Read The Promise of Jenny Jones for Free Online Page A

Jenny said, speaking between her teeth. "You don't talk to me, and I don't talk to you. We need a break from each other, so just shut up." She settled into the saddle for a long ride.
    They rode into full darkness before she stopped to make camp for the night. Her bones ached. And she must have broken the skin when she was scratching lice because there was a spot on top of her head where the sabadilla vinegar burned like a hot spike driving into her skull.
    "Can you water the horse and tether him for the night?" Graciela stared as if Jenny had lost her mind. Jenny sighed.
    "All right. Can you build a fire and get some coffee going?"
    Graciela lifted an eyebrow. Six fricking years old, and she could lift one eyebrow. Jenny was twenty-four and couldn't lift one eyebrow without the other zipping up, too.
    "Can't you do anything useful?"
    "I can sew, and I can read, and I can draw pictures."
    Pressing her lips together, Jenny settled the horse for the night,then laid a fire. "Pay attention, kid. Next time this is your job." She made coffee, warmed the beans and tortillas, shook out the blankets that had been tied behind the saddle. Watching Graciela yawn over her tortilla, Jenny wondered if the cousins were out there somewhere in the darkness. Or had Marguarita overestimated any threat the cousins might pose? Maybe they were back at the village, getting drunk, holding a wake for Marguarita and feeling glad to be rid of any responsibility for the kid.
    Graciela stood up and politely covered a yawn. "You can undress me now. I want to go to sleep."
    Jenny's mouth dropped. "Do I look like a fricking servant to you? Undress you? When I was six years old I was doing the work of an adult. You can sure as hell dress and undress yourself."
    Graciela stared at her across the fire. Tears welled in her eyes, brimmed,then slipped down her cheeks. "My mama always undressed me and tucked me into bed."
    "You're six years old. You're practically an adult. You can get out of those clothes and into your nightdress by your own self."
    "I hate you, I hate you! And you look ugly and stupid with that rag on your head!"
    Jenny smiled. "That's your blanket over there. Now you can put on your nightdress or you can sleep in your fancy little outfit. Makes no never mind to me. But I'm not going to undress you, and I'm not going to dress you in the morning. So you just figure out how those buttons work."
    "I know how buttons work! I hate you, I hate you,I hate you!" In a fury, Graciela ran around the fire pit, kicking rocks, and shouting, her little face as red as the flames.
    Jenny watched with interest. At least Graciela wasn't a perfect snotty little lady all of the time. Finally she ran out of steam and started taking off her clothing. She pinned her hat to the ground with the hatpin for safekeeping. That was an impressive bit of ingenuity; Jenny had to give her that. Then, she folded her cape, skirt, and shirtwaist, and placed them in a neat pile. She anchored the pile with a rock. Jenny nodded, then her eyes widened.
    "Good Lord. You're wearing a corset."
    Graciela gave her a withering look. "A true lady always wears a corset."
    "You must have been miserable all day. Why didn't you say something?" She watched Graciela bending and stretching, trying to reach behind herself. Jenny sighed. "Come here. There's no way you're going to get that damned thing off alone." It laced up the back. Frowning, Jenny pulled the laces out, studied the tiny corset with abhorrence,then tossed it on the fire.
    Graciela screamed, and her hands flew to her face. Horrified, she watched the corset smolder, then catch fire. "You had no right to do that!"
    "I've never seen anyone cry as much as you do," Jenny said with disgust. "Where's your backbone?"
    "My aunt Tete gave me that corset for my name day! It was my favorite one!"
    "Look kid. As long as I'm in charge, no six-year-old is going to wear a corset. Understand? I don't wear one, and you aren't going to wear one. Corsets