Tender Is the Storm Read Online Free PDF Page A

warehouses and office buildings.
    Her father had no intention of turning over the reins to her. She hadn’t been trained for it. That was the main reason her husband had to be of hischoosing. One day that man would control everything Marcus Hammond had built.
    Marcus looked up, and Sharisse smiled. “I didn’t mean to disturb you, Father. I was looking for Charley. You haven’t seen him around by any chance?”
    Clear blue eyes sparkled under dark gold brows. “In here? You know he’s not welcome in here. He knows it, too.”
    “I only asked if you had seen him, Father.”
    “Well, I haven’t. And I hope never to again,” he replied gruffly. “Just keep him out of my way, Rissy.”
    “Yes, Father.” Sharisse sighed. She left and headed for the kitchen.
    A worthless moocher, her father called Charley. A no-good alley tramp. But Charley had come to mean more to Sharisse than she had ever guessed he would after she’d found him, battered and bruised, and nursed him back to health.
    Sharisse chose an unfortunate time to enter the servants’ domain. She heard soft crying and then a loud wail. She opened the door to the kitchen, and the cook went back to her pots. Jenny, who had come down for a cup of tea, gulped the last of it and hurried past Sharisse to run back upstairs. The cook’s assistant began furiously peeling potatoes.
    Two people stood near the table, Mrs. Etherton, the Hammond housekeeper, and a new downstairs maid Sharisse had seen only once before. It was this small creature who was crying so loudly. At their feet was a broken teacup from the cobalt-blue collection Sharisse’s mother had brought with her from her home in France. She and her sister, Sophie, had grown up there. It was one of eight that Sharisse had ordered packed to be taken to her new home, a priceless treasure she’d intended to give to her own children one day. Sharisse loved the set with its intricate blue pattern and fine gold rims.
    Sharisse bent over to pick up the pieces, sick at heart. The other seven cups were on the counter, a packing box next to them. She sighed. If she hadn’t decided to take them to her new house, they would all still be in the china cabinet in the dining room, safe and whole.
    Seeing her expression, the poor maid began to wail again. “I didn’t mean to, miss. It were an accident, I swear. Don’t let her send me away.”
    Sharisse looked at the stern-faced Mrs. Etherton. “I’ve dismissed her, Miss Hammond,” said Mrs. Etherton. “I should have done so sooner. If the girl’s not breaking things, she’s daydreaming and not getting a bit of work done.”
    “If she is prone to breaking things, she should not have been told to pack my mother’s cups,” Sharisse said sharply.
    Mrs. Etherton’s face turned a bright red, and the young maid spoke up quickly. “Oh, it were Molly who was to do the packing, miss, but she’s been sick these last three days and asked me if I’d help her out so she don’t get too far behind in her tasks.”
    “So you took it upon yourself to…? My apologies, Mrs. Etherton,” Sharisse offered.
    The housekeeper drew on her dignity and nodded to Sharisse.
    The girl turned her woebegone face to the housekeeper and then to Sharisse. “Give me another chance, miss. I swear I’ll work harder. I can’t go back to Five Points. Please don’t let her send me back!”
    “Five Points?” Mrs. Etherton was suddenly outraged. “You told me you came from a farm upstate. So you lied, did you?”
    “You wouldn’t have hired me if you’d known I come from Five Points.”
    Sharisse listened with distaste. She couldn’t blame the poor girl for being so upset. She had never been near Five Points, but she knew of the area of Manhattan that held the worst slums in the city, including the notorious “old Brewery,” where people were packed together in decrepit, filthy buildings. The annual record of murders, robberies, and other crimes was staggering. No stranger could safely