The Sugar Baron's Ring by Lorri Dudley

Author:Lorri Dudley [Dudley, Lorri]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wild Heart Books

Chapter 20

…The majestic Alps blanketed in snow,

Graceful giraffes roaming the Savannah,

The sun’s rays kissing the ocean,

I’ve seen such splendor in my midst,

But none compares to dearest Hannah.

~ Journaled the 12th of May, 1829 , with a note for Lord Byron to begin seeking other employment.

Hannah paced the length of her room. She’d pounded on her door until her palms felt raw. The only response was the slamming of another door, most likely his bedroom. Uncle Reuben had lost his mind. There was no other explanation for his maddening behavior.

Hours passed without any sound from her uncle. Blandina slid a plate of cheese and bread under the door.

“Blandina.” Hannah pressed her eye to the keyhole. “Please, you must help me. Find the key and unlock the door.”

She could make out flashes of black and white as Blandina’s hands wrung her apron. “He’d be awfully mad. He’s not hisself, Miss Hannah. He’d beat da devil out of me. I would do it fer you, but I can’t think only of meself.”

Hannah stilled. Poor Blandina. She too was in a terrible predicament, except for her there was no escape. She was Huxley’s property. Hannah sat back on her hands. “You must think of the babe.”

Blandina’s footsteps retreated back down the hall.

Weariness from the hike and emotional exhaustion sank in. Hannah rose and collapsed onto her bed as her room grew dim in the twilight. Was this to be her prison? Surely, he would let her out on the morrow, but would he truly never allow her to return to the Clarks, or to the school? If she’d known today was going to be the last time she laid eyes on Bradlee, would she have done anything different?

No… Yes.

She’d never regret spending the day with Bradlee and Colin, but if only she could have told them good-bye, thanked them for making her feel like a lady, and let them know she’d be praying for them during their exams. She’d enjoyed Bradlee’s company, but his arrival had stirred up feelings she shouldn’t have. She’d dared to think about what her future would have been if her parents were still alive.

If her parents had raised her and she’d grown up as a proper lady should, she would have been a suitable spouse. She and Bradlee would have traveled together, maybe as missionaries teaching in different parts of the world. He’d introduce her to his family, and they would accept her with open arms. Or, perhaps she and Bradlee would settle down somewhere and have a brood of children. They’d all have his sense of humor and goofy smile. They’d play storm the castle, and he’d allow the children to climb all over him. He’d pretend to surrender, but have a resurgence and tickle them all into submission.

Her dream required her to be something she was not. She hugged her pillow to her chest and peered out the hole she’d broken in a slat of her window shutter. Breaking the wood only caused her uncle to nail two cross boards over her window, but at least she could still see through the hole.

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