All for a Rose Read Online Free PDF

official port master’s seal on the message. “Father?”
    Their father slowly raised his cloudy blue eyes, the hand holding the letter beginning to tremble. “A ship. It… One of my ships…survived. It…came into port.”
    Corrine twitched and a small sound halfway between a gasp and a squeak escaped her throat. Maribel snared an arm around her waist in time to keep her from sliding to the ground, grunting as she took her sister’s full weight. Corrine’s eyelids fluttered as she clumsily tried to get her legs under her. It took her two tries to speak.
    “What… What does this mean?”
    “It could mean nothing, it could mean everything.” Their father rolled up the parchment, his eyes avoiding the paper as if the mere sight of it raised his hopes so high it hurt. “I must go to the harbor. I need to see for myself if this is truly my ship, if its cargo is safe. If it is…” Tears glistened in his eyes. “My daughters, we may be able to get back what was lost to us.”
    Corrine burst into tears and threw herself into her father’s arms. He gripped her tightly, mouth moving in a silent prayer. He gestured for Maribel to join them, lips pressed together as if too emotional to speak. Maribel offered a feeble smile as she allowed her father to gather her into the shared embrace. There was a strength in her father’s body that hadn’t been there the last time he’d hugged her, as though the thought of going back to their old life had revitalized him. Meanwhile, Maribel’s stomach had fallen out and suddenly the last thing she wanted to think about was dinner.
    He’ll sell the farm.
    Images paraded through Maribel’s mind. They would be back to high society, back to the endless social functions and false niceties, back to having servants to do all the work Maribel had only recently realized she loved doing. She would be back in tight-laced gowns, restricted from activities that might damage her fine clothes. There would be parties full of people—people who had shown their true faces in the wake of her family’s misfortune, but who Maribel would be forced to socialize with nonetheless if they returned.
    The thought of facing all those people again, the ones who had abandoned Maribel’s family in their time of need but who would welcome them all too willingly once they were once again rich enough to deserve respect… It turned her stomach.
    Selfish wretch. Maribel buried her face against her father’s shoulder, the rough material scratching at her wind stung cheek. This is exactly what Corrine needs, what she’s prayed for. How dare you begrudge her this moment?
    “All right, all right.” Their father pulled back, his eyes shining with excitement. “I will bring you both something wonderful. Tell me what you want, anything!”
    “A new dress,” Corrine answered breathlessly. “My old ones are so worn, and they don’t fit me properly since we’ve been starving out here. I want something with silk and lace, something that will let me remember what life used to be like when we were happy.”
    Her sister’s words stung. Maribel had worked hard to learn to cook, had slaved over a hot fire for months trying to perfect her recipes, digging in the forest for herbs that would bring rich flavors to the food she cooked for her father and sister. Yes, there’d been that first winter, but Corrine certainly hadn’t “starved” since then. Maribel had actually dared to hope that her culinary skills had gotten quite good, perhaps enough to appreciate. Only compared with starving, apparently , she thought bitterly.
    “And, my Maribel, tell me what I can get for you? Would you like a new dress too? Jewelry perhaps?”
    “I don’t need anything, Father,” Maribel said meekly. “Really, I don’t.”
    Corrine’s face twisted like she’d swallowed a live toad. “You think I’m selfish for asking for a nice dress. You think I should be grateful for what we have here, that I’m a spoiled child for wanting