Finding Him

28l The Vow

Many thoughts raced through Hadassah's mind in the space of an hour, none of which held the keys to her escape from her impending marriage to Julius Talbot that morning. She fought the urge to cry as she watched the maid pull her hair into a fancy hairdo. She was tired and emotionally drained, her face was devoid of color, her eyes were red, her collar bone clung to her skin, and she couldn't help but think that a complete stranger stared back at her.

"There." The maid took a step back, a bright smile on her face as she examined the work she had done.

Sighing softly, she weighed the option of running away even if she knew it would be of no use, Lord Hadley would not let her out of his sight. He was determined to keep her under his control, determined enough to kill her unborn child.

Fighting the urge to cry, she sniffed and turned her attention to her hands. She had cried for over a month, had lost a baby and was now being forced into a marriage to her husband's brother...

Gasping, her eyes snapped up and for the first time that morning as she stared at her worn image, a smile settled on her face.

Turning to the maid, "You must leave now," She rose to her feet and pulled open the drawer. "You must deliver a letter..." She dug into the drawer as she spoke, desperate to find a sheet of paper and some ink.

"But,"

She shook her head, heart racing. "There is no ink. Bring me some, bring me some ink and a piece of paper, will you?" She turned back to the maid who seemed hesitant to obey. Forcing an encouraging smile to her lips, she touched the maid's shoulder. "What shall I call you?"

"Maria. Please my lady, I must finish helping you get ready for the wedding."

"I do not need your help, I can do it myself. This is important, Maria, I need to have a letter delivered and I need your help. You will help me, will you not?" Hadassah rose a brow, praying desperately that the maid would agree to her plea. She would send a letter to Daniel, informing him of the matter at hand. He would then travel to Sheffield to save her from his brother. Of course she would have to stall the wedding to Julius to give Daniel time to arrive.

It took a long while for the maid to nod to Hadassah's request and a longer period for her to arrive with the requested items. Quickly, Hadassah wrote two letters to Daniel, hands trembling in anticipation of his arrival. She would have one of delivered to Rye and another delivered to Birmingham. Wherever he was, he would receive the letter.

"I do not have money to pay for these but you are my maid, are you not?" The maid nodded nervously. "Then deliver these letters and as soon as I am married," She forced a smile to her lips. "I shall have my husband refund you."

Maria appeared ready to argue but quickly changed her mind and took the letters out of the room.

Heaving a long sigh, Hadassah collapsed onto the bed and closed her eyes. Her heart pounded in anticipation of seeing Daniel again and tears filled her eyes at the thought of being in his arms. But she didn't have the time to cry, she decided, slipping into the white dress Lord Hadley had sent up to her room that morning.

It was a simple design made with an expensive fabric. She guessed Julius had picked out the fabric but she could hardly care, she hated the dress, Julius and everything he stood for and he was very close to finding out just how much she hated him.

✴✴✴

Julius fully expected Hadassah to try to run off. He expected to be informed that she had put a knife to her wrist and tried to kill herself. He was fully certain if she showed up for the wedding, she would do so kicking and screaming.