A World Apart (The Hands of Time: Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

and daughter.  Kit must have bought slaves in the West Indies , Finn thought.  That was the only explanation.  But why would he acquire Negro slaves?  That just wasn’t the thing.  And where were Mrs. Dolly and Minnie?
    Finn never got a chance to pursue that thought because the woman from the parlor walked into the kitchen .  She looked around in confusion before her eyes lit on Finn, and she let out a horrible shriek.  “Intruder!!!” she yelled as the man came charging into the kitchen, his eyes wild and fists clenched.  He pushed his wife behind him for protection as if Finn would attack the woman.
    “Who are you, boy?” he roared, “and what are you doing in my house?”  The man was advancing on him, backing him into a corner.  “What’s your business here?”
    “I’m ssorry,” Finn stammered as he tried to back away.  His mind was reeling.  Where were his parents and Louisa and Kit?  Where was baby Evie?
    “Get out before I have you whipped,” the man bellowed, grabbing Finn by the arm and dragging him to the back door.  He pushed him savagely into the night, slamming the door behind him, and leaving Finn on the ground, shocked and confused.  Finn rose to his feet and walked a short distance away from the house.  This was just some kind of hallucination.  The Indians occasionally took something that caused such things.  Had they slipped him something as a joke?  Everything would be back to normal in the morning.  Finn turned toward the barn.  He’d just sleep there tonight and let this strange feeling pass.
    **
    Finn looked around.  The barn should be to his left, and still was, but the structure he saw was much larger than their barn.  He heard the soft bleating of sheep and the lowing of cows, but dared not enter.  This wasn’t their barn.  Finn turned toward the shed where he kept his loot.  There was nothing there, but there was another outbuilding further away from the house that hadn’t been there that morning.  Finn began to shake, sweat breaking out on his forehead.  He turned toward the house and promptly vomited into the grass.  The house looked utterly different.  It had been made entirely of wood with black shutters, but now the façade was made of red brick, the shutters a ghostly white in the moonlight.  Finn turned and ran into the woods, panting, and clutching his heaving stomach.  He was shaking all over, praying to God that he was just having some strange reaction to something he ate or smoked.  Everything would be all right in the morning.  Everything would be fine.  He would just sleep it off.  Everything would be back to normal.  He kept repeating it like a mantra as he fell into a dreamless sleep under a tree, curled into a fetal position, his hatchet in hand.

Chapter 5
     
    Valerie trudged up the stairs after Louisa.  The day hadn’t started out well, and the arrival of Mr. Taylor had completely unnerved her.  She’d just go to bed early and deal with everything in the morning.  She hoped Evie would sleep through the night and give them all a bit of peace, especially Bridget, who was still unwell.  She hadn’t left the room she shared with Mrs. Dolly the whole day.  Minnie had brought her some beef tea to settle her stomach, but Bridget hardly touched it.  Bridget hadn’t been sick a day since Valerie met her all those years ago, so Valerie hoped that she would recover quickly.  She had a robust constitution and a remedy for nearly every ailment known to man. 
    “Goodnight, Lou.  I’ll just check on Finn before I go to bed.  I thought I heard him sneaking in earlier.  He probably didn’t want to hear a lecture.”
    “Goodnight, Val.  Tomorrow will be a better day.  You’ll see.”  Louisa disappeared into her bedroom as Valerie walked toward Finn’s room.  All was quiet and dark.  Maybe he tired himself out and went to sleep, but that wasn’t likely.  Valerie opened the door quietly and peered into the room.