Inheritance

Part 2. Chapter 34: Gutted and Broken

Her mother sighed. "Come on in, Pollyanna."

She spun on her heel and retreated inside the house. Pollyanna followed after her.

She turned in a circle as she followed her mother through the narrow, but comfortable, hallway.

The little house was built to perfection; it was made of stone instead of straw and mud like her old house and it had more than one room. It was spotless thanks to the servants and decorated beautifully.

Pollyanna's eyes glistened as she looked upon the splendor of the house.

Daddy was a good man, and he could never afford anything like this...

Pollyanna followed her mother to a sitting room where the young girl sat down on a sofa. The room felt and looked too clean for a low-born girl like her to reside in, and she felt uneasy sitting in it.

"So, how is life with Kline?" Her mother asked, sitting across from her on a chair.

Pollyanna replied with slumped shoulders, "it's... The house is nice."

Her mother's eyes narrowed. "Stand up straight, Pollyanna."

"Yes mother..." Pollyanna murmured sadly.

Pollyanna looked at her red high heels and resisted clacking the heels together like she would when she was younger.

She had so many unexpressed feelings that she felt only her mother could help her process. She gulped and asked, "mother, do you ever miss father?"

Her mother took a sip of the hot tea which was set on the table separating the two. "Of course I miss him. He was a wonderful father and husband. He made many foolish decisions toward the end, however. Aren't you glad I convinced him to let you marry Kline before he died? Look at you; you have everything I wanted as a girl... Red satin shoes, a beautiful bow in your hair, and an expensive dress."

Her mother said it coldly.

She said it jealously.

__

The next morning, after she was sure Kline had gone from the manor, Pollyanna snuck out.

She knew the manor well as she had not left it for nearly a week.

She kept to the shadows and avoided the servants who were calling for her and wishing for her to attend her first lesson of the day.

She made her way through the nooks and crannies on the second floor and quickly dashed down the stairs to the first floor when she arrived at them.

She evaded any servants on the first floor and managed to escape the manor without a soul setting eyes upon her.

In the distance, she saw Rory waving to her. She glanced around to make sure no one was watching, and then she dashed toward Rory with a big smile on her face—waving her own hand.

A giant grin adorned Rory's own face until it changed into an exaggerated grimace as the tall girl came closer and closer and eventually launched herself at him—knocking him to the ground. "You came!"

Rory laughed. "Of course I did! Why wouldn't I?"

Pollyanna had tears in her eyes as she replied, "because nobody cares enough about me to keep their promises!"

Rory gently pushed her off and quickly climbed to his feet. "Someone might see!"

Pollyanna lowered her eyes. "I'm sorry..."

Rory's heart bloomed with compassion at her sweet and soft-spoken manner. He stole a kiss—brushing his lips against her cheek—and exclaimed, "come on! Let's go where no one will see us!"