Read Bittersweet Endeavors for Free Online Page A

ordinary.  The same couldn’t be said of Lucia, though.  She presented an uncommon beauty.
    “Mayhap I can help you once I leave here,” Myra offered.  “I shall one day return to England, and when I do, I shall do all I can to find her for you .  I’ll have the means to carry it out once there .”
    “You'd do that for me?”
    “ Aye! O f course!  That’ s what friends are for, are they not?  To be there for one another and help each other when in need ?”
    Lucia flung her arms around Myra and embraced her tightly.  “ Aye , that’s what friends are for, Myra .  And we shall become the best there is, won’t we ?”
    “ Aye , we shall , Lucia.  And one day, when we leave here, we’ll live a delightful life, I promise you that.”  Once she recovered the funds that her treacherous uncle ha d stolen , she’ d make good on her promise. She planned hiring the best runners in London to find Lucia's mother , and once she was found, they could all live at Brunnington Castle o nce she discovered a way of regaining her estates without harm ing Mary .  She wasn’t yet sure h ow she’ d accom plish th e task , but Myra hoped that James, The Duke of York , would aid her cause by persuading his brother, The King , on her behalf.  Her uncle was last of the Brunnington line and Myra hoped that once unseated, The King would show his generosity and let her remain living at her family home.  She prayed that Mary — wherever her uncle has kept her — stayed safe until that time. 
    Breaking their em brace, they picked up the water- filled buckets and started toward the kitchen s .   Still troubled by the information Lucia supplied, Myra shook her head.  “ Tis difficult comprehend ing why Mister Preston allow s his daughter to live as a servant.  How cruel he must be,” she said angrily.  “His other four children are attending the finest socials and living such spoiled lives.  Yet , here you remain, a serva nt unto them all.  Indeed, t is quite unfair!”
    She blathered out her frustration but it d idn’t help , so she kicked at a stone and vent ed her anger .  “What would make a man act so indifferently from one child to the next?  Blood is blood, wouldn't you agree?”
    Lucia smiled and her blue eyes twinkled brilliantly in the noonday sun.  Laughter suddenly flowed from her lips when Myra crinkled her nose and express ed her disdain.    Lucia’s laugh carried across the field, b ut her laughter died away, and she smiled up at Myra .  S adness clouded her eyes and the warm luster of gaiety left her .  
    “But not when the child's tainted with that of Negro blood.”
    *                    *                   *
    After nearly a full day’s work, Myra stepped outside.  The cool air was refreshing after she spent hours in the warm, stuffy air of the kitchen , all filled with smoke and steam from the large pots of meats and vegetables that cooked on the fire.  She strolled toward the men who tarried and toiled on the new plantation home, a full bucket of water at her side .  She continued c autious ly and was careful not to let any splash and seep onto her wool en frock .
    A man who stood on the roof called down to Seth, and said, “S hould be done ‘fore winter i s over, I'd think,”
    “ Aye, i f the we ather holds.”
    For once, it looked as if Seth was in good spirits.  Even from the distance she saw a faint smile on his face as he conversed with several of the men . 
    Seth didn’t notice her approach , and when she walked behind him, he chose that exact moment for stepping back ward s into her path .  He bumped into her, and practically toppl ed her to the ground . The motion emptied the entire bucket of water onto her dress.  His hands gripped her shoulders to catch her fall , as well as kept him self steady.
    Myra looked down at her dress ; the dampness of the water blackened the gray frock from chest to hem.  A chill seized her when the