Steadfast Heart Read Online Free PDF

good comes out of Chicago. Of course, they said the same of Nazareth, and our Lord clearly lived there, so perhaps my sources of information have been prejudiced by unseemly characters who compromised the experience for them.”
    â€œWhat? What are you going on about?”
    At this the fashionable young woman stepped forward andtook his hat. “I’m Miss Fulcher and this is Miss Cunningham. Her aunts are the proprietors of this school. If you have a card we can certainly take it to Mrs. Madison.” She handed the hat to Miss Cunningham, who placed it on a receiving table by the door.
    He nodded numbly and reached into his pocket. He took a small gold case from his jacket. “I have one here.” He handed over a calling card.
    â€œâ€˜Mr. Kolbein Booth,’” she read. Looking up, Miss Fulcher smiled, and it very nearly took his breath. “Why don’t you take a seat, and we will deliver this.”
    Kolbein wasn’t sure what to say. He had so expected to find debauchery of every sort behind the doors of the school’s façade that seeing such refined young ladies—well, at least one of them was refined—came as a surprise.
    He softened in her nearness. “Is this . . . I mean . . .” He fell silent and then tried again. “Is this truly a school set up to train brides?”
    Miss Cunningham’s brows knit together. “What else would it be?”
    â€œI heard a man’s voice.” An older woman dressed in a starched white nautical-looking blouse and navy skirt joined them.
    Miss Fulcher turned first and then Miss Cunningham. “Miss Poisie, this is Mr. Kolbein Booth. I believe he is looking for Mrs. Madison.” She looked back over her shoulder and threw him a smile. “Or perhaps you would care to visit with all three ladies, Mr. Booth?”
    Kolbein was at a complete loss. All he could do was nod. Every threat, every word he had planned to rail at the management of this establishment, fled his conscious thought at the sight of this petite young lady.
    The older woman gave a bob of curtsy and took the callingcard in hand. “I am Miss Poisie Holmes, and you may address me as Miss Holmes or Miss Poisie. Come this way, Mr. Booth. We are taking tea. Girls, you will join us, as well. Miriam sent me to find you, and she’s adamant that you come at once.”
    Kolbein watched the girls fall into obedient step behind Miss Holmes. They appeared content to follow the older woman’s instruction and seemed well behaved. Kolbein glanced around at the fine furnishings. They weren’t opulent, but neither were they shoddy. The furniture and bric-a-brac had been given the utmost care. He felt almost certain that he could see his reflection in the polished wood floor, but there wasn’t time to study it because the ladies were moving right along.
    Miss Holmes stopped without warning before a set of pocket doors. Miss Fulcher and Miss Cunningham all but walked right into her.
    â€œWhat is the purpose of your business, Mr. Booth? Are you here to find a bride? I only ask because our regular receiving day is Saturday. We have a monthly event with refreshment and entertainment, but that isn’t for another week.”
    â€œI am searching for my sister,” Kolbein replied with renewed determination. “Her name is Greta Booth.”
    Miss Holmes nodded and pushed back the pocket doors. “Sister, Selma, we have a visitor.”
    They entered a large parlor where two old women sat sipping tea from fine china cups. They looked at him with an expression that suggested he’d just broken protocol in a most unforgivable way. For the first time in years, Kolbein felt rather sheepish.
    â€œMr. Booth, this is my sister, Mrs. Madison. The school, you might have guessed, is named for her, since the Madison Building was once owned by the dearly departed Mr. Madison. God rest his soul.”
    â€œAmen,” the