No Other Love by Isabel Morin Page A

me?”
    “Well, yes, but you needn’t look so horrified. I tidy all the bedchambers.”
    Luke let out a groan and closed his eyes. Opening them again he came into the room until they were standing a mere two feet apart.
    “This is untenable,” he said, his voice pitched so that no one else might here. “I cannot abide you having to clean my chamber. If I’d had any idea …”
    “You mustn’t make too much of it. It takes but a few minutes.”
    “That isn’t the point, Rose.” He was whispering now. “There must be another way. Perhaps one of the other girls could take your place.”
    Rose looked at him, horrified. “That’s impossible. Suggesting such a thing will only make everyone suspect us.”
    Jut then a frigid voice spoke from behind Luke.
    “What exactly is going on here?”
    Luke and Rose turned as one to see Mrs. Fletcher looking at them, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. Fortunately Luke spoke up, as Rose’s mind had ceased to work properly.
    “I’ve lost the key to the offices. I thought perhaps I might have left it here, but it seems not.”
    Mrs. Fletcher was unconvinced. “Is that so? There was a good deal of whispering for something so mundane.”
    Luke’s expression hardened as he faced her. “Yes, it’s so.”
    Rose tried to quell the panic rising in her at the silent battle being waged between them.
    Finally his stepmother broke eye contact, her mouth tightening in displeasure. “Very well. I’ll mention your lost key to Mrs. Craig. Now why don’t we leave Rose to finish in here? She’s already taken far longer than she should.”
    Mrs. Fletcher stood where she was, waiting for Luke to precede her out. Rose turned away to finish making the bed, fearful something of her inner panic would show on her face. When she looked up again, they were gone.
    ***
    Luke stood next to his father, the two of them studying the map on the wall and shaking their heads over the incomplete rail line.
    “We'll have to decide soon. It’s costing us money just to wait,” Jonas stated matter-of-factly.
    “We should never have built so far west without having that farmer sign the papers,” replied Luke, unable to hide his frustration.
    “Yes, yes, that's clear enough now. But I thought that was well in hand. Nathan told me as much.”
    “Nathan’s a fool. He wants so badly to prove himself, he'll do or say anything. Anything, that is, except get to work on time and put in an honest day.”
    Jonas sighed. It was a discussion they'd had many times.
    Luke pressed his point.
    “Frankly, I fear his character is not all it should be. For several months now I’ve been hearing disconcerting news. I’m told he gambles, seemingly without control or sense. He incurs debts and takes too long to pay them off, an unpopular character trait to say the least, particularly for the crowd he associates with.”
    Jonas sighed and sat down, looking weary. “I hadn’t realized it was so bad. I’d hoped he would build his character and reputation through the business. Charlotte thinks Nathan merely needs someone to guide him, though he’s a bit old for such hopes. She sees him with a mother’s eyes, I suppose. Be that as it may, I cannot give up on him just yet. We must both try to work with him, give him a chance to come through. He may surprise us yet.”
    Nathan had received little in the way of an inheritance when his own father died, and that had been frittered away long ago. He now relied exclusively on the salary Jonas paid him, whereas Luke had made his own living for years and also held substantial stock in the railroad. Nathan thus had every reason to put forth his best effort, and his failure to do so clearly troubled Jonas. But instead of looking to the source of the trouble, both Nathan and Charlotte resented Luke’s return and the shadow he cast over Nathan.
    “I hope you’re right, but I fear you’re too optimistic. He seems to be getting worse, rather than better. I've run into him a time or two in