Cold April by Phyllis A. Humphrey Page A

a not-too-pleasant present.” He laughed at his choice of rhyming words.
    “ I’m sure that’s true.”
    “ I won’t need them anymore, now that I’ve met you.”
    To hide the warmth that suffused her cheeks, Beth rose and went to one of the windows before speaking. “I’m so glad you find my company agreeable, but you needn’t stop reading those stories on my account. I find them most entertaining.”
    “ I have one with me,” he said next. “If you haven’t read it, perhaps we could read it aloud after dinner this evening.”
    “ That sounds like a splendid idea.” Her pulse beat in her throat. “Unless, of course, you intend to make good on your promise to teach me to play Bridge.”
    “ I couldn’t do that effectively even if I wanted to, as it requires four people.”
    “ Of course. I should have guessed, since it evolved from Whist.”
    “ Perhaps another time.”
    After a glance at the children, who were now playing Tag among the tables and chairs, Beth sat down again. “Which one of Sir Arthur’s books do you have with you?”
    “ The Return of Sherlock Holmes. I believe it’s his latest collection.”
    She hoped not to sound too eager about them reading together. “I shall be glad to know how Holmes survived his death in the previous novel.”
    “ Then we shall find out together this evening.”
    The children had become rather noisy, and Beth turned her attention to them. Josie had tagged Kathleen rather hard, almost knocking her down.
    Richard, who had noticed it as well, grasped Kathleen’s arm as she ran by. “It’s time we went back to our room. Say goodbye to your friends.”
    “ May I go with them later? They say Mr. Palmer is going to do his magic tricks again.”
    He paused for a moment. “Perhaps.”
    Kathleen retrieved Toby from a corner chair and said goodbye to Emma and Josie. “If I am allowed to go, will you wait for me by the lift, I mean, the ele-bator?”
    Emma and Josie, apparently not caring if Kathleen joined them or not, giggled and scampered out of the café without answering.
    Kathleen took Beth’s hand and stood still, head down, a slight frown on her face.
    Beth wondered how the child felt at the seeming indifference of her newfound playmates. Perhaps that was a new experience for her. Perhaps her doting aunts and cousins, back in London, would never have behaved that way toward her. Polite behavior, she knew, was instilled into the children of privilege at a very tender age. As a governess, she had taught her charges the very same rules and habits.
    But, perhaps it was better that Kathleen learned a little about all kinds of people now. Those were lessons she might learn in America, where almost everyone would be different. Not that they would be rude. In her three years in New York, she’d found everyone kind, polite and helpful. She sighed and smiled down at Kathleen. Unlike Lady Wheatly’s children, Kathleen would not be returning to England any time soon.
    She wondered what Richard’s cousin, who had agreed to care for the child in America, would be like. A small knot of jealousy formed in her middle. Besides her growing attraction to Richard, she was already beginning to feel like Kathleen’s mother. Could she willingly let her go once they set foot in New York?

Chapter 11
     
    They had lingered in the café almost into lunchtime so, after returning to the stateroom, Richard asked the steward to bring a tray of sandwiches. They ate in the sitting room, using the tea table.
    Beth suggested Kathleen might wish to take a nap.
    “ I’m not sleepy,” she protested.
    Beth gently led her into the other room. “I know, but perhaps Toby is. All that play this morning may have tired her.”
    Kathleen quickened her pace at that and, once in Beth’s cabin, went straight to the canopied bed. The steward had already made it up, so she placed Toby on top of the spread.
    “ Let’s make Toby comfortable.” Beth pulled the bedspread from the pillows and made