Chapter 245
Priest Tim steadied his breath as he entered the manor with the baskets of bread in hand . Wallace then signaled over a slave to take them from him . Suddenly, Priest Tim spoke up .
“Is Daisy around?”
“Why? Do you need her for something?”
Wallace raised an eyebrow, surprised that Priest Tim would specifically ask for Daisy .
“She asked a question about my last sermon, and I didn’t get to answer her right away . For the past two days, I’ve been praying for God to guide me . Now that He has finally graced with an answer, I must let her know . ”
“You can tell me the answer . I will relay your message to her,” smiled the slave who was with Wallace .
“I’m sorry, but I think it would be more appropriate if I tell her personally . This is, after all, my job . ”
Priest Tim stood his ground, insistent and adamant . The slave then turned around to look at Wallace for an answer, but he simply shrugged .
“It’s hard to say no to a priest . Call Daisy here . ”
After that, Wallace turned to Priest Tim again .
“Priest Tim, are you feeling warm? This is the second time I see you wiping your sweat in five minutes . ”
“Indeed . The weather is extra hot today . ”
Priest Tim’s heart thumped violently in his chest when he heard Wallace’s remarks . Instinctively, he wanted to wipe off the sweat on his brow again, but quickly put down his trembling arm . Wallace noticed that something wasn’t right, but just as he was about to say something, Daisy arrived . Out of courtesy, Wallace stepped aside and allowed the vicar and slave to talk . Graciousness notwithstanding, he actually intended to eavesdrop on their conversation, and hence, lingered around the vicinity, hoping to pick up on something
Henceforth, Priest Tim spent a good five minutes explaining Daisy’s engaging question: who God would listen to first if the blacks and whites prayed together at the same time .
“Very impressive explanation, Priest Tim . I was wondering . Is there anything else that you need to do here?” asked Wallace right after the vicar was done talking .
Priest Tim shook his head and passed the baskets of bread to Daisy .
“Please help me distribute the bread to the rest of the children . ”
“Allow me to send you off then,” said Wallace with a stare as he gestured at the door with his hand .
Once Priest Tim left the mansion, Wallace quickly talked to two of his supervisors .
“Fetch Daisy to the torture room . Give her a healthy dose of whipping . I’ll be there in ten minutes . ”
“What about Priest Tim?”
“Leave him be . We shouldn’t mess with priests if there’s no solid evidence . It could get us into a lot of unnecessary trouble . ”
At that, the two supervisors ran to Daisy’s room, grabbed her by her hair, and dragged the struggling girl of the room . Wallace then walked in and kicked the four baskets of bread, expecting to find something . Lo and behold, whatever was in the baskets, was indeed nothing but good ol’ bread . Wallace then stepped on all the loaves, crushing them to verify their contents . However, he found nothing within, as well .
Wallace wasn’t the least satisfied . He went on, turning over the sheets and flipping her bed, going as far as to dismantle every single plank that held it together . Still, despite ransacking almost everything, he found nothing unusual . Wallace frowned in frustration . For good measure, he tossed her entire wardrobe before walking out of her room . The few slaves who had gathered at the door to see what the commotion was all about quickly opened up a way for the storming Wallace .
In a blinding rage, Wallace suddenly targeted one of them and asked, “Have you seen Daisy leave the room?”
The slave quickly shook her head, only making Wallace ever the madder . He growled in a low, menacing tone,
“You know the consequences of lying to me,
right?!”
The slave was so fearful of Wallace that she started crying loudly . Wallace shoved the terrified girl away and looked at the rest of the slaves .
“How about you guys? Did you see Daisy leaving her room?”
All of them shook their heads together . Although it could happen, the possibility of so many slaves lying to him all at once was tiny, and Wallace began to doubt himself . Perhaps he was mistaken after all . When he thought about the strange way Priest Tim behaved, he was almost sure that there was something wrong with him . This was a critical period for Malcolm, and Wallace wasn’t taking any risks . Since he failed to find anything in Daisy’s room, he would have to resort to interrogating Daisy personally .
Wallace wasted no time and rushed to the torture room with long strides .
Leah’s room was right beside Daisy’s . When she heard Daisy screaming, she quickly hopped over to see why . Whatever she saw next terrified her . Daisy had become Laeli’s new insider from Terrance Manor after Nadia’s apprehension . She didn’t expect her to be caught just days before her escape .
This time, Leah started to panic . It wasn’t because Daisy might tell Wallace that she had a part in it, but once Daisy was captured, Laeli’s link to the manor would once again be severed . Right now, she had no idea what Laeli was up, and she didn’t know what to do next as well . What worried her most was Laeli thinking that she must have received his message, and he’d jump into action when the time wasn’t right . Not only would he fail to save his people, but he would also get himself into big trouble .
Suddenly, someone tapped Leah’s shoulder . When she turned around, she saw Lola . The woman wasn’t from her tribe, and they weren’t in good terms with each other . Lola had been envious of Leah getting special treatment from Malcolm and would usually ostracise Leah in front of the other slaves . At such a critical juncture, Leah didn’t want Lola to see her panic . What Lola said next, however, left her in shock .
“Are you people planning to escape this place?”
“What… what are you talking about?”
Leah’s heart instantly fell in dread, and her teeth started chattering .
“Hey, listen . Now, don’t you be afraid, little kitty . Daisy asked me to come for you . Follow me . I have something to show you . ”
After that, Lola led her to the hut used to store the cleaning equipment . Leah hesitated for a while but decided to follow her anyway . The thoughts of Lola using this method to sell her out to Wallace swiftly crossed her mind . After all, the two weren’t exactly friends, and Lola wasn’t from her tribe either . She had no obligation to help her at a time like this . Either way, Leah was left with no other option . As long as a slim chance to turn the tide around existed, she didn’t mind the self-sacrifice .
Once Leah entered the hut, Lola lit up an oil lamp and lifted the canvas lying at the corner of the room . Two guns and eight daggers were presented before her .
“These are the weapons your allies brought for you . I also have one more thing to pass to you,” said Lola as she produced a letter .
Leah was about to take it, but Lola suddenly pulled it back .
“Did you really think I’ll give it to you just like that? I have taken a massive risk hiding these weapons for you . If I weren’t there to clean up the place, Daisy would have been caught in possession of those weapons . ”
“What do you want?” asked Leah . She had finally calmed down .
“I want whatever you guys want . I want to leave this hellhole as well . I want to take a huge whiff of the air of freedom! You can either let me join you, or we can all rot here for eternity in this god-forsaken manor . ”
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login