“You’ll be safe,” he said. “I’ll make sure you have a male escort during the lessons to and from the house.”
“Why do you care so much?” I asked.
His eyes narrowed as he tapped one finger against the arm of his chair. “The men have come here for a chance to better their lives. When they’re cheated and stolen from because of their ignorance, I’m angered. Education provides them a weapon.”
I clasped my hands together under the table. “You and I share a common passion, Lord Barnes.” I looked at the bookshelf instead of him so that I could speak actual words. “The power and importance of literacy—of books. For anyone to have much of a chance for improving their circumstances, reading is essential. I’ve been poor all my life. Without education, I would not be here right now speaking with you of such lofty notions. It’s not only that there are few choices of occupations for a woman that I chose teaching. I’m not likely to ever be important or rich or powerful, but to have taught one human to read, I will go to God in peace.”
“You’re right, Miss Cooper,” he said, low and throaty. “We share a common passion.”
My stomach fluttered.
“You’re an unusual man.” A rich white man who cared about the plight of the less fortunate was most unusual. At least as far as my world was concerned. No one had cared about my family.
It was up to me to save us.
“I’m going to take unusual to mean uniquely wonderful.” The corners of his mouth lifted into a gentle smile.
“I think that’s a proper assessment.”
“Then you’ll do it? You’ll teach the men?”
“Under one condition.” I smiled back at him. “I’d like women to be welcomed as well.”
“Without question,” he said as if it were nothing. “You must be exhausted. We’ll work out the rest of the details tomorrow.”
We said our good nights, and I followed Jasper up the gleaming mahogany stairs to the third floor. At the end of the dark hallway, he opened the door to a bedroom. I walked past him into a room with a large poster bed, dresser, and secretary desk. A cozy fire roared in the stone hearth. A girl dressed in a black smock with a white apron was finishing up making the bed.
“This is Merry,” Jasper said. “Anything you need, simply ask.”
I opened my mouth to let him know a maid was unnecessary but thought better of it. Discouraging what was obviously a household tradition would be rude. I’d talk with Lord Barnes in the morning and make sure he knew a maid was not necessary.
The air seemed lighter the moment Jasper left the room. He made me nervous with his piercing gaze and all that British formality. My suitcase had been opened and all of my items hung in a wardrobe. A washcloth and towel were waiting on the dresser. My flannel nightgown was strewn over the bed, like a friend waiting for a midnight chat.
“Miss, may I help you undress?” Merry wore her butterscotch-hued hair in a braid twisted around the top of her head. Shy hazel eyes peered at me from an oval face.
“No, thank you,” I said, smiling in what I hoped conveyed a relationship of equality between us. “I’ve been undressing myself since I was three.”
Merry’s mouth twitched, but she didn’t smile. “I’ve drawn you a bath.” She pointed toward a closed door. “The bathroom is between this room and the nursery. It’s the same bath the children use, but they’re all fast asleep by now, so take your time.”
“A warm bath?”
“We have hot water in this house,” she said.
“Have I come to heaven?”
This time she smiled. “Lord Barnes had this house built with only the finest things. You’ll be happy here, I hope.”
“I shall be.” Even if I was homesick for my mother and sister. A bath made up for a lot. “The train ride was horrific. I haven’t had a proper scrubbing since I left home.”
“I came from Chicago two years ago,” she said. “On the train from Denver, I thought the whole thing was going to fall off those rickety tracks and I’d be killed and my mother would never know what happened to me.”
I laughed. “I thought the same thing.”
We shared a smile before she bustled over to the fire and adjusted the grate. “I’ve just put a few logs on the fire, so it should keep you until you fall asleep. There’s a feather comforter on the bed. It’ll keep the heat in.”
The logs flamed high from behind the iron grate. Suddenly, I was so tired I could scarcely keep my eyes open. I doubted I’d be awake long enough to see the fire die. “I’m not sure I wouldn’t sleep like the dead out there in the snow.”
A look of alarm crossed over her features so quickly I wasn’t sure I’d truly seen it. “Is there anything else I can do before I go?”