Hey, just wanted to thank everyone who decided to follow this story. I'll try to get one chapter in every two weeks so you guys have an estimate of how long it will take for every update.
Also, I try to use characters who use two languages. So if you see a word you don't understand or I've made a mistake using the language please tell me so I can fix it.
Chapter II - Boston
Three Weeks later…
"Does it ever stop bloody snowing?!" Lachlan and Jeremiah removed their hats and threw the snow out the door as Uncle drowned in more ale. He was on his sixth mug that evening which made him slightly unbearable.
"No luck?" My entertainment of the day was amusing Uncle with the Irish brogue I've been hearing from the tavern across the way since the beginning of this morning. Lachlan scrunched his red eyebrow at my imitation.
"Fear not, lass. All those fluthering eejits can sure use their gob." I must admit his accent was much better than mine. Jeremiah blinked slowly and shook his head at us.
"Where's Moth-" He began when her voiced floated down to us.
"-I want these floors scrubbed no matter what is. Dried mud or dried blood, if ever the case. I do not deal with complaints from anyone and you will be out that door if one should rise from your lips." Mother marched across the second floor of our new home with two women in tow. Both were dressed similarly to the servants that we had in London but I couldn't recall if Mother had them brought along. They descended the stairs onto the first floor landing if their footsteps were any good indication. Mother was still prattling on about their work when she came into the dining room. She scowled.
"Audrey, stop slouching in your chair," I straighten my position as she pointed to my brothers, "Jeremiah and Lachlan, please remove your coats! You are dripping water all over my floors! And are you dragging mud in?!" It took all my willpower not to cringe at Mother's shrieks. Uncle may be unbearable, but Mother was becoming intolerable! Ever since she killed that man she has been in a foul mood. And my brothers failed attempts irritate her to no end. The boys quickly removed their coats and proceeded to wipe the mud from the floor as Mother placed her attention back to me. This will go smoothly.
"Audrey, come here." She snapped. I left my seat and straighten the new moss green dress Mother thought appropriate to wear. I could tell Mother wasn't approving it. Her gem-like brown eyes flashed angrily to the point I thought they would turn red.
"Audrey, what in the devil's name is on your skirt?!" Oh, no. I thought I was careful. I looked down at my ruined skirt and stockings that were covered in the mud she had just scolded my brothers for. Now, I could also see the slivers of tree bark snared in the bit above my boots.
"Oh, um, you see-"
"What I see is a filthy little girl who can't listen to what her mother says! Probably rolling around in the mud like some animal..." Her voice was not kind. My cheeks burned as well as my eyes, the tears scrambling to fall from them. Part of me did not want to give Mother the satisfaction of seeing me bawling like an infant. The other part wanted her to know how deeply she had hurt me. She turned away from me.
"Ladies, perhaps it is time for you to begin your services. See to it that my daughter is bathed and her clothing washed. I have other duties to attend to." Mother made a shooing motion with her hand to dismiss us. The servant girls grasped my hand gently and lead me away from her.
AaAaAaAaA
Ayida and Florentina, the servant girls, were very kind to me. Florentina was a young woman from Spain who let me shed my tears over Mother's scolding into her shoulder while Ayida, an African girl only a few years older than I, warmed the water for my bath. Florentina smoothed my hair down from its disastrous bun and cleaned my tears from my eyes.
"Hush, nina bonita. No more tears." Her accent sounded like music, sweet and smooth with an even tempo. Perhaps it was more like she was music from her home, dark honey colored eyes and hair in wild curls, skin like the falling sun. She has the kindest smile.
"Come, Ti fi, your water is ready." Ayida smile was kind, if not a bit alarming.
"How come your teeth are black?" Mother would have scolded me for rudeness, but Ayida chuckled.
"Cours theys 're, littla se! Ets like uskin why yous hair red or yous eyes 're blue! Naw in." Florentina helped me unbutton the back of the dress while Ayida removed the pins in my hair. I step into the simple metal tub, feeling my toes gathering the warmth of the water in my bones. Florentina took my dress and dropped it in pan of water with my stockings as Ayida tore herbs apart in a little wooden bowl and smashed it around with oil. With a wooden spoon, she scraped the concoction out into the washer pan that turn the water into a sickly yellow color.
"What is that?" I asked and Ayida disarmed me with her black smile.
"My family's secret for stains, Ti fi. Haw else will I get thes mud out? Naw, yous scrub those nails Ti fi or amma gunna do et for yous!" Obediently, I retrieved a cloth and scrubbed down my hand which was a sorry mess. When Uncle had fallen asleep earlier in the day, I decided to venture out and climb the tree a few yards away from home. I had failed to remember that it had snowed for many days, creating the slippery mud I had skid in. And the tree was too icy to climb. Such a shame, that.
I have also failed to see any of these 'natives' Lachlan was so excited to see that first day. I do not blame them for retreating from civilize society with all its rules. Lord knows I don't want to be a part of it...
"Lost in mind, Chica?" Florentina wove her fingers through my loose hair, drowned in water and whatever it was Ayida was pouring on to it. A small drop landed on my hand. Carefully, I placed my hand under my nose and sniffed it.
"Is this lavender?" The girls smiled and took turns passing the cloth back and forth. As they did this, they made comment after comment.
"Such butifull hair and those eyes-"
"Like sapphires! Not her mama's, of course."
"Tha fanm makes eh snake's eyes look kind! But thes one, ah such ehn angel!" Ayida pinched my cheek.
"That brother, the tall one, muy guapo. Angel, as you say."
"Unmurried, I heard."
"Truly? Oh, Chica, you must introduce! We could be hermanas!" I must admit I was confused on where the conversation was going between them speaking their home language. I also did not know what hermanas were.
"Of course?" Best to let them think in my thirteen years of life I knew many different tongues.
"Oh, sweet Chica, gracias. Get out of that water, you look like prune."
AaAaAaAaAa
Two weeks later...
Flora and Ida were the best people to have with you on the streets of Boston. While their constant discussion in their home tongues has taught me many words, I still did not have a grasp of their language. And Boston was congested with languages! I've heard French, Italian, Spanish and even German on these streets. Part of me still longs to hear the tongue of the natives of these lands, but that is a dream not meant to be.
"Chica, your mama said daysays, si?" Flora cradled a bundle of yellow daisies in her arms. I nodded my head. Flora's smile stunned a nearby man, who tripped into a fish cart. I could barely hear Flora's laughter over the angry crowd that was gathering around the corner from the flower stand. Flora grabbed my hand and tried to tug me away.
"Not our business, Chica. Let us go." But I refused to move.
"What's happening, Flora? Why are they so angry?" I asked. Flora's pointed look told me not to ask and not to be stubborn about it. Ida rushed over to us with her shawl flapping in the air and grabbed my other hand. Her golden green eyes were panicked.
"Get thes ti fi outta here! Ies seen-"Ida's panic infected the crowd as men and women screamed and pushed each other as gunfire shot through the air. Men in red coats raised their muskets again.
"ARE THEY SHOOTING PEOPLE?!" I shouted over the screams but they were unable to answer me as my hand was torn away from theirs when the people converged on us. The girls called for me over and over but I could make no move toward them, buffeted away by the scared mob. As it happened, I was better able to see two men talking to one another near the soldiers. One pointed towards the rooftops. Who in the bloody hell would be on the roo-
My thought died away when my eyes meet the figure of a young man leaping away from his pursuers.
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