Petals on the River by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss

furiously.   "You're bound to
    get me into trouble!"
     
    Gage was certain he understood the drift of the admonition, but
    questioned Shemaine to be sure.   "What did you say?"
     
    Annie waved away his inquiry.   "Oh, na' a thin', gov'na.   M'liedy was
    just clearin' her throat, that she was!   Tis all these here spores in
    the air, ye know."
     
    "Annie!" The name came out sounding like steam hissing from a boiling
    kettle, and perhaps that description could have been directly applied to
    Shemaine.   She was not very appreciative of being discussed as if she
    were a piglet being offered for sale.
     
    Stepping slowly and purposefully around Shemaine, Gage contemplated her
    from every angle.   Even a large cabin could get uncomfortably cramped
    when it served as home to two people who couldn't abide each other.   Of
    late, he had become increasingly aware of the difficulty in coping with
    a woman, namely one Roxanne Corbin, who tried to smother him with her
    presence and attention.   If not for his desperate need for a nursemaid
    to care for his son while he worked he would never have considered
    taking Roxanne on in the first place and now she expected far more from
    him than he was willing to give.   In Shemaine's case, however, he
    thought he might enjoy having her underfoot and discovering every minute
    detail about her.
     
    Pausing beside her, Gage reached out and slid his fingers curiously over
    the delicate bones of her wrist.   The contact seemed far too bold and
    intimate to Shemaine.   Had he branded her, she would have felt no less
    disturbed, for his touch seemed like a warm flame slowly licking upward
    along her skin.
     
    "Please don't!" she begged breathlessly, pulling away.   When he looked
    so sleek, hale, and hearty, what merit could he possibly find in a frail
    and filthy reed?
     
    "I didn't mean to startle you, Shemaine," Gage apologized.   "I only
    wanted to look at your hands....   May I?"
     
    Shemaine didn't like being the recipient of such close attention,
    especially when she felt so utterly unclean.   Grudgingly she lifted her
    hands, resenting her lack of an option.   She was just thankful he hadn't
    asked to see her teeth!
     
    Gage examined the slender fingers with care, finding them grimy yet
    finely made.   He stroked a thumb across the fragile bones in the back of
    her hands and, turning them over, inspected the palms that were as soft
    as any well-born lady's.
     
    "You seem ill prepared for work, Shemaine," he observed in amazement.
     
    Beneath his searching gaze, Shemaine felt a blush stealing into her
    cheeks.   "I'm not afraid of work, sir," she said carefully, aware that
    her next words might greatly reduce the possibility of being purchased.
     
    "I'm just not well acquainted with it, that's all."
     
    "I see," Gage responded in bemusement.   Perhaps what Annie had told him
    was actually true, that Shemaine O'Hearn really had been brought up as a
    lady.   Only the very wealthy could afford to coddle their offspring with
    servants, which seemed the only plausible explanation for her soft hands
    and lack of skills.   "I sincerely hope you have a talent for learning on
    your own, Shemaine.   I can ill afford a tutor for you, nor do I have the
    time or the ability to instruct you myself."
     
    "I learn very quickly, sir," she averred hastily.   "If there are books
    to he had that give detailed instructions on the duties of a
    housekeeper, then I can teach myself."
     
    "I will earnestly have to look for one."
     
    " Twould help," she answered gingerly.
     
    "Do you even know how to cook?" Gage posed the inquiry again, trying to
    subdue his sudden concern.   He fervently hoped they wouldn't have to
    starve before she familiarized herself with some of the basics.
     
    "I'm clever with a needle, sir," Shemaine hedged cautiously, not wanting
    to divulge what she was basically uncertain about.   Her mother had
    thought it prudent for a young lady to be taught all the