the look of desire and desperation within them.
    He frowned. “At least give me a reason to continue casting my hope in your direction.”
    “I can give you no such reason, sir. I can only say that my future is yet unknown.”
    He lowered his chin. “That alone gives me hope.”
    Truly?
Cassandra sighed. Would nothing put the man off?
    “I shall bid you
adieu,
then.” Taking her hand in his, he placed a gentle kiss upon it, bowed, then headed toward the house. Mr. Dayle leapt to escort him to the door, giving her a sympathetic look in passing.
    Shielding her eyes, Cassandra gazed up at the sun halfway to its zenith. A dark cloud that seemed to come out of nowhere drifted over it, swallowing its bright light and sending a shadow over her face and a shiver down her back. An evil foreboding? For once upon a time, Cassandra’s future had appeared bright and glorious, but now it seemed nothing but dark and dismal.
    It was this war. This horrendous war. And the bedeviled British who had stolen her father, her brothers, her future, and who now wanted her country. But she could not let them. She must invest in a privateer. It was the only way to ensure her family’s future and aid in defeating