Read Online I do, I do, I do by Maggie Osborne - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Maggie Osborne
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all that she could endure to remember and consider, the light had faded and Zoe sat on the floor in shadow. But anger directed her toward decisions that needed to be made.
She knew she ought to go home to Newcastle and confess how she had been wronged and let her father and brothers find Jean Jacques. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that her pa and her brothers would avenge her honor. They would beat the living hell out of Jean Jacques, maybe kill him, and it would serve the bastard right.
But three things stopped her from seeking comfort in the bosom of her family. First, the company did not grant time off unless a man had broken bones. If her father or brothers went to the Yukon in search of Jean Jacques, they would lose their jobs at the mines. Zoe couldn't let that disaster happen on top of everything else. Second, she had her pride. Eventually she'd have to tell Ma and the others how dumb and foolish she had been. But it didn't have to happen yet. Third, she didn't deserve her family's support, not after she'd betrayed them in her mind.
No, if she was to have retribution, she'd have to see to it herself. She would be the one traveling to the Yukon.
Near daybreak she understood that she'd made yet another mistake by sending the other wives away with a hearty good riddance. If they also intended to seek Jean Jacques in the Klondike, then it would be smarter and more efficient to travel together. They could take one set of cooking utensils instead of three. One clothes iron, one curling iron. One tent to share.
Zoe desperately needed to do something smart to salvage a fraction of her self-esteem and feel worthy of Ma's faith.
A deep sob gurgled up from her despair, and she fell back on the floor, staring at a stain on the ceiling just visible in the predawn light. Admitting to Ma that she'd been played for a sucker would be the hardest thing she ever did.
It seemed to Juliette that she'd done nothing for months but wring her hands and search for guidance. First she had looked to Aunt Kibble for answers, then she had transferred her hopes to Clara. For a few minutes yesterday she had believed Zoe Wilder would know what to do.
Looking to others to make her decisions disgusted her. She had gotten herself to Clara's inn on the Oregon coast, hadn't she? And then to Seattle. True, she had been fearful every step of the way, dreading the new experiences sure to fall in her direction. And rightly so. Thus far, nothing good had come from this painful journey.
So. What should she do now?
No matter what the answer was, she knew she would hate it. There were no comfortable answers in this situation.
"At least we know where he is," she stated glumly after the waiter had removed her breakfast plate. "I suppose we've achieved our objective."
"I haven't. My objective was and is to get my money."
She and Clara sat back to back at separate tables in the hotel's dining room. They had stepped out the door of Zoe's boardinghouse yesterday, taken a hard look at each other, then marched off in different directions. There was no point trying to be polite about it. Juliette loathed Clara and Clara loathed her. They both loathed Zoe.
She took a sip of coffee, extending her little finger. "How do you intend to get your money?" she asked, gazing across the dining room.
From behind her, she heard Clara sigh. "He has to return to Seattle sometime. I'll wait here and meet every ship that returns from Alaska."
She could do the same thing. She had no other pressing business. Heaven knew she wasn't ready to return to Linda Vista, face Aunt Kibble, and confess the truth.
"Well, glory be, look who's come calling!" She couldn't believe her eyes.
Zoe Wilder stood in the doorway scanning the hotel dining room until she spotted Juliette staring back at her. Then, grim-lipped and determined, she stepped forward.
Clara swiveled in her chair to look. "She's very pretty."
Indeed she was, Juliette thought, feeling a sharp bite of jealousy. A crisp
She knew she ought to go home to Newcastle and confess how she had been wronged and let her father and brothers find Jean Jacques. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that her pa and her brothers would avenge her honor. They would beat the living hell out of Jean Jacques, maybe kill him, and it would serve the bastard right.
But three things stopped her from seeking comfort in the bosom of her family. First, the company did not grant time off unless a man had broken bones. If her father or brothers went to the Yukon in search of Jean Jacques, they would lose their jobs at the mines. Zoe couldn't let that disaster happen on top of everything else. Second, she had her pride. Eventually she'd have to tell Ma and the others how dumb and foolish she had been. But it didn't have to happen yet. Third, she didn't deserve her family's support, not after she'd betrayed them in her mind.
No, if she was to have retribution, she'd have to see to it herself. She would be the one traveling to the Yukon.
Near daybreak she understood that she'd made yet another mistake by sending the other wives away with a hearty good riddance. If they also intended to seek Jean Jacques in the Klondike, then it would be smarter and more efficient to travel together. They could take one set of cooking utensils instead of three. One clothes iron, one curling iron. One tent to share.
Zoe desperately needed to do something smart to salvage a fraction of her self-esteem and feel worthy of Ma's faith.
A deep sob gurgled up from her despair, and she fell back on the floor, staring at a stain on the ceiling just visible in the predawn light. Admitting to Ma that she'd been played for a sucker would be the hardest thing she ever did.
It seemed to Juliette that she'd done nothing for months but wring her hands and search for guidance. First she had looked to Aunt Kibble for answers, then she had transferred her hopes to Clara. For a few minutes yesterday she had believed Zoe Wilder would know what to do.
Looking to others to make her decisions disgusted her. She had gotten herself to Clara's inn on the Oregon coast, hadn't she? And then to Seattle. True, she had been fearful every step of the way, dreading the new experiences sure to fall in her direction. And rightly so. Thus far, nothing good had come from this painful journey.
So. What should she do now?
No matter what the answer was, she knew she would hate it. There were no comfortable answers in this situation.
"At least we know where he is," she stated glumly after the waiter had removed her breakfast plate. "I suppose we've achieved our objective."
"I haven't. My objective was and is to get my money."
She and Clara sat back to back at separate tables in the hotel's dining room. They had stepped out the door of Zoe's boardinghouse yesterday, taken a hard look at each other, then marched off in different directions. There was no point trying to be polite about it. Juliette loathed Clara and Clara loathed her. They both loathed Zoe.
She took a sip of coffee, extending her little finger. "How do you intend to get your money?" she asked, gazing across the dining room.
From behind her, she heard Clara sigh. "He has to return to Seattle sometime. I'll wait here and meet every ship that returns from Alaska."
She could do the same thing. She had no other pressing business. Heaven knew she wasn't ready to return to Linda Vista, face Aunt Kibble, and confess the truth.
"Well, glory be, look who's come calling!" She couldn't believe her eyes.
Zoe Wilder stood in the doorway scanning the hotel dining room until she spotted Juliette staring back at her. Then, grim-lipped and determined, she stepped forward.
Clara swiveled in her chair to look. "She's very pretty."
Indeed she was, Juliette thought, feeling a sharp bite of jealousy. A crisp
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