August (Prairie Grooms, #1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

before everything had gone black was her mother’s beautiful silver tea set, her ladies’ maid, and her cook. She even thought she’d smelled the wonderful aroma of cinnamon and tea, felt the softness of a nice pillow beneath her head ...
    “Oh, my goodness. What happened?” She tried to sit up.
    Eloise pushed her back down onto the settee. “You fainted! Colin had to carry you inside.”
    Penelope looked at her horrified. “He what?!”
    Eloise and Constance exchanged a quick look. “Carried you,” they said in perfect unison.
    A giggle from across the room caught her attention. She peered past her sisters to see a woman standing in the doorway to the parlor. “And whom might you be?” Penelope asked.
    “Forgive me, I don’t mean to be rude,” the woman said. “I’m Belle Cooke, Colin’s wife. I guess you’ll have to get used to the way things are done around here. We see something that needs to be tended to, we tend to it. Besides, I’m sure you’d rather be here in the parlor than lying out in the barnyard until you recovered.”
    Penelope closed her eyes as the woman’s words sank in. “Of course. Forgive me, I believe it is I that have been rude.” Constance smiled and nodded knowingly as Penelope again tried to sit up. This time Eloise let her. “This endeavor has taken a toll on all of us, and though we have made it here without incident, it has not been without cost.”
    Belle stepped into the parlor. “What do you mean? Colin told me Duncan ...er, I mean His Grace ... sent a man along with you as escort.”
    “We lost him somewhere between Denver and here. It has been with no small amount of courage that we have made it the rest of the way on our own.”
    “Lost him?” Belle gasped. “How did you lose him?”
    “He was shot attempting to win some ridiculous game.”
    “Game?” Belle asked, intrigued.
    Penelope looked at her and simply said, “Poker.”
    “Oh!” Belle gasped. “Did he have any family?”
    “No,” Penelope said. “None that we knew of. I must write His Grace and let him know what happened.”
    Belle stared at her. Harrison and Colin had already made comments about their house guests, especially Penelope, saying she was the snootiest of the three. But was it any wonder? “Come, I’ll show you to your room. Sadie is getting the tub ready. The men have gone back to work. It’s just us women in the house.” She helped Eloise get Penelope up from the settee, and then led all three sisters up the stairs to Duncan’s old room.
    Once there, they stared at the three single beds, each gracing a wall. A small table had been placed in the center, and twin dressers stood on either side of the door. “How nice,” she said to Belle. “There is no armoire?”
    “No, I’m afraid not. To be quite honest, we didn’t think you would have much with you,” Belle said.
    Penelope sighed. Of course, she was right. They had brought quite a bit with them from England, but they hadn’t much left of it now – their so-called escort, Mr. Thompson, had gambled half their belongings away before he got shot. “We will make do,” she said with determination as she turned to Belle. “We are all very tired. Would you mind if we rested for a bit? You may have the maid ... oh, you haven’t one, do you?”
    Belle smiled and sighed. “I came from a very affluent family in Boston. I remember the days when we had a maid, a butler, a cook.” She looked all three sisters over carefully. “But I wouldn’t trade the life I have now for any of it. You’ll feel the same in time, I’m sure.”
    Penelope could only stare at her. She ached all over, her chest had been tight with worry for weeks, and the thought of a hot bath and a bed was all she had the strength to deal with. And this American woman was saying she’d grow to enjoy this?!
    “Penelope?” Constance asked. “Are you all right?”
    Penelope felt herself teeter again, and sank onto the nearest bed. “I need rest, that is