Given by Lisa G. Riley, Roslyn Hardy Holcomb Page A

herself by running a business. The result was a woman who couldn't make one wrong move without the possibility of a negative judgment from the town that could ultimately lead to financial ruin.

    If word got out that she had been so wanton with Jacob, Mary Katherine knew it could spell disaster for her. She knew it and thought about it every time she saw him, but when he took her into his arms, she seemed to lose all her common sense. His kisses were like the most tempting morsels of chocolate, and chocolate was the one vice she allowed herself. Or at least it had been. Always honest with herself, she added Jacob to that list—a list that hadn't really existed before him. Not only that, but he was clearly first on that list, routing chocolate without even the hint of a battle.

    She heard Grace delicately clear her throat and brought her thoughts back into focus. Her friend was looking expectantly at her, patiently awaiting her answer. Mary Katherine found herself unable to tell even Grace the truth. She directed her gaze to a painting behind Grace's head. “I don't know what you mean.”

    “I see,” Grace said contemplatively. She stared at Mary Katherine for a few silent beats.

    Fighting the desire to squirm under the penetrating gaze that was so much like Jacob's, Mary Katherine lifted her brow in inquiry.

    Grace mimicked her motion, except she also cocked her head and twisted her mouth, as if asking, Do you really think I'm going to fall for that?

    Mary Katherine didn't blink. That's my story, and I shan't waver from it.

    Grace stared.

    Mary Katherine stared and watched as, finally, disappointed resignation flickered across the other woman's face. Stalemate.

    Grace sighed before saying, “I saw that new gingham cloth you've got at your store. Is it very expensive? Papa is insisting I make myself a new dress.”

    Mary Katherine's relief at the change of subject was well hidden as she smiled at Grace's shudder of disgust. “Whatever the cost, I'm sure your father will be willing to pay it, considering how much he prefers to see his only daughter in dresses rather than the inappropriate trousers you prefer.”

    Grace shrugged, a frown on her face. “Trousers are less constricting. Any woman with a lick of sense would prefer them over all of those cumbersome skirts. And besides, you of all people should understand how I feel. My father's desires should not take precedence over my own, particularly as it's my life. But of course they do, and it's simply because he's male.”

    Mary Katherine nodded. They'd had this discussion many times before. It was about more than being told what to wear; that was just one result of an unbalanced system. She and Grace both chafed at the bonds placed on them as women. Grace was under her father's protection, and it would not only be unusual, but also frowned upon if she took it in her head to leave his house without first getting married.

    Her father could only be described as traditional in thinking when it came to how he saw women. In his mind, women were made for cooking, cleaning, raising children, and answering to the men in their lives, whether they were fathers, husbands, or brothers. For an independent woman like Grace, this was almost an untenable situation, and to make matters worse, she had the added burden of two brothers who also thought because they were men they could run her life.

    Mary Katherine had sympathy for her and thanked God almost daily that she did not have such constraints. She ran her own life, and while that didn't mean she could do whatever she liked, it did mean that she had more independence than most women. Paradoxically, while she did not envy Grace her lifestyle, she could not help but envy her her family. Not a day went by that Mary Katherine didn't think about her parents, and she often found herself weeping out of sheer want of them.

    Mary Katherine studied her friend. Like all the Adamses, Grace was tall, dark, and beautiful. Men were