Read At Love's Bidding for Free Online Page B

she picked her way over the uneven ground. Had someone purposefully sown the road with boulders, they couldn’t have made it any bumpier. And she’d always thought the cobblestones of Boston too rough.
    In the nearest yard, a peony bush waved drunkenly at them. Miranda drew back as a sprightly woman emerged, wearing a faded sunbonnet. Behind her stood a small shed—probably made to store her gardening tools in. With a filthy glove she pushed a strand of hair off her wrinkled nose and looked them over.
    â€œWell, hello. I ain’t never seen you’uns before.”
    Grandfather touched the brim of his hat by way of introduction. “Elmer Wimplegate at your service, ma’am. We just arrived from Boston and are looking for the auction house.”
    At this she pushed up her sleeves and set her hands against her narrow hips. “Boston? You don’t say. I’m Mrs. Sanders—folks around here call me Widow Sanders—and I don’t know that I’ve ever met anyone from so far away. That’s a far piece, to be sure. You’re looking for the sale barn?” A fly buzzed around the brim of her bonnet. With lightning precision the woman swatted it down.
    â€œPerhaps we are talking about the same place,” Grandfather said. “Are you referring to a place that auctions off valuables?”
    â€œWhy, sure. You can buy just about anything at the sale barn. You just follow this road”—here she gestured and Mirandanearly ducked, remembering the fate of the fly—“and see if it don’t take you straight there. Course there hasn’t been any sales this week, and don’t ask me how come. That Pritchard’s got something up his sleeve.”
    â€œThank you for your information. I hope our paths cross again.” Grandfather was responding well to this woman’s energy.
    â€œThere ain’t that many paths out here,” she said. “You’re bound to see me sooner or later.”
    Miranda smiled politely as they passed by. The gardener didn’t go back to her work but continued to stare the entire time Miranda and Grandfather were in sight.
    â€œWell, well, well,” Grandfather said once they were out of earshot. “So the whole town is abuzz with what is going on at the auction? Little do they know we just snatched their treasures for a ridiculously low price.”
    Miranda kept her head ducked. Far be it for her to question her grandfather’s judgment, but she’d be surprised if this town brimmed with fine art and priceless jewelry. Didn’t he see that woman’s clothing? Even if the inhabitants of Pine Gap were the caretakers for the local estates, her simple speech and rough manners would exclude her from service in all but the most humble of establishments. Not since they’d left St. Louis had they seen any community remotely capable of supporting an auction house like theirs. She bit her lip. If they didn’t find the painting, how were they going to afford to pay for their trip, much less the expense of a new auction house?
    The road seemed to dead end at a large red monstrosity constructed with no thought of aesthetics or even decency. The hulking building sported walls blown wide at odd angles as if some interior pressure had warped it out of symmetry.
    â€œWhy would anyone do that to this poor town?” Miranda asked. And then the smell hit her. It was too late. Her opened mouth had captured the taste, so thick she needed to scrape it off her tongue with a butter knife. Grandfather’s handkerchief made another appearance and swiftly covered his nose. Miranda almost crammed her reticule into her mouth but managed to fish out her own handkerchief despite watering eyes.
    â€œWhat is it?” she asked. Even the livery stables in town didn’t smell as strong. The giant red barn had stove pipes jutting out at maniacal intervals. Too many stoves for a barn, and of course she’d seen