Episode 2: The preparations

After 3 years, Anne herself urged Eleanor to leave the house and that she could suffer no longer. Eleanor was clever but was afraid to leave the house as she did not have anyone to rely upon. Anne wanted to ask about this to Mariana but Eleanor warned that no one should know that they are going to run away from the house.

-“Anne, you know that we are to run away from this house. If father comes to know of this, he would lock us in a room and mum will be hurt. Let us keep this a secret and let your poor elder sister make a plan.”

-“But, sister, if we are not successful?”

-“Don’t worry.”

Anne was happy that they were to leave the house soon. Meanwhile, Eleanor decided to make an excuse to her stepmother so that she can visit her friend in the nearby locality.

“What! We have run out of potatoes just when I wanted to have some French fries!” said

the stepmother.

“Yes. Stepmother, please allow me to go to that shop in the nearby town. I’ve heard that they sell nice and tasty potatoes which are very cheap. In this way, you can also save some money for Mariana’s birthday party.” replied Eleanor.

The stepmother was happy as she thought that she could contribute some money to the party and her daughter would be very happy about it. But she felt a little uneasy as she thought that if Eleanor would run away from the

house, then Mr. Henderson will surely divorce her. Afraid, she commanded- “I order you to come within 2 hours else I don’t know what will happen to your little sister.”

Eleanor nodded her head and said, “Mother, don’t worry. I’ll surely return home within 2 hrs.” And of went Eleanor to her friend’s house leaving behind her little sister in the house.

Eleanor had studied with Emma when she used to go to school. Now, she missed her beautiful school days because she stopped going to school a month ago as her step mother thought it useless to send her to school. On reaching Emma’s house, Eleanor knocked the door.

“Who’s it?” asked Emma.

“It’s me, Eleanor!” replied the beautiful but poorly clothed girl.

“Oh, Eleanor! Come inside!” and Emma quickly opened the door. Before Eleanor could speak, she asked, “What happened to you? Why didn’t you come to school these days?”

Emmawas very angry when she came to know that Eleanor’s stepmother treated her and her sister so badly- poor dresses, not enough food, taking away all books, stopping them from going to school, taking away all happiness from their lives and so on. “She’s your stepmother, isn’t she? Then why does she has a daughter equal to your age?” Eleanor hesitated to say it at first but then she realized that she needed help. So she blurted out everything she knew.

“My stepmother already had a baby with my father before the marriage. That baby was born at the same time as I was born. I don’t know what happened to my mother but surely, she’s not dead. She and my father probably divorced because of my father’s affair with other women. So my step mother’s path was cleared and she could easily marry my father. But my stepmother didn’t know that my father already had children and above all my father refused to give us to mum. So she tried to divert his attention from us towards her child Mariana. And now that she’s successful, she treats us worse than a servant. So we’ve decided to run away from the house.”

Hearing this, Emma understood why Eleanor came to her house. She said, “Don’t worry Eleanor! You can rely on me. I have a full-proof plan.”

When Eleanor came out of Emma’s house, 15 minutes was left to 3. There was not much time to go to the market and take part in the huge queue. So she decided to take some vegetables from her house. When she returned home, she quickly boiled the potatoes and cooked the food. On seeing this, her step mother was pleased.

“So now you’ve understood that you are just a mere servant?” asked the step mother.

“Worse than a servant”, replied Eleanor, “At least a servant is paid”.

Life was tough for the two sisters. They worked hard from morning till evening and could have rest only at night. They only knew that one day this harsh life will surely end and all those who have hurt them will surely suffer. After 3 years, Mr. Henderson got a promotion. So he had to leave for the next city for a week or two.

Mariana was becoming prettier and prettier day by day. But sadly, Eleanor was still more beautiful than her. After Mr. Henderson left Britain successfully, Mariana tried cruel means to overpower Eleanor. Eleanor was clever and she could easily defeat Mariana. Seeing this battle between the two step sisters, Mrs. Henderson realized that to make sure that Mariana is married into a rich family and to protect her position as the company’s heir, she needs to be kept out of family troubles.  So she sent Mariana to the rich boarding school in Britain and pampered her more and more. On the other hand, she felt that Eleanor and Anne were becoming out of control. Ms. Lily, a very strict woman, was asked to take care of them while Mrs. Henderson went to look after her husband in the next city who became ill. Before going, she warned, “You may run away if you wish. But remember, you may be in any part of this world, but I will surely find you.” said Mrs. Henderson.

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