Shadow of Dawn Read Online Free PDF Page A

brows were neat with a slight curve, his jaw lean
and firm, his nose straight. He was, she thought recklessly, the
most handsome man she had ever seen.
     
    “In fact,” he said good-naturedly, “I’d say
you enhanced it considerably.” He smiled, revealing a glimpse of
even, white teeth, which gleamed in sharp contrast to his tanned
skin.
     
    Catherine dropped her book. She knelt to
retrieve it just as the man made the same gesture. Their hands
touched. She released the book and straightened, knowing her face
had turned as red as the scarlet ribbon on Mrs. Whiteside’s
lorgnette, through which the woman now peered avidly.
     
    She kept her eyes downcast as the man handed
her the book.
     
    “Thank you,” she murmured. She glanced at the
two ladies and Mr. Humphreys. “I must be going. Good day.”
     
    “Good-bye, Catherine,” they said.
     
    “Good day, ma’am,” said the stranger.
     
    Catherine hurried away, knowing they must
think her rude for not staying to be introduced, but she was
too…embarrassed. No, embarrassed wasn’t the right word. She was
mortified to her very soul for some reason she could not begin to
fathom.
     
    She did not want to know who the photographer
was, and hoped she would never see him again.
     
     
     

CHAPTER
THREE
     
    A s Catherine moved
to enter the house, Bart came through the doorway in a rush, saying
over his shoulder, “I’ll be bringing a friend for supper tonight,
Ephraim. Tell Hester
    to—”
     
    He stopped as he ran into Catherine, though
she had tried to step aside. “Oh, Catherine!” He grabbed her around
the waist to keep her from falling off the porch, but instead of
letting go he kept his arm around her and guided her firmly to the
front door. “Please forgive me,” he said in a smooth voice, looking
down into her eyes. “How lovely you look in that green.”
     
    “Thank you.” She pulled away and went into
the house before he could say anything else. He reminded her of a
snake. He was always appearing unexpectedly, and she always wanted
to run away at the sight of him.
     
    “Miss Catherine,” Ephraim said as she entered
the vast central hall, “Miss Delia came to call while you were
gone. She left you this.”
     
    Quick as a magician, the always-proper butler
produced a tray with a small white envelope lying on it.
     
    “Thank you, Ephraim.”
     
    “Miss Catherine.”
     
    She looked up. “Yes, Ephraim?”
     
    “I’m real sorry about what’s happened to Mr.
Andrew. The Lord willing, everything will work out for the
best.”
     
    Catherine smiled and touched his wrinkled
hand. “Thank you,” she whispered.
     
    When she got to her room, she laid her shawl
across the bed and sat in a chair to open the envelope. She guessed
the contents—yes, it was a formal invitation to Delia’s wedding,
scheduled for next Friday evening at four o’clock. Her friend was
marrying a soldier, a man she’d known since childhood. They had
recently become engaged and decided to marry while he was on
furlough. Delia had already asked Catherine to serve as one of her
attendants. She turned the envelope over and looked at it
again.
     
    Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Kelly.
     
    A wave of nostalgia and sorrow swept over
her. No doubt she would have to go to the wedding without Andrew.
She could barely remember her own wedding, could barely remember
what Andrew had even looked like…before. Now she must go and try to
share in her friend’s happiness when her heart was baffled and
aching and, yes, grieving over the fate of her husband.
     
    She rose quickly, before she could think
about it too much, and set to work studying the life of Elijah. By
the time she’d made notes and organized them into a talk of
acceptable length, it had begun to grow dark.
     
    Catherine thought guiltily of Andrew. He had
been alone in his room all day. Swiftly she lit a candle and walked
across the sitting room. After a brief hesitation, she knocked on
his door.
     
    “Come in,”