Whirlwind Read Online Free PDF Page B

narrowed, then her lips parted. “Oh, Millie. It wouldn’t be like with the Eberhardt girls. You’d just mind the child for a week. That’s all. Besides, you’d earn a little money.”
    “I’d do it without pay, just to be up in first class,” someone 43 said from behind them.
    Millicent squeezed Isabelle’s hand. “I couldn’t bear being up there, knowing I’d left you down here.”
    “Knowing you were up there would make staying down here more bearable. If there’s another chance, promise me you’ll take it.”
    Laughter bubbled out of Millicent. “That’s preposterous. Someone needing a nanny is a fluke. Besides—”
    “So help me, Millie, if you dare say something about staying together again, I’ll do something rash. Don’t you dare think I won’t. I’d—”
    “Pick me up and pitch me overboard?” Millicent grinned.
    “Give way! Give w—” A woman towing a school-aged boy tried to shove through the crowd. They didn’t make it to the side in time, and the boy got violently sick. The sight and smell triggered a revolting wave of nausea among several present.
    Frank immediately shoved Isabelle back toward the family quarters and jerked Millicent along. Grim lines set his face. “If you can get out of this purgatory, do so.”
    “It’s just a tickle in my throat is all.” The woman who’d been selected as the nanny resisted her escort. A brace of coughs shivered out of her. “You have no reason to worry.”
    The uniformed man who’d originally chosen her scowled. His pockmarked face looked downright frightening. “You won’t serve.” He remained two steps up and nudged her back into steerage.
    “My sister-in-law is healthy.” Frank stepped behind Millie and rested his hands on her shoulders. “She’s an experienced nanny. You couldn’t find better.”
    Wariness furrowed the sailor’s brow. “Come here.”
    Plagued with uncertainty, Millie made her way to the foot of the stairs. Up closer, she stopped noticing his blotched complexion and saw the worry in his eyes.
    “Your cheeks are red,” he said. “Are you feverish?”
    “It’s the wind.” She lifted her chin. “I’m quite well.”
    “Fine.” He beckoned her to follow.
    The wind whipped at her, then suddenly stilled when she stepped into a protected alcove on the upper deck. The man kept striding along, and she did her best to keep up with him. His rolling gait accommodated the rocking of the ship; she had yet to develop her balance. I didn’t realize it downstairs because we were packed in so tightly; I could only shuffle.
    Hastily tucking in a few errant wisps of hair and poking in a hairpin, Millicent halted when the sailor did. He knocked sharply on a gleaming mahogany door bearing an ornate brass six. A deep voice from inside sounded, though she couldn’t tell what he said before the sailor took a key from his vest pocket and opened the door.
    Belatedly, Millicent smoothed her skirts and quirked a smile at the thought that the children wouldn’t even notice her rumpled clothing.
    The man whispered, “What’s your name, miss?”
    “Miss Millicent Fairweather.”
    “Miss Millicent Fairweather, sir. She’s an experienced nanny.”
    “It’s about time!” A tall sable-haired man strode out of an adjoining room. He held a crying toddler at arm’s length. As soon as he saw Millicent, he came to an abrupt halt.
    The child wriggled and wailed even louder.
    “Allow me.” Millicent swept the baby from him and took him back into the room they’d exited. “I assume you have nappies in here for . . . is it a boy or a girl?”
    “A son. Arthur.”
    “Will there be anything else, Mr. Clark?”
    “Yes. I expect I’ll need to interview a few more prospects, as well. Bring the next candidate in a quarter hour.”
    Millicent’s heart skipped a beat. Do I want this job, or don’t I?
    The woman moved with incredible ease, laying Arthur down, stripping him, pouring water into a washbowl, and bathing him. She cooed