Free Bouquet for Iris by Diane T. Ashley Page A

house slave up the wide stairs to the nursery. He could not believe anyone of Miss Iris Landon’s ilk would make a decent nanny, but he supposed Spencer had his reasons for hiring someone so young, inexperienced … and beautiful. She was nearly as tall as he and carried herself with the assurance of European royalty. And her puppy-brown eyes had been filled with innocence and hopeful expectation. She had absolutely nothing in common with the nanny who had raised him and his siblings. That woman had been older and much more fierce than he imagined Miss Landon could ever force herself to be. She reminded him more of Sylvia Sumner.
    Sylvia
. The name provoked a stabbing pain in his chest. It made him want a drink, but he couldn’t leave. Not when work remained to be done.
    Adam followed Lance and Mr. Spencer into the parlor, but a trill of laughter floating down from the upstairs landing made him want to run from the house before he made a fool of himself. He could clearly recall meeting Miss Iris Landon when she’d been dropped off in front of Poe’s Tavern in the middle of the night. He had been drawn to her natural beauty even then. He could try to convince himself that it wasn’t true, but something about Iris Landon made her stand out from other women. Some undaunted spirit that called to him. So he’d paid attention to what was being said about her in town.
    Nathan Pierce had been the first to report on Miss Iris Landon, describing her as “that pretty, curly-haired gal staying with the Sherers.” Then Adam had heard she would be moving into the Spencer household as nanny to the two little orphaned Indian girls since Camie Sherer had given up the job.
    A maelstrom of discussion had taken over as the community discussed whether or not a marriageable white woman should work in an Indian household. That brought forth those who had originally been against the Indian children being cared for by Camie Sherer. Hadn’t they tried to warn people at the time that no good would come of accepting Wayha Spencer’s decision to hire a non-Indian female to tend his granddaughters?
    It was all a part of what was wrong with this country. Adam didn’t know why it still irritated him to hear the biased comments of the white settlers. He should have learned by now that the original inhabitants of this land would never be accepted as equals. Not when acceptance meant that thousands of acres of land would be unavailable to white settlers.
    Miss Iris Landon’s willingness to work for an Indian family notwithstanding, most white people only wanted to exploit Indians or have them removed to some inhospitable land far away. He didn’t know which was worse, the greedy landgrabbers or the overeager missionaries. Miss Landon was definitely not part of the first group. She had most likely accepted her position so she could proselytize the little girls. Like most women, she had an ability to deceive herself into believing in a benevolent Creator, but why must she try to force her beliefs on others?
    “You’re not making your case very well.” Mr. Spencer’s sharp gaze brought Adam to the matter at hand. He waved Adam to a horsehair-covered settee before taking a seat in an overstuffed chair to one side of the hearth. He pointed Lance to a straight-backed chair that stood between his seat and Adam’s.
    “I apologize, sir. What more do you need to hear?” Adam had been all through this many times before, but he was willing to explain it again if Mr. Spencer wanted him to. All he needed to do was focus on the reason he’d come out here in the first place, a reason that had nothing to do with what was going on upstairs.
    “Adam here feels I should put my house and lands up for sale.”
    Lance looked in his direction, and Adam could feel his ire rising in response to the man’s incredulity. “It’s not like I’m the one who wants to buy it. I’ve never pretended to have that kind of money at my disposal.”
    “Then why do you