Chapter 7: Rebellion at the Dinner Table

Agnes lifted the iron pot lid and found nothing beneath it.

"She did not cook?"

Vanessa ran in from her room. "I sent her to the kitchen myself."

Calvin kicked a washbasin across the floor. The crash silenced the house.

"You were told to make lunch," he said to Vanessa. "Instead, you went back to bed."

"Elena always cooks." Vanessa folded her arms. "How was I supposed to know she'd suddenly act like a lady? She eats our food and sleeps on our land."

Calvin slapped her.

Vanessa stumbled, one hand pressed to her cheek. Her father had never struck her before. Tears appeared at once.

"This is Elena's fault! Ever since she woke up, everyone has gone mad."

Agnes pulled her close, but even she knew better than to challenge Calvin while his reputation was bleeding in public.

"Help your mother," Agnes said. "Your father is angry."

Vanessa stormed toward the kitchen.

Vera held up the eggshells she had found near the stove. "She took fine flour too. Two eggs, at least."

Agnes's fury returned. Elena had not merely refused to work. She had eaten food reserved for the favored children and kept money in her own pocket.

"Tonight I'll teach her what happens to thieves."

Calvin paced beneath the persimmon tree. Elena's sudden defiance frightened him more than the missing food. She knew about Daniel's transfers. She knew how to make the villagers listen. If her examination score was as high as the teacher hinted, university could place her beyond his control.

"Watch the mail route," he told Agnes. "The acceptance letters should arrive soon. Robert Hale must not hand hers directly to her."

Agnes's eyes sharpened.

In Elena's first life, they had already made this decision. The letter would disappear, and Elena would be told she had failed. With no school and no money, she would be pushed into factory work or marriage. Either path kept her wages and property within Calvin's reach.

"If the letter comes," Agnes said, "I'll tear it to pieces."

Calvin lowered his voice. "Do not destroy it here. Hide it in the hills where no one can connect it to us."

Vanessa paused outside the kitchen, listening. A smile slowly replaced her tears.

Elena could pretend to be clever for a few days.

Without that letter, she would still end up on her knees.