Saturday's Child Read Online Free

He didn't lay claim to the second sight his father had always sworn to have but he had a strong feeling that bringing this stranger here had been a mistake.
    "Quentin Sterling at your service." The stranger bowed low. Katie dipped a small curtsy, feeling a bit ridiculous in her wrapper and nightgown, her hair all willy-nilly on her shoulders.
    "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance," she said politely.
    "I think your good manners outweigh your honesty, ma'am." The twinkle in his eyes took any insult from the words. "This is hardly the way I'd choose to meet such a charming and beautiful young lady."
    Colin stiffened beside her. "I'll walk out with you. I'm sure we'll be able to find a hack."
    Quentin's eyes met his, understanding in their depths. "You're quite right. I've taken up much more of your time than I've any right to."
    He reached to pick up his hat, bowing again to Katie. "I thank you, ma'am, for your kindness and your skill with a needle."
    Colin opened the door, leaving no time for Katie's response, if she'd had one. Quentin Sterling's eyes met hers for one long moment before he turned away, stepping through the door her brother held open.
    Katie stood staring at the blank panel, one hand pressed to her bosom, feeling slightly breathless. After a moment, she shook her head and turned back to the cubbyhole that sheltered her bed. She had a feeling Colin was going to want to discuss their visitor with her, but she didn't want to talk about him.
    She wasn't a foolish young girl. She knew as well as Colin did that she'd never see Mr. Quentin Sterling again, but would it hurt so very much to dream a little of what it might be like to have a man like that fall in love with her?

Chapter 2
    W hen the church bell struck five, Katie dragged her eyes open, focusing sleepily on the cracked and peeling ceiling. If she closed her eyes again, she could sleep a few more minutes and perhaps she could take the trolley to work this morning. Surely it wouldn't be such a terrible extravagance just this once.
    With a groan, she forced herself upright. If she took a trolley this morning, she'd surely want to do the same tomorrow and the day after that. Bad habits were easily begun but harder to stop. And the pennies were better saved for the future.
    She swung her legs off the bed and stretched her arms over her head to work the kinks out of her back. Ignoring the temptation to fall back onto the thin mattress for just one more minute of sleep, Katie stood up, reaching for her wrapper. If she hurried, she might be able to use the bathroom down the hall before the other tenants stirred. Slipping her feet into a pair of satin slippers—mementoes of a successful run at a fine Boston theater—she eased through the curtain that surrounded her bed, tiptoeing through the living area.
    Colin slept on a pallet made of a thick folded quilt. A blanket was drawn up over his shoulders, blocking out the morning chill. Katie lifted the towel she'd laid ready the night before and slipped out the door.
    There was no one in the bathroom, a rare occurrence with nearly fifteen families sharing the meager facilities. Mindful that it wouldn't be long before there were others queuing up in the hall, she hurried through her ablutions.
    Drying her face on the rough towel, Katie suddenly remembered the one time they'd stayed at the Waldorf-Astoria. That had been during her brief, never-to-be-forgotten employment on the hallowed boards of Broadway. Her parents had celebrated with the same enthusiastic joy with which they embraced every other aspect of life. They'd taken a room at the elegant hotel, putting on airs that the Vanderbilts themselves would have envied. The towels there had been of the finest, softest linen, gently soothing the moisture from the skin instead of removing it by brute force.
    Katie shook her head, dismissing the old memories. That had been another time and place. She folded the towel neatly and tightened the tie of her wrapper