Whitney sniffed “Once I get his ring on my finger, Brad Vandercamp can have as many mistresses as he chooses.”

Mrs. Ashford agreed that the ring was the thing. Thank goodness both her daughters were ladies and wouldn’t settle for less. But she did hope the polo prince would turn out to be more like his father.

“How so?” Whitney asked.

“Not a breath of scandal about him. Seems more interested in playing with gold mines, oil wells and such than with women. He’s parlayed that railroad fortune into billions. Married some Lady. Somebody whose family was poor as church mice. They say he’s turned Balmour, her family’s crumbling estate, into a real showplace. Lord, I’d like to see it!”

“Well, you never know.” Again Whitney sounded smug. “Did you say he had an eye for a pretty lady?”

Mamie Ashford chuckled. “Yes, and that’s what you are. Far prettier than any of the others, all of whom will be after him. Hadn’t we better get to Mademoiselle’s Boutique first? There’s sure to be a rush.”

They did leave in plenty of time. Paula was able to finish the laundry, clean the kitchen and tidy the bedrooms before eleven. By eleven-thirty, she had showered, dressed and was on the bus headed for the university.

Paula had dreamed of being a veterinarian for as long as she could remember. She loved animals, from the tiniest kitten to the biggest horse on the Randolph cattle ranch in Wyoming, where her father was a ranch hand and her mother the family cook. As soon as she could read she became immersed in the tales of James Herriot, the famous vet who tended the sheep and cattle on the Yorkshire moors. As often as allowed, she would tag along with a cowhand or vet who tended a sick cow or horse. She and Toby, the foreman’s son, planned to marry and buy a spread of their own. He would train race-horses, and she would be a veterinarian. That dream had lasted through two years of college. Then, the next fall, Toby had fallen head over heels in love with a freshman named Cynthia, and it was as if Paula had lost an anchor she had clung to all her life. Devastated, she floundered and nearly flunked out of college.

It was her uncle Lew who had steadied her. That summer, on his yearly visit to the ranch, he had a long talk with her. “Toby’s just one man among millions. Stuck on this place, you just been so close to him you never looked around. And don’t forget. You’ve still got your dream. Toby ain’t got nothing to do with your being a veterinarian. That’s up to you.”

He was right. That would be hers, her career, a part of her that no man could take away. She determined to have it. She threw herself into her classes, made up her failures and graduated on time. But with not enough credits for the hoped-for grant to the school of veterinary science.

Disaster struck again. Her father had a spell of illness that strained the budget, and prospects for vet school were dim. They were discussing the possibilities when Lewis Grant, her father’s brother, came again for his yearly visit. He offered to pay half the monstrous tuition, but even that would not be enough.

“Guess Paula’ll have to stick around the ranch this year,” Hank, her father, said, “maybe be a help to her mother.”

“She’d rather help you,” Lew said.

Paula smiled. Of course Pop would never permit her to go out on the range, but she was very much at home on a horse and rather liked tending the animals, had even assisted at a difficult calving a couple of times. “You’re right,” she said. “I would rather help Pop.”

“Beats me,” Lew said, “why anybody would want to be on a horse out in rough weather rather than be nice and cozy in a warm kitchen.” He shook his head. “Can’t understand it.”

“To each his own,” Paula said. She remembered that Lew had long ago deserted ranch life for the city. Any city. After much traveling and several odd jobs, he finally landed a steady one as chauffeur and handyman for a Mr. Angus Ashford of San Diego, California.

“We could manage the tuition,” her mother said, returning to the main topic. “But not the room and board.” The state college was a hundred miles away, over mountainous roads treacherous with snow during the long winter months.

Lewis looked at Paula. She knew he understood. “Still got that veterinary bug in your head?” he asked.

She nodded.

“Well,” he said, “maybe you could come to San Diego with me and go to school there.”

They stared at him. What difference would. that make?

“Room and board,” he said. “The Ashfords’ live-in maid just gave notice.” He gave Paula a keen look. “Got any objection to a little housework?”

She grinned. “You mean like I’ve been doing all my life?”

“Well,” he said, still studying her, “I might could get you on. I can’t promise, but maybe... And the old man’s a pretty decent guy. He might allow you to take time for some classes.”

Paula thought about it, her spirits lifting. San Diego U. “Does the university have a veterinary school?” she asked.

“Don’t know about that.” He hesitated. Then his chubby face lit up. “Oh, yeah! It sure does. That’s where I took the old man’s collie when she had to be put down.”

Paula’s eyes brightened. “That would be perfect! That is, if I could get admitted.”

She looked at her father, reading the message in his eyes even before he spoke. “It won’t be like living in a dorm, and you’ll be a long way from us.”

“I’ll be there to look out for her,” Lew said. “Don’t forget...I’m her godfather.”

As Hank nodded his consent, Paula threw her arms around Lew. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! Lucky me... I’ve got a real honest-to-goodness fairy godfather.”

Her parents laughed, but Lew frowned. “We ain’t there yet. I better phone the old man. I’ll pour it on thick about how my very smart niece wants to go to vet school and needs a job. He owes me. After you drive a man home and put him to bed slopping drunk a few times...”

That was how it had happened. The unknown Mr. Ashford approved of a young woman’s ambition, and of course he had no objection to her arranging her work to allow time for classes. Moreover, he did have some influence. She should get her papers to the school right away, and he would contact the dean.

“Lew, you’re wonderful!” Paula cried, throwing her arms around her uncle.

“Maybe you won’t think so when Mrs. Ashford gets hold of you,” he said. “None of the other maids have lasted more’n a few weeks. She’s tough. And there’s another thing,” he added dubiously. “You’re much too good-looking. If you could tone down a bit...” He looked at Paula as if trying to diminish her slender willowy figure, the golden curls, the alert bright blue eyes.

“What’s that got to do with anything?” Paula asked.

“Well. Mrs. Ashford don’t like nobody outshining her girls.”

“I don’t understand.”

“They’re... what you call it? Debs this year, pictures in the paper and everything. The old lady sets a big store ’bout them being prettier than the other ones. They’re big society, you know, and she has big plans, like getting both of them hooked to some big shot that’s loaded.”

“For goodness sake, that’s nothing to do with me. I’d be the maid. I surely wouldn’t be hobnobbing with them!”

“Right,” Lewis assented, but he still looked dubious. “Anyway, I’m glad you got hired sight unseen.”

Angus Ashford’s influence got her admitted that fall, and against his wife’s wishes, Paula was allowed to arrange time for classes. She was grateful and worked hard during early morning hours and sometimes late at night so nothing was left undone. Even Mrs. Ashford began to rely on her.

But when Mr. Ashford’s liver gave out and he died a year after she had been there, Paula was afraid Mrs. Ashford, who had not fully taken to her, would dismiss her.

However, fate intervened. It turned out that Angus Ashford had not only been more of an alcoholic than his wife, he had also been an inveterate gambler and an unwise investor. With the death of her husband, Mrs. Ashford found that her income was somewhat reduced. She had to rid herself of the gardener and the woman who came once weekly for the wash and heavy cleaning.