Chapter 1

Fifteen year old Jason was returning early from his fathers shop in the dusk of a cold December day, when he spotted the two children crouched in the entryway to his fathers home.

“What are you children doing here?” he inquired, as he approached.

“Master, may we go inside for a few minutes?” the closest begged him from the darkened entryway.

“Why are you not at home? It is past time for children to be indoors in this weather,” Jason told them.

“We no longer have a home, Master,” the second wailed through her tears.

“What?” Jason exclaimed, “what do you mean you no longer have a home?” He was nearly to the front door now and could just see that it was actually two girls there in the entryway. They were in summer sack dresses, with no shoes or coats and were very cold. They were shaking and their teeth were chattering as they huddled together in the cold shadows.

Jason opened the door with his key, and told them, “Go inside. You will freeze to death out here like that.”

“Thank you, Master, “both girls replied as they carefully rose to their feet and scurried inside. Jason closed the door behind them.

The hallway was quite dark as only one lantern had been lit. He ushered the two girls into the first room, the small parlor. There was a nice fire in the fireplace, but no candles or lanterns were lit yet.

“Just like father,” Jason said under his breath and half to himself, “don’t waste anything. No light until it is needed. I am surprised that there is a fire.” Jason picked up a taper, lit it from the fire, and went to light several candles for more light.

In the meantime the two girls had hurried over to the fireplace and were warming themselves there. They held on to each other as they huddled near the fire.

When Jason had the candles lit and burning satisfactorily, he picked up the holder and carried it over toward the girls. One of the first things that he noticed was the strange dark stains on the backs of the girls dresses. Next was the fact that they were just barely able to stand while holding on to each other.

“How long have you girls been outside like that?” he demanded. They turned to face him and the one on the right was the one that replied.

“We don’t know, Master. We ran away from our old home when our old Master beat us again this afternoon. We could not stay there any longer,” she replied.

“Ran away?” Jason asked, startled. “What do you mean he beat you?”

“Yes, it was the fourth time, Master,” the other girl, the one on the left answered in tears. Both girls then turned so that their backs were facing him and lifted up their sack dresses, revealing their stripped and bleeding backs, butts and thighs to Jason’s candle light. Jason was shocked beyond belief. How could anyone do that to children, he wondered? It was immediately apparent that these girls were in need of some medical attention.

“Come with me,” he told them, his original task forgotten, as he turned and led the way upstairs to his bedroom. They all proceeded up the stairs and down a hall to a room near the rear of the house. It contained a large bed, a desk, several chairs, a wash stand, and a good size schrank. The fire in the fireplace was lit, making it much cozier than the stairway and hall had been.

“Remove your dresses, and sit near the fire,” Jason directed them. He poured water in the basin on the wash stand and wet a wash cloth. He brought both over near the fire. Wringing out the cloth, he asked, “What are your names?”

“I am April and my sister is August, Master,” the first, the one always on the right, answered.

“Why did your Master whip you?” he next asked.

“We don’t know Master. He never tells us,” the second, the one always on the left, answered.

Jason then went to the schrank and opened one of the drawers inside it and removed a large jar of yellow salve. He placed this near the fire to warm it and make it easy to apply. He also removed two large fluffy towels from a shelf in the schrank and also brought them over by the fire to warm.

Moving a chair over by the fire, he said, “April, sit on the chair and I will clean your back and apply some salve to it.”

“Yes, Master,” she replied as she sat on the chair. Jason started to wash the blood from her back. April moaned and tears flowed down her face.

“Is the pain too much?” Jason asked, seeing her tears.

“It is painful, Master, but not as bad as the whipping,” she murmured through her ragged breathing and tears. Jason then applied the salve to her back as gently as possible. When he had finished there he told her, “Now stand so I can reach your butt and thighs.”

“Yes, Master,” April replied and stood. Jason then worked on her butt and thighs. When finished, he took one of the towels and draped it around her. As small as she was, it covered almost all of her body from her shoulders to just above her knees.

“Go sit near the fire,” Jason told her.

“August, it’s your turn,” he said then. She came and sat on the chair. She was already crying.

“You will be all right soon,” Jason told her. He proceeded to treat her back, butt, and thighs as he had her sister’s. When done, he also wrapped her in a towel and had her sit near the fire. He rinsed out the wash cloth and hung it near the fire to dry. The water was dumped in the slop bucket to be removed later.

“I am going to the kitchen to get something to eat,” he told the girls, “would you like something too?”

“Yes, Master, please. We have not eaten in two days,” they both replied, again in tears.

“Your old Master didn’t feed you either?” he asked, again shocked.

“No, Master. Not yesterday or today either. Also numerous times in the past,” they both murmured. Jason was beside himself when he left the room, wondering what sort of man their old Master could have been?

In the kitchen, Jason took a loaf of fresh baked bread and cut it into slices, placed a generous slab of butter on a small plate along with a small knife to spread it. He then added three bowls and spoons to the tray. Taking it over to the stove, the cook filled the three bowls with a thick stew that was simmering on the back of the stove.

“So hungry tonight, young Master?” she inquired.

“No, I have guests today,” Jason replied quietly. He took the tray and left the kitchen quickly before anymore questions could be asked.

On returning to his room, he found the girls still huddled together in front of the fire. They were warmer and obviously close to sleep.

“Is anyone interested in eating?” Jason asked after observing them for a short time. At the sound of his voice and the mention of food, both girls heads came up rather quickly and they turned toward him with some difficulty.

“Oh yes, Master,” April replied, “food is very important.” Jason moved over to the fireplace and set the tray down on the rug in front of it. They all gathered around it with Jason centered on the fireplace facing it. April was on his right and August was on his left. They both looked at the food hungrily, but neither touched anything.

Jason picked up a bowl and spoon and started to eat. The girls still sat there watching. Their big eyes followed every move he made. Jason retrieved a piece of the bread and dunked it in the stew and ate part of it. The girls still had not moved or eaten anything.

“Aren’t you hungry?” he asked, finally.

“Yes, Master,” both girls breathed in tears.

“Why are you not eating then?” he asked.

“You have not given permission yet, Master,” April whispered in fear.

“Permission?” Jason asked, in confusion. “The food is here, eat. What is this permission?”

“We are not allowed to eat until the Master gives permission. Often he would have us sit on the floor with the food there, but not allow us to eat, only watch others eat. He is a very cruel man,” August said as tears rolled down her cheeks.

“The food is here. Eat. You need no permission here. It is good manners to wait until the host has started before you begin, but no permission is required,” he told them. Both girls look at each other in wonder.

“May we put some butter on the bread, Master?” April asked, very quietly.

“Yes, surely. That is what it is here for,” Jason assured her. April proceeded to slather butter on her slice of bread. She was followed by August. Both girl took a bite. There was a look of immense satisfaction on their young faces as they chewed the bread. Shortly, August said, “We love butter, Master.”

“Don’t neglect the stew. It is quite good,” Jason reminded them.

“We may have the stew, also?” April asked, again in wonder.

“Yes, of course,” Jason told them. “That is why there are three bowls here.” Both girls gasped in wonder.

“We thought the bread was our meal, Master,” August said.

“I brought a bowl of stew for each of us,” Jason told them, “the bread was for all, along with the butter.”

“Thank you so much, Master,” both girls whispered as they rose to their feet and moved to kiss Jason on the cheek. Both were crying and their breathing was a little ragged. Jason was more than a little surprised. He reached up, placed a hand on each girls hip and pulled them both into himself more closely. They had both warmed up. They certainly are sweet girls, he thought to himself.

When Jason released them after a few minutes, both girls returned to their place and picked up a bowl of stew. They sniffed it with their eyes closed. The looks on their twelve year old faces were one of magic and pure delight.

Next they picked up a spoon and dug in to the stew. The look on their faces became even more amazing when they found that the stew was still warm. They immediately commenced the important task of eating the stew as quickly as possible to insure it was not taken away from them.

In a short time the stew bowls were empty, and the girls had stew all around their mouths. They had used the last of their pieces of bread to clean the bowls out. They again looked immensely proud of themselves.