“I am, and thankfully, so is the little girl.” She shook her head. “Mere minutes before it happened, I received one of my...sights. That is why I knew I had to act quickly.”
Her mother patted her cheek. “You have such a caring heart.”
Katrina stared at her mother for a few seconds longer. She still didn’t know if her mother truly believed she had these strangesightsof what was about to happen, only because after she had them, her mother patted her cheeks and told her what a caring heart she had—or her mother told her what a precious girl she was. Katrina was rather tired of hearing this phrase from her parent.
Wiping off the moisture from her forehead, Katrina moved her attention back to the child who was now walking with her friends up the street. Out of the corner of her eyes, a sign caught her attention, and the solicitor’s name stood out in bold letters—FRANK JAMISON, LAWYER.
“There is the building we’re looking for.” Katrina wrapped her mother’s hands around her elbow before leading them across the street.
“Oh, finally.” Her mother sighed. “I just want to be done with this nonsense. If it were up to me, we wouldn’t be here at all.” She aimed a blaming gaze toward Katrina. “Have you forgotten that your father has never contacted you this whole time?”
Inwardly, Katrina groaned. “Honestly, Mother. We have been over this several times already. I haven’t forgiven that man for not wanting to be my father. However, because of the premonition I received after getting his letter, I felt that coming here was urgent.” She tapped her mother’s fingers. “Besides that, I’ll be receiving an inheritance. Do you not think we should be able to finally get some of his money?”
“Indeed. It is long overdue.”
Her mother’s stone expression let Katrina know she didn’t want to talk anymore on this subject. To be quite honest, neither did Katrina.
The awful heat from this country had dampened her spirits considerably. It was nice to be able to receive some money from his solicitor in order to obtain new gowns for her and her mother, and passages on the ship to get them here, but Katrina knew she had to save her father even if she didn’t like him very much. He was in great danger, and if she didn’t save him, she wouldn’t get her full inheritance. She had gone twenty-four years without money, and it was high time she was rewarded.
“Let us hope the attorney is in,” Katrina said in a tight voice.
“I agree. Before you know it, we’ll be heading back to London.” Her mother’s shoulders straightened. “Just promise me that you’ll be on your best behavior.”
Shock washed over her.Best behavior?Had she not been that way since they walked off the ship? “Mother, exactly how do you wish me to act? Have I not been docile this whole time?”
Her mother huffed and shook her head. “I know my daughter well. I realize how upset you have been over this ordeal with your father, but you must put those hostile feelings aside. I don’t want to give the solicitor any reason to deny us your inheritance. I can only imagine what your father has told this man about us, and so we must present ourselves as well-bred ladies.”
Katrina snorted an unexpected laugh that left her throat. “You have got to be jesting. We are notwell-bred ladies,or have you forgotten?”
Her mother scowled. “Katrina, you know I’m quite serious. I have raised you with manners, and I have shown you how to dress and act like a lady—even if our circumstances didn’t allow for us to show it very often. However, we are here now, and wewillact like refined women. Is that understood?”
“Indubitably,” Katrina replied as she lifted her chin, trying her hardest to sound more educated this time. “I suppose my performing skills are well developed since I’ve been acting most of my life.” She struggled to smile since the real feeling running through her right now wasnotcontentment. Far from it, in fact. “Shall we proceed inside now, Mother?”
Her mother patted Katrina’s cheek. “That is a good girl.”
Katrina followed her mother inside the stuffy building. Several chairs and desks were in the main hall, but nobody occupied the area. The nearest office door was closed. From inside came the deep voices of arguing men.
“Apparently, Mr. Jamison is with another client,” her mother stated while walking to a chair and sitting.
Her mother cleared her throat a few times before a fit of coughs shook her chest. Katrina quickly reached into the sleeve at her wrist, pulled out a handkerchief, and handed it to her mother. The older woman placed the cloth against her mouth until her coughs subsided.
Katrina frowned. Her mother’s ailment had been going on for too long and becoming worse by the day. She needed a doctor soon. Hopefully, Katrina would get the money promised as stated in her father’s letter that had arrived a little over two months ago. Then they would be able to pay for Mother’s medicine.
The day the letter arrived was so clear in her mind. The tavern had been slow, which meant she and her mother hadn’t earned much money that day. Mother had stepped into the kitchen for a moment when a delivery boy brought in a missive addressed to Miss Katrina Landon. Curious to see who would be sending her correspondence, she quickly opened the paper and read... and then almost fell to the floor in shock. The very man who had abandoned them even before Katrina was born, wanted her to come to Macapá, Brazil. He was sending funds for some new dresses and for traveling expenses. The letter stated he wanted to give Katrina the money he had set aside for her inheritance, and he wanted to meet with her before he died.
Thinking it was a hoax, Katrina nearly threw the letter in the fire, but then she had received one of her forewarning visions. She pictured a man with an odd-looking dart being shot into his neck as he stood in a thick jungle. She couldn’t see a face, but the man collapsed. The next thing she saw was a house on fire. The trees around the house appeared to be the exact ones that were in her jungle vision. Deep down inside, she knew this was about the letter—about her father. He was in danger.
The next day after she’d received the letter, a solicitor arrived at their doorstep, explaining he was taking her shopping. It had been a dream-come-true. Still, Katrina was leery of it all. Why would the old man want to give her anything now when he had never acknowledged her as his daughter before?
A bead of sweat ran down her neck, and she swiped her fingers to remove the moisture. Underneath the lacy edge of her bodice, her skin itched. The blasted humidity made her clothes so bothersome.
Across the hall inside the solicitor’s office, the men’s voices lifted again—one, louder than the other. Obviously, someone wasn’t very pleased. She glanced at her mother who was also staring at the closed door.
“If that man doesn’t hurry,” Katrina stated, “I’ll be melted into a puddle by the time he is ready to meet with us.”
“As will I, dear.”
From her lips to God’s ears... Within moments, the door opened and a man stormed out. As soon as he saw Katrina and her mother, he came to a sudden stop. Probably in his early thirties, the man’s black bushy eyebrows drew together in a scowl. As he ran his steely blue gaze over Katrina, his upper lip curled in distaste. Huffing, he clamped his hat on his head, and quickly exited the building.
