The Noble Ladies' Orphanage

Chapter 11

Karolina stayed at Maraček's Dairy until late in the day. She had asked Mr. Maraček if she could earn any extra money, and he said he needed someone to sweep out the milking stalls. It felt good to work standing up, even if the barn was dusty and dark.

When she had finished, Karolina reported her work to Mr. Maraček. He looked her work over carefully and then gave her two coins, which he rubbed together before placing them in her palm.

She pocketed the coins, curtsied, and left. Three chickens wobbled across the path in front of her, and she almost tripped on one of them.

It was almost supper time, but she didn't hurry home. She thought about her next move. Karolina pulled the letter out and read through the Czech portion again.

This is just a draft, Gustav. Of course, you'll need to translate it all into German before we send it to the Margrave. Outside of "Good Day," and "I'm flattered," I don't think he speaks a word of Czech. What do you think of the part about having him come to ceremonial affairs? Do you think we should expand on that? You know how he loves to show up in his embroidery and silk. We may as well play to his weaknesses. I'll be around on Thursday to make rounds with you. I'm sure we'll be going to the Loboda estate. Have you managed to get round there and talk with Susana? The sooner the better. Yours, Palacký

Karolina tried to picture what a "ceremonial affair" would look like. She wasn't sure what ceremonial meant, but it must be something fancy if he talked about embroidery and silk. And the Margrave...this person who wrote the letter actually knew the Margrave?

As Karolina read through the Czech portion of the letter a second time, she heard a strange sound. She couldn't tell if it was a cough or a sob. She looked for the source of the strange sound and saw a girl about her age leaning against a large rock at the opening of a grove of trees. The girl was wearing a beautiful crimson dress, and her brown hair was done in an intricate bun perched high on her head. Her slender body was racked with sobs, and Karolina couldn't see her face.

Nobody in these parts had a dress like that; Karolina knew that for sure. This girl was a stranger, and she was probably in trouble.

Karolina folded up the letter and walked toward the girl in red. She got right up behind her, and the girl still hadn't noticed that someone had approached. She was still crying so mournfully that Karolina felt melancholy. Instead of speaking, Karolina reached out and touched the girl's shoulder.

The girl spun around defensively, her back to the boulder. The girl's face was blotchy and red. Her puffy eyes blazed green, and she looked frightened. But when she saw that Karolina was only a young girl, and a small one at that, she let out a sigh of relief.

"Are you all right?" Karolina asked.

The girl in red stopped crying, but she still breathed heavily and small jags escaped her regularly as her breathing slowed down. She looked beyond Karolina at the cluster of thatched buildings in the distance and closed her eyes for longer than a blink.

"No, I'm not," the girl in red said. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. She sounded stuffy from crying so much.

"Do you need help?" Karolina asked. "Is there anything I can do?"

The girl shook her head. "It's hopeless," she said quietly. "I don't know what to do."

"It can't be that bad," Karolina said. She shuffled her bare feet around and then started walking in sloppy half moons around the girl in the red dress. "I mean, look at you. You have nice clothes. Somebody did your hair for you this morning. Look at those shoes. How bad can it be?"

The girl in the red dress narrowed her eyes at Karolina. Really looked at her. Saw the straight blonde wispies escaping from beneath the scarf tied around her head. Saw the feet so dirty you couldn't see any skin. Realized that Zdenka had never been seen in such a slatternly condition. "You wouldn't understand," the girl said.