Parthena's Promise Read Online Free PDF Page A

and I will double it – if you locate her,” he said.
    “Good as done, mister.” She winked at him again.
    Jerome nodded and then took his weary body up the rickety stairs to his room.
    He would take his rest, warm up, eat, and, when the rain ceased, he would see if they had found where she was. If not, then before he left the place he would take a walk through the town, look out for her and ask if she had been seen anywhere – including in the old inn. His horse needed to rest and dry out as much as he did, but his determination to capture the wench had grown with every uncomfortable hour he had passed in the saddle, in driving rain. He was used to harsh conditions, but never had he been so easily duped in his life before. Jerome had been foolish, but he was no man’s or woman’s fool. She would pay dearly. Would she have the gall to go to an abbey for something? Would she go and repent of her sins? Would they take his money and lock the fool away until she was old, bent over and her life gone along with the beautiful looks? Why should he care what happened to her? He wanted his coin and that would be the end of it… but for those memorable eyes.
    *
    Thena awoke in a cold stone cell, huddled under two thick woollen blankets. The mattress she was lying on felt lumpy but warm, no doubt stuffed with remnants of wool, cotton and whatever other fabrics they could spare to shred. At least it was not stuffed with hay like the Abbey School ones had been in her time there. Girls slept two to a bed with one blanket between them in a dormitory for twenty. There was much she enjoyed about her time there, but not the nights in winter. She saw the chamber pot sticking out from under her bed as she sat up and was careful how she used it. Once satisfied, she cringed, remembering the communal buckets of the dormitory. Deciding she had had enough of nostalgia, she combed out her hair, swept it into a bun and placed her bonnet atop it, then made sure her possessions had not been tampered with. Her boots had been cleaned and left on the floor for her by a stool, atop which was her coat. She smiled even wider at the gesture of care. How lovely it was to see the sign of another person’s effort on her behalf. There was a time when she had a maid to come to her when called, who Thena realised she had viewed as one of her possessions, no life or will of her own, just paid to serve. What a price was paid for her comfort. Now Thena was a different person, she saw the value in every small aspect of life. In fact, Thena now saw the value of life itself. Never would she ever complain of being bored again. The poor, apparently, had no right to be bored, tired, ill or ambitious. She was not used to being poor and had no intention of being so again. Dismissing the source of her money, she pulled on her coat and boots and collected her bag. It was only when she tried to open the door that she found it to be locked. Thena felt the overwhelming sense of fear and panic fill her. Had she been found out already? Had the man come looking for his coin? In that moment she never valued anything more in her whole life, than that which had just been removed from her – her freedom. She hammered on the door. She knew how thick the walls were and how long the corridor was. Soon she heard feet running toward her cell and grabbed her bag. Knowing she had stolen guineas, she had every reason to doubt why she was locked in. If they knew! She swallowed and tried to think quickly of a plausible way to explain her actions. If the man Fender had found her, her life could be forfeit for her crime. She now wished upon wish she had just run to the sisters and begged their help, but how to undo an act of desperation? They may make her join the order. If she told them now she had no doubt they would put the money to good use and have her there repenting from now until her dotage. Thena was not prepared for that. She would have to find Mr Fender in time and repay it, but