A Bride for Donnigan Read Online Free PDF Page A

in quickly.
    “You might say so—but it’s true,” Bridget insisted. And then she added, quite unknowing of how deeply her words hurt her older sister, “But of course she is also ashamed of your limp. She has always been afraid that someone will think you are her child, and she doesn’t want a—a—cripple. She seems to fear that a man will think there is something wrong with her . That she might—might mother another child in—in even worse condition. I think that’s the real reason she made sure that Mr. Withers has never had the opportunity to meet you. She keeps saying to him—oh, I’ve heard her myself, ‘There are four of us. I have three children.’ And she presents us just as though that’s all there are.”
    There was silence.
    “Kathleen? Have you fallen asleep while I’m talking?” Bridget asked into the darkness.
    “No,” came the soft reply.
    “Why don’t you answer?” prompted her half sister.
    “What should I say?” responded Kathleen. Indeed, it seemed that the plans for the future had been made with no thought given to her.
    “When we move—” began Bridget, but Kathleen interrupted.
    “When you move,” she corrected. “Sure now, can’t you see, Bridget? There are no plans for me to move with you.”
    Bridget stirred beside her in the darkness. Kathleen heard the sharp intake of breath and was sure the younger girl had not fully understood the situation before.
    “I won’t go without you,” Bridget declared, her hand reaching out to grasp the arm of Kathleen’s nightgown. “I won’t.” Her voice rose sharply, and Kathleen feared that her outburst would awaken the woman who slept just beyond the thin wall.
    “Sh-h-h,” she cautioned.
    “Well, I won’t.”
    “Sh-h-h,” Kathleen said again, and her own hand went out to rest on the younger girl’s flanneled shoulder.
    “What will you do?” Bridget finally asked, a sob in her voice.
    “I have my job,” said Kathleen with more assurance than she felt.
    “But where would you live?”
    It was a question Kathleen could not answer, but she tried to keep her voice controlled as she responded with seemingly little concern. “There are places. Lots of places.” But even as she said the words, she knew she could afford none of them on a hawker’s pennies.
    “When is the wedding—?” she began.
    “Mama’s? The end of the month. We will stay here until then. I heard Mr. Withers and Mama making their plans. He will send a carriage for our things and on the day of the wedding—”
    But Kathleen wished to hear no more.
    “We must get some sleep,” she told the younger girl. “I was late for work this morning—and I don’t want to be late again. I will need to be up early to get breakfast on.”
    The younger girl did not respond. Kathleen patted her arm in the darkness to let her know that she was not upset with her, then rolled over onto her side to try to get some much-needed sleep.
    The minutes ticked slowly by.
    In the darkness Bridget stirred.
    “Kathleen,” came a whisper at last. “I really meant it. I don’t want to go without you.”
    “You may have no choice,” Kathleen responded without turning over. “Madam gives the orders.”

    As Kathleen lay beneath the blankets, the even breathing of Bridget telling her that the younger girl was asleep, her troubled thoughts would not allow her the luxury. “What will I do? What will I do?” her brain kept repeating. The posting she had seen that morning suddenly intruded on her thinking.
    “If I only had two good legs I wouldn’t hesitate for a minute,” she dared to think. “Surely my situation in the Americas couldn’t become any worse than it is here.”
    But even as she entertained the thoughts, she wasn’t sure of her bold statements. Maybe there were worse situations. At least she had Bridget and Charles and the spoiled young Edmund. At least she had a roof over her head and a warm bed at night. At last sleep claimed her in spite of her