Tracie Peterson & Judith Miller - [Lights of Lowell 01] by A Tapestry of Hope

Author:A Tapestry of Hope [Hope, A Tapestry of]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER • 17

LORD PALMERSTON’S servants scrubbed and outfitted Kiara and Padraig for their journey, and when all was in readiness, they were summoned to the front hallway. Lord Palmerston stared down upon them as though they were outlandish creatures that should be banished as quickly as possible.

‘‘This is a letter of reference for my cousin, along with the money for your passage to America and enough for transportation from Boston to Lowell, where my relatives reside. You and your brother will be indentured to my cousin for five years in order to settle up your debt to me. Don’t consider any attempt to besmirch these arrangements, or I shall arrange for your brother’s demise and force you to watch while he dies a slow and painful death. And don’t think I won’t find you, girl. I have eyes and ears everywhere, including on the docks and aboard the ship you’ll sail on. See that you don’t repay my generosity with deceit. My driver will take you to the docks and remain until you board the ship. Do you understand?’’

Kiara nodded.

‘‘Speak up, girl. I want to hear more than your brains rattling in your head. Give me a verbal affirmation.’’

‘‘Aye, I understand. When we arrive in this place called Lowell, will there be someone meetin’ us? I do na know how to locate yar relative.’’

Lord Palmerston looked heavenward and shook his head. ‘‘No wonder you people are starving to death. I doubt there’s one of you that has the sense of a church mouse.’’

‘‘We’re not starvin’ because we’re stupid; we’re starvin’ because our potatoes ’ave the blight. A problem no Englishman has been able to solve, I might add.’’

‘‘You’ve a smart mouth on you, girl. Hearken my words, your sassy remarks will cause you nothing but trouble. Now listen carefully— my cousin’s name is clearly marked on the outside of the letter I gave you.’’ He snatched the missive away from her and tapped his finger atop the penned words. ‘‘You will be indentured to Mr. Bradley Houston, who is a man of importance in Lowell, just as I am in County Kerry. If you asked any of your neighbors how to find Lord Palmerston, could they direct you to this estate?’’

She nodded but immediately remembered his earlier admonition and said, ‘‘Aye. I’ll do as ya’ve instructed.’’

‘‘And as for the potato problem, Miss O’Neill, if the Irish had taken the advice of the English years ago and learned to plant properly, their potatoes wouldn’t be rotting in the ground.’’

Kiara was certain he was testing her, anxious to see if she’d argue with him. Well, she’d not give him the satisfaction. She knew that from the early days of the blight, the English had argued the lazy-bed method of planting had caused the potato famine. Yet they had no answer why this traditional Irish way of farming had always yielded large, disease-free crops in the past. Arguing would serve no purpose. None of it mattered anymore. Her ma and pa were rotting

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.