Hidden

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Two days later found Allie and Tessa heading into town on a cloudy morning to pick up a few supplies as well as the dresses that the seamstress had finished for Allie and Amelia.

Allie had been hesitant to leave her younger sister at the house with Peter and Jacob but Amelia insisted that ever since she and the boy had issued apologies the morning after the incident, things had been much better between them all. The boys weren't friendly but they weren't hostile either and left her alone. And there were no lessons today which meant Amelia wouldn't be forced to sit in a room with Jacob or Peter while Allie was gone.

"Ya sure have surprised me, suga'," Tessa spoke as she guided the cart down the road.

"How's that?" Allie questioned.

"I didn't think you would last two days and you've been workin' at the house over a week now," Tessa noted.

"It's not so bad. Now that I have the housework caught up my job gets a little easier everyday," Allie replied and she meant it. It wasn't a fun or fulfilling life but she was content, her stomach was not screaming for food and her head stayed dry when it rained.

"You are one of the few that stood up to Mrs. Treadwell and kept her job to talk about it," Tessa informed her, her warm brown eyes glowing with admiration. "Most don't get that lucky."

Allie flushed, "Yes, well, I won't allow my sister to be mistreated no matter how good the pay."

"You'll do well to mind your tongue with her from now on," Tessa warned.

Allie simply shrugged and looked around at the surrounding countryside. The high plains were a beautiful place. Rolling hills, long grasses, wildflowers beginning to grow and trees sprouting here and there to break up the monotony of the sky against the ground. There were mesas and cliffs far to the west and Allie wondered if one day she would have time to take Amelia there. She was sure the girl would love to see a sight she had never seen before.

"You're real close to your sister ain't ya, suga'?"

Allie's lips curved in a small smile as she glanced over at Tessa. She had found that she truly liked the woman over the last week. She was warm and friendly and a welcome difference in comparison to the other people that called the Treadwell Estate home, "It's only been us for six years. Our parents sent us to the orphanage then and I have been caring for Amelia since. She was only two and I was thirteen." The lies seemed to have gotten easier with time. "You could say I see her as more a daughter than a sister."

"She's very lucky to have you," Tessa stated softly.

Allie smiled, "I'm lucky to have her," she countered. She decided to turn the focus to Tessa since she did not like talking about her own past and the hard decisions she had had to make at a very young age. "How long have you been working for the Treadwells?"

"Twenty years, suga'," Tessa smiled a tired smile, "Longer than anyone else that's there now."

"You must have an iron will, Tessa, and the strength to match. Have they always been so....." Allie struggled to find the correct word.

Tessa laughed, "Harsh? Cold? Cruel? Judgmental?"

"I was going to say haughty but those work as well."

"The answer to that would be yes but they weren't nearly this bad when I first got hired on there. Mrs. Treadwell was carryin' their second child at the time and nearly too big to fit through that front door of theirs," Tessa smiled at the memory, "But time has a way of changin' people, suga',"