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Boott fired another question in his direction. “Is there anything else you learned this evening that we haven’t discussed?”
    Matthew thought of a great many things he’d tucked away for future reference. He had no desire to share them with his employer just yet, but of utmost importance was the earning of Boott’s trust. Not only that, but Matthew hoped that by cultivating their working relationship with sound judgment and positive initiative, Boott would soon come to see him as an invaluable asset.
    “Well, it did appear there is a hierarchy among the stockholders, but I wasn’t certain. I thought perhaps there was deference shown due to those men holding more stock.” Boott nodded and motioned for him to continue. “I learned it’s imperative to cultivate influential friends.”
    “Absolutely!” Boott exclaimed, slapping Matthew on the leg. “Think about the fact that there is no single member of the Boston Associates who was powerful enough to influence Congress, but several of us doggedly pursued our friendship with Daniel Webster. It has reaped a multitude of benefits. You must keep this lesson in the forefront of your mind, both in your business and personal life. If you do, you’ll go far, my boy. A wife must be chosen with no less intelligence and cunning than one chooses a lawyer or business partner.”
    Matthew grinned. “I would imagine that to be true enough, but I never have cared for the way my lawyer wears his hair or fashions.”
    “Looks can be deceiving,” Boott said, sobering. “Just remember that. Things are not always what they appear to be, and this is especially true when dealing with people.”

Chapter 3
    Lowell, Massachusetts
    Lilly trudged up the narrow stairway and made her way down the hall. Her back ached, and she longed for quiet and the comfort of a good night’s sleep. Carefully, she turned the doorknob, fearful she might awaken the other girls with her late arrival to the room.
    “Welcome to our humble abode,” the girl known as Marmi greeted in a none-too-quiet manner. Six girls sat gathered together on one bed.
    “Shhh!” Prudence Holtmeyer warned. “Keep your voice down, Marmi.”
    “Sorry, I always forget,” she replied. “Lilly, in case you haven’t met everyone, this is Katie, Sarah, Beth, and Franny. Nadene’s asleep, but I think you met her earlier.”
    Lilly smiled as she closed the bedroom door. “Thank you for the welcome,” she said in a low voice. “I thought you would all be asleep by now. I was afraid I’d awaken you coming in this late.”
    “Not us—we always stay up late chatting, except for Nadene,” Katie replied.
    “She’s the early-to-bed girl. You needn’t worry about waking her. She falls into bed after supper, and nothing seems to interrupt her sleep,” Franny added.
    “We rearranged your things closer to your bed,” Prudence said. “Hope you don’t mind, but we thought it would make it easier for you when you’re getting ready for work in the morning. You won’t have to crawl across the bed to get to your clothes.”
    “Thank you again,” Lilly replied. She had half expected the girls to act aloof since she really wasn’t one of them, at least not yet. Apparently they weren’t given to drawing class distinctions among themselves.
    Marmi bounced across the bed. “There I went and made all the introductions, and we haven’t been formally introduced. I’m Margaret Mildred Tharp, but everyone calls me Marmi. I know you met Prudence earlier at supper.”
    She pointed toward the figure cocooned in a log-cabin patterned quilt. “Nadene is from Vermont. Prudence and I hail from New Hampshire, and the others are from around the state. Whereabouts do you come from?”
    “I suppose if we’re making proper introductions, I should say that my name is Lilly Armbruster, and I’m from right here, East Chelmsford—that would be Lowell to you.”
    Prudence raised her eyebrows ever so slightly. “The girls that hail from