The Roses of Feldstone by Esther Hatch

Author:Esther Hatch
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance;family;arrogant;manor;lifestyle;feelings;secret;challenge;ambition;love;change
Publisher: Covenant Communications, Inc.
Published: 2018-05-14T21:23:22+00:00

Chapter 10

“John,” I called to the tall, lanky footman as I made my way down the stairs. He turned from his work at the carriage. “Will you accompany me to the home next door? Elizabeth would like to know if there is anything we can do to help.”

“Apprentice must be stuck,” John said with a frown, confirming my fears. “There isn’t anything Lady Hawthorne would be able to do about that.”

“Still, she asked me to check,” I said. “It would be unseemly of me to go alone.”

John gave me a nod, tied off the horses with a quick knot, and motioned for me to go first. The home was connected to Elizabeth’s, so we didn’t have to go far. In just a few feet, we were already pushing past neighbors who had gathered to watch the commotion.

“He is only six years old,” one of the ladies said, and my heart sank even further. It bothered me that so many people were here—at least a dozen—watching and waiting to see the catastrophe unfold, but I supposed I was no different. I made my way closer to the brick mason and master sweeper, determined to see if there was anything I could do to help. I had no desire to just watch. I knew that in this situation, every second counted.

As we got closer, I heard the clanging of a metal pipe and the banging of boards being slapped together. “John.” I reached back and grabbed the arm of Elizabeth’s footman. “Hand me your jacket, and go help those men set up the scaffolding. We both know that mere seconds can be the difference between life and death.” John gave me a quick nod, already shrugging out of his jacket. He seemed gratified to have something to do.

He rushed over to the other men—some working class and a few residents of the community—as they all worked together to get the brick mason to the height needed to reach the boy who was trapped in the flue just behind the bricks. Just six years old! I was grateful Elizabeth was not here. With a two-year-old boy at home, I knew this was nothing she should see.

I glanced over at the dirty chimney sweep standing off to the side, watching with a bored expression as the other men worked as quickly as they could to extract the boy. A deep-seated resentment toward the man grew inside me, and I made my way to him.

“You aren’t going to help?” I asked him. I could hear the anger in my voice, but I didn’t care. “You were the one who put the boy in this situation.”

The chimney sweep pulled his eyes away from the workers and looked me up and down in contempt. “Chimney’s got to be swept. If we didn’t do it, people like you would be whining about children dying in fires and such. Now, why don’t you run along home? This isn’t going to be pretty.”

“You have already given up on him?” I asked incredulously.

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.