The 15th Star (A Lisa Grace History - Mystery) Read Online Free Page A

the contract you signed, you must pay off the value of learning the flag making trade, lodging, meals, and clothes, and receive a spending allowance all taken out against the wage you earn. You can work it off over the next six years or pay the sum of one hundred dollars.”
    Grace sat shocked.
    “Do you have any questions?” Mrs. Rebecca asked.
    “ No Ma’am.”
    “ Then the matter is settled. You are expected to attend church every Sunday morning, then you may do as you please the rest of the day. My daughter Mary is very generous. You should be more thankful,” Mrs. Rebecca got up and left the kitchen.
    Grace set her head upon the table and cried all day until Mrs. Bethany came in to prepare the evening meal. Grace picked up the water pail, filled it, and brought it in for Mrs. Bethany. Then she went upstairs, climbed in bed, and laid awake all night in silent distress.
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    Missus Pickersgill had been happy to find a girl who could sew. (Although Grace couldn ’t tell from her expression.) She’d sat Grace down at the table and put a paper in front of her to sign. Grace did as she was told and she’d put her x on the line. She’d been so hungry she would have signed anything.
    Later, when Mrs. Rebecca, Mrs. Pickersgill ’s Mam, had read her what she’d signed, she felt she’d been tricked. Grace was tricked into signing that she would be indentured for her food and lodging. She could work herself free in six years. Six years!
    Grace thought the paper was for her wages. How could she be so foolish? The word “wages” had led her to sign. Missus had never said the word “indentured.” Grace made her second vow. She was going to learn to read and write. She was not going to let anyone take advantage of her again.
    The thing that got her mad the most was Ma ’am, Mrs. Pickersgill, really thought she’d done Grace a favor and expected Grace to be grateful for it.
    She would say, “Grace, you are so blessed I took you in. Whatever would you do without me? It scares me to think of you without someone to look after you.”
    Grace would never understand white folk and their arrogance. A favor would be feeding her and paying her money for her work. Keeping Grace a free lady. That would have been a favor. That would have been right.
    One blessing was there was no man in the house to bother her. Mr. Jenson didn’t count. The first time she caught a glimpse of Mr. Jenson, the boarder, he seemed more afraid of her than she was of him. He was small and timid. Except for his advanced age, he seemed more a boy than a man. When in the house, he kept to himself.
    The work was long and tedious, but more proud than the fields. Even fine ladies took up sewing and embroidery. Sometimes Grace would pretend she was a fine lady sewing for fun and out of boredom. Ma ’am was mainly a ship’s flag maker. “Colors” they called them. Grace had no idea there were so many flags on a ship saying so many things. She also made flags on a pole called standards for the army and the navy. Grace was a hard worker and she learned them all. She learned how to cut the material into shapes. She learned the name of the silks and the broad clothes and the proper threads to use with each. She learned how to attach the woolen bunting. Maybe someday, when she bought her freedom, she could open her own shop and people would come to her. This was the dream that kept her going. It was a small dream, a good dream, and she didn’t feel bad about asking God to make it come true.
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    Chapter 2 - Present Day, A Secret
    In the early morning light, chilled and blustery winds buffeted Keiko as she sipped her coffee, walking quickly into the building and through the halls to her job ( her job!) at the Smithsonian Institute. She wondered if today would be the day.
    Keiko wanted to find a hero history ignored and give them the rightful standing he or she should have. Keiko just knew that person was hidden somewhere in the past. She would find him