Dark Prelude by Andrea Parnell

Author:Andrea Parnell
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: 1700s london, 1700s, andrea parnell, trove books, Romance, historical 1700s, London, Adventure, Historical, gothic romance, Gothic, sexy gothic, dark splendor, novella, prequel, 1750s london, indentured servant
Publisher: Trove Books
Published: 2011-06-01T05:00:00+00:00

***

Across London, dawn heralded a brief promise of spring as soft pink rays filtered through the window to surrender a rosy warmth to Silvia’s room. Sleepily rubbing her eyes, she slipped silently from beneath the covers, but any vestige of drowsiness left as her feet touched the cold floor.

In the corner a sturdy old carpet bag bulged with the belongings she had packed last evening. Carting a trunk to the docks without alerting Uncle Hollister to her departure would be impossible. But then she hardly had enough to fill a trunk and Mr. Wickes had said her wool clothes would be too hot for the climate on Schlange Island. He had assured her that once on the estate, fabric would be available to sew a few dresses.

Could it be true? She would leave without a confrontation? An uncomfortable impulse made her press her ear to the door. Guttural snores sounded through the house like the grating croak of a dozen bullfrogs. To date she had managed to keep her plans a secret, not daring to tell a soul lest Uncle Hollister hear of it.

The two weeks had passed with creeping slowness while Silvia counted days as anxiously as a child awaiting a visit from St. Nick. Now the day had arrived but with no joyous celebration. Instead only the ceremony of sorting through her things and discarding youthful dreams along with items she could not carry.

Tiptoeing cautiously around the room, she gathered the last of her dresses and folded them into the bag. Then with a doleful sigh slipping from her lips, she walked to the window and peered out. Her mind whirled in a maelstrom of emotions, for a moment spinning sadness, then excitement, then sorrow that she had no one to bid her goodbye.

Outside, the beginning of a fog floated in close to the ground, blanketing the streets with a thin ghostly mist and choking out the rays of sunshine with its dulling grayness. All the better, she thought pensively as she trailed a finger along the glass pane. In the cover of the fog she would be able to walk to the harbor unseen.

Her uncle had taken to leaving the house early and having his breakfast at the tavern where he no doubt washed it down with ale. When he left she could be on her way.

Since the night he had frightened Silvia in her room, she had struggled with an unnamable fear and avoided her uncle as much as possible. Doubts about leaving him, or of leaving London, had vanished during the strained days since that evening. But for having the sailing date in her mind, she could not have tolerated her plight at all.

Silvia pushed the bag beneath the bed and held her breath when she heard shuffling footsteps in the hall. Today he must not stop. She could not face him today. Surely if he saw her he would know, he would see her nervousness and know. She quickly climbed back in bed and pulled the heavy covers to her chin, hoping he would pass.

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