Free A Bride at Last by Melissa Jagears Page B

before,” Mr. Zahn said with a sigh and a glance at his watch. “Let’s give her the benefit of the doubt.”
    “Thank you.” She smiled at the more reasonable of the two men before spearing Richard with a glare from across the church.
    Did amusement light his eyes? She clenched her fists. It would do her no good to go over and slap the smirk off him.
    Well, besides feeling good. Real good.
    “We’ll see you at school at seven o’clock sharp on Monday morning, Miss Dawson.” Mr. Kingfisher’s smile was lackluster. “No hard feelings?”
    No hard feelings? He’d never have to worry about his safety should he find himself without a job.
    She pressed the heel of her hand into her left eye socket, hoping to squelch the stab of pain caused by her taut hairdo. “Of course not, Mr. Kingfisher.” What good would hard feelings do for her predicament anyway? She still had to work for the man.
    Once Mr. Kingfisher tromped away, Mrs. Monteclaire gripped Kate’s arm. “Be careful.” She turned to look at Silas, a small smile on her face. “I’d tell you to be careful with your heart too, but since they’ll be gone soon . . .”
    Richard strode straight for them.
    She had no intention of talking to that man. Nothing she wanted to say to him was appropriate in the house of the Lord. “Thank you for helping me, Mrs. Monteclaire, but I need toexcuse myself.” She wove her way through the crowd, keeping her eye on the church’s front door until she found herself on the other side of it.
    The bright sunlight was not enough to chase away the storm clouds swelling inside her.
    Clenching her fists, she forced herself not to run past Mr. Kingfisher on the crowded sidewalk. Because she needed to keep every stupid school-board rule until their concern about her conduct dissipated.
    But they had no rule against walking very, very quickly. Thankfully Mr. Kingfisher was getting into his carriage and would soon be out of sight.
    “Miss Dawson!” Silas’s low rumble sounded from behind her.
    Could he not see she didn’t want company right now? And what if he ran after her in front of Mr. Kingfisher?
    She refused to look back and walked even faster to put distance between her and the superintendent. All she wanted to do was hit someone, and Silas didn’t deserve to be the scapegoat for her pent-up anger. And hitting a man in public surely wasn’t on the list of things a teacher was allowed to do.
    Half a block farther, Silas’s hand touched her shoulder, and it fairly tingled with the contact.
    “What were you talking to the superintendent about?” His breath puffed faster than normal.
    She clamped her hands together behind her back and forced her clenched jaw to open. “Richard told Mr. Kingfisher he saw me acting like a wanton, half-dressed in your arms in the middle of the creek.”
    “What’s a wanton?” Anthony’s youthful voice made her wince.
    Why hadn’t she looked to see if he’d come with Silas before spouting off so carelessly?
    Silas put a hand on Anthony’s shoulder. “That just meansthey don’t think Kate should’ve been in the creek without her shoes.”
    The boy screwed up his face. “But then her shoes would’ve gotten wet.”
    Silas ruffled his hair a bit. “Silly, right?”
    Richard leaned against the wall of the haberdashery several buildings back, his arms crossed as he watched them through the milling people.
    She glared right at him. “That man thrives on stirring up conflict.”
    “Or the thrill of raising stakes.” Silas pulled her out of the way of an oncoming cart. “He’s a gambler, after all, and he’s been dealt as many useless cards as we have. He’s got as little proof of his fatherhood as I do, so he’s attempting to rattle us, hoping we do something crazy.”
    “Proof of what?” Anthony swallowed and grabbed her sleeve. “You’re not going to let him take me, are you?”
    She looked to Silas. Though she already knew the answer by his cheerless eyes, she had to