Against Her Rules by Victoria Barbour Page A

then?”
      “Nothing.” Don’t sound so defensive! She’ll know.
      “Very good. Probably best, since
I noticed Asher Corbin just arrived.”
      Elsie
froze. “What are you talkin’ about, mudder?” It wasn’t often Elsie let her
speech slip back into the dialect she’d worked hard to correct.
      “Me.
Nothing at all, girl. I just happen to be here as often as you are, and pay
attention to the news more than you do. But I’m as blind as a bat. Me and your
father. Real simpletons. Have no clue what our daughter might be doing.”
      “Was
doing,” Elsie corrected, sitting on an overturned pail. “I thought I was discrete.”
      “Oh,
you are. But darling, no matter how old you get, you can’t fool your old
mother. The sooner you accept that, the better off you’ll be.”
      “So,
what do you think?”
      “I
think you can do better than Asher Corbin.”
      “I
know. It was all simple in the beginning. And now it’s tangly to get out.”
      “You’ll
work it all out. And you should work it out soon. Because I also think better
might be staying in a little cottage down the hill.” She wiped her hands on a
rag.
      Elsie
snorted. “I wouldn’t go that far. I made the mistake of getting involved with
one man I met here. I don’t intend to do it a second time.”
      “Well,
you know I don’t try and meddle in your life. There’s no point, really, because
you’re as headstrong as I am. But if you’ll allow me to say this, just once,
I’ll mind my own business afterward.”
      Her
mother pulled up a pail and sat next to Elsie. “I’m very proud of everything
you’ve accomplished. And I’m glad I get to see you every day of my life. I
thought when you went away to university that we’d never see you again.
Instead, you took everything you learned and created this amazing, successful
business.” She took hold of her daughter’s hand. “Everyone in Heart’s Ease is
proud of what you’ve done here. But at the end of the day, when me and Dad go
home, and your guests go to their rooms, you’re alone. Now maybe you like it
that way right now. But will you in a few years from now?”
      Elsie
looked down at her mother’s hand, entwined in hers. It was full of wrinkles.
When had that happened? Her Mom still looked young, but her hands told another
story.
      “We
all make choices, Elsie. And sometimes one choice makes another impossible. But
there’s nothing standing in your way. You can have all of this, and still make
room for someone in your life.”
      “But
where am I supposed to meet someone?” There was a tremor in her voice. “There’s
no one here, and the only new people I meet are customers. I can’t... I won’t
use this place as a means to meet men. It just seems bordello like.”
      Her
mother’s laughter rang out like a bell. “Bordello! Hardly. Is that your
problem? Darling, if you were throwing yourself at every good looking man that
walked through the door, or offering your guests a special night-time turn down
service, then maybe. But you’re only human. All I’m saying is don’t judge
yourself too harshly. And don’t create problems where none exist.”
      “What
is it with people laughing at me today when I’m trying to be honest,” Elsie
fumed.
      “Now,
now. Don’t get your pee hot. I wasn’t laughing at you. I was laughing at the
idea of this place being a bordello.” She reached over and tucked a piece of
hair behind Elsie’s ear. “You’re a little on edge, Elsie. You normally don’t
take things this personally.”
      Elsie
sighed. “I know, Mom. I’m sorry. There’s a lot of stuff running around in my
head today. And having Asher here doesn’t help at all.”
      “What
are you going to do about him?”
      Elsie
rolled her eyes. “I have no clue. But I just might have a Gone with the Wind moment today.”
      “Worry
about it tomorrow?”
      “Exactly.”

Chapter
Seven
      C am
woke to the sounds of gulls screeching and