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“Drake. He’s an architect, carpenter, and a smith. I doubt there’s anything he can’t design or build.”
Val nodded, fascinated by the swirls and curls of the gazebo’s iron walls, but her immediate needs returned. “Might you know of a place where I can stay while I try and find a new classroom?”
“You’re more than welcome to stay here, and I have a smaller carriage you may use to get around while you look. Can you drive?”
“Yes.” Her intended, Cole, had taught her after her father had forbidden it.
“All of my sons are close by, and I know they won’t mind escorting you on your search if they’re needed. In the meantime, if you wish to gain some income, I could employ you as my temporary assistant to handle errands and correspondence. I always have more work than I can handle alone.”
“What kind of work do you do?”
“I have interests in real estate, shipping, importing, exporting, and banking.”
Val found that surprising. Back home, the few women business owners she knew only catered their services to other women as seamstresses, hairdressers, cooks, and laundresses. She’d never met any who moved in the so-called male circles of industry. “Are there other women here with similar interests?”
“Of course. New Orleans has a long history of females in business. At one point during the early years, free women of color owned a considerable portion of the city’s real estate.” Julianna eyed her for a moment and asked in a serious tone, “What do you want from life, Valinda?”
She’d never been asked that question before. The constraints of society assumed she’d live the life chosen by her father or husband. “To found a school and chart my own course.”
“Does your intended want that for you as well?”
“Yes. He’s probably the only man I know who does.”
“Then you have made a wise choice.”
Val thought she had, too, and it felt good knowing someone else agreed, because her father hadn’t. He’d wanted to marry her off to an older man with wealth and status, just as he’d done her sister, Caroline.
Julianna said, “I’ll be in my study. Come see me when you finish eating and we can talk further about your potential duties.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Julianna smiled and left Val alone.
