A Tongue-tying Beauty

Gina did not need a carriage and so she walked to Ansley's ranch. On her way, men of different calibres called out to her. Most of them wanted a word with the daughter of the noble Edmund but her countenance was not at all inviting.

Gina continued to wish death upon Ansley because that was the only way she could escape his touch. When she was only a few houses away from Ansley's ranch, heavy rain began to pour down.

She could not continue her journey and she could not turn back. So, she knocked on the door closest to her in hopes to find shelter until the rain passed.

'Dear child, the rain is heavy this noon, whatever are you doing outside? You must come in.' The plump lady who opened the door said to Gina.

'I am most grateful for your kindness.' Gina entered the house.

She saw how empty it looked. There were only but a few chairs. The paints on the walls had cracks in them. It was nothing like the luxury she was accustomed to. But judging by a glance, she could tell it was an unwanted's house.

The unwanted were a descendant of people who fled the war front when Garld went to war. For many centuries, Garld treated them like castaways. Only a handful of people associated with them and so the unwanted lived a very difficult life.

They were often poor and bore one too many children. It was not uncommon to find them in the North of Garld but a greater population of them could be found in the South. That made banditry the order of the day in that part of Garld.

'Dear child, shall I make you a cup of tea?' The plump woman asked Gina.

Gina knew she was not supposed to be in an unwanted's house, especially because her father was a noble.

It was very possible for Edmund, her father, to get stripped of his title if it was found out that his daughter was in the house of an unwanted.

'I appreciate your kindness. But I must decline your offer of tea. Thank you.' Gina said as she swatted a fly from her face.

A girl about her age then came in from a room in the house. The girl was beautiful with hair so long and thick.

Gina had never seen her before and so it made her curious to know why someone so beautiful was in a house so ugly.

'Mother, I have put him to sleep.' The girl said to the plump woman who had welcomed Gina to the house.

Gina could not believe that the girl was an unwanted. She thought to herself saying 'what a shame.'

'Very well then. You must sit with Gina. Of course, you know her, her father is Delve Edmund, the noble.' The plump woman smiled at her daughter.

Gina was surprised that the woman knew her name. She did not reckon how popular she was among the people of Garld.

'Mother, we must not have a noble in our home!' The girl said.

As she spoke she avoided looking at Gina.

'I must apologize for barging in this way. The rain stopped me on my track, and this was the closest house. I shall take my leave immediately after the rain passes.' Gina said.

That was not how she desired to act around unwanteds but the beauty of the girl before her tied her tongue.

'Very well then, I shall just resume my painting.' The young girl said.

'You paint?' Gina sprang to her feet.

After her aunty, Donna told her she needed talent to get a man, she had been secretly searching for what she was good at and so she showed interest in everything, even in Missy's drawing.

'Whatever do you want to do with it? Shall you tell the king to strip us of our desires too?' The girl asked.

'Martha! Do not talk to a noble's daughter that way!' Her mother cautioned.

Gina understood what Martha spoke of. The unwanteds lived a life according to rules. There were days they were not allowed outside of their homes. There were times they were not allowed to board a ferry.

There were certain things they could not buy and it was unheard of for an unwanted to marry a townsperson. They always travelled far to settle down.

'I must apologise.' Gina sat down and wished the rain away but it only came pouring down even heavier.

'Do not bother. It is your kind of backward thinking that has put my family and me in this state.' Martha walked out of the room.

Gina could not say she understood her plight for she did not. But she could imagine how Martha felt for she felt that way under her uncle, Benedict's roof.

The rain did not seize in Garld for hours and so Gina had to stay in the unwanted's house. But unlike the showers in Gerald, Saur was dry.

Richard had spent days in his hometown and every day felt the same. There was a routine in place and he hated it so much. All he wanted was to return to Gerald and set his eyes on Missy.

He missed her face. He wanted to talk to her again to hear her voice that sounded like a dream. But alas, he had to stay in Saur and plan his father's funeral.

'Richard, you must go to your uncle, Oliver. Tell him we demand his presence at once.' Cordelia, Richard's aunty told him.

You see, Oliver did not like Lucy, Richard's mother. And so he removed himself from the planning of his brother's funeral. Oliver had kept something dark in his mind for years and he feared that it was going to get to the surface if he was around Lucy.

'If he desires to be here, then he shall. I must go around to see my father's ranch.' Richard said.

Thomas, Richard's father had been a ranch owner when he was alive. Richard loved to watch his father work on the ranch when he was much younger and so made a resolve to own a ranch himself.

When he ran to Gerald, that was the first thing he acquired and just like his father before him, his ranch flourished.

'Richard! Do not speak to your aunty in that manner.' Lucy said.

'Mother, please. I do not feel at home here and I will not do anything to make myself less comfortable than I already am.' Richard stormed out of the house.

He was frustrated and his mother knew why. They had spent many days in Saur and the plans for Thomas' burial were not moving forward. But that was Oliver's fault.

In Saur, funeral planning was headed by the oldest man in the family of the dead. At the time of Thomas' death, Oliver was the oldest man in the family and he refused to take part in the planning.