Sold
Abi packed everything she could. Her packets were heavy with the silverware she had stolen and her heart heavy with the fear.
It was only a matter of time till those men would come looking for her. She was not a fool to believe that they would forget about today's accident. And that rich bloke. He was too rich to follow her for some silverwares but… it could be a matter of his pride.
The way he had looked at her with his predatory eyes. She could still feel goosebumps on her skin. She had changed her route five times to make sure no one followed her. But she could never be sure.
She picked up an old shawl of her mother and packed their cloth inside it and knotted it well. Then she picked up all the valuables in the house when she heard the sound of footsteps. Her eyes darted to the silhouette in the dark.
"Running away, dearie?" the voice choked her without much effort. She could smell the gin on her father and took a step back. "Leaving the ill mother and poor father behind to whore young men and enjoying your life?" That was the hundredth time her father had called her a whore. It had lost the effect she had at the start.
The floorboards creaked under his feet; his balance was failing. He looked exhausted, old and sick yet he held more power than her, because he was a man. Abi had regretted not being born as a man all her life. Then she would have held the power.
"I am only selling a few things for mum's medicines. She needs a physician." she forced a tear in her eyes but rest came automatically, blurring her vision, burning her heart. She hated being pathetic and helpless.
"Does she now?" he leaned in to see the face of his wife without an ounce of warmth on his face. If any, he looked disgusted by the sick woman. The old woman gave a weak wet cough at the precise moment and Abi closed her eyes. She knew what was coming. "Ha! An old quack could not bring a dead to life. Death rattles."
"Mother would be better if only…" she stopped when the man turned to look at her with those cold foggy eyes full of intoxication. Her father could go without drinking for a few days and behave normally. But when he drank again, he became more violent. Last time, she had a black eye and a swollen nose for a few days when he had returned from his drinking.
"That bitch had lived her life. She had never been that useful but it had helped sometimes. Now it is your turn, Abi. my sweet Abi.. tell me, if any man here is interested in you?" she shook her head. If only she had been lucky to find a good man. She would have run a long time ago. Time was ticking. They would come for her. She needed to run away with her mother.
"Good girl. A man would not be enough for your needs. I will make sure you have many. You will be knee deep with the lads. Earn you good enough from the factory you are wasting your time. Don't you think so?" he would be the first man to ask his daughter to be a whore for money.
She wondered what her mother had seen in this man. When he took a step closer, she held the sharp fork and knife of silverware she had stolen. It felt reassuring when she tested the sharpness from her thumb. But the woman loved him. Mother had told that story to her hundreds of times when she had a dozen suitors but she fell in love with this man. She had made her life hell by her own hands.
Abi would marry for money, a roof and a simple life. Not to a rake for a foolish reason like love. No, she would not love anyone. But she would only love money.
"I am earning good at my job." she fished the shillings from her pocket and threw it toward the man. She needed the money, but she needed to escape more, "this is for you." the man's eyes narrowed at the coins.
He did not bend to pick them up but he counted them with a sneer on his face.
"That is not enough. Not after the scene you have created at your job today. That Mark is a good man. He was ready to pay you three quids once you pleased him. But now he is raging. You are a fool Abi to reject the chance when you have it."
She caught her breath. Mark did not come to look for her because he had gone to look for her father. And a man like her father would not think twice before selling her if he was paid enough.
"I do not need him for money. I can earn enough anywhere. Please, I will earn good for you."
The bitterness in her voice struck at him. and it made him soften a little or the words of future, the promise of earning him good did the job. She did not know. But she noticed the change in his expression as he sighed and shook his head.
"Oh dear Abby. You have been a fool all your life. But I have never known it was to this level. You have no way to run away now, you are coming with me."