Sylvie Sommerfield - Noah's Woman Read Free

going around and saying yes sir and no sir."
    "But it has to be done. And we should be grateful she's allowing us a choice. Most of the girls our age are apprenticed without even being told what their

    duties are. We have to learn to be self-sufficient. You heard Mrs. Gilbert say so, or we'll be . . . be . . ."
    "Street walkers." Charity chuckled at Beth's embarrassment. "Whores, who live in the gutter."
    "Charity! Must you be so"
    "Honest?"
    "Explicit."
    "Beth, you read too much. Every day you come up with words you hardly understand. I don't want to be on the streets. I want"
    "What? Do you know?"
    "Yes, I know." Charity's voice softened and her eyes looked inward at her own dreams. Dreams she knew she could share with Beth and only Beth. All others would laugh at the aspirations of a nameless orphan. "I want to have enough wealth to live in a fine home. I want to have so many pretty gowns that I can't wear them all in a lifetime. I want to ride in a carriage with two white horses to draw it. I want to travel and see all the marvels of the world. I want to live, not just exist, wondering where the next mouthful of food will come from and whose hand-me-down clothes we'll be wearing next year."
    "You know those kind of dreams are just thatdreams. We have to be realistic. It's time for us to face the fact that those kinds of things are out of our reach. Mrs. Gilbert is going to place us soon and we have to accept it . . . or . . . you know the orphanage will not be able to support us forever. Charity . . . we have to choose, and I . . . I'm so afraid."
    "Afraid of what? It will be work, and we've done our share since we were old enough to walk."

    ''No, I'm not afraid of work."
    "Then what?"
    "I'm afraid we'll be separated. You're the only real friend I have. What shall I do if Mrs. Gilbert forces us to apprentice so far apart I'll never see you again?"
    "Beth, we've talked about this before and I've always promised you, one way or the other, we'll be together. I've never broken a promise, have I?"
    "No . . . but"
    "No buts. We'll find a way." Charity's voice held the same firm quality that could always comfort Beth. She lifted the weight of her thick hair and closed her eyes, raising her face toward the warmth of the sun. "Oh, it's such a glorious day. I wish we were free."
    "Free? What would we do with freedom if we had it?"
    "Go to the park and walk through the grass in our bare feet. Wade in the pond and sleep beneath one of those huge oaks." Charity laughed.
    "And be hungry within a few hours and not have a shilling," Beth added dryly.
    "How practical." She grinned at Beth. "Dear Beth, you were born to be a wife. You could run a household like Mrs. Gilbert runs this place. Efficiently and very practically."
    "Well, one of us has to be practical," Beth replied. "You're too much of a dreamer."
    "Yes, I guess I am," Charity said thoughtfully.
    "Charity." Beth reached out to touch her hand, all laughter gone from her eyes. "I don't mean to sound condemning. You are a dreamer, and I admire you

    for that. I am too afraid to dream. I wish all your dreams would come true, really I do."
    "Well, if my dreams ever come true, you'll be right beside me. Now, speaking of hunger, do you suppose we could charm Mrs. Douglas out of something? I'm hungry enough to eat anything."
    "Let's go try. But for heaven's sake, put your stockings and shoes on or she'll be scandalized, lecture you on propriety for an hour, then turn you over to Mrs. Gilbert who will lecture you again like she's done a million times."
    With an exasperated sigh, Charity reached for her discarded stockings and began to draw them up over her slim legs.
    The window of Josine Gilbert's office looked out upon the back of the orphanage property. Charles Brentwood stood gazing out the window with his hands in his pockets, watching the scene some distance away.
    He was a distinguished-looking man whose vitality belied his fifty-two years. His hair was thick