Much Ado About Madams Read Online Free PDF

couldn’t help admiring the dresses. Only the richest ladies in St. Jo wore these latest styles. She’d savored these same patterns in Godey’s , knowing a schoolteacher would never be able to afford such finery, and feeling not just a little guilt over her own vanity. She couldn’t help but feel jealous. She touched the lace. “It’s very nice, and you look pretty in this color.”
    Fannie laughed. “The boss can’t see colors, so he buys us all the same ever’ time.”
    Lucinda saw the truth in her statement. The ladies’ current attire all matched their new dresses. Lucinda had to admit that she wouldn’t mind wearing the same color if her outfits were as fine as these. In fact, she felt rather dowdy compared to these women. But better to be dowdy and respectable.
    The man opened a trunk next to the empty one. “This one’s full of bonnets. Have at ‘em.” He looked pleased as could be.
    Lucinda frowned. The only thing more unfair than a bunch of fallen women being dressed better than she, was this abominable man—arrogant, and irresistibly handsome. Lucinda’s heart pitter-pattered. If he were respectable, she’d be quite taken with him. Only to look at, of course. She didn’t need any man to fulfill her life. Suffragists could meet any challenge without a man.
    But was he abominable? She’d never known a brothel owner to clothe his stable before.
    The ladies swooped in on the bonnets like seagulls at a picnic.
    “ Pink petunias!” Petunia donned her new hat and modeled it for the other ladies. Lucinda observed that the silk flowers were the work of a fine milliner. He certainly hadn’t bought these hats at a general store. Maybe he was desperate to keep his stable of whores way out here in the sticks, so he bought them quality clothing for a bribe.
    Sadie gathered up her gifts. “Gather yer things together, girls. Breakfast is getting cold.”
    The owner stood as the ladies filed out of the room. “Sadie,” he tossed her his duster, “see if you can get the berry stains out of this, please.”
    Sadie caught it, studied the stain, then wrinkled her brow. “What the hell...”
    “ Don’t ask.” He grabbed his hat. “I’m riding out to the ranch. I’m expecting a herd of cattle today or tomorrow.”
    Only Lucinda and Fannie remained in what Lucinda assumed was the brothel office. Fannie cocked her head and mused, “I swear I seen you somewheres before.”
    Her heart skipped a beat. “No, I don’t recognize you, and I’m very good with faces.” As least that much was the truth. She remembered faces very well, and she didn’t remember Fannie, but then a prostitute could change a lot in eight years, if they lived that long. Fannie looked forty, although she was probably in her mid-twenties.
    “ So am I. I’ll think on it.”
    Please don’t think too much.
    Fannie sat in Reese’s chair. “Let’s do business. School won’t start for a couple of months yet—”
    “ The letter stated that school started September first. That’s only three weeks away.”
    “ The season’s late this year. Won’t be any kids in school until the middle of October after the work’s done.”
    That did it. She had to find a way out of this nightmare. “I won’t be staying, then, unless suitable quarters are arranged.”
    Fannie acted as if Lucinda hadn’t said a word. “The girls and I want to learn our letters. You’re here, so you might as well learn us.”
    “ Teach you,” Lucinda corrected.
    “ That’s right.” Fannie didn’t act like she noticed her improper grammar usage, nor did she seem to recognize being corrected.
    Lucinda sighed at her impossible predicament. A suffragist can meet any challenge. She needed money to return to St. Jo, and with a little luck, she could teach for several weeks and return without anyone back home knowing the truth.
    “ Well,” Fannie urged.
    “ I’d require a rather stiff stipend.”
    “ How much?”
    “ A hundred dollars a month.” That would