Free The Golden Cross by Angela Elwell Hunt Page B

herself working with Aidan in the tavern, and as the girl’s pregnancy progressed, Lili assigned Aidan to the task of caring for her.
    One hot day in May, the baby came much too soon. The infant, blue and frail, spilled into Aidan’s waiting hands and died without uttering a single cry. Weeping silently, Aidan wrapped the baby in an old shawl and left it on the church doorstep, knowing the minister would give the baby a proper burial in the pauper’s graveyard.
    Throughout the ordeal of childbirth, Orabel never uttered a word or shed a tear. After a week of silent mourning, she rose from her bed, dressed, and went out to the corner as if she’d been born to the role of streetwalker. With her wan complexion, petite frame, and cornflower blue eyes, “Sweet Kate” brought Bram and Lili a great deal of money.
    But Aidan knew Orabel hated her life. She had not been born to play the guttersnipe; some twist of fate had simply placed her in a role for which she was disastrously well-suited.
    “Well, girls, fancy finding you here when there’s work to be done.” Lili’s voice, breathless and mocking, broke into Aidan’s thoughts as the woman came into the room. “A bit soon, isn’t it,to be resting on your laurels? Last time I checked, there was a room of thirsty men waiting in the tavern, or could I have been seeing things?”
    Aidan frowned as her mother loomed over her and continued her diatribe: “How much did you earn this morning, dearies? A gold florin? A guilder? Surely a king’s fortune rests in your pockets, or you’d not be here lollygagging about when there is work to be done.”
    Wordlessly, Orabel held the small rectangular card under Lili’s nose.
    “What’s this?” Lili eyed the card suspiciously.
    “An elderly gentleman’s calling card,” Orabel answered. “He watched Aidan draw, and he’s offered to give her lessons.”
    “Lessons?” Lili cocked an eyebrow at the girl. “Aidan knows how to read and write, for all the good those lessons did her. And it’s too late for either of you to be learning anything new, haven’t I said so? You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” Her painted mouth spread into a thin-lipped smile. “It’s nearly too late for you to be marrying, and you’ll never find a husband if you’re laying about in this room whilst the men are out in the tavern!”
    “I don’t want a husband!” Aidan snapped, jerking upright. Resentment struggled with affection as she stared across the empty space between them. “Heer Van Dyck is an artist, a respectable gentleman, and he has agreed to teach me a few things about art. Perhaps it will not amount to anything, but I will never know if I don’t take the chance!”
    “Teach you? About
art?”
Lili’s shook her head contemptuously. “Aidan, lassie, that’s the silliest thing I’ve ever heard. What kind of food will art put on the table? How are you supposed to clothe yourself with pictures? In faith, will paintings buy shoes for your feet? No! Only rich folk have time and money to fiddle with such things.”
    “He’s willing to teach me,” Aidan repeated, plunging on carelessly. “And I trust him. He’s a good man, a real gentleman.”
    “’Tis a bit strange, don’t you think, that a gentleman of wealthand position should be taking such an interest in you?” Lili paused, her tobacco-stained teeth shining faintly in the dim light of the room. “Have you stopped to think that maybe he’s got immodest designs on you? You’re a pretty lass, in case you’ve forgotten, and I’ll not have my daughter being some gentleman’s mistress when she could win an honest husband.”
    “He doesn’t want me like that.” Aidan spoke slowly, straining to hold her temper. She sat up and pushed a wayward curl from her eyes, watching as two deep lines of worry appeared between Lili’s brows. Lili loved her, to be sure, but that love was sufficient to drive Aidan to distraction. Lili loved her enough to allow Aidan to work