Hope
Chapter One
Hope Kallahan pressed a plain cotton handkerchief
to her upper lip and shifted wearily on the hard
wooden seat, bracing herself against the wall of the coach.
Her bones ached.
She'd have given all she owned for a pillow to cushion
her backside. Never had she sat for so long on such a hard
wooden bench, not even in church. The pews in Papa's
house of worship were softer than this device of torture.
"Are you feeling poorly, Miss Della?"
The young woman sitting opposite Hope peered anxiously
into the sickly face of her elderly companion.
"I'll be fine, dear. Just having some mild discomfort.
Don't worry your pretty head, Miss Anne. I'll be just fine."
Della DeMarco, the young woman's escort, fanned her
flushed face. The poor woman had taken ill the moment
she boarded the coach, but she insisted on continuing the
journey. Her charge, Miss Anne Ferry, daughter of Thomas
White Ferry, U.S. senator from Michigan, was traveling to
Louisville to visit friends.
Pressing back against the seat, Hope counted the tall trees
lining the road. Miles of countrysi ... read full excerpt from: Hope ebook
