Edith and the Mysterious Stranger Read Online Free PDF Page A

was happening here, he thought to himself.
This can’t be.
    This was unexpected. It
would not be safe for a young girl to go on this drive, especially
with what was being planned by the Tall Texan. She could get hurt.
Did her mother say, “One that she’ll never
forget?”
    He had to discourage her. When he looked at
Gilbert, he realized that he might alert him and he could become
suspicious. David cleared his throat and quickly changed the
subject.
    “Whoa, am I starved! Do you need any
help?”
    Jenny looked into David’s eyes as if she could
see something, but David tried to hide it by being cheerful and
soon the subject was changed to food and questions about the ranch
and where David was from.
     
     

Chapter 4
The Challenge
     
    That evening, a twinkle came into Melinda’s eyes
as she smiled. She covered her legs with a lap blanket and leaned
back on the sofa. Looking at Gilbert seated in his overstuffed
chair and reading contentedly, she commented with a nonchalant air,
“You know what? I think I’d like to introduce Edith to Henry. They
would make a lovely couple.”
    Gilbert looked up from his book with a look of
surprise. “How did you come to that conclusion?”
    “She’s an educated woman with a degree, and she
sings professionally, to boot.”
    “What does that have to do with anything?”
    “Well, Henry’s educated, too. He’s the
superintendent of schools in this whole county.”
    “You mean to tell me that an educated woman
would not be interested in someone like…say Joseph? He’s a
successful farmer and works part-time for me as a ranch hand.”
    Joseph was Gilbert’s dear friend. He was
dependable and realized their situation, so he volunteered to help
out whenever possible. He was one in a million.
    Melinda’s brow creased as she thought for a
moment. “Joseph? I don’t believe so. Besides that, she’s an
accomplished musician.”
    “So is Joseph. He plays the guitar.”
    Melinda snickered. “That’s not the same thing,
Gilbert.”
    “But how about me? I didn’t go to college and I
don’t know one thing about music, and you married me. And you had a
degree as a teacher.”
    “But that’s different.”
    “How?”
    Gilbert grinned. Closing his book and laying it
aside, he wondered how she was going to get out of this one. He had
her, and she knew it.
    Jenny was seated on the sofa beside her
stepmother, writing in her journal when she heard this little bit
of banter. She grinned as she listened to their discussion,
wondering how her stepmother was going to answer her father’s
question.
    Melinda was trying to think of some good reasons
why Gilbert was different from other men, but her mind had gone
blank. She could not think of one reason he was so different. There
was something special about Gilbert. But how could she put it into
words?
    “Well? How is it different?” Gilbert
persisted.
    Melinda’s eyes lit up and she held up her hand
triumphantly and began naming five fingers worth of reasons. They
were lame reasons, but they were reasons, nonetheless.
    “You were very intelligent…and read many
books…and so smart financially that you had your own ranch…you were
self-educated…” She hesitated and then grinned with amusement. “And
muscular.”
    Gilbert burst into laughter. Was that the best
she could do? After settling down, he said curiously, “Muscular?
Now let’s not change the subject here. We’re talking about educated
versus uneducated. Remember?”
    “All right. So I was infatuated with your build.
I couldn’t help it.”
    Gilbert grinned with a look of satisfaction.
    “All right, Gilbert. Uneducated men seem to feel
insecure with a woman who has too much education or experience
behind her. That’s what I think.”
    Gilbert chuckled in a warm, deep voice. He loved
a challenge, and Melinda always invited competition to fulfill that
need. So he sobered a bit and said softly, “Melinda, I didn’t feel
that way about you. In fact, that intrigued me.