Read Online Ballad Beauty by Lauren Linwood - Free Book Online Page B

you can count on.”
    He just loved seeing her blush.

CHAPTER 8
    Jenny splashed cold water on her face and shivered. It was still dark. She couldn’t believe they were leaving at six in the morning. They wouldn’t even be able to see the trail, much less stay on it.
    She was an early riser, so that part hadn’t bothered her. She was used to stoking fires and helping Mrs. Smith with the beginnings of breakfast before she woke the girls on three different floors at The Thompson School. She hoped she hadn’t given Mr. Webster any false impressions. Simply because she had attended and then taught at a fancy girls’ boarding school did not mean she was not used to hard work. She would take their journey through rough country in stride.
    She resolved to keep any complaints to herself while they were on the trail. She thought Mr. Webster more than kind, and he was probably going out of his way to take her to Nevada. She’d read that many of those stricken with consumption went to Arizona Territory, so he would eventually have to loop back around. She appreciated his efforts on her behalf and would request that Papa give him an added bonus when they arrived in Prairie Dell.
    She finished dressing and heard a brisk knock at the door. The hotel owner’s wife opened it and peeped in at her. “Glad to see you dressed, dearie.”
    “Mrs. Swenson? Why are you up at this hour?”
    The small woman whisked through the door, a steaming bowl of oatmeal in her hands. “I couldn’t bear the thought of sending you off without something hot sticking to your ribs. It’s quite chilly out there.”
    “You are so thoughtful. Thank you.”
    The older woman shrugged. “Least I can do for you. You’ve got a long ride ahead of you. I cain’t understand why you have to go off so early, though.” She handed Jenny the wooden bowl. “Now eat up.”
    She spooned a bite into her mouth. “Mmmm. This certainly hits the spot.” She placed the spoon back in the bowl. “Mr. Webster feels that we should leave early every day. I am not as experienced a rider as he, and so he would like us to take a longer break in the afternoon once we eat, so I can rest some before we set out again.”
    She dipped the spoon in and swallowed another bite. She looked at Mrs. Swenson. “That seems to be a reasonable and sound plan, don’t you think?”
    Mrs. Swenson snorted. “I suppose. Though why you’d want to set off on such a back-breaking trip to the middle of nowhere is lost upon me. Won’t find anything better than Texas, mark my words.”
    Jenny savored another bite of her breakfast. “I’m anxious to meet up with my father. I would do just about anything at this point to reach him.”
    As soon as she finished her oatmeal and gathered her things, she looked at the watched pinned to her bodice. Six o’clock sharp. Mr. Webster was to meet her in front of the hotel at any moment. She hurried down the steep stairs quietly, so as not to wake Mr. Swenson, and eased the door open.
    She stepped outside, and the cold air settled around her like a blanket. Thank goodness they weren’t undertaking a long journey from Boston. She couldn’t imagine riding in one of those harsh winters. Everything she’d read, though, assured her that the day would warm up considerably. She thought back on her last few days in Texas and knew that to be true although her guide last night warned her about blue northers.
    “Just when you think the weather is doing tolerably well, Miss McShanahan, a blue norther will whip down from the Panhandle and sweep across the state faster than lice jumping on a schoolboy’s head.”
    “I assume that means it gets very cold.”
    “Colder than a witch’s tit on a frosty day.”
    She remembered pinkening slightly at his turn of phrase, but Noah Webster went on speaking as if nothing were out of the ordinary. She wondered if he said things to make her deliberately uncomfortable. She certainly did a lot of blushing in his presence.
    She