To Dream Again by Laura Lee Guhrke Read Free Book Online Page B

Nathaniel stared at the sign, thinking with sorrow of the man he'd met in San Francisco.
    James had seen the potential in Nathaniel's ideas at the point in his life when Nathaniel himself had doubted them most. He'd been hiding from the world ever since his toy company in St. Louis had gone bankrupt, working on inventions and selling them to others, convinced all his dreams were lost to him, when James had first come to see him.
    James had believed in him and had brought him out of the dark hole of despair he'd fallen into, a debt he would now never have the chance to repay. James had convinced him to hold on to his dream, to try once more to achieve it. Now, staring at the sign and the black wreath that hung below it, Nathaniel felt the doubts and the despair return, the frustration of dreams once again out of his grasp.
    What the hell was he to do now? There was nothing in writing. The two men had formed a partnership based on nothing more than a gentlemen's agreement and a handshake. No one at Elliot's seemed to know who he was or why he was there. Nathaniel wasn't sure what his legal position was in all this, but he figured it wasn't a very strong one.
    He stared at the sign. There was only one way to find out. It was time to pay a visit to James's solicitor.
     
     
     

Chapter Four

     
     
    Mara was bone-weary. She had gone to the memorial service with Mr. Finch and Percy that morning, expecting them to be the only ones there. But several dozen people had attended, many of them employees of Elliot's.
    When it was over, they had crowded around her to express their sympathy and tell her their stories of what James Elliot had done for them. Mara couldn't fathom how a man who never stayed in one place long enough to make friends could have so many.
    After the service, she'd spent the rest of the day meeting with potential investors. But her efforts had been in vain. Men with money to invest were not enthusiastic about having a female partner.
    As twilight descended, she trudged home through the narrow, twisted streets of Whitechapel, tired, discouraged, and even frightened. She had one day left, and she was out of options. The bank would take the company, and she would have nothing but the twelve pounds and six in her little tin bank.
    Mara passed an abandoned warehouse, and she paused to glance at the boarded-up windows and the "For Sale" sign on the door, fully aware that Elliot's would soon look much the same. A cackle of laughter caused her to glance down, and she saw a thin, disheveled figure huddled amid the trash in the shadowy doorway. She froze, unable to tear her gaze away from the empty, hopeless stare of the old woman sitting there.
    '"ave ye tuppence for me, dearie?"
    Mara's heart twisted with compassion. She fumbled in her pocket and pulled out a sixpence, more than the woman had asked for, enough for a night's lodging. She stepped forward and thrust the coin into the gnarled hand reaching up to her. "Find yourself a room, ma'am."
    "Room?" The woman clutched the coin to her breast and shook her head fretfully. "No, no, I must feed the pigeons." She laughed again. "Tuppence for the pigeons, dearie."
    Mara shivered and quickly walked away, but the vision haunted her all the way home. Tuppence for the bank, Mara. Tuppence for the pigeons, dearie . Tuppence was never enough. Her future had never looked more bleak.
    She arrived at her lodging house. By the light of the street lamp, she could see the gray kitten she'd first noticed two days before. It was sitting on the front stoop. It hissed at her as she approached.
    "Scat!" she ordered, waving a hand to urge the kitten away. It jumped back, but it did not run. Instead, it backed up into a corner by the door and watched as she mounted the steps and stepped inside her lodging house.
    She closed the door behind her and climbed the stairs to her room, knowing it was time she faced facts. She would lose the company. The bankers would not change their minds, she would