Bailey Robinson's orders were simple; get rid of the letter and get back to work.
When Bailey begins a correspondence with a mysterious woman, the last thing he expects is to fall in love with her. Or worse, find out that the woman behind the words...
Alice tried as much as possible not to make so much noise as she made her way through the room but the floor boards were uncooperative. The sound produced by the floorboards was enough to awaken the dead. Yet, from the soft snoring sound produced by the ailing woman who laid sleeping in the room, it was obvious that she couldn't hear the protesting floor boards.
Leaning down over the cot, Alice placed her hand on the woman's head, hoping her fever had broken; it hadn't.
Releasing a tired sigh, she rose to her feet and straightened. She felt her tears well up in her eyes and threaten to fall but she knew she couldn't cry. Alice didn't get the luxury of a good cry until she had to work outside in the garden or, when she got the opportunity to leave the house for a few hours.
She would climb up a hill and let herself mourn the life she knew was slipping away. She would blame herself for being incapable of saving that life and would end up thinking of possible ways to salvage the situation but as always, she would conclude the same way; there was nothing that could be done to save her dying mother.
Even now, as Alice's gaze shifted to her mother who laid unmoving on the cot, she longed to throw herself into her mother's arms and weep. She longed to be a child again and be allowed to cry without feeling guilty. She longed for the days when she didn't have to care for her mother or her sister...
Her gaze shifted to the door. Where was her sister?
Priscilla's hours away from the house was starting to last longer. Sure, Alice bore the bulk of the responsibility of taking care of their ailing mother and hated having to burden Priscilla with anything, but she cherished the hours Priscilla stayed home with their mother. Those hours afforded Alice the opportunity to leave the depressing atmosphere of their little cottage.
Alice knew they were already hours into the night but Priscilla still hadn't returned. Perhaps she needed to have a conversation with her sister, she frowned. Priscilla couldn't just choose to disappear when she felt like it and reappear hours later!
Just then, as Alice decided to scold her sister, the front door creaked open and Priscilla appeared.
Alice opened her mouth to speak but the words died on her lips as she saw the look on her sister's face.
Priscilla's usually perfect curly blond locks was surprisingly let loose of it's bond. It didn't matter that the night was chilly, Priscilla's forehead was beaded with sweat and her skin was flushed. Her bright blue eyes reflected fear and uncertainty.
As Alice's gaze traveled her usually very stunning little sister, she immediately knew something was wrong; something that would eventually come back to haunt them many years later.
