his home and his
family, awash in a world so
very, very different from his
own. She knew exactly how he
felt, remembered all too well how
she'd felt when her
mother and she had found refuge
in the raja’s household.
She'd been a bit older than Mohan
when her world had
been upended. But she'd adjusted
and endured. With grace
and hope. Unfortunately, those
were the two qualities Mohan
seemed to lack entirely. Ifonly
she knew how to impart
them to him, how to instill in
himthe kind of vision and
strength necessary to look past
today to a distant, brighter
tomorrow.
Setting an example hadn't worked.
Neither had very carefully
and clearly explaining it.
Attempting to go at it through
the instruction of manners had
produced no discernible
change in him, either. But was locking
him away the only
course remaining? It felt
like such an admission of failure. If
she were a competent teacher, she
wouldn't have to resort to
such drastic, cold-hearted
measures.
Of course, she added,
straightening and walking toward
her own room, she hadn't yet been
reduced to the use of
corporal punishment. Alex slipped
inside, pressed the door
closed, and dropped into the soft
cushions of a rattan sofa.
No, to her credit, she hadn't
turned matters of discipline
over to Aiden Terrell. Or even suggested
that they might
share them. There was something
to be said for that, wasn't
there?
Wasn't there?
Alex blinked unseeingly into the
farthest comer, stunned.
She couldn't think of a single
reason why she should be
pleased by the prospect of
continuing to bear the burden all
by herself. She was bone weary
from the effort to be mother,
tutor, mentor, father, and
friend. And she was beyond exhausted
by the futility of her every
effort on every front
Would it be so horribly,
unforgivably weak of her to surrender
a small part of the
responsibility? For just a little while?
She didn't care what Aiden
Terrell thought of her, she
quickly assured herself. He was
here, a reluctant part of their
lives, for the next few weeks, a
month at the most. As soon
as Lal's replacement arrived,
Aiden would be gone and she'd
never see him again. What did it
matter if he thought she was
weak and ineffectual?
It didn't matter at all. Except
to her pride. Which left her
with two clear choices; she could
either swallow it or she
could soldier on as she had for
the last five years and as her
mother had before her. Preeya's
suggested course wasn't a
realistic choice at all . Make
Aiden Terrell her lover and husband?
Mohan's surrogate father? Ha!
With an aggravated sigh, Alex leaned
her head back against
the cushion and closed her eyes.
Just a short nap, she promised
herself. The world always looked
kinder and brighter through
freshened eyes.
Aiden sat in the wing chair-the
one piece of English furniture
in the entire shop and surveyed
the rest of the contents
of the front store. It was said
that homes reflected the innermost
nature of the owner. Ifthat
was true, what did the Blue
Elephant Shop say about Alexandra
Radford?
There was absolutely nothing the
least straightforward or
simple about the place. There
were so many things in it; carefully
placed layers and layers of every
kind of decorative
merchandise imaginable. Itwas
impossible to see it all at
even a long glance. Each time you
came back to a particular
spot you saw something you'd
missed the time before. On the
table across the room, a little
mirror, edged with an intricate
silver filigree, had been hidden
among a cascade of extravagantly
embroidered reticules. Off to the
right of that, amid a
collection of teakwood chargers
and gold-edged china plates,
sat a brass candlestick with a
fringe of semiprecious beads
twinkling in the afternoon
sunlight.
Not a bit of it was pretentious
and yet it allfelt rather elegant
and rich. None of it was arranged
in any formal way,
but there was no denying that
there
family, awash in a world so
very, very different from his
own. She knew exactly how he
felt, remembered all too well how
she'd felt when her
mother and she had found refuge
in the raja’s household.
She'd been a bit older than Mohan
when her world had
been upended. But she'd adjusted
and endured. With grace
and hope. Unfortunately, those
were the two qualities Mohan
seemed to lack entirely. Ifonly
she knew how to impart
them to him, how to instill in
himthe kind of vision and
strength necessary to look past
today to a distant, brighter
tomorrow.
Setting an example hadn't worked.
Neither had very carefully
and clearly explaining it.
Attempting to go at it through
the instruction of manners had
produced no discernible
change in him, either. But was locking
him away the only
course remaining? It felt
like such an admission of failure. If
she were a competent teacher, she
wouldn't have to resort to
such drastic, cold-hearted
measures.
Of course, she added,
straightening and walking toward
her own room, she hadn't yet been
reduced to the use of
corporal punishment. Alex slipped
inside, pressed the door
closed, and dropped into the soft
cushions of a rattan sofa.
No, to her credit, she hadn't
turned matters of discipline
over to Aiden Terrell. Or even suggested
that they might
share them. There was something
to be said for that, wasn't
there?
Wasn't there?
Alex blinked unseeingly into the
farthest comer, stunned.
She couldn't think of a single
reason why she should be
pleased by the prospect of
continuing to bear the burden all
by herself. She was bone weary
from the effort to be mother,
tutor, mentor, father, and
friend. And she was beyond exhausted
by the futility of her every
effort on every front
Would it be so horribly,
unforgivably weak of her to surrender
a small part of the
responsibility? For just a little while?
She didn't care what Aiden
Terrell thought of her, she
quickly assured herself. He was
here, a reluctant part of their
lives, for the next few weeks, a
month at the most. As soon
as Lal's replacement arrived,
Aiden would be gone and she'd
never see him again. What did it
matter if he thought she was
weak and ineffectual?
It didn't matter at all. Except
to her pride. Which left her
with two clear choices; she could
either swallow it or she
could soldier on as she had for
the last five years and as her
mother had before her. Preeya's
suggested course wasn't a
realistic choice at all . Make
Aiden Terrell her lover and husband?
Mohan's surrogate father? Ha!
With an aggravated sigh, Alex leaned
her head back against
the cushion and closed her eyes.
Just a short nap, she promised
herself. The world always looked
kinder and brighter through
freshened eyes.
Aiden sat in the wing chair-the
one piece of English furniture
in the entire shop and surveyed
the rest of the contents
of the front store. It was said
that homes reflected the innermost
nature of the owner. Ifthat
was true, what did the Blue
Elephant Shop say about Alexandra
Radford?
There was absolutely nothing the
least straightforward or
simple about the place. There
were so many things in it; carefully
placed layers and layers of every
kind of decorative
merchandise imaginable. Itwas
impossible to see it all at
even a long glance. Each time you
came back to a particular
spot you saw something you'd
missed the time before. On the
table across the room, a little
mirror, edged with an intricate
silver filigree, had been hidden
among a cascade of extravagantly
embroidered reticules. Off to the
right of that, amid a
collection of teakwood chargers
and gold-edged china plates,
sat a brass candlestick with a
fringe of semiprecious beads
twinkling in the afternoon
sunlight.
Not a bit of it was pretentious
and yet it allfelt rather elegant
and rich. None of it was arranged
in any formal way,
but there was no denying that
there
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