Forbidden Secrets Read Online Free PDF Page B

wanted to plant them today.
    Victoria and I will have a feast someday, Savannah thought. She asked Victoria to help with the garden, but Victoria claimed she was too busy.
    â€œToo busy,” Savannah repeated softly. “Too busy doing what?”
    Savannah sighed heavily. Ever since Tyler’s letter, Victoria has changed, Savannah thought. Now she scurries through the house like a frightened rat. Shehides in her room. If I knock on her door, she tells me to go away.
    Savannah pounded the hoe into the soil, turning the dirt over and over. A long shadow fell across the soil in front of her.
    Startled, Savannah jerked her head up. She hadn’t heard anyone approach.
    A tall, bedraggled man stood before her. His short gray jacket and trousers were faded and hung loose on his skeletal frame. His boots were worn thin and covered in dust.
    He must be a deserter, Savannah thought. She tightened her grip on the hoe and pointed away from the house. “The army is camped over there.”
    â€œNo army,” he said in a hoarse voice. “The war is over. I am going home.”
    He walked on, dragging his feet over the furrows Savannah had made with the hoe. She reached out and grabbed his arm. “What? What did you say?”
    He nodded. “It’s over. They told us to go home. General Lee surrendered. I am going back to Texas.”
    Savannah released the man, his words echoing around her.
    The war is over.
    â€œThe war is truly over?” she called out to the young soldier, wanting more reassurance.
    â€œYes, ma’am,” he replied over his shoulder as he shuffled away.
    She hurried after him. “Let me get you something to drink.”
    â€œNo, thank you, ma’am. I just want to go home.”
    Savannah closed her eyes and listened. Listenedhard. No cannons roared in the distance. No gunfire filled the air.
    She could hear birds singing in the trees! Savannah waltzed across the soil, using the hoe as her dance partner. “The war is over. The war is over!”
    Victoria, she thought. I must tell Victoria. She dropped the hoe and ran into the house. “Victoria! The war is over!”
    Savannah rushed up the wide winding staircase and burst into Victoria’s room. Then she stumbled to a halt.
    What she saw caused a cold chill to slither down her back.
    Victoria sat in a rocking chair near the window. Rocking. Rocking back and forth. And talking.
    Talking to Tyler.

Chapter
    12

    â€œY ou are evil, Tyler Fier. Do you feel the sun?” Victoria asked. She laughed. “It will get hotter and hotter.”
    Victoria didn’t hear me come into her room, Savannah realized. Her sister continued to rock and talk. Savannah inched closer.
    Then she saw the wax doll on the windowsill. The wax doll that looked like Tyler.
    â€œWhat are you doing, Victoria?” Savannah asked. She struggled to keep her voice calm.
    â€œI am destroying Tyler for you,” Victoria said quietly, her brown eyes dull. “Then he won’t be able to hurt you.”
    I can’t talk to her about this now, Savannah thought. She knelt in front of her sister. “Victoria, the war is over,” Savannah said gently. “The soldiers will start coming home now.”
    Tears filled Victoria’s eyes. “But who will come home to us? Zachariah is dead.”
    â€œFriends, neighbors . . .” Savannah answered.
    â€œAnd Tyler,” Victoria said, her voice cold, “I don’t want him to come here. I don’t want him in our house.”
    Victoria picked up the wax doll and carried it to her bedside table. She lit a tallow candle and held the doll’s head over the flame.
    Savannah watched with dismay as the doll’s wax face melted.
    â€œHe’s evil!” Victoria cried. She spun around and threw the doll against the wall. It fell to the floor with a thud.
    I cannot convince her that Tyler is not evil, Savannah thought. She will just have to see the truth for