Defiant Rose Read Free Page A

the best.” His mother was right, he mused as the stranger disappeared into the hotel. It was the workingman who tipped, not the rich gentlemen from the city. After flipping the coin into the air, the boy pocketed the money and shrugged. Billy Perkins had told him if he helped the circus set up, he could get in for free.
    The boy raced down the stairs and started for the depot. With tips like this morning he’d have to do something. Otherwise, he’d miss Carney’s entirely.
    Michael felt much better after his bath and the whiskey. Food came next, and he had to admit that the young urchin he’d met that morning was right. Mrs. Barret made a good meal, and after being stuck on the train the last few days, he appreciated the roast chicken, hot potatoes, snap beans, and cherry pie.
    By the time he strode down to the livery stable, he felt like a new man. His linen fresh, his shoes newly polished, his accounting ledgers tucked neatly into his case, he stepped into the dim recesses of the stable and was immediately assaulted by the drunken smell of the groom.
    “Can I ‘elp you, sir?” The groom belched.
    Michael didn’t bother to hide his disgust. “I came for a horse. I believe Buttercup will do.”
    “Butter—” The groom stared at the man with surly resentment, then an odd smile came to his face. “He hasn’t been ridden in a while. Do ye mind?”
    “I happen to be an experienced horseman,” Michael said in annoyance.
    “Right.” The groom sauntered out of the barn, leading the horse. The animal pawed the ground, then tossed back his head as if fighting the reins. “Here he is. Buttercup—”
    “How far to the circus grounds?” Michael cut him off.
    The sodden groom glanced from the stranger’s polished boots to his crisp ascot. “Down the end of Main Street, where the tracks curve. You’ll see the storehouse and the big field just beyond.” He stared curiously at the lordly-looking man before him. “Fan of Carney’s, are you?”
    “I wouldn’t say that.” Michael tossed the groom a coin, then mounted the horse, barely noticing the way the animal chafed. He would finish this and be out of here tonight. Then he planned to get roaring drunk and forget Carney’s even existed.

CHAPTER TWO
     
    S HE WAS DISAPPEARING .
    That was Rosemary Carney’s secret worry as she walked about the circus grounds dressed as a clown, barking orders and polishing the acts. She fit so perfectly into the disguise as a man, as a clown no less, that she sometimes feared the costume would become permanent.
    But there were times, and they were happening more and more often lately, that she felt a strange stirring at the sight of a beautiful dress. She and Clara, the circus fortune-teller, had been in Topeka a few days ago and had stopped outside of the dram shop, waiting for the clowns’ whiskey. Inside the store had been a collection of lovely gowns, frilly laces, silver mirrors, and beautiful hats. Rosemary had looked longingly at the feminine apparel, unable even to imagine herself in one of those dresses.
    Clara had scowled and hastened her off, shaking her head and muttering to herself. But alone in her tent that night, Rosemary had wrapped a sheet around her in the same general shape as the dress, then glanced into the mirror, amazed to discover that her body did resemble the sewing form she’d seen in the window. Somehow, her body had changed, allowing for the looseness in the top of the gown and the tightness in the slender waist.
    That discovery added to her confusion. She was beginning to wonder who she really was and what she felt. It had become so necessary to play one role after another—to slip effortlessly into whatever persona would best suit her needs—that she feared the real Rosemary Carney would become only a collection of her acts, a circus trunk full of spangled costumes and glitter. Since her father died, there had been much to do and no one else to take the responsibility. Carney’s Circus must