take our lads away to America with you. Do ye hear?â
Several of the older women nodded their heads in agreement. Bonnie gave a loud harrumph. Maggie looked nonplussed and her sisters looked defeated.
This is a nightmare.
Kit moved closer to the crowd, though facing the storm outside seemed the safer choice.
As alienated as she felt, she wanted to tell them sheâd come in peace. Nothing like this had happened in Alaska. There had been a few hardheaded bachelors, but never a community ready to crucify her for just pulling into town. She better do something before the lynching began.
She nodded to Deydie and put her hand up to get their attention. âI assure you, your concerns are unfounded.â She made certain to give Bonnie and Maggie eye contact. âI have no plans to take any of your men away from Gandiegow. In fact, I wonât be pairing them with any of my clients from the U.S.â
âWhat?â said one of the fishermen from the back wall. Indeed, the fishermen looked ready to rebel. There was a low-pitched rumble as they groused among themselves.
Kit held her hand up for silence. âI only want to base my operation out of Gandiegow because the town is centrally located for my recruitment needs.â
âWhy?â Deydie said. âOur lads arenât good enough for ye?â
More rumbles rolled out from the back. Even the females were getting into the heat of it. Kit wondered whether they would pull out the tar and feathers next.
A brilliant idea popped into her brain. One that shouldappease the majority of the crowd. Sheâd planned to host her mixers in either Edinburgh or Glasgow. But desperate times called for desperate measures.
Kit put her hand up once again. âBut what I would like to do is to have my mixers right here in your town.â
âWhatâs a mixing?â asked Deydie.
âA
mixer
is where I bring the men and the women together. That is if Gandiegow can accommodate such an event.â This would be Kitâs out.
Deydieâs eyes took on a shrewd gleam. Kit got the feeling that the negotiations were just beginning. âYe would have to make it worth our while.â
And Kit felt her checkbook being cleared of its balance as well. âWhat do you propose?â Reward never came without risk.
âAye, we can accommodate this mixing thing, as ye say. We have the restaurantâs grand dining room. Right, Dominic and Claire?â
A couple in the middle of the room waved. âThereâs plenty of room,â the strawberry blonde said.
âWeâd be happy to cater it,â the dark-haired man beside her agreed.
âYere American lasses can stay in one of the quilting dorms,â Deydie said.
âFor a fee, of course,â Kit mumbled under her breath.
Deydie proved her wrong, though. âThe lasses can stay free on one condition.â
âAnd that would be?â
The old woman grinned. âThey would all have to sign up for a quilting retreat.â
Chapter Three
W
hat?
Kit valued quiltsâespecially the one that had been her grandmotherâsâbut she doubted her clients knew very much about the craft. âI donât know if any of them can sew.â
Deydie bobbed her head up and down. âWeâll teach them. Wonât we, ladies?â
Several
ayes
went up from the crowd.
What had Kit gotten herself into? Even more pressing, what had she gotten her socialite clients into?
Kit knew the rich well, having grown up wealthy. She had been setting up her friends on dates since boarding school, because she had a knack for seeing who belonged with whom. Up until her father died, she had matched people for free. But to finish college and to help support her family, she began charging for her services. And her friends willingly paid. Word spread and Kitâs reputation as a reliable matchmaker had grown, as did her client base. But what would her clients think
Back in the Saddle (v5.0)