It was a good start.
Chapter3
London
Aloud bang startled Audrey fromthe first sound sleep she’d had in almost a month. At first, she thought it was the remnants of a bad dream, but then she heard her father’s angry voice.
“Give that to me!” he screamed.
Then she heard Grace’s pleading voice. “Papa, no, please. It’s all I have left of Mama.”
Audrey knew her father would sell whatever he could, including the few remaining mementos of their late mother, to finance his drinking. She jumped out of bed and grabbed her shawl to wrap around her shoulders before scooping up the three coins from the top of the chest. Three shillings should be enough to mollify her father for now.
She raced down the hall toward the shouting and burst into the bedchamber her two sisters shared. The scene she witnessed wasn’t something she ever wanted to see again. Her father had Grace pinned against the wall,his hand wrapped around her throat as he tried to reach for the small jeweled box in her hand. Grace was waving it wildly above her head to keep it from her father.
“STOP THIS AT ONCE!” Audrey’s forceful tone momentarily stopped her father’s assault, and he turned to face her.
His eyes narrowed before he spoke. “What are you doing here?” he demanded.
“Papa, let Grace go. You’re hurting her.”
Seeming to only then realize that he still had his hand wrapped around Grace’s throat, her father dropped it immediately and took a step back. “That’s a worthless piece of junk anyway. Those jewels on the box are glass.”
Once James dropped his hand, Grace rushed past him to stand by Audrey. “He can’t have it,” she sobbed.
“Don’t worry, dearest. That treasure is yours to keep,” she said. “Go over there with Mia, please. She’s frightened.”
Grace nodded and slowly side-stepped her way over to stand with her younger sister.
Her father watched Grace inch around him before whirling on Audrey and stalking toward her. “Why aren’t you working?”
“The position ended, Papa.”
“What did you do, girl?” he asked, grabbing her upper arm in a painful grip.
“I did nothing wrong.”
The pressure on her arm relaxed, and for the secondtime in as many days, she felt a vicious slap across her cheek that snapped her head back. “You’re worthless! You’d better find another position soon, or your sisters will starve.”
Audrey blinked back tears and held out her hand. “Here. This is all I have.”
Her father’s eyes widened. He snatched the coins from her hand and left without an apology or even a thank you.
Relief surged through her at his departure.
Grace ran into her arms. “Audrey, are you injured? I’m so sorry Papa hit you because of me.”
Audrey rubbed her reddened cheek. “I’m fine, and it wasn’t your fault. Nothing for you to worry about, dearest.”
“I’m so sorry he took all your coins,” Grace said as tears rolled down her cheeks. “What will we do now?”
Audrey hugged her sister. “Don’t worry. I didn’t give him all the coins.”
Grace looked up with her tear-stained face. “You didn’t?”
Mia joined them, and Audrey pulled her youngest sister into a group hug. “I have enough left to pay Beckwith and Mrs. Culbert and to buy food and coal for a fortnight.
Both Grace and Mia hugged her fiercely before Grace stepped back. “Wait a minute. Whatareyou doing here? I thought your position was secure for the entire month. You’ve only been gone for three weeks,” Grace said.
