Just Imagine Read Online Free PDF Page A

hotels that surrounded the lush greenery of Madison Square, and, farther north, she studied the glittering mansions of the wealthy.
    Cain drew up in front of an imposing brownstone. "Watch the horses, boy. I won't be long."
    At first Kit didn't mind the wait. She surveyed the houses around her and watched the sparkling carriages with their well-dressed occupants flash by. But then she thought of Charleston, reduced to rubble, and the familiar bitterness rose inside her.
    "A perfect day for a drive. And I have the most amusing story to tell you."
    Kit looked up to see an elegant woman with shining blond curls and a pretty, pouting mouth come down the steps on Cain's arm. She was dressed in strawberry silk and held a lacy white parasol to protect her pale skin from the afternoon sun. A tiny froth of a bonnet perched on top of her head. Kit detested her on sight.
    Cain helped the woman into the carriage and politely assisted her with her skirts. Kit's opinion of him sank even lower. If this was the kind of woman he fancied, he wasn't as smart as she'd figured.
    She put her scuffed boot on the iron step and swung herself into the rear seat. The woman jerked around in astonishment. "Baron, who is this filthy creature?"
    "Who're you callin' filthy?" Kit sprang from the seat, her hands balled into fists.
    "Sit down," Cain barked.
    She glared at him, but his Rebel-murdering expression didn't flicker. With a glower, she sank back into the seat, then gave the evil eye to the back of that pert strawberry-and-white bonnet.
    Cain eased the carriage into the traffic. "Kit is my stable boy, Dora. I brought him along to stay with the horses in case you wanted to walk in the park."
    The ribbons on Dora's bonnet fluttered. "It's much too warm to walk."
    Cain shrugged. Dora adjusted her parasol and settled into a silence that screamed her displeasure, but to Kit's satisfaction, Cain paid no attention.
    Unlike Dora, Kit wasn't prone to sulking, and she gave in to the pleasure of the bright summer afternoon and the landmarks he continued to point out. This was the only chance she'd ever get to see New York City, and even if she had to do it with her sworn enemy, she intended to enjoy it.
    "This is Central Park."
    "I don't see why they call it that. Any fool can tell it's at the north edge of the city."
    "New York is growing fast," Cain replied. "Right now there's mainly open land around the park. A few shanties, some farms. But it won't be long before the city takes over."
    Kit was about to voice her skepticism when Dora spun in her seat and fixed her with a withering glare. The message clearly said Kit wasn't to open her mouth again.
    Fixing a simpering smile on her face, Dora turned back to Cain and patted his forearm with a hand gloved in strawberry lace. "Baron, I have a most amusing story to tell you about Sugar Plum."
    "Sugar who?"
    "You remember. My darling little pug."
    Kit made a face and leaned back in the seat. She watched the play of light as the carriage slipped along the tree-lined promenade that ran through the park. Then she found herself studying Dora's bonnet. Why would anybody wear something so silly? And why couldn't Kit keep her eyes off it?
    Two women riding in a black landau passed in the other direction. Kit noticed how eagerly they gazed at Cain. Women sure did seem to make fools of themselves over him. He knew how to handle horses, she'd give him that. Still, that didn't count much with a lot of women. They were more interested in how a man looked.
    She tried to study him objectively. He was a handsome son of a bitch, no doubt about that. His hair was the same color as wheat right before harvest time, and it curled a little over the back of his collar. As he turned to make a comment to Dora, his profile stood out against the sky, and she decided there was something pagan about it, like the drawing she'd seen of a Viking—a smooth, high brow, a straight nose, and an aggressive line to the jaw.
    "… then Sugar Plum pushed