Hey guys! Happy Thanksgiving and if you don't celebrate Thanksgiving I hope tomorrow is still fun for you. Thanks for the reviews I appreciate them. Enjoy this next chapter and tell me what you think of it.
Chapter 4
The trap kept falling around Sarah the longer the Goblin King was absent. Sarah thought she had been free of him when she focused all her attention on Adele, but by the end of the week she began to wonder if the King would return soon. She also was also curious about what his guests would be like if he did return before the month ended.
Sarah hoped they would be better than the guests Karen invited to her old home, wicked women and their dull husbands. She could remember once when all the women began making negative comments about her; the worse one was when one of the women said "If only she wasn't your step-daughter Karen! Then you could send the sickly thing away!" The worst part was that Sarah was in the room when they spoke. She was keeping Toby occupied in a corner of the room, and they all spoke about her like she wasn't there. When she left them that night she cried in her room feeling lonelier than she ever had in her life.
Here she did not feel lonely anymore. Sarah loved the goblins, she adored Adele, and the Goblin King was…the best master she ever had. She had only known him for two days, but she already had great respect for him. His affections for Adele already impressed Sarah, but what amazed her was that he treated her kindly too, and she was only a servant.
Sarah knew however she was not serving a saint. His history was not a kind one from what she read in her old book, but now that she had met him she felt that the story was lacking. In the book, the Goblin King was a character shrouded in mystery; however in real life she now knew he was a complete mystery. The book only managed to glance at his life, giving a brief history of how he rose to power, and of his love for a mortal girl. She wanted to know more about him besides what was in the book.
Sarah tried to block these thoughts during her second week. It was almost impossible when she was with Adele, but when she had free time she applied her time to an old hobby of hers, sketching. Before her father passed away she would spend hours sketching pictures, and she was happy to have time to return to her favorite pastime. However, when Adele noticed Sarah's portraits of individual goblins, and the sketch Sarah did of Adele playing in the garden, Adele begged for one of the Goblin King. Sarah could not come up with a good excuse to not to do this for Adele, so she complied.
The picture Sarah did of Adele came from her memory, so she had no trouble remembering the King's face as she sketched. His unruly hair was the most difficult part to sketch, and she nearly forgot that his left eye was the brown one, but by the end of her drawing session she was satisfied with the results. She was pleased that she had been able to get his smirk just right. Sarah mostly remembered his face from their first meeting and when they spoke in his den for the first time. What made the process difficult for her was when she recalled his expression on the last night she saw him. It leaked in whenever she thought back to all the unique expressions she saw on his face. It made her blush when she remembered his face from that night. However, Sarah did not realize her heart was in trouble until the end when she looked at the finished portrait and said automatically.
"His face is very handsome." Sarah covered her mouth after she said that out loud. Shocked that she spoke unconsciously and unfortunately for her, what she said was completely true to how she perceived him. When Adele came to see the portrait she was enthralled by how much it looked like the King. She even asked Sarah to do another portrait, but this time of a barn owl.
Sarah still did not refuse Adele, for if she did Adele would wonder why as she always does and that would lead to questions Sarah did not want to answer. Sarah drew the barn owl sitting on dark, barren tree branches, it was a winter scene so she added snow on the branches and falling flakes, and the final detail was a full moon hanging in the background. Again, she was unable to keep the Goblin King out of her thoughts as she sketched this scene.
Adele even hanged all of Sarah's pictures on the empty wall in the King's den. She hung up all the goblin portraits, the picture of herself, and the two final sketches Adele requested Sarah to do. Adele placed the picture of the Goblin King and the owl in the center of the wall, and surrounded the two pictures with all the others. When they relaxed in there at night Sarah's eyes would wander to the picture of the King, and she would look away quickly so Adele would not notice where her attention was drifting to.
Again Sarah wondered if he would return to the castle soon. Sarah wondered what he would think of the pictures on the wall, especially the portrait of him. She drew so many pictures she assumed he would not think much of it; if she did more than one of him it could be questionable. The owl picture hardly counted even though it was his form when he transformed, so she only drew one picture of him, and that was innocent enough. Adele requested it too, so Sarah had not willingly fantasized about him. She did it for her charge and that was all there was to it.
When the third week came, the news finally came that the Goblin King would be returning with guests. He would arrive at the end of that week with a party of 6, and the King also said in his letter that he expected Adele and Sarah to be present as he entertained his guests.
Adele was thrilled to hear this; Sarah on the other hand was not. Sarah felt anxious about the arrival of the King's party. She did not know how they would treat her, if humans were generally disliked by the fae than she had little hope of impressing them. However, if she did not gain their acceptance she would be alright. Helen taught her to remain calm in the face of hostility. What she was anxious about was the Goblin King's return.
Sarah wished he had stayed long enough to see her before he left. She could have easily disposed of all her confused feelings then, but now the situation was so much worse. His leaving only stirred up her feelings toward him, and now it was a jumble that would take longer to undo.
For the rest of the week Sarah made sure Adele was ready to socialize with the King's guests. The goblins spent the whole week preparing the castle for the party's arrival. Begrudgingly, they cleaned the filthy throne room, and removed the random chickens that could be found throughout the castle. Sarah helped them in her spare time, but she spent most of her time reviewing manners with Adele.
When the goblins began shouting that carriages were approaching Sarah had to grab Adele before she ran off.
"I'm sorry Adele, but we can't see your Master yet." Sarah told her. "He has to attend to his guests needs first."
Adele whined, but settled down.
"He will send for us tonight," Sarah reassured her "but for now we may watch them from one of the windows."
Adele clapped her hands and rushed off when Sarah let her go to the nearest window with a view of the carriages. Sarah quickly followed behind her, and stood behind her as Adele gazed out the window, standing on a bench in front of the window. Sarah looked out from behind Adele and saw two carriages stopped outside the castle. Three women existed one, and two men left the other carriage. Two of the women were twins, they looked like young girls because of their short height, and they had bright ginger hair, tied back in a bun with curls falling along the sides of their face. The third woman was an older woman, probably Karen's age if she was human. She had long blonde hair streaked with grey that was piled on top of her head in an intricate bun. The two men looked like they were around the same age as the King, late 30's or early 40's. One had dark brown hair that went to his shoulders, tied back in a low ponytail. The other man had light blonde hair down to his chin. His hair looked soft and fluffy, with one side bang covering his left eye.
She did not see the Goblin King with them, or the sixth guest. He did say six people were coming back with him, didn't he?
"I see Master!" Adele jumped up and down. She pointed toward the top of path that led into the courtyard. Sarah followed Adele's finger and saw two horses riding over the hill, and the two riders were mounted on the steeds. Sarah saw the Goblin King riding on his black steed, and a beautiful woman rode by his side on a caramel colored horse.
Sarah immediately thought that this woman must be someone her Master missed in his absence from balls. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail that trailed down to the small of her back, and was as bright as gold. It looked like a fountain of curls, slowly cascading down from her head. Her face bore resemblance to the older fae woman in the group; Sarah guessed they were mother and daughter. The two horses and their riders stopped by the carriages; the Goblin King stepped down from his first and then offered his hand to help the lady down.
This was the sort of woman the Goblin King would marry. Sarah saw that instantly as he helped the lady down from her horse. They looked like a proper couple when they stood by each other.
Helen had been right when she said to guard one's heart in such circumstances. Sarah found this view of the couple enough reason to push her feelings down. She would ignore them for the sake of her heart that would surely be broken if she let her feelings roam free. The wrong impression had been made the last her master had been here. He left to stop the misunderstanding from creating something that was not there. The Goblin King even brought back with him an example of the type of woman that perks his interest. Sarah knew she was nothing more than a servant; however she was fortunate that he was a kind master. That was all she needed in her life at that moment.
The Goblin King looked up at the window they were watching from. He did not wave to them, but Sarah knew he had seen them. She was not afraid of seeing him now so she raised a hand to wave at him. She thought she saw his eyes narrow, but from this distance she could not be sure if that was what she saw. He returned his attention to his guests and ignored them.
"I wish I could go down and see them!" Adele whined. "I want to see their gowns!"
"Later Adele." Sarah smiled, amused by Adele's eagerness. "You will where a pretty tonight dress too, and you'll speak with them like a little lady."
Adele turned around and looked at Sarah with a superior smile on her lips. "Will I Ms. Sarah?"
Sarah rolled her eyes and grinned at Adele. "Of course you silly thing!" Adele grinned back at her and then leapt up and hugged Sarah around her neck.
"I love you Ms. Sarah!" Adele declared. "I don't want you to ever go away."
Sarah's heart was warmed instantly. Sarah hugged her back and said. "I won't leave you until you have no more need of me Adele."
"But I'll always want you here!" Adele pushed back far enough so she could pout at Sarah. "Don't you love me Sarah?"
"I do Adele, but you'll grow up soon, and you won't need me as much," Sarah explained to her "but no matter what I'll always be your friend." She promised her.
Adele still did not like this answer.
"How about this?" Sarah began walking toward Adele's room. "Let's pick a dress for you to where tonight and I'll tell you a story about the first child I raised. Okay?"
Adele looked confused suddenly. "You raised another child?"
"They wouldn't have hired me if I hadn't." Sarah told her. When they reached her room Sarah sat down on Adele's bed and held the little girl on her lap. "I raised a baby boy, his name is Toby, and he is my younger brother." She began telling Adele.
"Did you not have a mother to raise him?" Adele wondered.
"His mother is my step-mother. She was my father's second wife, and she didn't have much time to raise Toby after my Father passed away." Sarah told her truthfully without revealing Karen's true loathing of motherhood. "I helped raise him ever since he was a little baby, I loved that boy dearly, but when he turned 9 he was going to be sent off to school soon, and from that point on I knew my time with him would be very limited. I actually might have never seen him again." Sarah sighed. "I knew I had to move on, so I wished myself away, and now I'm your governess."
"Does he miss you?"
Sarah's smile became strained. "I don't know. I would imagine so, I just hope he doesn't hate me for leaving him, but he'll always hold a special place in my heart, and I keep you in that place too Adele." Sarah reassured her. "If I ever have to go away know that you'll always be there in my heart, and I'll always have you in my thoughts."
Adele smiled sadly at Sarah. "I'm sorry you miss your brother."
"Don't worry." Sarah told her. "I may still see him again someday." It was the one hope she held onto now. "Maybe you'll get to meet him too."
"I would like that!" Adele said now back to her usual happy mood. "Should I wear a pretty dress for that too?" Adele hopped off her lap and went over to her large dresser.
"We can a pick a dress for that too, but don't think it'll happen right away. I don't even know how to get back to him." They picked out a champagne colored dress that had a touch of pink in the color and a dark pink sash for meeting the guests that evening. For meeting Toby Sarah recommended Adele's dark brown cotton dress, which Adele did not like saying it was too plain.
"But Toby likes to play a lot, and a frilly dress would get dirty." Sarah persuaded. "A frilly dress might make Toby uncomfortable too since he might not be dressed up when he sees you."
Adele considered this point, but before she could respond a knock on the door interrupted her. A goblin entered saying the King would like them to appear in the den within the next half hour. Sarah glanced out the window and saw that the sun was already beginning to set. She immediately began to help Adele get dress and ready to see the King and his guests.
Once Adele was dressed they walked to the den and found it empty. They entered and Sarah noticed the rearrangement of furniture. Instead of the armchair there was a loveseat, an arm chair was placed by that, and the sofa that had been across from the King's chair was now larger and could seat four people. Sarah knew those chairs were for the King and guests only, so she sat on the ottoman next to the fireplace. The fireplace was wide so she was sitting farther behind the large couch, but her seat was against the wall. It was the perfect place for a servant to remain unnoticed.
Adele sat down beside her, folding her hands in her lap and watching the door to the den attentively. Since they still had a few minutes Sarah grabbed a picture book of labyrinth creatures. Adele had only ever seen goblins since she was rarely allowed out into the labyrinth unless the Goblin King was with her. Sarah showed her the pictures and read the short descriptions beneath the pictures for her until they heard the sounds of people approaching. Adele looked up at immediately and was nearly jumping up and down in her seat.
"Calm down Adele." Sarah whispered to her; however Adele was not listening to Sarah now. When the guests began entering Adele stood up and went to the center of the room. The guests stopped around the doorway when they saw Adele.
Adele smiled and curtsied before them. "Thank you for coming to the Goblin City." Adele said before raising her head.
The twins immediately began clapping. "Oh what a cute little doll!" One said, and her sister replied. "Indeed! She must sit with us Ella!" And her sister replied. "My thoughts exactly Emma!" The two stepped forward and sat on the loveseat with enough room for Adele in the middle.
"The Goblin King's ward I assume." The older blonde woman muttered to the two men that stayed with her in the entryway. "What a hassle." She huffed taking the armrest next to the loveseat. Sarah noticed that the woman also kept her eyes away from Adele's general direction. This woman reminded Sarah of Karen instantly, and she was thankful it was not her place to socialize with these guests.
The two men walked over to a small bar stand in the corner of the room and poured themselves some brandy. The swirled the dark liquor around as they held there glasses and rejoined the group. They sat down on the large sofa, and turned to speak with each other, but glanced up when they heard the sounds of the final guest and the Goblin King approaching the room.
A women's soft laughter could be heard, and then it was followed by a melodious voice saying "Oh Jareth, you are such a tease!" The twins giggled when they heard that, the two men rolled their eyes and chuckled, and the older woman smiled smugly. The Goblin King entered with the beautiful blonde woman Sarah had spied on from the window earlier. The woman held onto the King's arm and smiled radiantly at him before turning her attention to the others in the room. "Forgive us for taking a detour, but the King insisted on showing me the view of labyrinth from the great balcony."
Sarah guessed it was the balcony outside the dining hall. It was the widest one in the whole castle, and Sarah knew it was the balcony with the best view of the labyrinth. The balcony was high enough to look out over the edges of the great maze and see the horizon beyond the Goblin City.
"Blanche enjoyed the view," The Goblin King said "and when the full moon returns within the week we will all enjoy our cocktails out there on the balcony."
"What a lovely idea." Blanche eyes then glanced over to where Sarah was sitting. Her gleeful expression changed to one of shock, and she quickly averted her eyes as though she had seen something distasteful. "Jareth, is that a human I spy lurking in the shadows?"
Jareth looked over at Sarah and then back at Blanche. "Yes, that would be Adele's governess."
"A human governess?" Blanche's mother questioned. "I am sure your majesty knows there are fae governess' to choose from in the Underground. A human governess would not be able to teach the decorum necessary to raise your ward into proper fae society."
"I must point out Lady Ingram that a fae governess requires a salary along with room and board." Jareth countered. "A human only requires the room and board." Jareth escorted Blanche to the sofa as he spoke and released her as she took her seat.
"Your majesty," Lady Ingram laughed before she spoke "if you had a wife to advise you on this matter I am sure you would see that the financial part would not matter. Your ward," She glanced over at Adele who was preoccupied with the twin's gowns than what was being said "needs a respectable tutor to teach her of our dominance over humans. A human is so simple they do not know how they are used by us, and so how would Adele learn this from that grim creature in the corner?" Lady Ingram would not look in Sarah's direction. "And if you are still worried about the finances, although I can hardly imagine why the Goblin King would be preoccupied with that, then send your ward to school. Then you are only funding for her room and board instead of the human's."
Jareth leaned against the mantle over the fireplace. "You make many good points Lady Ingram, but I have not seen any notable harm come to Adele by her governess' influence."
"If you allow her influence to remain there will be notable damage." Lady Ingram stated. "Humans have bad blood. They are tainted from a birth, and their false hopes of purifying themselves are as likely as a flower growing without sunlight. Fortunately, Blanche only interacted with fae as she grew up, and she is the better for it."
"Yes," Blanche said reminiscing "I do remember that one human that worked in the gardens. He once smiled at me, and I when told Mother she blinded him for three days as punishment." She smiled smugly as she remembered. "He never dared to look at me again."
They all laughed quietly. Sarah kept her eyes down on the floor. She wondered if the Goblin King would ever punish her like that. She hoped that his heart was not as cruel as his guests. He was kind to her and if he changed so suddenly it would terrify her. However, she had faith in her Master's resolve to look after those who dwelled within his kingdom.
Adele was whispering something to the twin on her right who looked up toward the wall where the Sarah's drawings were placed.
"You mean she drew all that?" The twin, either Ella or Emma, said. She stood up and approached the wall and examined the pictures. "My goodness! I never imagined a human could be so talented!"
"What are you muttering about?" The brown haired man said as he inhaled the scent of his brandy.
"Adele has informed that the human drew all these pictures!" Her arms spread out emphasizing her point. "Come look Edward!" She insisted to the brown haired man. "You too Percy!" She said to the blonde man. "You shouldn't be so dull at a party."
"I agree." Her sister said also rising from the couch to join her sister. "Oh my, these are lovely!" She said suddenly. This twin spotted Jareth portrait and immediately took it off the wall. Sarah did her best to keep her eyes on the ground as the twin showed it to the King.
"Look at this portrait Jareth! It looks so much like you!"
"I believe it is intended to be me Emma." The Goblin King said as he examined the picture.
"And there is a pretty one of Adele in the gardens!" Ella added. "Oh I must have my portrait done now!" She turned to Sarah and in Ella's hand appeared a sketchpad with a set of dark pencils. "Draw me now, and don't worry, I won't blind you for looking at me." Ella offered it to Sarah, who looked at her Master first and waited for his nod of approval before she took the pad and pencils from Ella.
Two chairs appeared a few feet away from Sarah. Ella and Emma sat next to each other in them and stared expectantly at Sarah. Sarah tested the pencils first on a bit of scrap paper before she began to draw the twin's likeness onto the paper. Adele came and sat by Sarah and watched her process. Everyone else began a new conversation that Sarah was glad she did not have to listen to. When she caught drifts of it she mostly heard Lady Ingram saying how Sarah should be sent away at once.
It reminded her of her old life, and she was worried that the Goblin King was listening to this woman's advice. Sarah was almost tempted to say 'I made the wish to come! Don't take it away from me you old witch!' She focused on drawing so the temptation would not take hold of her.
When she finished the drawing of the twin's were pleased at once and begged that she draw again for them tomorrow. Sarah agreed, wishing to keep Jareth's guests happy as they stayed here. Adele was still sitting next to Sarah however Adele was now slumped back against the wall fast asleep.
Time to leave Sarah thought. She picked Adele up gently and headed for the door quietly. However, before Sarah left the room she heard one more piece of dialogue from Lady Ingram.
"Look at her," Lady Ingram sounded disgusted "acting innocent when she's nothing but a heartless beast. You will see it soon enough too Jareth. That's why-"
Sarah left the before hearing the final statement in an unhurried manner. She did not want them to observe her eagerness to leave the room. The ending to the statement was easy enough for Sarah to guess at. Send the beast away as soon as possible to protect Adele. That was close enough to how it would end.
Sarah did not like Lady Ingram and her daughter's calm demeanor when talking about blinding a human for three days scared her. The twins were fascinated by Sarah, so she was not entirely loathed by the party. The men were indifferent, and that included the Goblin King. She guessed the two men were more bent towards simply ignoring her. Jareth defended his decision to keep her for financial reasons, but he still listened politely to Lady Ingram's points about removing her.
Lady Ingram's dislike of her did surprise Sarah for the reasons that it was based on. She was not being accused of being filthy or uncivilized as Sarah would have suspected. Sarah was being called immoral, and heartless. That did upset Sarah. She cared deeply for Adele and all the creatures that lived here. They had accepted her and made her feel at home. Now an arrogant woman might ruin that for her by declaring that she was a heartless girl.
"She's just like Karen." Sarah said quietly. She felt like her great escape had failed. Sarah sighed as she finally reached Adele's room. She entered and quickly removed Adele's dress and put her in her nightclothes before tucking her in.
Sarah stayed with her for a moment longer and watched Adele.
"Please don't grow up to be like them Adele." She wished in a barely audible tone. Sarah kissed Adele on her forehead. "I swear I'm not heartless Adele. I love you, and I always will." The wish was similar to all the ones she made for Toby to never hate her and grow up to be like Karen. She hoped her wishes were powerful enough to do this for Toby and Adele.
Sarah left the room still feeling depressed. This night would be like the one where Karen's guests were so cruel to her and she cried herself to sleep. Sarah sighed holding back the few tears that were slowly welling in her eyes. She walked toward her room eager to be left alone, but before she could open her door a voice called her name.
"Sarah." A familiar voice said from behind her.
She whirled around and nearly cried out, but Jareth rushed on her and covered her mouth with his gloved hand. He had pushed her against the door and looked around as if checking for something.
"Be silent." He ordered. "I don't want my guests investigating why you suddenly screamed."
Sarah nodded her eyes wide, and he retracted his hand.
He smirked at her and bowed saying "Good evening dear Sarah. Forgive me for scaring you." However, he did not seem truly apologetic.
"That is alright sir." She said smiling a little at him.
"How have you been in my absence?"
"I have been well. Adele was mischievous with the goblins, but not completely out of control. She did well with her etiquette lessons. I hope you found her behavior pleasing."
"She has improved, but tell me, what you have done Sarah?" He was eager for more details.
Sarah was unsure of what to say. "I did some drawing." She answered.
"I saw that. It may have been too much for you." He said as he studied her face. "You're paler than before I left. Have you been ill?"
Emotionally, she thought to herself. "I may have overworked myself, but I have not been ill."
"Really?" He did not believe her. "Or is it simply depression that makes you look so ill?"
"Depression?"
"Tears are nearly ready to slip from your eyes Sarah." He observed. "Why is this? Tell me."
"I'm not depressed." She lied. "I'm only tired."
Jareth look unsatisfied with that answer, but he let it go. "Then rest, some of my other guests are expecting to have their portraits done tomorrow."
"Yes, sir." She answered. "Will Blanche be one of them?"
He quirked an eyebrow at the name she singled out. "Yes." The Goblin King said grinning suddenly. "Tell me Sarah, what do you think of her?"
Sarah thought a lot of things about her, but she said the kindest one. "She's very beautiful. Was she one of the women that missed your company?"
"One, but she is the least tedious." He answered. "She is very lovely, but do you think she looks right standing at my side?"
"A woman as pretty as her would look fine even if she stood by the Bog of Eternal Stench." Sarah replied.
The King laughed. "She would, but does she look like a queen to you Sarah?"
Sarah felt her throat tighten a bit. The feelings she had been trying to bury were beginning to resurrect themselves. She could not keep Jareth waiting for an answer though. Sarah swallowed to clear her throat and said "Looks don't matter when it comes to that. If she can work well by your side then I would say she is suitable."
"She is fond of me." Jareth told her. "I've been gone for so long she wouldn't be able to help feeling a stronger likeness for me."
"What do you mean?" Sarah didn't understand his reasoning.
"Absence makes the heart grow fonder." He stared unblinkingly at her. "You must understand Sarah."
"No?" She backed up closer to the door. The King was acting strange again.
"Hmmm?" The King smiled at her reaction. He rested a hand on the door frame and leaned in towards her.
"You never missed someone, and grew to care for them more while they were gone?" He asked her slowly.
Sarah felt trapped like she had on the night of the fire. "I…" She almost lost her voice as she stared into his eyes. "I miss my younger brother, and I miss more with every day that passes."
"That's a good example." He praised. "But I wondered about something else."
"What?" Sarah felt like her senses were slowly falling away.
"I wondered if you missed me." The Goblin King said simply. "Did anything change within you during my three week absence? Did you grow fond for your master?"
Sarah felt like she was mute. What was he doing to her now? She was screaming that thought in her head, but she focused her thoughts enough to shake her head at him.
Jareth grinned wickedly at her. "I do punish liars Sarah." He warned. His free hand grasped her chin gently. "Is that really your final answer?"
Sarah was panicking. He was reading her like a book, and she couldn't stop him. How observant could fae be? Her mind was blank on excuses to escape from this situation.
Thankfully she heard the sound of Jareth's guests calling for him. He looked in the direction their voices were coming from and scowled. He let go of her chin and turned the door knob and pushed her into her room. The Goblin King shut the door behind her quickly, and Sarah listened as she heard his footsteps walking away from her door.
Sarah turned from the door. Her heart was hammering in her chest now. She approached her bed and all but collapsed on it. The worries she had tried to rid herself of were back and stronger than ever.
However, she now knew it was not her heart alone that was to blame. The Goblin King left on purpose. He knew she could have destroyed whatever inkling of feelings she had developed if she had only faced him the night after the fire. Jareth left to stop her from doing this, and to force her to think back on him fondly instead of destroying her feelings for him. Not only was her heart pushing her into the trap so was he. He was pursuing her and she still wasn't safe from this predator.
Blanche. Sarah thought of her suddenly. He's pursuing her, and he has high aspirations for Blanche. He wishes to make her the Goblin Queen. Why? Why pursue something while pursuing another? Why court another more fiercely than the one you intend to marry?
"Why choose her if you love me?" Sarah said angrily letting her feelings roam free, but the anger was short lived. "Why do I let you when I love you?" She sobbed. Tears fell freely from her face then, and she could not stop it. Sarah cried herself to sleep, but no longer for Lady Ingram's comments. Instead she cried for the love that filled her heart that could never be returned.