A Perfect Mistress by Barbara Mack Read Free Book Online

they get started. ”
    She smoothed Sophie’s hair and sat on the edge of the rough bed , her face pensive . Sophie’s skin crawled at her touch. Her eyes closed, and she forced them open again. Delia kept stroking her hair, and Sophie so wanted to move away, but the most she could do was move her head an inch to the right. Delia paid no attention to that at all ; she just moved Sophie’s head right back where it was before and continued, her touch becoming harder and harder, until they felt like blows instead of strokes.
    “ I never told you about Father, did I? At first, he seemed to love me so much more after coming into my room at night and doing things to me. He told me that I was taking Mother’s place, and that I would learn to like it after a while. He was right; I did like it. Before very long, h e made me crave him and the things he did to me , and th en he changed toward me . H e started talking about sin and stopped coming to me at night . I begged him to change his mind , but he refused . H e seemed almost to loathe me; he could hardly stand to look at me, he said . I told him that I would tell everyone what he had done unless he came to me again, but he wouldn’t . He struck me across the face and knocked me to the ground , called me a whore and an abomination, so I ran away and found someone else who would love me. For a while, anyway. All men are fickle, I suppose.” Delia sighed. “ I do so hope I ’ve got the dose of laudanum right , Sophie . You’ll miss all tonight’s fun if that’s the case. They want you groggy, not unconscious. ”
    Sophie’s mind cried out in horror as her sister giggled and left the room. She fell into darkness with her unvoiced scream s echoing through her head.
    **************
    When Sophie opened her eyes, it was dark and her mouth was dry. Her head ached almost beyond bearing, and she let out a little moan. She started violently when a hand touched her face.
    “ Shhh !” said an urgent voice. “She’ll hear me. Here, take a sip of water.”
    A hand helped her raise her head, and Sophie gulped down a drink.
    “Not so fast, you’ll be sick.”
    Sophie recognized the voice – it was Claire, the little maid , only twelve years old, the one Delia planned to…her stomach roiled, and she gagged. Claire patted her back and gave her another sip. Sophie rested her head against the child’s thin shoulder, and tried to force herself awake.
    “Mrs. Ferguson warned me, and I only pretended to drink what she gave me. I pretended to get sleepy , too . She put me in here with you, and Mrs. Ferguson has sent a message to her sister. She’s waiting outside for us, in the alley. We have to get away, Miss Sophie. I waited for you to wake up. I didn’t want to leave you here with her.” Her voice was insistent, and she tugged on Sophie’s shoulder. “She’s not right. Mrs. Ferguson is leaving, too. She’s going to sneak out and never come back here. We’re going to have to go out the back way. ”
    “I think I can do it,” Sophie whispered. “Just…just give me a minute.”
    “I’m so afraid,” Clair e whispered, and her voice was taut with fear. “I’m so afraid that she’ll catch us and my folks will never know what happened to me. I heard her talking to herself when I was supposed to be asleep. She has a man coming to pick us up later. ”
    Sophie swung her legs over the side of the bed and the mattress rustled. She held her breath, and stood up with Claire’s help, leaning heavily on the child.
    “The window,” she whispered. “We’re going to have to climb down the tree, Claire. Otherwise she will hear us. The stairs creak, and the doors all need oiling. We’ll never make it out without her hearing us. I sometimes open my window at night for air, and I made sure it doesn’t squeak. ”
    With Claire’s help, Sophie pried the window open, letting out a sigh of relief when the night air rushed into the room. She helped the child out onto the big limb