The Confidential Life of Eugenia Cooper (22 page)

All the better.

Without comment, she retrieved a plate from the drainboard and went about ladling eggs and choosing slices of bacon, then slathering butter on a steaming biscuit. As the butter melted down the side of the biscuit, her courage faded.

“Go ahead,” she said as she laid her napkin atop the untouched food. “You’ve surely got questions. Ask them.”

She braved a look at Elias, who stood with his back to her. Rather than his usual Confederate grays, today the older man wore a starched white shirt missing its collar. Atop his curls sat a gray infantry slouch hat with a smart cavalry cord banding its brim. When Tova looked his direction, he began to whistle Dixie.

How appropriate, as she felt she too was marching toward defeat. Gennie shook her head and made to stand.

“I have questions,” Tova said. She set a glass of milk in front of Gennie, then lifted the napkin from the plate and handed her a fresh one. “And you have breakfast. Eat.”

Gennie shook her head but did as the housekeeper asked, jabbing her fork into the eggs. Three bites later, she still waited for the questions.

“All right. It’s a long story,” she said. “Would you like to hear it from the beginning?”

Daniel listened from the door, just out of sight, while Miss Cooper told a tale of exchanged train tickets and a life back in New York that included a solid banker-type who would likely be proposing marriage upon her return. He’d been about to storm through the door and fire her on the spot when he heard that last part.

Somehow, the fact that sending her away meant sending her into the arms of another man made firing Miss Cooper more difficult than expected. Much as he wanted her gone, especially after last night’s unfortunate lapse on his part, he foolishly hoped she’d miss him just a little.

“So you can see I’m going to have to tender my resignation,” Miss Cooper said.

Uh-oh.

“Don’t be so hasty, Miss McTaggart,” Elias said.

“Cooper,” she corrected. “Eugenia Cooper, though I prefer Gennie. And I don’t believe I am acting in haste. I’ve deceived all of you, Charlotte despises me, and Mr. Beck, well, he’s likely going to fire me, anyway. I don’t think I endeared myself to him when I demanded he come home and be a father to his daughter.”

From his vantage point, Daniel could see none of them, so the silence that followed baffled him. Did his best friend and housekeeper agree or disagree with the soon-to-be-former governess?

“I think I can speak for the both of us,” Elias said. “Tova and me, that is.” Daniel heard the housekeeper’s murmur of agreement. “And we’ve been watching you. Our Charlotte’s a pill, but we feel like she’s as much ours as she is Daniel’s, and we’re not going to stand for some stranger coming in and causing disruption.”

“And I’ve done just that.”

“No,” Tova said. “Well, perhaps a little, but in a good way, I think. What do you say, Elias?”

Daniel leaned in, trying to catch sight of the one man he’d go to his death for. The adjustment in location only allowed him a glimpse of one sleeve. Not exactly enough to judge a reaction, though he did note that the old soldier’s fingers formed a fist.

“I reckon this house needed a little disruption. I didn’t read what you wrote to Daniel, but I know it set his feathers to ruffling.”

To say the least.

“And I don’t doubt there’s truth to be had on both sides of that issue.” Elias paused. “But as much as that girl bucks your authority, I can see she’s warming to you.”

Miss Cooper’s chuckle lacked humor. “Pelting me with mud in the school yard is a fine way to show it.”

Pelting her with mud in the school yard?
Daniel made a note to further investigate this. Surely his daughter had done nothing of the kind.

“But you didn’t let her get away with it, and that makes you more than suitable for helping us raise her.”

Another murmur of agreement from Tova.

Miss Cooper protested. “All I did was cancel an outing I’d planned for her, then enter into an exercise in futility when I attempted to wash the mud off her.”

Elias laughed. “You really don’t understand what you’ve done already, do you? Tova here’s been with us four years, and—”

“Five, Elias,” Tova interjected.

“Five years,” the old soldier corrected, “and in all those five years, have you ever managed to get that girl to put her face in the water?”

“I have not.”

“Any of those other gals Daniel hired manage it that you know of, Tova?”

“Only the last Miss McTaggart could even swab the girl’s face without sending her into a fit of howling.” A pause. “She’s quite high strung when it comes to her baths.”

“I noticed,” Miss Cooper said, punctuating the sentence with another humorless laugh. “In fact, she’s quite high strung, period.”

“You could say that,” Elias said, “but you’ve not walked a mile in her moccasins.”

“I don’t follow,” Miss Cooper said.

“Her papa’s all she’s got,” Elias said. “I don’t reckon you’ve been told this, but she lost her mama while she was still a little tot. Daniel, he loves her more than life itself. Too much, maybe.”

Too much?
Daniel frowned. He’d never heard this from Elias.

“He intends the best for his little girl. That means he’s often away, seeing to the mines so’s she’ll want for nothing.” He paused and Daniel saw him shake his fingers, then place them flat on the table. “I’m not saying you shouldn’t have called Daniel out on being away so much, but I think maybe you need to better understand the why of it.”

Silence and then the creaking of a chair, likely from someone shifting positions.

“I suppose a case can be made for what you’re saying, Mr. Howe,” Miss Cooper said, “but I thought to point out to Mr. Beck that his daughter might be better served should he focus on her rather than the business.”

“Fair enough, and now you’ve told him.” Elias paused. “Looks like he listened, ’cause he sure hot-footed it back home, didn’t he?”

“I suppose,” she said in a tone that offered little enthusiasm.

“So let’s look at this,” Elias continued. “You’ve been here three days. In that time you’ve managed to get Charlotte bathed and Daniel home. I’d say that’s no small thing.”

“But Mr. Beck—”

“Mr. Beck would like to speak to you privately,” Daniel said as he pushed the door open. “When you’re finished here, of course.”

Tova scrambled to her feet, but Elias stood firm. Something in his expression told Daniel his friend might not be as surprised as the ladies that Daniel had joined them.

Miss Cooper rose, her back ramrod straight, and gave him a look that told him nothing of what she must be feeling. “Now is fine,” she said, “unless Mr. Howe or Tova need me to—”

“No!” they said in unison.

“Very well, then,” Daniel said, his gaze landing on Elias, who dared to offer an insolent wink. “Follow me, please.”

“Bats, rats, it’s all the same.” Mae knew she made little sense, but the frustrated female had been walking the better part of the night with nothing to lead her but the North Star and a keen instinct for finding trouble.

Making a bed and falling into it tempted her, as did leaving the heavy rifle behind. Neither would happen, for she knew well the dangers a lone woman faced.

What must Henry be thinking now? Might he suspect she was about to walk through the soles of her best boots—her only boots—just because the horse was misnamed?

“Lord, I know You’re up there. Might I trouble You to send…”

She almost said it. Almost asked for help.

“That is,” she corrected, “I’d be much obliged if You’d send me an idea on what I need to do next.”

With each step Daniel took toward the library, his brain ticked off a few reasons to keep Miss Cooper in his employ, along with a multitude of reasons to send her back to Manhattan and the banker. He’d hoped—prayed—that by the time he ushered the woman into his private domain, he might have a clear winner between the two options.

Unfortunately, he did not.

“Sit down, Miss Cooper.” He pointed to one chair only for her to blithely sit in another.

Add one more reason to fire her.

“Thank you for the boots and jacket,” she said as she smoothed her skirt over her knees. “It was a lovely gesture.”

And another reason for keeping her.

“You’re most welcome.”

He settled behind the desk and pushed a stack of letters aside. The gesture reminded him of the correspondence from his father, which further reminded him of the dire need to tame Charlotte before she was introduced to her grandfather.

Daniel had decided to set aside the past in cautious optimism of a future for Charlotte. He made the choice out of love for his daughter and not any obligation or desire to mend the frayed edges of his own relationship with his father. He didn’t need the old man’s money or his blessings. The latter was worth nothing, and the former had already been signed away to the one who most deserved it. He cared little for the old man’s opinion of him, but he’d not have his daughter’s heart broken should her grandfather judge her and find her wanting.

In order to be presented to the earl in the most positive light, Charlotte would need to be polished just a bit. Sadly, Elias and Tova were right. The refined Miss Cooper was the most likely candidate—other than Anna Finch, whose constant presence in his home would surely drive him to distraction. Yet another reason for keeping Miss Cooper on the payroll.

Then there was their kiss beneath the stars. That one fit both categories.

“I can’t keep them, of course.”

Daniel shook his head. “I’m sorry. What were you saying?”

“The gifts.” Miss Cooper’s blue eyes barely blinked. “Much as I appreciate the gesture, I cannot keep them.”

Daniel paused, his decision hanging in the balance. “You’ll need
them where we’re going, Miss Cooper, so don’t think of the jacket and boots as gifts.” He leaned back in his chair. “The book, now, that was clearly a gift, though I venture to guess you’ll work off the cost of it in the additional duties I’m about to assign you.”

She stood. “But, sir, in light of—” Her cheeks pinked and she looked away. “In light of last night’s…well, you know…,” she said in a voice just above a whisper, “I think my hasty departure would benefit all parties.”

Daniel stood and walked around to rest his hip on the edge of the desk. “While I would agree that removing you from my home would allow me to sleep easier at night, I can also say that doing so is quite impossible just now.”

“Impossible?” Her lips formed a pout that became a worried look. “Are you insinuating that you will not accept my resignation?”

He crossed his arms over his chest and ignored the strong desire to grin. “I don’t insinuate, Miss Cooper. I’m far too busy for such silliness.”

She tapped her chin. “But you said—”

“I said you cannot yet resign.” He leaned forward. “I’ve need of you.”

The words hung between them, though Miss Cooper thankfully did not acknowledge any possible double meaning. She did, however, seem to be preparing to argue.

“Look,” Daniel said, “I should explain. I’ve need of a woman of culture and refinement who can pass those traits on to Charlotte in a short period of time. A very short period of time, actually.”