Sarah's Playmates Read Online Free PDF Page B

silly.” She linked her
arm through mine. “Let’s have some tea. You must be exhausted.
Sleeping on a train can’t be restful.”
    The warm greeting astounded me. Edmund’s
parents had been stiff and reserved. I’d even wondered if they
liked me at all. Isabelle was a delightful surprise, and from the
friendly gleam in her eye, I suspected we might even be
friends.
    As she led me into the drawing room, she
said, “I’ve heard about your ordeal. Those horrible train robbers!
How exciting. You’ll have to tell me everything. I do love a great
adventure.”
    That evening, before dinner, Millie made her
feelings known to me. “I know I shouldn’t complain…”
    “Oh, go on,” I sighed. “I know you want to.”
I stuck another pin in my hair, hoping that this time, the wayward
curl would stay in place.
    “A Spider Phaeton? Why not a hansom cab? Who
drives a respectable young woman through town like that?”
    “Oh, Millie.”
    “It’s hardly appropriate. And there I was in
a wagonette.” Distaste marred her features. “I’m just as important
as luggage.”
    I wrapped my arms around her, as she sat
before a mirror. “Poorest dear. You’re so sore tonight.”
    “Ay, that I am.”
    “I’m sorry.”
    “I shouldn’t complain. I know my place.
You’ve nothing to be sorry about.”
    “You’ll always be special to me.”
    She snorted in reply. “We’ll be late for
dinner, if we don’t hurry.”
    I slid my gloves on. “I like Isabelle. She
has a marvelous sense of humor.”
    “She’s a pretty woman.”
    My brows lifted. “Is she now?”
    “Her figure is ravishing.”
    “It is.” I eyed Millie carefully.
    “Those breasts might just put us to
shame.”
    I snatched my fan from the dresser, hitting
her arm lightly. “Your observations are always so naughty.”
    “I appreciate the female form. Think of me as
an art student admiring a sculpture.”
    I somehow doubted that was how she viewed
women. “Go on.”
    “Her face…she’s really lovely. That tiny nose
and those lips…hm…” Her gaze drifted towards the wall. “She’ll
never be as beautiful as you…but…she’s close.”
    “You think like a man.”
    “What?”
    “When you look at women, you see them in a
sexual way, don’t you?”
    She shrugged. “I see beauty, Sarah.”
    “But you tingle in places, don’t you? You
think about them without clothes on. You imagine what their breasts
feel like and how wet they are—”
    “Now that’s enough!” A pink shadow appeared
over her cheeks. “Let’s go down. We’re already late.”
    I laughed, reaching for the doorknob.
     
     

Chapter Six
     
     
     
    There were four of us at dinner, because
Senator Lakewood and his wife were in Washington. We ate chicken
tartar with broccolini and pecan pie for dessert. The conversation
was light and fun and entirely unpretentious. Isabella, who had
gone to school in England and traveled extensively, was charming
and unique. Her opinions about Sitting Bull where shocking, as she
sympathized with his plight. Her views on women being able to vote
appealed to me, although Edmund disagreed passionately and
interrupted her frequently. She had been engaged to a banker, but
he had contracted consumption and died last year.
    After dinner, Edmund kissed my cheek and bade
me a good night. He was going to his club downtown. We were leaving
for Omaha in the morning, and Millie and I would have the luxury of
bathing in gas-heated water. As we undressed in an upstairs
bathroom, I admired her figure, while she stood before a mirror,
staring at her face.
    “Millie. You really should marry again.
You’re much too young to let that body go to waste.”
    She lifted her hair over her head, securing
it with a clip. “No. I’m done with that.”
    “Don’t you want someone to take care of you?
Don’t you want children?”
    “Your family takes care of me. I take care of
you. Then one day, I’ll take care of your children.” She went to
the tub, touching the