Lady Olivia To The Rescue Read Online Free PDF Page A

of his vocabulary. I did worry about the letter, you know.”
    Olivia sipped her tea and said, “No need. He said he would use the word fight , but he would not demonstrate it with any great gestures.”
    “Good, good. The last time, it took me a week to keep the boys from pretend-fighting, and they were not nearly as meek as your Harold.” Setting down her cup and saucer, the headmistress said, “When I think about it, I find it difficult to see how Mr. Hanson ever succeeded at prizefighting. His is such a gentle soul.”
    “I think that is why he was not so very successful. Had he been more brutish, he might have won more bouts and been better able to fend off those debilitating injuries.”
    “But he is over his dizziness, you said.”
    “Oh yes,” said Olivia. “Completely.”
    She wanted to pat the woman’s hand, but this might make Sarah close her heart again. For some time, Olivia had suspected that her friend—one of her own former teachers—was developing warmer feelings for the gentle giant, but it would never do to reveal her suspicions. Sarah Priddy had survived heartrending tragedies in her short life—losing her soldier-husband and her two children within a month. When Olivia had found her again, Sarah had been unsociable and aloof. It would take a miracle to allow her to love again.
    Instead, Olivia said brightly, “I have news for you. A friend of mine has agreed to allow Martin and Winnie to become apprentices at his country estate.”
    “How wonderful. Martin in the stables and Winnie in the kitchen?” Olivia nodded, and the headmistress said, “They will be thrilled. Never have a brother and sister fought so hard to stay together. This will finally allow them to do that and still make their way in the world. I have worried so.”
    “I know. They are our little school’s first triumph. Why don’t you go and tell them? I’ll go to the schoolroom.” They rose and walked to the door.
    “Oh, that is where we will find all of them. None of them want to miss Harold’s, uh, Mr. Hanson’s alphabet lesson.”
    In the schoolroom, it was just as she had said.
            The youngest children sat on the floor in a semi-circle, their heads thrown back to look  up at the big man. The other children had pulled up chairs or stood close by, all watching and listening.
    “Th’ letter f is a strong little letter. It goes like this,” he said, drawing the letter on a slate and holding it up for all to see. “It looks sort of like an old man who should have a cane but doesn’t. See?” With this, he added eyes and a nose to the end of the hook. “Here’s his face. These are his arms, and this…this is his humped-up back because he’s so old, you know.”
    With a bit of a sneer, one young man of twelve said, “I seen a fellow like that once. ’E was pullin’ a cart o’ vegetables like a donkey.”
    Mrs. Priddy took a step toward this young man, but before she could speak, Harold said, “I reckon that man was just like this one—working hard for his family—another word that starts wif an f . You know, family , like all o’ you here is.”
    “We’re not a family, Mr. Hanson,” said Bobby. “We don’t have a mum or a dad.”
    “Not exactly, but you have Mrs. Priddy and the other ladies to be your mums.”
    “But no pa,” said the first boy, his sneer fading into a pout.
    “Not a pa, but you’ve got me. I’m like an uncle who comes t’ visit every day or two. An’ you’ve got Mr. Tucker; a real war hero, he is.”
    “But he can’t talk right.”
    “Can you understand him?” The children nodded. “Can you hear him, even though you have to get close?” They nodded again. “Then there’s another uncle for you. And you’ve got, plenty o’ brothers and sisters t’ fight with. See? You’re a real family and if anybody says you’re not, they’ll have t’ answer t’ me.”
    “Will you fight them?” asked Bobby eagerly.
    Harold looked at Mrs. Priddy and grinned.