For the Roses Read Online Free PDF Page A

the idea.
    "Yes," she answered. "I didn't though. No one could tell, after all. I never got dressed in public."
    "I hope to God not."
    He had to slow the horses when they started the steep climb up the first ridge. Mary Rose turned around so she could watch to make sure her trunk didn't fall off the back of the wagon. Once they'd reached the crest, she turned around again. She took off her navy blue jacket, draped it over the back of the bench, and started unbuttoning the cuffs of her starched white blouse. The collar was chafing her neck. She unbuttoned the top three buttons.
    "Something odd happened at school. I didn't know what to make of it."
    "Make of what?" he asked.
    "A new classmate arrived in January. She was from Chicago. Her parents came with her to help her get settled."
    "And?"
    Mary Rose shrugged. "It's probably nothing."
    "Tell me anyway. I can hear the worry in your voice."
    "I am not worrying," she said. "It was just so peculiar. The girl's mother was born and raised in England. She thought she knew me."
    "She can't know you," he said. "You've never been to England. Could you have met her someplace else?"
    Mary Rose shook her head. "I'm sure I would have remembered."
    "Tell me what happened."
     
    "I was walking across the commons. I smiled at the new arrivals, just to be polite and make them feel welcome, and all of a sudden, the girl's mother lets out a scream loud enough to frighten the stone gargoyles on top of Emmet Building. She scared me too."
    "Why's that?" he asked.
    "She was pointing at me all the while she was screaming," Mary Rose explained. "I became quite embarrassed."
    "Then what happened?"
    "She clutched her chest with both hands and looked like she was going to keel over."
    "All right, Mary Rose. What'd you do?" He was immediately suspicious his sister wasn't telling him everything. She had a habit of getting into mischief, and she was always astonished by the trouble that would inevitably follow.
    "I didn't do anything wrong," she cried out. "I was acting like a perfect lady. Why would you jump to the conclusion I was responsible for the poor woman's condition?" she asked, sounding wounded.
    "Because you usually are responsible," he reminded her. "Were you carrying your gun at the time?"
    "Of course not," she replied. "I wasn't running or doing anything the least improper. I do know how to behave like a lady when I have to, Cole."
    "Then what was the matter with the woman?"
    "When she finally calmed down, she told me she thought I was a woman she used to know. She called her Lady Agatha Something-or-other. She said I was the spitting image of the woman."
    "That isn't peculiar," he decided. "Lots of women have blond hair and blue eyes. It's not unusual."
    "Are you saying I'm plain?"
    He couldn't resist. "Yeah, I guess I am."
    It was a lie, of course. Mary Rose was the complete opposite of plain. She was really very beautiful, or so he'd been told over and over again by every eligible man in town. He didn't see his sister that way. She was sweet and good-hearted most of the time, and a little wildcat the rest of the time. She used to be a brat, but now that she was all grown up, he guessed she wasn't such a pain after all.
    "Adam assures me I'm pretty," she argued. She shoved her brother with her shoulder. "He always tells the truth. Besides, you know very well it's what's inside a woman's heart that really matters. Mama Rose thinks I'm a beautiful daughter, and she's never even seen me."
    "You about finished being vain, Mary Rose?"
    She laughed. "Yes."
    "I wouldn't worry about the coincidence of looking like someone else."
    "But that wasn't the end of it," she explained. "About a month later, I was called into the superior's office. There was an elderly man waiting for me. The headmistress was there too. She had my file on her desk."
    "How'd you know it was your file?"
    "Because it's the thickest one at the school," she answered. "And the cover's torn." She looked at her brother and