Perfect in My Sight Read Online Free Page B

one. I was expecting Miss Hopkins alone, I ’ m afraid—though I should have anticipated perhaps. If you will see her to her seat,
     you are welcome to the divan yourself. ” And with that he dismissed Mel and sat on the corner of his desk.
    Mel, bless her heart, suddenly took a servile role, quite unlike their entrance, which
     was anything but deferential and caused Sarah to wince. Taking Sarah gently by the
     arm, she led her to the chair as though Sarah were indeed unable to find the black
     leather monstrosity on her own. Sarah did her part to appear awkward though not entirely
     helpless—she couldn ’ t quite manage helpless.
    Mel bent to whisper in her ear. “ Eyes closed, ” she demanded.
    Sarah closed them at once. And suddenly it was all she could do not to run screaming
     from the room. All that kept her focused and calm was t he strength of her purpose… and the little boy sitting not more than five feet from her.
    Christopher was the reason she was here, she reminded herself.
    Opening her eyes, she sat facing the enormous desk, trying not to weep with joy at
     the sight of the six-year-old child seated behind the hulking piece of furniture,
     his little face barely visible above the papers stacked there. She tried to keep a
     blank expression. And yet she dared not look away, dared not twitch a brow at the
     sight of him. She could scarcely keep her hands from trembling as she sat inspecting her cousin ’ s child for the first time, her emotions in melee.
    Her uncle would have been over joyed to see him this moment.
    He looked so like Mary, with his tawny hair and his upturned little nose. It saddened
     Sarah that her uncle had not lived to set eyes upon his only grandson—her sweet uncle
     who had sworn his two girls were all that any papa should need. She could almost hear
     him speak the words as though he were standing over her shoulder, and the sensation
     choked her breath away.
    “If I recall correctly ... ”
    Peter Holland, too, had been gazing at his son, and shifted his attention suddenly,
     crossing his arms as he turned to assess her. Sarah spied him from the corner of her eye, but dared not acknowledge his renewed regard. She continued to stare
     at the desk, at Christopher, repressing her emotions.
    “ Your resume states you studied at the Institution Nationale des Jeunes Aveugles in Paris? Quite
     a feat for someone so young, much less ... ”
    “A blind woman?” she finished for him, recognizing the tone and wholly offended by it. She lifted
     her chin, tilting her head, though kept her calm, taking Christopher ’ s presence into consideration, and recalling her purpose. It wouldn ’ t suit to begin railing over the iniquities of male supremacy, though it galled her
     nevertheless. “ You need not finish, Mr. Holland, ” she told him. “ I hear it in your tone. Do you not believe a woman capable of academics? ”
    “ I did not say that, Miss Hopkins. ”
    Sarah was certain she hea rd amusement in his voice now—a note that only further provoked her. “ It is Miss Hopkins, is it not? ”
    “ Yes, it is, Mr. Holland. And you need not have said a thing, sir. Pardon my speaking
     so plainly, but I am blind, not deaf, nor am I stupid. ”
    He had the audacity to chuckle at that. “ No, you are not, I see quite clearly . ”
    Sarah didn ’ t quite appreciate his good humor. “ My apologies once again, ” he offered, and managed to sound sincere, despite the laughter that tinged his voice.
    “ In any case, ” Sarah continued, bolstered now by a renewed sense of injustice for the plight of
     her gender, “I did not study Braille at the Institute. You misunderstood my letter of credits. My
     late tutor was a retired professor there. ”
    “ I see, ” he said. “ And how long have you been using the Braille code, may I ask? ”
    “ Five years, ” Sarah lied, prepared for his question. She was well rehearsed. “ Long enough to lament the fact that there is too little