Fire Nectar by Faleena Hopkins Read Free Book Online Page B

afford servants. Then months later the house went into the pot again
– with tragic results. He was forced to return home and tell her that in
two days time they would move their things into an inn, one which belonged to a
kind and loyal friend of Henry’s, who was willing to charge the pair less than
the normal fee. After that Daniella sold her ancestors’ jewelry piece by piece
to pay the innkeeper and keep food in their mouths.
    Luck would twist again and a good run would hit and
suddenly it was feasts and parties all over again. If only she’d thought ahead
during those times to pay the inn keeper not just back rent, but months in
advance as well.
      “Oh please
tell me you did not.   Did you lose
me in a bet, father?   Did you sell
me to the highest bidder?” she flung the words at him in such a fury as he had never seen in her.
      “—NO!   No – no –
no. I promise you! I did no such thing! I promise on your sweet mother’s
heart, Nell.”   He hadn’t called her
that since she was five. She’d forgotten the sound and it broke her heart to
hear it.  
    She crossed to him, ashamed, to ask, “Forgive me,
Father.   I’m tired today.   I didn’t mean to accuse you of such a
terrible crime. Please forget you ever heard such words from me.”
      “Of
course!   Of course!   I’ve wiped it from my mind immediately.
My dear - I would not wager you away as a possession.   Indeed, I promise you this.   Believe me.   I will never do so. Not to my Nell.” He
pushed a strand of hair from her cheek with fatherly care. He would not dream
of harming her nor want to do that which put her in harm’s way. It was not in
his will to be the way he was, but he was powerless. She looked so like her
mother and she had such a big heart, as her mother had had. She smiled up at
him, her spirit tired.  
    He walked away from her, picked up a log and threw it in
the fireplace before continuing. “I only ask you to consider his offer.   It would calm my fears to know you were
taken care of.   I’ve been under the
hatches too many times and I can’t bear to think of my daughter without the
comfort of – “
      “Stop,
please. I mean no disrespect, but listen to me this time for I don’t wish to
have this conversation again.” She hesitated and said in a softer but firm tone
as she watched him stoke the fire, “I’ll never marry a man I don’t love. It is
not within my abilities.   I would
rather stay with you and make sure you are cared for. This is the path I have
chosen. We are fine. I do still have mother’s rubies.”
    He nearly dropped the poker on his foot as he turned and
blurted, “Do you, my dear?   Do you
indeed? I thought you’d sold those a month ago!” His eyes glittered.
    Her heart froze cold at his expression, one she knew
well, and she countered quickly, “Oh you speak the truth.   But it was not a month but a fortnight.
I am such a silly goose to have forgotten,” she said lamely and sat on a chair
in an attempt to look all the more believably disappointed.   His eyes held suspicion so she knew she
must cover her lie more deeply and added, “They have been here my whole life
and the feeling of their absence was foreign to me.” To help sell the lie, she
forced a tear to fall upon her cheek. It was not hard to do, for the thought of
his getting his hands on her mother’s necklace, the last one she had, broke her
heart.
    Upon seeing that tear his countenance transformed and he
was once again her kind father. Her heart beat hard in her chest but he could not
see her fear. This was the first time Daniella had been able to hide her true
feelings and the fact did not escape her notice.  
    He walked forward, tweaked her cheek lovingly and said,
“It’s okay dear.   I’ll win them
back. The luck will shift again; I am sure of it.” With that he left the room.

 
 
    2012

 
 
 
    When Dani arrived at Nectar there were only a handful of
people.   She checked her phone