Kingdom's Dawn Read Free Page B

the evidence of a broken heart in his father’s eyes.
    â€œTess,” Peyton said, “did you know that your smile is like bright sunshine on a cloudy day?”
    Tess blushed through the dirt on her cheeks and looked shyly at the ground. Leinad figured this little girl rarely, ifever, received a compliment, and she apparently didn’t know what to do with it.
    â€œHow would you like to take a ride in the country and have a hot meal?”
    Tess looked back up at Peyton. “But mister, Miss Wimble won’t take kindly ta me bein’ late for chores. She says she owns me, an’ that I’d better not run off or she’d come find me. I’s already late now, an’ I bet she’s plenty mad.”
    As if on cue, a voice screeched from down the street. “Tess! You’d better git yourself home now!”
    Leinad cringed at the sound of the woman’s voice as she came closer.
    â€œI got floors need sweepin’ an’ clothes need washin’. If you want your meal today, you’d better git after it!”
    Now we know where Tess learned her fine language skills
, Leinad thought.
    The woman, her form plump and her countenance stern, ignored Peyton and Leinad as she marched up to Tess, grabbed her upper arm, and began to drag her down the street. Tess glanced over her shoulder at Peyton almost apologetically.
    â€œExcuse me, madam.” Peyton took a few strides to cover the distance between them.
    The woman stopped and faced Peyton. “What do you want?”
    â€œI don’t believe the girl wants to go with you. Are you her mother?”
    The woman squinted at Peyton. “I’m the only mother she’s got, so she’s mine.”
    â€œIt sounds to me like you’re more her master than her mother.” Peyton’s stern demeanor made it clear that he would not be dealt with lightly.
    â€œSo what if she’s my servant. I’ve fed her for years, an’ I figure that makes me her owner.”
    Peyton’s anger was evident by his clenched jaw. “What do you figure she’s worth to you?”
    The woman’s countenance changed to one of delight. “I figure I gotta have at least eighty shillings ta compensate for all the hassle she’s caused me.”
    Peyton grabbed his money bag. “Here’s five pounds—twenty shillings more than you asked.” He placed the coins in the woman’s hands and guided Tess away from her.
    â€œI meant a hundred and eighty,” the woman said, hoping to further her profit with protest.
    â€œThe deal is done!”
    Peyton turned to face the woman squarely. She backed off immediately and walked up the street counting her treasure. She never turned to say good-bye to Tess.
    Leinad looked at Tess and felt sympathy for her. He thought he saw dread in Tess’s eyes, as though she feared her new owner could be worse than Miss Wimble.
    Peyton waited until Miss Wimble was long gone; then he knelt on one knee and placed a gentle hand on Tess’s shoulder. In this position, Tess was taller than Peyton, and he looked up into her eyes with compassion.
    â€œTess,” he said softly, “the King never intended for people to be bought and sold like cattle. I did not buy you—I bought your freedom.”
    She looked into his eyes and, as she later told Leinad,she felt real love for the first time in her life. Tears came to her eyes, and she hugged Peyton’s neck. Peyton gently hugged her back, and his eyes brimmed with tears.
    Leinad hoped that he would be as brave as his father—brave enough to reach through the dirt, the inconvenience, and the sacrifice to care for the unloved.
    Every person has a story
, he thought.
How many endure the same heartache and need the same compassion that Tess did?
    â€œCome on, Sunshine,” Peyton said to Tess. “Let’s take a ride to the country!”

A KINGDOM LOST
    Tess fell in love with country life immediately.