Page 108 of The School Mistress (Emerson Pass Historicals 1)

“I don’t know. It’s just that since you arrived everyone’s running around acting like lovesick debutantes. We’ve got Merry and Harley kissing in the barn and you and the lord carrying on like animals in springtime. And now this. Do you know she’s asked the lord for her own cottage? Her own cottage. I mean, this is simply not done.”

“Jasper, what does it matter to you what Lizzie does? You’ve already told her you don’t love her.”

“Because there is a right way to do things and a wrong way to do things. Cooks do not have their own cottages.”

“Alexander does as he pleases with his money and his property. He has enough of both and wants to thank her for years of service.”

“I won’t have it. I’m supposed to run this house. We’ve got strangers living downstairs and perplexing food coming out of our kitchen. Does

Lizzie even cook any longer, or is it dumplings every night now?”

I laughed. I couldn’t help it.

“What’s funny?” he asked, eyes flashing.

“I’m sorry, but you’re funny. You know what’s going on here, don’t you?”

“Whatever do you mean?”

“You’re jealous. You want Lizzie for yourself.”

“I want things run the way they were,” he said. “This has nothing to do with that Clive person calling on my Lizzie.”

“Your Lizzie?”

“For heaven’s sake, you’re an annoying woman. Like a herding dog.”

“Excuse me?” A herding dog? That made me laugh even harder, imagining nipping at the heels of this entire household.

“Nothing.” He let out a long sigh. “You have a quality that makes every person you meet want to be better.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” I said.

“It’s meant to be one.”

“Lizzie’s spent her adult life waiting for you to see her—to love her. She wants that cottage to move away from you—from the idea of you two being together. Do you understand? If you love her, now is the time to tell her and to take action. Otherwise, she will find someone else. This town is full of single men. And she’s a beautiful woman with her own money. Think about what you want. Do you want to grow old alone while everyone else is happily coupled simply because of principle? Because you can’t let go of the old ways? I think that’s just about the saddest thing I’ve ever seen.”

I walked out of the parlor and downstairs to the kitchen, where Mrs. Wu was feeding the children, silently praying that I’d gotten through to him.

Chapter 34

Alexander

* * *

I received the letter from Quinn’s mother a week later.

Dear Alexander,

Your request came as no surprise. Quinn had written to me of her deep feelings for you and your children. In her last letter, she’d mentioned the possibility of marriage. I’m overjoyed.

We’d hoped to come west when we’d saved enough money. Your generosity makes it possible for us to come now, and for that we are grateful. Without Quinn, there has been a hole in our lives.

We have tickets to arrive in Denver on December 23 and will be expecting you and your sweet Josephine at the train station. We cannot wait to meet you all. I’ve been daydreaming of how much fun it will be to be a grandmother.

Love,

Your soon to be mother-in-law, Mrs. Cooper