Read Online Sycamore Hill by Francine Rivers - Free Book Online

grinned.
    “Does it surprise you?” I countered with a smile that did not show
my nervous tension. “But as for that jump, I forgot about the broken steps.”
    “You always seem to be doing some dance or other when I see you,”
he teased, reminding me unkindly of my collapse in the road. I chose to ignore
that comment and turned instead to look at the children. Neither resembled
Jordan Bennett, but both were beautiful in contrasting ways. The little girl,
whom I assumed to be Linda, was looking surreptitiously through a veil of fair
lashes. Her eyes were an unusual violet. The smile on her face was faint with
shyness.
    The boy, not much older than the girl, was dark-skinned,
black-haired and brown-eyed. He looked at me with openly curious appraisal.
However there was a tension about him. His thin shoulders and his full mouth
looked too hard and firmly set for a boy so young.
    “Miss McFarland.” Bennett doffed his hat mockingly. “Meet my
daughter, Linda, and Diego Gutierrez, the son of my housekeeper. Say good
morning to your new schoolteacher, children.” His tone irritated me, but I was
careful not to show it. Both children mumbled some polite, mechanical response,
and I smiled, ignoring the sparkle of mischief that lighted Bennett’s eyes.
    “Now go into the schoolhouse and get the best seats you can. Today
should prove very interesting,” he further told them, making it sound like some
grand entertainment was in store for them rather than classroom instruction.
They obeyed.
    Bennett laughed again, and I practiced my willpower with a polite,
if somewhat stiff, smile.
    “You’re looking rather tired this morning, Miss McFarland,” he
grinned, obviously pleased about it. What a typical Jordan Bennett observation,
I thought, stifling the urge to tell him to go home.
    “I should be,” I commented.
    “Oh? Did you do a little work around here?” he asked, glancing
around the overgrown school yard I had not yet gotten to. “It doesn’t look like
it.”
    My smile stayed plastered to my face, but I knew my eyes were
speaking volumes. “Give it a few days, Mr. Bennett, and you might be very
surprised.”
    “I do hope so,” he said dryly, the corner of his mouth jerking up
in suppressed amusement. “I’ll even go so far as to loan you a scythe.”
    “I’d prefer a horse and plow,” I commented coolly. Bennett threw
back his head and laughed. Then he looked at me, and something flickered in his
eyes.
    “That I’d like to see. A fair maid from Boston proper behind a
horse and plow. People would come from miles around just to see such a
spectacle.” There was an odd bite to his words, making it a deliberate insult.
I decided to pick up the thrown gauntlet.
    “I may be from ‘Boston proper,’ as you put it, Mr. Bennett,” I
said calmly, my smile now more a baring of teeth, “but in Boston we have some
semblance of manners. As to your ‘fair-maid’ label, it’s misplaced entirely.
And I don’t appreciate being made fun of.”
    “I still maintain my first impression,” he commented blandly.
    I felt momentarily bemused. Then I remembered. “Oh,” I sniffed,
“that I won’t last out the term, you mean. Well, I shall try not to let your
opinions prey too heavily on my mind.” I waved my hand in airy dismissal. “Will
you be returning for the children, or are they permitted to find their way home
without your escort?”
    “They can make the ride by themselves,” he admitted, and I sighed
in obvious relief. “But I think I’ll come back for them anyway. I want to hear
all the gory details of your first day teaching,” he added. I did not even
attempt a smile that time. I turned around and started to march back toward the
schoolhouse.
    “Oh, Miss McFarland,” Bennett called in overly polite tones. I
ignored him and kept walking.
    “Miss McFarland,” he said, the politeness gone. I let out my
breath in irritation and turned around.
    “What is it, Mr. Bennett?” I asked, barely managing