Forever Safe (Beacons of Hope) Read Online Free PDF Page B

her, the skin at the back of her neck prickled with strange pleasure.
    Once when she glanced his way, he and Arch seemed to be arguing about something. From the firmness of Mr. Cushman’s mouth, she could sense that he was angry. Her father had mentioned Mr. Cushman was a personal friend of Arch’s, but how? Arch was old enough to be Mr. Cushman’s father.
    Perhaps that was it. Arch had once told her that he and his wife had never been able to have children. After his wife had passed away, he’d had nothing holding him back from going into service as a professional bodyguard. Maybe without children or family, Mr. Cushman was like a son to him.
    “You tricked me,” she heard Mr. Cushman say under his breath as she began to cross the room to retrieve another package of sweet rolls.
    Arch smiled sheepishly. “I knew it was the only way I could get you to take the job. I couldn’t trust Victoria with anyone else but you.”
    “I’m not a nursemaid.”
    Victoria stopped at Mr. Cushman’s declaration, and indignation shot through her. Did he think of her as a child?
    Arch started to speak but stopped abruptly and put a hand to the swaths of bandages covering his side.
    “Say no more,” Mr. Cushman said, worry lines forming at the corners of his eyes. “You know I’ll do anything for you.”
    “I’m fine,” Arch reassured. “And you’ll be fine too. At the end of this assignment with Victoria, I have a feeling you’ll be grateful to me for getting you the job, instead of angry. I’m sure you’ll end up being as fond of her as I am, if not more.”
    “I doubt it.”
    Even though Mr. Cushman’s tone was low, she heard it clear enough, and it pricked her heart.
    At that moment, he glanced at her again and caught her listening to his conversation with Arch. His jaw flexed, but his gaze was unrelenting and unapologetic.
    She couldn’t remember the last time anyone had disliked her or hadn’t wanted to be with her. Normally everyone was vying for her attention.
    She sniffed and lifted her chin. It didn’t matter one tiny pin drop if he liked her. He was only a paid servant and a temporary one at that. She couldn’t let him bother her. If he didn’t like her, then she’d show him that she didn’t care, that she didn’t like him either. After all, she’d already learned that he was arrogant, boring, and unsociable—quite unlikable traits.
    Even though she normally treated all her maids and household staff with the utmost consideration and kindness, as her mother had taught her, she’d watched the calloused and cold way some of her friends handled their servants, as though they were invisible and unimportant. She could do that to Mr. Cushman, keep him at a distance, refuse to form any bonds the way she had with Arch.
    She only had to put up with him for the next month, and then she would never have to see him again.

Chapter 4

    T om stood near the door of the tiny shop, feet apart and arms crossed. He hadn’t moved for the past thirty minutes, not even an inch. He didn’t want Victoria to know how uncomfortable he was. She’d peeked at him in order to gauge his reaction to the various items that Madame Bisseau had tailored. But he’d schooled his face in a mask of passivity that he’d perfected. In fact, from the blush staining Victoria’s cheeks, it was clear she was more embarrassed by the sight of lacy corsets and drawers and chemises than he was. After all, he’d been exposed to frilly undergarments during his previous assignments.
    Even so, he’d still had the urge to fidget like a naive school boy who was seeing such private garments for the first time. He’d nearly sputtered an oath of protest when the silver-haired French seamstress had brought out a silky, floor length nightgown. It had been pure white with a fashionable bustle on the back, along with a train.
    But more than that, the gown had been thin. He’d had to recite the Lord’s Prayer twenty-two times since seeing that night