Free Glorious Angel by Johanna Lindsey

argued about it, but to no avail. She had also spent thirty minutes in battle with the young girl who was going to be her maid. Eulalia had received orders from Hannah to fix Angela’s hair into a becoming coiffure. Her hair was a few inches below her shoulders, and she was used towearing it in tight pigtails, or tied back with a ribbon. She had won that battle, and her auburn hair was neatly tied with a green ribbon.
    When she walked nervously into the dining room, she found Robert still there, sipping black coffee.
    “I was beginnin’ to think you weren’t comin’ down,” Robert said, a warm smile coming to his lips when he saw her. “I’m glad I waited.”
    “I’m sorry I took so long. Have you eaten already?” Angela asked uneasily. She wished he wouldn’t stare so.
    “Yes, and a pleasant meal it was. Tilda’s artistry has drawn me to Golden Oaks for many a year—made this place a home away from home, you might say. But now I’ll have to admit Golden Oaks has a much greater attraction,” he added meaningfully.
    Angela found herself blushing. “I really don’t know what you mean,” she said awkwardly. “But if you’ve finished your meal, don’t let me keep you. Surely you must have something to do, other than keep me company.”
    He laughed heartily. “But my dear girl, I have nothin’ but time on my hands, and I can think of no better way to spend it than with you.”
    Angela’s face reddened and she sat down and busied herself with piling food on her plate. She could see that it would be easy to obtain Robert as an ally, but she was afraid the sacrifice expected of her would be too great.

    “Don’t you have a plantation to run, Mr. Lonsdale?” she asked pointedly.
    “Not as long as my father’s still livin’. He deplores my help, and frankly, I deplore givin’ it. Even though the war greatly diminished his wealth, the old man was able to pay the back taxes on The Shadows and he’s managin’ quite well by himself. It’s almost as if the war never was. I find things to do, to pass the time agreeably.”
    Angela was incensed by his laziness. “Drinkin’ and gamblin’, no doubt. All you planters’ sons are alike.”
    “Not all of us,” Robert came back with a grin. “Some are not as lucky as I.”
    She stared, aghast. He had taken her statement as a compliment, not as the sarcasm she intended. He really was insufferable. She had thought that the breed of men who lived each day only for pleasure, leaving work for others, had ended with the war. But apparently she was wrong. Robert Lonsdale was just such a man.
    “Perhaps you would care for a ride this mornin’,” Robert continued confidently. “To see The Shadows? Father has done considerable repair, and it’s really quite beautiful once again. It went to ruin durin’ the last years of the war, what with most of the slaves runnin’ off when things started gettin’ bad. But they came back soon enough, once they found the Yankees’ idea of freedom was a lot worse than what they’d left.”

    Angela cooled her temper. Robert couldn’t help being what he was, and she needed him as a friend, not an enemy. She held back the caustic words and instead gave him a radiant smile, grateful that she had an excuse to decline his offer.
    “I’d love to see The Shadows with you, Mr. Lonsdale, but Jacob wants to see me after breakfast. Maybe another time though, if that’s all right.”
    He frowned for just a moment, then smiled brightly once again. “There will certainly be another time. And no more ‘Mr. Lonsdale,’ Angela. You must call me Robert—I insist.”

Eleven
    Jacob Maitland took her to Mobile a little later. They traveled in a comfortable enclosed carriage that kept out the hot sun.
    She hadn’t realized the extent of Jacob Maitland’s generosity. She had never dreamed that when he said he wanted to be like a father to her, he meant to bestow on her everything the rest of his family took for granted.
    “Angela,” he