Prologue

March 1872

It felt like Estelle’s world was crashing down around her.

She stared at her father, who simply sat in his chair behind his desk as if he were addressing his staff. He didn’t seem to care that he was talking to his daughter. He might as well have been telling his news to a stranger.

And with his appearance, he looked like he spent his time sitting down. He was big and beefy, his fair hair receding from his large forehead. There never seemed to be anything except a scowl on his face or any emotion behind his blue eyes. The only time he showed any type of affection was toward his wife. It was never directed at Estelle.

There was certainly no affection as he glowered at her right now.

“Well?” Daniel Montgomery said sharply. “Speak up, Estelle. I didn’t raise you to be mute all of a sudden.”

Estelle wanted to point out that he didn’t technically raise her, but there was something more important she needed to focus on. She swallowed and tried to get the moisture back into her mouth.

“I… what… you’ve arranged a marriage for me?”

“I have. You should be more pleased about it.”

“Why would I? You’ve just thrust this on me as if you’re in a business meeting and not talking to the child you brought into the house,” Estelle snapped back. “Isn’t this a bit more of a delicate subject to discuss?”

Father shrugged.

“Not really. You shouldn’t be dealt with carefully. You’re not a child anymore.”

Estelle wished he would remember that. She had been treated as if she had no feelings or thoughts since she had come into the house. Even at the age of three, she recognized that the people now calling themselves Mother and Father didn’t see her as a daughter they wanted, but as a financial asset they could use later in life. No matter what she did to make them proud, including working hard at her school lessons and doing her pastimes without any complaints, even when she hated them, they ignored her. They had a child to do what they wanted with when she was old enough, and that was it.

There were times when Estelle wished she had been left at the orphanage. At least they wouldn’t be as cold as the Montgomery family.

“Don’t start being a brat, Estelle,” Father continued with a roll of his eyes. “It’s not an attractive look on you. And you were not raised to behave in such a manner.”

“That’s the second time you’ve mentioned being raised with my attitude,” Estelle pointed out. “Did you forget that you and Mother didn’t raise me? You passed me off to the housekeeper and got me a governess and nanny. They were the ones who raised me since I came here.”

Father’s eyes narrowed, his mouth hardening into a thin line. Estelle didn’t like displeasing him, and the natural reaction was to apologize quickly and tell him she didn’t mean to insult him, but her annoyance at what he was doing was ever present, and she didn’t want to back down. She stood there, fists clenched at her sides, with her chin raised, forcing herself not to give in. She was not going to be manipulated.

“Are you talking back to me, Estelle?” His voice was low and dangerous.

“Like you said, Father, I’m not a child anymore. I’m allowed to have a voice and put forth my opinion. I’m not about to stand here and do absolutely nothing about it. It’s not fair that you say I’m not a child and yet treat me like one.”

“You need—”

“I need to listen to my parents and not be disrespectful?” Estelle shot back. “I’ve heard that so many times over the years. There are two things wrong with that, though. One, you’re not my birth father, so, technically, I don’t need to listen to you, and two, you’re being disrespectful to me and expect no repercussions?”

She wondered if she had gone too far when she saw her father’s face turn red. He looked close to losing his temper, and Estelle didn’t like that. But she had just been given this horrific news, and she wasn’t about to bow her head and get along with it.

“This will secure the family’s financial future,” Father said tightly. “You will be finally of some use.”

“I’m not a pawn, Father! I’m a person!”

“And you’re our daughter, so you will do what you’re told. Mr. Ross will be delighted that you will be his wife. From what I can tell, he’s had his eye on you for a while.”

Estelle’s stomach dropped. She felt sick.

“Mr. Ross? That’s who you’re going to push me on to?” She could feel the panic brewing in her voice. “He’s over fifty years old! He’s older than you!”

“So what? Age doesn’t matter.”

“It does to me!” Estelle cried. “How can you think this is appropriate for me?”

Father took a deep breath.

“Estelle—”

“No!” Estelle cut him off. “I won’t marry someone who will make you ‘financially secure’. I’m not some asset, someone to pass around. I’m a person, and I should have a choice in who I marry, and if you were going to force me into marriage, the least you could do is make sure he’s closer to my age!”

Father snorted.

“As if anyone your age is going to be financially secure. Mr. Ross is still an attractive man, and he’s in full health. You’ll have plenty of years as Mrs. Ross.”

“He’s fat and overweight, and he gets drunk within ten minutes of his first sip of wine!”

“Don’t be rude about your future husband.”

“He’s not my future husband!” Estelle slammed her fists on the desk, which made everything on the top rattle, and Father jumped back in his chair. “You have shown over the years that you don’t care about me at all, but this is too far, Father. If you want to get rid of me, you shouldn’t have taken me into your house in the first place! You should have sent me to the orphanage!”

Father’s nostrils flared. Normally, Estelle would back away as she saw his temper build, and she had a flicker of fear now, but not this time. She had to tell him that she wasn’t going to do this. She would make her stance firm, even if he didn’t initially listen.

“You were abandoned and left with us,” Father said with a sneer, contempt in his gaze. “Nobody wanted you, and we took you in. The least you can do is repay the debt you owe us.”

“Debt?” Estelle shouted. “You’re that cruel enough to see doing a decent thing as a debt? How disgusting can you get?”

She wasn’t prepared for Father to get just to his feet and lean across the desk as fast as he did, his hand striking her hard on the cheek. She stumbled back, shocked that he had actually hit her at all. As Estelle tried to recover from what was happening, Father stormed around the desk and grabbed her arm, yanking her toward the door.

“You do not get to talk to me like that, Estelle,” he snarled, hauling her out into the hallway. “You know what happens when you do that.”

It was then that Estelle realized what he meant. He was taking her to the cellar. She felt the panic build in her chest and tried to pull back.

“I’m a grown woman now, Father! You can’t do this to me!”

“You’re talking back to me, and you’re refusing something that you know is your duty.” He didn’t look around at her as he pulled her toward the back of the house. “If you’re going to talk back and behave like a brat, you’re going to be treated as such.”

“That’s not fair!” Estelle cried, stumbling over her feet as she tried to dig them into the floor, but the floorboards were too slippery and Father was too strong. “You think you can pass me off to other people to raise and expect me to be subservient like them? I do have a voice and an opinion! That shouldn’t be punished!”

“You need to learn your place, something the staff didn’t do with you. And I’ll be speaking to Mrs. Hadley about that. She should have done that with you.”

“You leave her alone!”

Father gave a mirthless chuckle, glancing back at her with bemusement.

“You have more loyalty to the servants than to the people you call your parents. That’s unacceptable.”

“It’s unacceptable to be a tyrant!” Estelle argued.

Something flared in his eyes, and then he continued down the hall, turning around the corner so fast that Estelle lost her balance and hit the wall. Her shoulder throbbed as he led her forcefully toward the dreaded door by the kitchen. She had spent so much time in the coal cellar that it was almost a second home, more than the house she had been brought into. Even now, the thought of going in there made her panic. She hated small, dark spaces.

“Let me go!” She couldn’t get away, not with the grip on her arm. “This isn’t going to make me agree to marry the man! I’ll still refuse!”

“Then you’ll stay in there until the wedding day, and you can explain to Mr. Ross how bad you are because you don’t know good manners.”

“And then he’ll wonder why you didn’t raise me properly,” Estelle barked back. “But you didn’t raise me, did you? Are you going to punish the servants for doing something that you should’ve done in the first place?”

He swung around on her, and Estelle braced herself, ready for the second slap. But he didn’t, hauling her close to his face.

“Maybe I should have,” he hissed, practically spitting in her face. “Then you wouldn’t be so combative.”

“If you weren’t going to be bothered, you should’ve taken me to the orphanage,” Estelle hissed back, forcing herself not to back down. “You’re not worthy of being a father.”

His eyes flared angrily, and then he started striding down the hall again. The grip on her arm was getting painful, and Estelle couldn’t pull away. Her adoptive father had always been so strong.

They reached the coal cellar, and Father forced the door open.

“Get in,” he ordered at the same time as he pushed her in. “You’re going to stay there until you apologize.”

“You should be apologizing to me!” Estelle screamed back, catching her balance before she ended up on the floor. “No decent person would treat anyone like this!”

“You’ll be in here for a while with that attitude. You might want to think about how you talk to me, and not do it again.”

And with that, he slammed the door, and Estelle heard him turn the key in the lock. He had plunged her into darkness, and it closed around her until Estelle felt like she couldn’t breathe. Standing in the middle of the coal cellar, she closed her eyes and focused on calming herself. If she panicked, the coal dust would get up her nose faster, and she would struggle to breathe properly, which would just make her panic more.

She had learned years ago that the servants wouldn’t let her out, no matter how much they wanted to. The one time a scullery maid, Patty, let her out, her father had thrown them both into the coal cellar. Everyone kept clear of the door from then on, so banging on the door and screaming for help wouldn’t do anything. The servants might care about her more than her parents, but they were scared of Father. And when he was like this, so was her mother. She was probably hiding away in the morning room, pretending that there wasn’t discord going on.

She was a coward.

Once the panic subsided, Estelle opened her eyes and let them adjust to the darkness. There was a light coming from the top of a coal chute where it was collected for the fires around the house. That helped a little, and she could soon see the walls. The coal was piled up everywhere, and the smell made Estelle’s stomach clench. Even after years of being locked in here, she had never gotten used to the smell.

It just sent her into a panic, and she had to concentrate not to do that.

Why was her father behaving like this? It was ridiculous that she was being treated this way just because she said no. He had to know that she would refuse this arranged marriage. Estelle had met Mr. Ross a few times, and she had no intention of being more than a mere acquaintance. He was nice enough, but he wasn’t attractive to look at, and he was a pig when they ate dinner. He looked like he would be more at home with a trough. Estelle knew that was unkind, but she couldn’t help herself when the image popped into her mind.

If she was being forced to marry someone, the least they could do is make him nearer her age. But, even then, she would have refused. Estelle didn’t want to marry anyone for anything other than love. Money and status didn’t matter as long as she loved the man in question. How could she marry Mr. Ross when she would never love him?

She was not going to be treated like this. Estelle would not back down from this. She was going to take a stance here.

Which meant she had to get out of here.

That was when Estelle realized something. The coal chute opening was always closed. The servants were told to keep it shut, mostly to make sure the coal wasn’t taken by someone else, although Estelle didn’t understand the logic, given that anyone could open the chute anyway, but also to make sure she couldn’t get out. The door wasn’t one she could open on the inside.

But now it was open. It wasn’t much, but it was enough.

Hope and determination rising in her chest, Estelle began to climb the pile of coal. It was unstable, and her feet slipped as she tried to get a firm hold, but she soon got to the top. Putting her fingers under the door, she began to pull upwards. The door was stiff with rust, and it dug into her fingers, but Estelle didn’t stop. She was not about to give up now.

Then, the door began to move with a loud scraping noise. It wasn’t much to begin with, but then it shot up so fast that Estelle almost caught her fingers. She winced and sat back, looking at her hands in the light. There was a deep red line across her fingers where she had been pulling. There was no blood, but her fingers were throbbing.

But there was a chance to get out of here. The chute was small, but there was just enough room for her to get through. Hopefully.

She couldn’t think about that part. This was something she had to do.

Chapter One

Estelle’s heart was still racing as she paced around outside the station. People walking by were giving her strange looks, and Estelle wished they would just go on their way and not stare at her. She knew how she must look, walking around with coal-stained clothes, coal dust on her face and hands, and a rip in her skirt. Her hair was in disarray as well, but Estelle’s hands were shaking too much for her to do anything about it.

She hadn’t thought much beyond getting out of the house and to the train station. She just wanted to get away, and it felt good to finally breathe fresh air.

It had been sunset when she had gotten out of the coal cellar, the sun casting a beautiful orange glow across the garden. Estelle had spent twenty years loving the sight of the garden, one of her favorite places. She could escape here in the summer and be away from the rejection and pain for a few hours before Mrs. Hadley came looking for her. She was going to miss it now, and Estelle had shed a tear, knowing that she would never be coming back.

There was no chance of returning now she had defied Father and escaped from the coal cellar. But if he didn’t care about her, he shouldn’t care that she was attempting to run away now.

Although she had no idea where to go, she had lived in Charleston all her life and had no idea what was beyond it. Her lessons had been extensive, so she was aware of her country being a lot bigger than just the city she lived in, but she had never traveled beyond the perimeter. She didn’t know which way to go.

Right now, she was stuck. And Estelle wanted to burst into tears.

“Oh, my goodness! Estelle!”

Estelle’s heart froze in her chest, and she turned slowly. A familiar face hurried toward her, the growing shadows momentarily hiding her face as she stepped out of the lowering sun. For a moment, Estelle didn’t recognize her.

But then she got closer, and she saw her face more clearly. Short and petite, with flowing red hair barely contained under her hat, with smooth pale skin, it was Cassie Winthrop, one of her few friends. She lived near the station and often went for a walk with her maid at this time of day.

Estelle had completely forgotten about all of that.

“What on earth’s happened to you?” Cassie rushed at her, looking her up and down in shock. “You look like you’ve been crawling through a mine.”

Estelle didn’t know what to say. All of the pent-up emotions stuck in her chest, and she burst into tears. Cassie looked unsure of what to do. Then her maid, Emma, appeared at her side.

“Perhaps we should get Miss Estelle cleaned up,” she suggested. “She looks in distress.”

“Yes, of course.” Cassie took Estelle’s hand. “Come with us. We’ll look after you. Then you can tell us what’s going on.”

Estelle wanted to tell them not to bother. She didn’t want them to get involved. If Father found out the Winthrops had taken care of her, he would be furious. They hadn’t seen his rage yet; that was all directed at her. Only Cassie knew what Father did with the coal cellar, and she had been horrified. But Estelle made her promise not to say anything.

She didn’t think anyone would believe her.

They were across the street from Cassie’s house, and Emma let them in. They managed to get upstairs to Cassie’s bedroom without anyone noticing them, and Cassie made Estelle sit on the chair at the vanity.

“You wait right there. I’ll find a dress for you to put on. We’re of similar sizes, so it shouldn’t be a problem. Emma, get a bowl of warm water. We’ll do what we can to clean this up.”

“Yes, Miss Cassie.”

Emma hurried out of the room. Estelle sat on the chair, shivering as Cassie flung open the wardrobe and looked through her various gowns.

“You don’t have to do this, Cassie,” she said through chattering teeth.

Cassie snorted, barely looking over her shoulder.

“Don’t be ridiculous! You’re dirty and shaking like a leaf. It’s cold this evening, and you don’t even have a coat. The least I can do is this.”

Estelle was beginning to feel numb. It wouldn’t be the first time her friend had looked after her. She had told Cassie about how she was kept in the cellar to be disciplined if she did something her parents didn’t like. Cassie was shocked and wanted to tell her own parents about it, but Estelle managed to stop her from doing it. She didn’t want to have the Winthrop family causing a dispute with Father. Not only were they business partners, but Father would block her from interacting with them again, and she would lose a friend.

Now, she didn’t really care if people were up in arms. All she cared about was getting away.

“I can’t believe he would do that to you at your age,” Cassie said hotly as she tossed a dress on the bed before returning to the wardrobe to retrieve some stockings and shoes. “Does he think you’ll be a child for the rest of your life? It’s just madness.”

“He’s not going to see me as anything but a pawn on a chessboard he can move around at his bidding,” Estelle said bitterly. She looked at her hands, which were grimy and had coal dust under the nails. “He didn’t like that I lost my temper and called him a few names. All because I didn’t want to marry someone of his choosing.”

“What?” Cassie swung around and stared at her. “He’s trying to palm you off on someone else?”