Sandra Madden Read Online Free PDF Page A

asked, knowing it was an impertinent question.
    She did not remark on the impropriety of his question. She simply answered it. "A husband does not interest me... as yet."
    "Every female is interested in securing a husband."
    "Ah, but 'tis written in the stars that I first must find the woman who gave birth to me."
    "The stars?"
    "Aye. In every way but one, Nell Beadle was my mother. She mended my bruises and kissed away my tears. She nursed me when I ran a fever and taught me to mend with a deft stitch. I called her Mama, and I could always feel her love, even when she scolded me, when I had disappointed her. But now that she is gone... resting with the angels, as Papa says, I must find my natural mother and follow my destiny."
    Kate's golden eyes shone with determination.
    Edmund frowned. He feared only heartache lay ahead for Kate if she pursued such a course. "You may find only disappointment."
    "Papa has voiced the same concern. But I am willing to accept whatever I discover."
    "I remember the story of how you came to the Beadles."
    She smiled shyly. "The wisewoman?"
    Called wisewoman by some, witch by others.
    Edmund was not superstitious, but many of his friends and family were.
    "Aye," he replied. "You told me that one night a wisewoman brought you in a basket to the Beadles' door. You were bundled in silk swaddling and sprinkled with rose petals, a gift for John and Nell Beadle to treasure."
    '' 'Tis a lovely story, is it not?" Kate pulled up her knees and wrapped her arms around them.
    Edmund had seen her take the same position years ago as a young girl. Now, with a wistful smile, she looked out beyond the limbs and leaves, to a place back in time.
    "My mama said that when she drew back the blankets I smiled at her. She told me I was round and pink with a whisper of blond fuzz covering my head. She knew at once she must always love and care for me with all her heart, else the wisewoman would return and take me away."
    "Nell was more a mother to you than my own ever was to me," he said quietly. Edmund knew well he had been an unexpected inconvenience to both his mother and father.
    Kate lowered her head. For an instant, her long, dark lashes curled against her porcelain cheek. "No one shall ever replace Mama in my heart, Edmund. You can be certain. But when she died last year, I knew I must find my natural mother. There are so many questions here"—she tapped her temple and then placed her hand over her heart—"and a hollow-ness here."
    Quite unexpectedly, the thought of Kate feeling anything but content distressed Edmund. He thought to reach out and take her hand and promise his help. Instead, he nodded his understanding and sipped his ale.
    He dug back deep in his memory. "You used to wear a chain around your neck with a special ring that you believed gave evidence of your birth. One day you even let me hold it. Do you still wear the ring, or was it lost long ago?"
    "Oh, my, no!" she cried. "I have not lost my ring. And to this day, you are the only person who has worn the band except for me."
    Edmund started as his heart seemed to turn around in its chamber.
    Kate held out her right hand. He gazed at her lovely long fingers and the gleaming ring. "Now that I'm grown," she explained, "it fits on my finger. According to Papa, the only stipulation the wisewoman made when she brought me to the Beadles was that I must wear this ring at all times."
    Kate leaned toward him then and whispered in a conspiratorial manner. "I yet believe my ring identifies me in some way and will lead me to my true mother."
    Kate's rose scent went straight to his head. Edmund felt quite light-headed as he studied her ring. Etched entirely in heavy gold, the ring featured the stem of a rose wrapped around a crown. Only a small portion of the crown could be seen, as it was overlaid with the finely crafted rosebud. Edmund had never seen a design quite like it before or since.
    " 'Tis a beautiful ring, and a rare design," he said. "It may very