Read Online The Whisper Of Wings by Cassandra Ormand - Free Book Online
Authors: Cassandra Ormand
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in the kitchen if you should need us."
He nodded to his son, who obligingly stood and took up his own plate.
She dared to sneak a peek at the younger man. He caught her glance and gave her an encouraging smile. She felt so wretched sitting there while they all took up their plates and left the room in deference to her. She should be the one eating in the kitchen, not them. Truly, it had been so difficult to get the courage to come downstairs and dine with them in the first place. She'd become so accustomed to taking her meals in her room all this past week that she simply didn't know how to present herself. After all, she was an uninvited guest in their home. Surely, they didn't enjoy the burden she had placed on them any more than she did. Still, they had accepted it.
Why?
They needn't have. They could have sent her off to the hospital, or even turned her over to the police as a vagrant. But they hadn't, and she was grateful for that. They might never know just how grateful. To alert the police might be the worst thing in the world for her at this point. It was the last thing she wanted. If the police knew where she was, then her family would know, too. What was left of them, anyway. And she couldn't bear to go back to them. Not now. Perhaps not ever.
Mrs. Avery came back into the room to retrieve a few last dishes. Before she left again, she paused beside her and whispered, "Don't eat too fast. You don't want to upset your stomach."
She nodded miserably. She felt like an idiot. How could she let them do all this for her? Why hadn't she said anything, insisted that she leave instead?
She knew the answer. Because he had been watching her with those piercing eyes, those eyes that seemed to see everything, to know everything, and she'd been too frightened to speak out.
It was all wrong, all skewed. Why were they being so kind to her when no one had ever been kind to her before?
She wanted to cry, wanted to leap up and run. Run from them, from the house she had once known so well. But she couldn't. Where would she go? Back out into the streets? The mere thought made her shudder with revulsion and fear. She couldn't subject herself to that again. She would never survive it.
No. She couldn't run, no matter how unworthy she felt. She would stay as long as they would allow it. Perhaps, given time, she could come up with another solution, just as soon as she was strong enough. For now, all she could do was rest, mend, and hope.
She bit back a tear. It was all so frightening, so confusing. She'd been so certain that she could make it on her own. She had believed that taking the matter into her own hands was better than the alternative her family had tried to force on her. How could she have been so naive?
Perhaps Lucy was right. Maybe it would have been better to stay.
No! Never! She would never believe that. She would never go back.
What could she do then? No future lay ahead for her. Were it not for this family, she would probably have died on the streets, alone in an alley somewhere, cold and scared.
She felt so divided. She already felt dead, as if her body would surely follow into the cold numbness where her spirit led. Already, she seemed to be moving in a surreal world, somehow separated from everything around her, as if she was watching herself from a great distance. Yet, she still had a desire to go on living. It hadn't quite been crushed. Not yet, anyway.
She brushed a tear from her cheek. It was this family. They had given her hope. They represented everything she had always wanted in life. Happiness, caring. They supported one another. They loved one another.
A rustling noise at the door drew her gaze. A maid had entered the dining hall to collect a few more plates. She smiled when she noticed her timid observer.
"Sorry, miss. Didn't mean to startle you. I just wanted to get a few more plates." She glanced down at the untouched bowl of soup. "Is it not to your liking? Would you care for anything else? Mr.
He nodded to his son, who obligingly stood and took up his own plate.
She dared to sneak a peek at the younger man. He caught her glance and gave her an encouraging smile. She felt so wretched sitting there while they all took up their plates and left the room in deference to her. She should be the one eating in the kitchen, not them. Truly, it had been so difficult to get the courage to come downstairs and dine with them in the first place. She'd become so accustomed to taking her meals in her room all this past week that she simply didn't know how to present herself. After all, she was an uninvited guest in their home. Surely, they didn't enjoy the burden she had placed on them any more than she did. Still, they had accepted it.
Why?
They needn't have. They could have sent her off to the hospital, or even turned her over to the police as a vagrant. But they hadn't, and she was grateful for that. They might never know just how grateful. To alert the police might be the worst thing in the world for her at this point. It was the last thing she wanted. If the police knew where she was, then her family would know, too. What was left of them, anyway. And she couldn't bear to go back to them. Not now. Perhaps not ever.
Mrs. Avery came back into the room to retrieve a few last dishes. Before she left again, she paused beside her and whispered, "Don't eat too fast. You don't want to upset your stomach."
She nodded miserably. She felt like an idiot. How could she let them do all this for her? Why hadn't she said anything, insisted that she leave instead?
She knew the answer. Because he had been watching her with those piercing eyes, those eyes that seemed to see everything, to know everything, and she'd been too frightened to speak out.
It was all wrong, all skewed. Why were they being so kind to her when no one had ever been kind to her before?
She wanted to cry, wanted to leap up and run. Run from them, from the house she had once known so well. But she couldn't. Where would she go? Back out into the streets? The mere thought made her shudder with revulsion and fear. She couldn't subject herself to that again. She would never survive it.
No. She couldn't run, no matter how unworthy she felt. She would stay as long as they would allow it. Perhaps, given time, she could come up with another solution, just as soon as she was strong enough. For now, all she could do was rest, mend, and hope.
She bit back a tear. It was all so frightening, so confusing. She'd been so certain that she could make it on her own. She had believed that taking the matter into her own hands was better than the alternative her family had tried to force on her. How could she have been so naive?
Perhaps Lucy was right. Maybe it would have been better to stay.
No! Never! She would never believe that. She would never go back.
What could she do then? No future lay ahead for her. Were it not for this family, she would probably have died on the streets, alone in an alley somewhere, cold and scared.
She felt so divided. She already felt dead, as if her body would surely follow into the cold numbness where her spirit led. Already, she seemed to be moving in a surreal world, somehow separated from everything around her, as if she was watching herself from a great distance. Yet, she still had a desire to go on living. It hadn't quite been crushed. Not yet, anyway.
She brushed a tear from her cheek. It was this family. They had given her hope. They represented everything she had always wanted in life. Happiness, caring. They supported one another. They loved one another.
A rustling noise at the door drew her gaze. A maid had entered the dining hall to collect a few more plates. She smiled when she noticed her timid observer.
"Sorry, miss. Didn't mean to startle you. I just wanted to get a few more plates." She glanced down at the untouched bowl of soup. "Is it not to your liking? Would you care for anything else? Mr.
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