Black Rainbow Read Online Free Page A

exclaimed. "Where were you? I told you you were not to go out. Now you have roused the entire house. Wretched kitty!"
    "Kitty?" Megan repeated incredulously.
    The animal squirmed in Miss Mandeville's grasp, stretching out its neck in order to rub a furry head against her chin. Its shape was feline, but its coloring was totally unlike the tabby stripes and calico spots with which Megan was familiar. Its body was a pale fawn color, but the extremities—tail, ears, and feet—were dark seal-brown. A mask of the same shade covered its muzzle, shading up over the eyes, which were of a startling sapphire blue.
    "I have never seen a cat like that," she exclaimed. Momentarily forgetting its grief, the cat returned her stare with one of insolent boredom. Its whiskered face was as round as an apple.
    "I don't suppose you have," said Miss Mandeville. "There cannot be more than two or three of them in England. It is Siamese. A childhood friend of mine, who is captain of a vessel in the East Indian trade, brought it back to me. He knows my penchant for unusual pets."
    "We had a monkey," the child volunteered. "But it died." Her mouth drooped.
    "Perhaps he will bring you another," Megan said, hoping sincerely that he would not.
    "Do you like monkeys, Miss O'Neill?"
    "You can investigate one another's interests and hobbies tomorrow," Miss Mandeville said with a smile. "I am sorry you should have been disturbed, Miss O'Neill. The miscreant is now in custody; you can return to your bed."
    "But what ails the poor creature?" Megan asked. "It seems to be in great pain."
    "Oh, no," the child said eagerly. "She wants to have babies. That is why she cries. But Aunt Jane won't let her."
    At the sight of Megan's face Miss Mandeville let out a peal of unrestrained laughter. "I hope we have not shocked you, Miss O'Neill. We are farming people here, and accept natural functions naturally."
    "Oh, no," Megan mumbled.
    "All cats cry when they are in season," Miss Mandeville went on cheerfully. "Though I must admit this foreign creature expresses herself more piercingly than any local breed."
    "It sounded like a lost soul," Megan said with a shiver.
    "Or the family bane, warning of approaching doom? The difficulty is that I don't want to breed her now. She had one litter of kittens last year, and to my great disappointment not one of them had her coloring; they were the usual mixture of black and white and striped. I am curious to see what would result if she were mated with another of the same breed, but my efforts to find a male have been unavailing. I am hoping Willie will fetch me one on his next voyage."
    Her eyes bright, her voice brisk, she seemed as wide awake as if it were morning, not the middle of the night; and Megan, who was not vitally interested in the coloration of cats, began to think she would go on in the same vein indefinitely. The child yawned, and Miss Mandeville broke off her lecture and ordered them both to bed.

Chapter Three
    During the following weeks everything that happened increased Megan's appreciation of the good fortune that had brought her to Grayhaven. She gave thanks for it every night when she knelt by her bed before retiring, and only prayed that it be allowed to continue. She had not been so happy since her father died; and even before that, her deep affection for him had been shadowed by the uncertainty of their way of life and her fears for his honor. Here she felt sheltered and safe and loved.
    The little girl, Caroline, was as endearing as her aunt had claimed. Loved and therefore loving, she expected kindness from everyone she met. There were, to be sure, normal demonstrations of temper and misbehavior. She could not keep a frock clean for more than an hour; if she was not stealing away from lessons to play in the stableyard or the barns, she was in the kitchen begging bread and jam from the infatuated cook, or painting her apron with watercolor to see if it would not look prettier so. But these were small sins,