Simply Love(14)
Milo nodded. “That’s my Cassie. She loves the children, that she does. Seems to me the girl oughta be thinking about getting married and havin’ some of her own.”
Luke leaped at the opening. “Eventually, yes. She’s a lovely girl, and someday she’ll make some man a fine wife.”
“Yeah, well…tell her that.” Milo shook his head. “Damned fool girl. Got her head full of nonsense, make no mistake. Thinks she wants to be a nun.”
Luke was incredulous. “A nun?”
“You heard me. Soon as my youngest boy, Khristos, is old enough to take care of himself, she plans to enter a convent.” Milo gave his head another shake, light and lunch pail clattering as he lumbered along. “Don’t misunderstand me. Even though I grew up Greek Orthodox, I raised my children to be devout Roman Catholics. It was a promise I made to my Mary Margaret, you see, God rest her sweet soul.” He quickly crossed himself and blew a kiss off the backs of his grimy knuckles. “Never a dearer woman breathed, I’ll tell you that. And I have no regrets raisin’ our kids in the church, for that was her dying wish. To be honest, I don’t have a quarrel with one of my children taking up the cloth. It’s a fine calling, being a priest or a nun. It’s just that in Cassandra’s case, it strikes me as being a terrible mistake.”
Luke nearly said “Amen.” If he’d been a praying man, he might have. “I agree. She doesn’t strike me as the sort to become a nun.”
Milo made a disgruntled sound at the back of his throat. “She isn’t, and that’s a fact. Likes her pretties too much. I keep tellin’ her so, but she’s got the temperament of a little Missouri mule, just like her mama.” He crossed himself and blew another kiss into the darkness. “God rest her.”
Luke hauled in a deep breath, his thoughts in a sudden tangle. A nun? Jesus Christ.
“You know, Milo, a girl like Cassandra has a few more options than getting married or going into a convent. That’s why I asked to speak with you tonight. I have a proposition to make to you, as I said, and it involves your daughter.”
Milo shot him a curious look. “What kind of proposition?”
Luke swallowed. “Well…first of all, I’d like to point out that—” He broke off, not at all sure how to put this delicately. Beating around the bush had never been his style. “You know, Milo, even if you convince Cassandra not to enter the convent and to get married instead, she’s likely to wind up with some poor sot as her husband, and six hungry kids clinging to her skirts. It’s not very often that a girl from the mining district gets an opportunity to marry well, or to better herself financially. The offer I’m about to make will give your daughter that chance. If you give your blessing, she’ll be a very wealthy woman, after all is said and done, and she’ll never want for anything again. Neither will you, for that matter.”
Zerek’s expression had gone from curious to wary. “Why do I have a feelin’ the proposition you’re about to make has something indecent hangin’ on the tail of it?”
Luke flashed a grin. “Indecent? I guess it’s all in how you look at it. To put it frankly, I’m very taken with your daughter. With your permission, I’d like to offer her a position of employment.”
Milo swung to a sudden stop. Light from the saloon behind Luke fell across the shorter man’s dirt-streaked face. “What kind of employment?”
Judging by Milo’s expression, Luke had the feeling this wasn’t going at all well. He shrugged away the concern. When all else failed, he’d let money do his talking, and all the convincing. “Please don’t get the impression that I’m making this offer lightly. This is the first time—the only time—I’ve ever been so smitten by a young lady that I’ve considered a long-term arrangement.”
Milo narrowed an eye. “A long-term arrangement?”
Luke smiled. “Cassandra would live in my home, and for the duration of our contract, she would be treated with all the respect of a wife. She wouldn’t be required to turn her hand to any kind of work, and in return, I’d pay her a phenomenal wage, buy her beautiful clothing, and surround her with every luxury.”
Milo narrowed both eyes. “Are you askin’ me to give you my permission to make a whore of my daughter?”
“That’s a rather crass way of putting it.”
Milo rocked forward on his toes, and though he was nearly a head shorter than Luke, he did a commendable job of standing nose to nose with him. “You cocky little son of a bitch. I oughta knock those pearly white teeth of yours straight down your throat.”