A Wallflower’s Christmas Wreath by Tamara Gill EPUB & PDF – eBook Details
- Author: Tamara Gill
- Language: English
- Formats: PDF / EPUB
- Status: Available For Free Download
- Series: None
- Price: Free
- File Size: 1 MB
Christmas Eve, four years later
Heidi placed her hands on her hips and glared at the local butcher Mr.
Jones. The elderly man’s mouth was moving, but she did not appreciate the
words coming out of his lying lips.
“You promised you would save me two pigs for my Christmas supper and
town ball. You know we hold one each year at the hall, and now you’re
telling me there will be nothing for the guests? I cannot merely serve them
seafood and turkey, not everyone enjoys such fare, and it will mean people
like you and me, Mr. Jones, people who work hard and labor for their funds,
will go hungry.”
The older man rolled his hands together, a deep shade of pink kissing his
already mottled cheeks. Heidi continued to glare at him, wanting him to feel
embarrassed and lowly. How could he do this to her?
“Apologies again, Miss Lewis, but I did not think to keep the pork. As
much as I do not wish to remind you, it took you several weeks to pay for last
year’s Christmas fare, and I cannot survive trading with such charity. Another
local ordered and paid for the pigs in full, and I had to think of my family and
business. I’m sorry, miss. I have not done this to be unkind.”
She scoffed, turning away not only out of anger, but because his words
made her eyes fill with tears, and she would not let the local butcher or her
cook, her only live-in staff, know how much such truths hurt. “Need I remind
you that I saw you making merry with the food I purchased for the ball last
year? Perhaps you should not attend the village ball this year since we’re not
worthy of the food you sell. You are only interested in selling to those with
titles and influence.”
These past two years since her parents died of a respiratory disease had
not been easy, and she had done all she could to reverse the damage her
parents had bestowed upon the family purse. But there was only so much she
could do, and only so long she could pretend to be something she was not.
Mr. Jones’s reminder that she was poor and growing poorer every passing
year was a reality she had not wanted to face.
Her annual Christmas party had been a yearly tradition that her
grandparents had started in the village, and she had wanted to continue it. But
this year, the first time she would not serve pork seemed like the first death
knell to her Christmas cheer and her status in the community.
“Come, Miss Lewis. I meant no harm,” he argued with her.
She shook her head, disappointed in the man more than she thought she
ever would be. “I thank you for your honesty, Mr. Jones. Good day to you,”
she said, leaving the small shop and starting up the village’s main
thoroughfare to her home.
The seaside village was picturesque and overlooked the sea and the many
ships that passed on their way to London.
She glanced up to the sandy shoreline that the town sat against, the
ragged cliffs some miles away, and the great estate that loomed over all of
them.
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