The School Mistress (Emerson Pass Book 1) Page 4

  The doctor placed his hands on my scalp and felt around.

  I yelped as he pressed his fingers into the bump.

  “Does that hurt?” he asked.

  I nodded. “Did my cry of pain give you a clue?”

  “Be gentle, Moore,” Lord Barnes said from somewhere in the room. “Miss Cooper’s been through enough.”

  “She has a bump the size of an egg,” Moore said in a tone that implied it was my fault. If only I had a head strong enough to withstand a collision with a tree.

  He asked me to follow his finger back and forth. “No troubles seeing, then?” he asked.

  “No, Doctor.”

  “Double vision?”

  I shook my head.

  “Excellent. My diagnosis is you have a large bump on your head. Nothing to worry about, but I’d suggest a good meal and a decent night’s rest, and you’ll wake up right as rain.”

  His assessment didn’t give me complete faith in his scientific qualifications. My mother could have identified a bump and advised bed. However, his recommendation of a meal warmed me to him somewhat.

  The doctor pulled out a vial of white powder. “Give her this in some brandy,” Dr. Moore said.

  I wasn’t certain what the brandy was for, but I didn’t want to cause further attention by asking.

  As the doctor was leaving, Lizzie came in with a tray of food. “Do you feel well enough to eat?” she asked.

  “Always,” I said.

  Lord Barnes instructed me to sit at a small round table with two chairs near the fire. A checkerboard occupied the center, but Lord Barnes moved it to the mantel to make room. Lizzie set the meal down as Jasper led me over to the chair all the while looking at me with a mixture of concern and disdain, as if my unfortunate incident had him worried about my abilities to teach a school full of students along with my general character.

  “Lizzie, this smells delightful,” I said, hoping to sound sophisticated when all I wanted to do was wolf it down as fast as I could.

  “Thank you.” Lizzie stood there, beaming at me. I had the distinct feeling that Lizzie wanted to be my friend.

  Jasper cleared his throat. “That will be all, Lizzie. You may retire for the evening.”

  “But what about clearing away the dishes?” Lizzie’s brows came together, making her pretty face surprisingly intimidating.

  “I’ll take care of it,” Jasper said. From what I’d gathered thus far, other than his pursed lips, Jasper’s facial muscles weren’t capable of movement. His eyes, however, told the story of his mind. When they looked at Lizzie, I detected complex feelings of love, fear, impatience, and a need for control. Of what, I wasn’t sure. His own feelings or her obedience? How very English they all were.

  Lizzie’s hands clenched into fists at her sides, as if she’d love nothing more than to smack his condescending mouth. “Yes, sir.” She made an exaggerated curtsy and then headed out with her head held high.

  I exchanged a glance with Lord Barnes, who hovered near the fire. He lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug and smiled.

  Jasper set a short tumbler of brandy on the tray. I wasn’t in the habit of a brandy before or after supper—my family were lucky to have a meal, let alone a drink—but I had to admit the potent smell gave a hint of its warming abilities.

  I thanked him. He nodded before moving away to stand on the other side of the room.

  “May I sit with you, Miss Cooper?” Lord Barnes asked.

  Strangely, this request made me flush with heat. “Please.”

  He set a glass of brandy on the table before taking the chair opposite me. When he crossed one leg over the other, I noticed his fine black leather boots and the expensive wool material of his suit.

  I crossed my ankles. These old boots tattled my tale too well.

  “Please, eat,” Lord Barnes said. “We’ll talk after your stomach is full.”

  I couldn’t resist any longer. As politely as I could, I scooped the savory stew into a spoon and took a bite that tasted of butter, garlic, and rosemary. To my embarrassment, a groan of ecstasy erupted from my chest.

  Lord Barnes chuckled. “Lizzie’s chicken stew is enough to make a grown man weep with happiness.”

  I nodded and wiped my mouth, then picked up the brandy and took a sip. Holy God, what poison was this that made my throat burn thus? I gasped, then coughed so hard that my eyes watered, and I had to clench my butt cheeks together to keep from tooting. The very last thing I needed was eruptions from my nether regions to escape in front of my new employer. Speaking of embarrassing body function, I wondered if I’d drooled while unconscious. Why, why, why had this happened?

  Lord Barnes had scooted to the edge of his chair during my coughing fit, his brows knitted together. “Are you all right, Miss Cooper?”

  “Yes, thank you. I’m not used to brandy. I had no idea it was awful.”

  “It’s an acquired taste.” Damn those laughing eyes. They were most certainly laughing at me. Any attempt at acting sophisticated was now impossible. I’d embarrassed myself since the moment I entered this house. I decided to finish my meal in silence and without another sip of brandy.

  I took another bite of a carrot so tender it melted on my tongue. A chunk of chicken was next. When had my chewing become so loud? I swallowed, self-conscious. Lord Barnes watched me with amusement mixed with apprehension.

  “I’m fine now, Lord Barnes.”

  “Are you quite sure? I can’t have you almost dying on me for the second time in one night.”

  “I’m hardly dying despite your attempt to murder me with that foul liquid.”

  He slapped the tabletop and laughed. “Miss Cooper, you’re nothing if not unexpected.”

  Unexpected? I could say the same for him, I thought, as I shoved more stew into my mouth.

  He put several more logs on the fire and returned to his chair, gazing into the flames with a reflective expression.

  Thankful he was no longer worried about my death from brandy, I took a good look around the room. Dimly lit with gas lamps and the fire, it was impossible to pick out titles of the books that lined the shelves. I’d have to sneak a peek later. Just the idea of this many books in one home took my breath away. What would it be like to have access to them any time one wanted?

  The fireplace was made from river rock in shades of gray. Portraits of two women hung on the wall, one fair-haired with a thin face and enormous green eyes, the other robust with the black hair and eyes like Lord Barnes. I guessed them to be of his late wife and his mother, respectively. If I were correct, Josephine looked very much like her mother.

  The hardback chairs where Lord Barnes and I sat had cushions made of soft brown leather. After the hardness of the train seat, my bony bottom appreciated them even though they were too tall for me. I had to sit on the edge so that my feet could touch the floor. A large desk took up one corner of the room. Two couches, one of which had been my area of recuperation, faced each other over a coffee table. In all my life, I’d never been in a finer room.

  “I brought the books from my home in England,” he said, as if I’d asked. “I collect more during my trips to Denver and Chicago.”

  “What brought you here?” I blurted out.

  “This will sound strange to you, no doubt. Although, as eldest son I was set to inherit my father’s title and estate, I knew from the time I was young that I would have to find my own way. I gave it all up to come to America. My younger brother happily took my place. He was better suited for the life. I wanted adventures. Jasper and I left for America, landing in New York, where we spent a few months exploring. While there, I read about a former mining town in the mountains that had burned to the ground. I decided to come out here and see about buying property for investment purposes. When we arrived, it was a summer day and the sky a brilliant blue against the white tips of the mountains.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “It was like falling in love. I had to have her. The land, that is. I decided to build a town for honest, hardworking
families to have an opportunity to own businesses or farms. So I did.”

  “But how? I don’t understand.”

  “I put an advertisement in the Chicago and Denver papers, offering to build and lease buildings or farmland for anyone willing to come here. Even with the train from Denver able to bring supplies, it behooved us to be self-sufficient. Therefore, farmers willing to raise cattle and fresh produce on my land in exchange for keeping the profits outweighed much of the risk.”

  “And they came?”

  “Not all who applied were accepted.” He shrugged. “It was a rather laborious process.”

  “What about the people who were already here? The ones before the fire.”

  “Many left before I could offer them work, but those who stayed were able to make enough to live better than they had before. You’d be surprised how many men it takes to build a town from nothing.”

  I nodded, thinking about the construction I’d witnessed in Boston as I walked from the slums to the wealthier neighborhoods.

  “Anyway, the men who came to open businesses brought families. Those children are why you’re here.”

  I watched him, interested to know more—to know everything about him. The only thing I knew for sure was that the man sitting across from me was a soul made of complex layers. “What would make you want to do something like this? Build a town?”

  “I wanted a community for my children. We are stronger as a team of people rather than acting entirely alone. Truth be told, I craved a village. I’m a pasty Englishman at heart.”

  I laughed. “There’s nothing pasty about you, Lord Barnes.” The moment I said it, my cheeks burned. I could almost hear the gasp from my mother if she’d been here.

  “I’ll take that as a compliment.” He smiled in a way that was closer to a smirk than a grin. My fingers twitched with a sudden need to touch that mouth, to feel the hardness of his lips.

  I focused on my food, reminding myself that it was best when I kept quiet. When I was done, I set down my spoon. “Thank you for supper.”

  “You’re welcome.” One of Lord Barnes’s eyebrows raised as he cocked his head to one side. I shuttered my eyes and looked away, shy. Something in his gaze gave me a prickly, raw feeling, as if I were naked. Not that I’d ever been undressed in front of a man. If I had, I imagined it to feel like this—exhilarating and terrifying.

  Jasper swooped over to collect my tray. His silent, swift movements were disconcerting. Had he been in the room the entire time?

  “Would you like anything else to eat or drink? More brandy?” Lord Barnes asked, deadpan.

  “I would. However, I’m cutting back on the amount of poison I consume in one sitting.”

  A low rumble of laughter came from deep in his chest. “As long as you’re sure.”

  “Quite sure.” I lifted my chin and allowed myself to smile back at him. I’d eaten so much the bones of my corset were pressing into my ribs, making it hard to breathe. My head continued to ache. I grazed the bump with my fingertips. Yes, it was still the size of an egg.

  “I’ll be forthright, Miss Cooper. I thought you were older.”

  I pressed into the palm of my hand with my nails. Correspondence regarding my age and experience had been misleading. I’d done it purposely, hoping he would assume I was older, given my description of myself as a spinster. “Are you disappointed?” My mouth dried. I unhooked my hands to sip from the water glass Jasper had left for me.

  “Not at all. However, it produces a problem.”

  I pressed my nails harder into my hand, praying that he would not send me back. Going home now would be the end of every hope I had for the future.

  Lord Barnes tugged on his ear. “How can I put this delicately?”

  I waited, heart pounding.

  “I have a predicament.” He cleared his throat. “You see, there are men here who are coarse—uncouth and uneducated and angry that their hopes for gold or silver are squelched when they arrive to find the mountains and rivers stripped of their former bounty. There aren’t many women. If you were an ancient schoolmistress, I wouldn’t worry.” He rose from the chair and crossed the room to a table with various decanters of alcohol and poured himself another drink.

  “Worry?” I squeaked the word out of my dry mouth. What did he mean?

  “Yes, Miss Cooper.” He sat across from me once more. “I’m afraid that a lovely young lady will not be safe at the boardinghouse. In good conscience, I cannot allow you to live there.”

  I swallowed tears. If he made me go home, I would die. Yes, die. How could I fail so miserably already? I cursed myself. I should have told him the truth about my age during our correspondence. “I’m tougher than I look, Lord Barnes.” My voice wavered, defying my argument.

  “Miss Cooper, I’m sure your moral toughness is unparalleled. Your grit has been demonstrated by making the journey alone without funds to eat properly. However, given your…your appearance…it’s simply not possible for you to live at the boardinghouse. We have one woman to eighty men. I wouldn’t sleep at night.”

  I reached for my water glass but instead picked up the one with brandy in it and took a large swallow before I realized, which caused another terrible coughing fit. By the end of almost hacking up a lung, I wished the floor would simply open up and consume me. So much for the lion or the plucky heroine. They’d both died a quick death. My vision blurred with tears from the fit and the panic that surged through me. “Please, don’t send me back. I need this job desperately.”

  He put up his hands, obviously alarmed by my tears. “No, no. I’m not suggesting that at all, Miss Cooper. I was honest with you in my letters. I’ve been trying to get a teacher out here for years.”

  “I’m here. I don’t want to go home.”

  “Yes, we’re in agreement. I don’t want you to go home, either. Thus, you will live here with me and my family. This way I can rest easy that you’re safe and well taken care of.”

  “Stay here?” I couldn’t possibly. A family lived here. I didn’t belong in this posh mansion with an English lord and his beautiful children. “I’m not someone who should live in a house like this.”

  “Why would you say that?” The laughter had left his eyes. He stared at me with what appeared to be genuine curiosity.

  “I’m… Well, look at my shoes.” Like an utter oaf, I lifted one foot from under the table. “Two weeks ago, I was scrubbing floors to keep my family from starvation.”

  His mouth opened, then shut, then opened again. “Miss Cooper, the state of your shoes has nothing to do with your merit. You’ve come all this way, exposed yourself to danger and hunger, which is all I need to know about your character. This house is big enough for all of us. Please, this is the only solution.”

  My heart beat so fast I was afraid it might explode. He wasn’t sending me away. He wanted to keep me safe. Lord Barnes was a gentleman with a warm heart. I gushed, the words tumbling out of my mouth. “If you want me here, then I’ll stay. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about my age. I was afraid you’d discard me because of my lack of experience. I left out a few details, which was wrong of me. It’s that I’m desperate. My mother’s sick, and my sister’s only sixteen. They need my salary.”

  “Consider it no more.”

  I breathed for the first time in more than a minute. “I promise I won’t be a disappointment.”

  “I’ve complete confidence in you.”

  I murmured another thank-you and studied my hands as fatigue settled on me as heavy as the falling snow outside the window.

  “May I ask what’s wrong with your mother?”

  “It’s something with her lungs. The city air makes it hard for her to breathe.” I stopped talking, afraid I would burst into tears if I said much more.

  He was quiet for a moment before he said, “It’s all right to miss them, Miss Cooper. I hope, in time, your sadness will lessen. We’ll keep you busy enough that perhaps you’ll be distracted.”

  “So far, it’s prove
n to be an adventure.” I let my gaze stray to his face. “I’ve already been thrown from a sleigh, awakened on a stranger’s sofa with the eyes of five little angels staring at me.” I found myself smiling at the memory. “Not to mention the kind offer to let me stay at your magnificent house.”

  He looked away as a smile crinkled his face. “I have one more thing to discuss with you.”

  “Yes?”

  “In our correspondence, I wasn’t completely forthright, either. The job I’m asking of you is not as simple as teaching children. Not in the conventional sense, anyway. We have a great deal of men here who have come from other places and cannot read or speak English. I’d like you to teach them as well.”

  “Adult men?”

  “I understand it’s a bit unusual.” He swirled whiskey around his glass without looking at me. “I’ll pay you double if you conduct night school twice a week.”

  “Double?” Double pay would mean I could save as much as I sent home. I could reunite with my sister and mother sooner.

  “You’ll be safe,” he said. “I’ll make sure you have a male escort during the lessons to and from the house.”

  “Why do you care so much?” I asked.

  His eyes narrowed as he tapped one finger against the arm of his chair. “The men have come here for a chance to better their lives. When they’re cheated and stolen from because of their ignorance, I’m angered. Education provides them a weapon.”

  I clasped my hands together under the table. “You and I share a common passion, Lord Barnes.” I looked at the bookshelf instead of him so that I could speak actual words. “The power and importance of literacy—of books. For anyone to have much of a chance for improving their circumstances, reading is essential. I’ve been poor all my life. Without education, I would not be here right now speaking with you of such lofty notions. It’s not only that there are few choices of occupations for a woman that I chose teaching. I’m not likely to ever be important or rich or powerful, but to have taught one human to read, I will go to God in peace.”

  “You’re right, Miss Cooper,” he said, low and throaty. “We share a common passion.”