Read Online Shattered Dreams by Rebecca King - Free Book Online Page A

like her, but hadn’t been sure, and had no idea
which way she had gone. The coaching inn was the last place he
could think of to search, except for the poor house, and he hoped
to God she hadn’t gone there.
    “ What do you mean you threw her out?” Harry growled when he
asked the bar keeper if he had seen her.
    “ Sat over there nursing a beer for the better part of two
hours,” the bar keeper snorted in disgust as he nodded to the far
corner of the room. “Get her kind in here a lot, we do. They arrive
on the bloody post chaises, and don’t have anywhere to go, and then
think they can move in here instead of paying for a room. So, I
threw her out.”
    He
didn’t stick around for Harry to ask him anything else, and hurried
to the other end of the bar to throw more ale at the
customers.
    Harry
slammed out of the tavern, and looked up and down the main street
for several minutes while he contemplated what to do next. The
ticket master had assured him that the last post chaise of the day
had left several hours ago. The next one to leave wouldn’t go until
tomorrow morning. Unfortunately, the man had not sold any tickets
to any young ladies and he had been on duty all day, so Harry knew
that Tilly had chosen to ignore his advice, and hadn’t left town.
He wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or not.
    With his
options now exhausted, Harry stood on the side of the road and
tried to think what he would do if he was in Tilly’s situation. He
hated to even contemplate the possibility, but knew that there
really was only one place in the area that someone in her situation
would turn to: the poor house.
    He
slowly; reluctantly, looked at the huge, draconian building that
everyone in the area feared the most, and began to pray that he was
wrong. Determined to find her, he headed toward it
anyway.
     
    Tilly
studied the huge stone fortress ahead of her, and shuddered. Her
steps grew leaden as she walked toward the massive black building.
It stood sentry-like on top of the hill, like a prison of the worst
kind. She had doubts upon doubts upon doubts as she eyed the
massive front doors bracketed by rows upon rows of small, barred
windows. It was horrifying just to look at.
    The
coinage in her pocket jingled as she walked, and even that seemed
to echo her doubts.
    Would
they even let her in if she had money in her pocket? Would they
allow her inside at all?
    She had
no idea. She had never been to a poor house before. It was the very
last place she had ever thought she would end up, but she was left
with no choice now.
    At least
in Tooting Mallow there was a safe place for her to sleep at night,
even if it wasn’t her place of choice. If she bought a post chaise
ticket out of town, she may not find somewhere to stay in the town
she went to because she would have even fewer coins than she had
now. She would just be moving with her problems.
    For some
reason she didn’t want to consider too closely, her thoughts turned
repeatedly to the man she had just left in the Rectory. Mr
Harrington Tingay. He had seemed a nice, affable gentleman, who had
been kind and considerate toward her. If she had any dire issues,
as a last resort, she could go and ask him for advice – couldn’t
she? After all, the letter she had received had come from his
house; surely he would help her.
    She
sighed deeply when she suddenly realised that she had left her
letter with him. She briefly contemplated whether to go back and
fetch it. To her consternation though, before she could decide
whether to or not, the front door to the poor house opened silently
to let her in.
    She
stopped on the driveway for a moment, and studied the gloomy depths
that seemed to beckon her to embrace the darkness. She slowly began
to walk toward it, but wondered if she was walking a pathway that
would take her straight into Hell.
    Even
from a few feet away she could feel that it was several degrees
colder inside than out, and suddenly wanted to turn around and
hurry back to the