Toward the Sunrise Read Online Free Page B

a large gift box directly from Nickolaas Vandermark himself. At first the old gentleman had sent supplies to further her education, but over the years the contents had grown more personal. Upon learning of her desire to work as a medical missionary in the Far East, Mr. Vandermark had sent more whimsical gifts: a bolt ofbatik silk, a set of calligraphy tools, even a case of Darjeeling tea from the wild mountains of west Bengal. She’d written him thank-you notes, always outlining her progress in school. Mr. Vandermark clearly read all of her letters and took care in the selection of these items to nurture and inspire her dreams.
    “Do you know who Nickolaas Vandermark is?” Mr. Carlyle asked in a frosty voice.
    “He is the man who has been paying my college tuition and supports my goal to become a doctor.”
    “Yes, he pays your bills,” Mr. Carlyle said impatiently. “He is also among the most ruthless shipping tycoons of the nineteenth century. The ‘kindly old gentleman’ demeanor he wears like a snake skin is only an illusion, and he sheds it in the blink of an eye when angered. The man had a ten-year tiff with his only son over a violin. A stupid violin that neither one of them could even play. And yet that tiff lasted until the day his son died in a hotel fire. Even now, he is barely on speaking terms with his grandson, a man he raised from the cradle to be his heir. All of the Vandermarks are tough, driven men, and I can assure you they have no use for a woman who squanders the gift of a college education over a dog.”
    Julia had known she’d have to take a reprimand over the dog but still felt confident the Vandermarks would assist her in the end. She wasn’t leaving without an agreement to get some help mounting an appeal.
    “In ancient Japan, there is a practice called seppuku ,” she said. “It is used as a show of contrition in which a man slices his belly open to spill his guts on the floor. Would you like me to do that here, or shall I step outside to avoid the mess?”
    His mouth tightened. “You may find this situation amusing, but I went out on a limb for you, Julia! Nickolaas Vandermark had never heard of a woman wanting to become a doctor, but I vouched for you. I assured him you were a good investment, that the future rested with people like you and not the hidebound rules of the past. He agreed to pay, and now you’ve gone and squandered it over a dog. A dog! ”
    She flinched at the contempt in his voice. She’d thought he was her friend. A strait-laced, starchy man who moved in entirely different circles than she, but still a friend. How quickly the tide could turn.
    “Is there anyone else in this firm who would be willing to help me?”
    He scowled, reaching into a desk drawer and withdrawing a slim book, thumping it down on his desk with more force than was warranted. After a moment of paging through the book, he closed it. “No, no one else can help. I am the lawyer charged with administering the business aspects of Dierenpark and all its employees. No other attorney in this office has time for such details. And quite frankly, I could not recommend they interfere. Getting you readmitted to school would be throwing good money after bad. You are on your own.”
    Julia grasped her reticule so hard the clasp dug into her palm. Her dreams were collapsing around her, but she kept her chin high. She stared at Mr. Carlyle even as he shifted in his seat and steamed, his face growing more flushed by the moment. She waited until he looked away first before she rose.
    “Thank you for your time,” she said quietly before leaving the office. She closed the door softly behind her.

    Ashton listened to the whisper-soft rasp of Julia’s skirt sweeping out of his office. The gentle snick as she closed the office door shamed him, but he couldn’t afford to be soft about this. He’d risked a lot in persuading Nickolaas Vandermark to pay for her college. She had no idea how hard it had been or