You Shouldn't Lie Chapter 13

Christmas day was uneventful.

Miriam really just wanted to sleep until she was a adult and could leave this plantation.

Winter ended, spring came again, and Miriam was now four.

And after turning for, life became hell.....

Let's set the scene....

Its the end of May, Summer is just around the corner for their Virgina plantation.

Miriam is basically staring off into space like usual, when her father makes a rare appearance.

The slicked back hair, the mustache, ahhhh...

This man who is her father, still looks like the Pringles can face, except for instead of friendly he looks somewhat evil in her oppionon.

"Miriam dear, did you miss father?" Was the opening line her dad said she seeing her for the first time in a month or two.

.....

Time to turn up the heat on the cuteness factor she supposed.

Looking up at her father, Miriam slowly got up onto her feet, wobbling for a second before she straightened herself out.

It was then that she noticed the two women standing just behind and next to her father.

One was in her mid 30s while the other was in her early 20s.

They were both rather lackluster and plain looking.

Tch.

Miriam looked up at the two women, waiting for an introduction.

This didn't escape her fathers keen eyes.

This daughter of his thought so high and mighty of herself already, before being introduced and even knowing these women's positions.

Ahh....

The older one spoke first, "Hello Miriam, I am Vanessa Atherton. I will be your music teacher. I heard from someone that you really wanted to learn the Piano. So I will be teaching you how to play the piano first."

Miriams eyes immediately larger, and she took a quick glance at Beatrice who was respectively standing over in the corner.

It seems like this Beatrice said some to the house keeper or her father about her interest in the piano. Good. Good good...

A delightful surprise for her this morning it seemed!

Realizing she should probably introduce herself back, even if only for show, since they already knew who she was, since they were here for her afterall.

Looking for a ring on the womans finger quickly and realizing it wasn't there, she said

"Hello Ms.Atherton. I am Miriam Mavis Matilda Stuart. Pleased to make your aqquantince. I look forward to your tutelage."

After saying this she looked back up, only too find three people with slightly confused faces.

Worry started to seep into her heart.

'Did I say something wrong? Isn't this how victorians greeted each other. Or at least close enough?'

What Miriam didnt know was that while the manners she used weren't quite right, it was still something she hadn't been formerly taught yet.

Therefore, her manners were a little off putting.

Imagine, half the 10 year olds that were taught these things usually didn't quite know how to word them right. But here was this four year old girl, who was alreasy talking like a smart 12 year old or older perhaps even older.

The silence lasted for utterly too long before the other womam decided to break the awkward atmosphere building up in the room by introducing herself.

"Pleased to meet you, Miriam. My name is Anya Hart. I have had the fortune to be hired as your Governess for the foreseeable future.

Let's learn lots of fun things together."

The younger woman who had deep set brown eyes and skin that looked as if it was washed a little to rough, and a face framed by starchey black bangs and long black hair that was tied up in a bun pinned to the back of her head.

Nice clothing, but it looked like it was 10 years out of style.

Feeling realived, Miriam introduced herself back again, this time however, her statement might have come off abit as arrogant.

After all, she had been unable to openly read or write for four whole years. She wanted to steam straight ahead now! Who cares if she's perceived as a little smart. Oh well.

Hopefully they don't shove abunch of responsibilities onto her when she shows off a little.

Little did our Miriam know that showing off would put her on countless of peoples radars of interest in the future. But that's for another time.

Opening her little mouth, Miriam released these very next words, "Hello Ms. Hart, I am Miriam Mavis Matilda Stuat. Pleasure to meet you. I am sorry to say I can already read a little bit, and know all my letters already. So I ask that you please prepare some harder materials. Perhaps I could also learn chemistry?"

Anya was practically slapped across the face by this child.

Her face flushed abit, and Vanessa shot Miriam a disapproving look. As if Miriam was merely falsely boasting about her intellectual capabilities.

Her father, on the other hand, frowned.

Taking her by the hand, he yanked her foward and snarked "You will apologize for lying to Ms. Hart. I know you want to impress her but lying and boasting on false claims will get you no where."

In her fathers heart, he thought this daughter of his was rather stuck up. Most of the toys he bought for her over the years, she refused to even touch. Instead she always played with that plain wool ball.

She hated the main drawing room, and just sat in her room all day long, or went to play by herself in the garden.

Stephen couldn't wait until he could wed this daughter off.

He wondered if he could bamboozle some richer family into taking her off his hands.

The biggest knot in his heart was the fact that she looked almost exactly like her mother. The only thing that reminded him of himself in her was the eyes.

Looking up at her father, Miriam doesn't know why but she decided to send him a glare.

Stephen's eyes widened. Since when did this daughter of his have so many facial expressions?

"I am not lying. I'll swear on the bible!" Miriams young squeaky voice piped out, as she turned her hand towards a small Bible over on a mantle nearby.

Starting to walk over, she was stopped by an icey grip that hurt so bad her eyes teared up at the abrupt rush of pain.

"I'll have to flog you like your naughty older brother and sister."

Miriam blanked out for a moment before she knew which sister he was actually referring too. Danella.

Danella she had only seen once, and when she did see her... lets just say she reminded her of a gorilla at the zoo. Completely out of control. Miriam suspected she had a mental illness.

And the naughty brother was obviously Joseph.

Luckily he had been shipped off to God knows where by her father, otherwise she was afraid she might have to sleep with one little eye of hers open.

"Miriam, you know lying while swearing on the bible is a huge sin. I didn't raise you to be like this. I ought to ship you off to a convent." Said her father with a stormy look in his eyes that was begining to brew.

Realizing that this villainous father of hers was probably not bluffing, she decided to call in reinforcements.

Turning her head towards where Beatrice was standing, a respectful distance away, she pointed her free hand and shouted "Tell them Beatrice, I have been watching Beatrice read ever since I can remember. She talks to herself softly alot when she reads so I once asked her to tell me me what sound each letter made. And thats how I learned how to read."

It was at this moment that Beatrice's whole face went a pallid white, a flowery pink, and then back to looking pale as white linen sheets again.

The teacher duo, and villainous father, all looked at Beatrice at once.

Beatrice shot a complicated gaze at Miriam.

Meanwhile, inside Beatrices body, her heart was pounding wildly. Fear, excitement, but mostly fear.