Free Lyn Cote by The Baby Bequest Page B

European style, making his respect for her plain. She noted that his blond hair waved around his ears, and he needed a haircut.
    She forced a smile, reminding herself that Gunther needed her to make this work. “I see you’ve brought Johann, too.”
    “Yes.” Mr. Lang looked stressed. “I thought he could help me watch the child while Gunther takes his lessons.”
    This surprised Ellen, but it shouldn’t have. She recalled how Mr. Lang had pitched in and taken care of William that night they’d found him. Because of that, she had expected Mr. Lang to side with her about keeping William. But he hadn’t. Now, here he was offering her help, not lecturing her about her campaign to keep William.
    An unusual and complicated man.
    “A good idea,” she replied.
    As she looked at Mr. Lang and was reminded yet again of Holton, more of Cissy’s words played in her mind. I must say that I’ve been surprised by some of our oldest friends. They don’t seem to welcome Holton as they should. Holton dismisses it as just small-town clannishness, but it hurts me all the same.
    Ellen hoped no one would tell Cissy the plain truth. Initially, when others noticed Holton switching his attentions from her to Cissy, she’d crafted excuses. She’d done it foremost to save face but then to protect her sister.
    But maybe I shouldn’t have. Perhaps I should have told Cissy the truth. But would she have believed me? Or put it down as jealousy?
    Ellen forced herself back to the present. “Gunther, I thought we’d do our lessons in my quarters. Come in.”
    Soon she sat at the table with Gunther, and Mr. Lang settled in the rocking chair holding William. Johann played with a carved wooden horse, tapping its hooves on the half-log floor. Accustomed to being here alone every evening, Ellen noticed a difference. The room felt as if it was happy to be filled with more than just her and William. Foolishness, she chided herself.
    “Gunther, I am not going to be teaching you as a child, but as an adult student.” She had given this a lot of thought and had rehearsed this speech in her mind. She looked directly into the young man’s blue eyes, so like his handsome brother’s. No wonder he’d gained Amanda’s attention.
    “Gunther,” she began, “you have much to learn about English and American history and government if you are to be a knowledgeable American citizen. But I’m only going to teach you if you are interested in bettering yourself, preparing yourself to vote intelligently in the future. Do you want to learn?”
    Gunther looked surprised. “I thought it had been decided already.”
    “I can present lessons,” she said, “but I can’t make you learn.”
    Gunther glanced at his brother, then lowered his gaze to the tabletop. Ellen waited while Gunther thought, and her mind drifted back to the letter.
    Please write soon and tell me you’re happy up there in the wilderness. If you aren’t, we can bring you home where you belong.
    Home where I belong. Holton’s duplicity had robbed her of her home forever. Her emotions tumbled downward. Despair gripped her, but she wrenched herself from its grasp.
    “What do you say, Gunther?” she asked more sharply than she’d intended.
    The young man raised his eyes to her.
    “Yes, I want to learn about this country’s history, its government and I want to get better at English.” Gunther’s words tumbled out in a rush.
    Relief rolled through her. “Yes, I can help you with speaking English, and also with reading and writing proficiently. And I will teach you American government and history—”
    “That will not take long,” Mr. Lang interjected, an edge to his voice. “This country is not a century old, even. Germany’s history goes back over a thousand years.”
    Ellen heard the wounded pride in Mr. Lang’s tone. He’d left his country behind. As a stranger in this new place, he was counted as less than others.
    Gunther snapped, “I don’t care about Germany. I want to