Hope Between the Pages, Pepper Basham [best ebook reader android .txt] 📗

steadied my attention on the grand lady. “With heavy heart, I’ve come to resign my position at Biltmore.”

The only reaction from Mrs. Vanderbilt was a barely audible intake of breath.

“I’m so sorry.” My voice broke and I pinched my lips closed, lowering my eyes.

“What has brought about this decision? Has someone treated you unkindly?”

“No, ma’am.” I looked back up at her. “Biltmore has been a wonderful place to work, but I find that my future lies elsewhere.”

“I see. I’m sorry to hear you’ll be leaving us.” She folded her hands together, head slightly tilted as she studied me. “Are you in some sort of trouble, Sadie? You know I am willing to help you if I can.”

My throat closed with tears. “You are all kindness, ma’am, but I… I am in no trouble.” Or at least, not yet, but with an ocean to cross and a soldier to marry, the future hung with as much shadow as light. “I am leaving to take an…opportunity.”

“An opportunity that keeps you nearby?”

I hesitated before answering. “No, ma’am.”

Her gaze steadied on mine, as if reading every worry line on my brow. “An adventure far away then?”

“Yes, ma’am.” There was no point avoiding the truth. She’d learn soon enough. “Very far away. Across an ocean, even.”

Her gaze sharpened and then her attention dropped to the paper in my hand, comprehension dawning. “Oliver Camden.”

It wasn’t a question. I lowered my gaze. “Yes.”

The silence dug into my confidence and I pinched the letter more tightly.

“How soon?”

“My ship leaves in a week, and, if I might be so bold, I feel as though Laura would be an excellent replacement for me. She has no idea of my plans, but she loves reading and has a quick mind.”

She studied me, the tension in her expression thawing into a sad smile. “You’ve been planning this since he left?”

“Hoping for it more than planning, ma’am.” I jolted pencil-straight in my chair. “But, please know, I didn’t pursue anything with him. I give you my word. It all happened—”

She raised a palm to stop me. “Knowing Mr. Camden as I do, I

have no doubt he set his cap at you. He’s not one to stand with protocol or expectation that he deems unimportant.” Her smile bloomed. “Oliver is a smart enough man to love with much more than his eyes or his purse, but with his mind and his heart. From the first time I saw the two of you engaged in conversation, I realized Miss Withersby didn’t stand a chance.”

My face must have reflected my surprise, because she chuckled. “I have eyes everywhere, Sadie. Haven’t you learned that by now? Most of the time, they’re my own.”

My cheeks flamed hot. Did she have spies in the garden, particularly near a certain weeping willow?

“But your secret is safe with me until you choose to share your story. He is a good man. And Miss Withersby has happily found her match in the young and melancholic Mr. Dasher.” She placed her palms on the desk and leaned forward. “I shall miss you. Like your mother before you, you have been an excellent member of my staff.”

“Thank you, ma’am. It has been my honor.”

“And before you leave, I wish to give you this.” She brought out a little item wrapped in paper from a drawer in her desk. “I’d planned to give it to you at the Christmas party, but it felt too intimate for such a time.” She placed it on the desk within my reach. “This was something I meant to give to your mother last Christmas, but she passed before I could. I’d like for you to have it.”

The paper fell away to reveal an ornament.The intricate orb glowed with red-and-golden blown glass, and carved in the center lay an open book. One of the open pages held the scripted words Read a story and on the other open page, Live a story.

“It’s beautiful,” I whispered, brushing away a tear.

“You’ve spent years reading books and helping others fall in love with stories.” Mrs. Vanderbilt’s gaze softened with her smile. “Now it’s time for you to live one of your own.”

A bruise darkened Lark’s cheekbone, even though she’d attempted to disguise it with powder. But with a turn and the way the lantern light hit, I saw. That paired with the dullness in her eyes and the way she diverted questions gave me all the information I needed.

“He’s hitting you?”

Her body stiffened but she didn’t look up from her tea. We’d chosen to meet at the bakery where Lark had worked, but it had taken her until my final day in Biltmore to schedule a time.

“You still haven’t told me why you spent the money you’ve been saving to update your wardrobe. Is it because of this Oliver fellow?” Lark waved toward my simple but new green day suit. “Or are you just jealous of my excellent style?” She laughed a hollow sound.

I smoothed the sleeve of my jacket. Oliver had sent a ticket and transportation money to cover travel costs, but, as was likely the case for a man, he hadn’t considered that the only clothes I possessed were hand-me-downs or servants’ attire. And since I’d learned that Brick House had been recently purchased, I’d taken out my disappointment on shopping for my trousseau. Items I’d always wanted, but never dared buy. Nothing outrageous, but things I thought Oliver would like and items that would hopefully disguise my class difference.

“You didn’t answer my question, which provides more confirmation than not.”

“Does it really matter, Sadie?” An edge tinged her words, her gaze locked with mine. “I made my choice. I wasn’t blind, but I chose to be. He gave off signs that I refused to see because the desire to live above the dust and bone-aching work we’ve come to know meant more to me than…” She raised her hand to her cheek. “Than this.”

“A man should never strike his wife.”

She stared at me for a long instant and then