Heart of Honor by Kat Martin Page B

remembered those first exhausting weeks in the country. The professor had begun his studies with what he called a battledore, a heavy paper board that folded into three parts. Once Leif had learned the alphabet and could write it to the professor’s high standards, he began to learn to pen whole words. He was a very quick student and he studied hard, and the professor seemed pleased. Leif learned to read from a primer, then read books designed for slightly older children. He was reading everything now, learning more and more words and the correct way to say them.
    After four months of intensive study, he felt confident in his progress, knew that he had done far better than the professor had expected.
    The man appeared just then in the door of the library, tall and a little frail, his brown hair thinning and beginning to turn gray. Leif frowned as he noticed the man’s face looked strained, and the paper he carried shook a little in his hand.
    Leif rose to his feet. “What is it, Professor?” They spoke only English now, had for more than a month. Leif found the words flowing more and more easily off his tongue.
    “Something has happened. There’s been trouble at the gazette. I must return to the city.”
    “What sort of trouble?” He knew about newspapers now, and magazines, knew that the professor and his daughter owned what was called a gazette, a weekly paper, theirs printed for women. He was eager to see the machine that accomplished such a task.
    “Apparently, she has received more threatening messages. She got a few before we left, but they seemed more a prank—a joke,” Pax-ton explained. “I never really took them seriously.”
    “The ladies didn’t like what she was printing in her maga-zine?”
    The professor shook his head. “It wasn’t the ladies. She has been writing articles that call for social reform…better water systems in the city, shorter working hours for children and women, that sort of thing. Apparently, she has made some enemies, men who don’t want things to change. Yesterday someone set the office on fire.”
    Leif felt a shot of alarm. “She was not injured, your daughter?”
    “No, Krista is fine, but she is worried. The police have no clue as to who might be responsible, and she is afraid someone is going to get hurt. I am afraid that someone might be her. I must return at once.”
    “I am going with you,” Leif said.
    The professor cast him a glance. “I had hoped we would have a bit more time. At least a few more weeks. We have yet to get into the social graces, the things you need to know to move about in polite society. I thought those things would best be learned after you had mastered our language. Of course, you have done a fine job of that.” He smiled. “And if you are in town, perhaps my daughter will be willing to teach you. She is far better at that sort of thing than I am.”
    “Mayhap—perhaps, then, this is for the best. We will go back and make certain that your Krista is safe, and in return, she will teach me more of what I need to learn.”
    The professor hesitated only a moment, then nodded. “Yes…now that I consider it, it is good you are going. My daughter values her independence. She won’t want anyone watching over her, but after the fire, I believe it is necessary. With the two of us to look after her, perhaps we can keep her safe.”
    “Your daughter will be safe, Professor. This, I vow to you.”

Nine
    “A re you certain you should go, Krista?” Aunt Abby followed Krista nervously toward the front door. This was the third morning since the fire, and each day the lecture was the same. “As I said before, I think you should stay at home, at least for a while. Give the police a little time to look into the matter of the fire and who might have started it.”
    Krista leaned down and kissed her aunt’s powdered cheek. “The gazette goes out in the morning. It takes the entire staff to get it ready for distribution, and with the dispatch