Mr. Shipley's Governess

Excerpt

Sophie Baird put one foot in front of the other on the path, crunching brown leaves as she walked. Her hands felt warm in her coat pockets. The wind softly caressed her face, a face whose blue eyes held a pain that dug deeply into her broken heart. She knew the passion of faith in God, but now existed as a wayward traveler with no hope.

Twenty-five-year-old Sophie felt the faint flicker of the fiery spirit inside, which kept dueling with her heart not to give up hope even when life treated her harshly. Her Irish roots ran deep within her soul. She grew up in a house with loving parents who came straight from the Emerald Isle after they married. Sophie recalled tales of generations past. Her da told her she possessed the same fire that burned in his people. Sophie smiled as she remembered her dear parents. They died three months ago in a terrible car accident. She wondered how God could take them with so much of their lives left to live. They never even got back to their beloved Ireland.

The cobblestone path led her home to a place no longer alive with joy and expectation, but quiet, as if the lonely old cottage in the woods waited for something or someone to come and make things right again. Sophie wiped back a tear as she neared the door. She loved this old place. Her father built it when he and her dear mother first came to America. They lived in the cottage for a few years until their income increased and they moved into a nice house in the suburbs.

Sophie enjoyed the cottage, considering it her haven when she came to stay for a bit after her parents died. The door unlocked easily enough, and she entered the kitchen to hang her coat on a peg by the door. She breathed deeply and resignedly stared at the pile of bills and paperwork on the table that needed attention. She'd procrastinated on settling her parents’ meager estate long enough and she needed to find closure

“But first, a cup of tea.” She spoke to the empty room. “Nothing soothes the soul like a hot cup of tea. At least that’s what Mum used to say.” The kettle whistled shrilly on the stove, and she poured the hot liquid into the dainty white china cup, part of a set given as a wedding present for her parents from Sophie’s aunt in Ireland. She treasured her heritage, especially considering the tales told by her parents. She never visited the Emerald Isle, but she planned to someday. Remembering her mum’s words, she sniffled.

“My darling girl, your da and I want you to go to Ireland. It is our gift to you.”

“But, Mum, you and Da were supposed to go. Your savings, does this mean you can't go now?”

“Oh, silly child, I insist that you take the ticket. If your Da hears you refuse…”

“Refuse what?” Sean Baird asked loudly as he came into the room. “My jewel, I will hear none of this. You will take this trip and finally see the land that flows through your blood.” Sophie embraced her parents in one of their final times together before the accident.

As the memory faded, she sipped her half-finished, tepid tea and sighed. She dared not dream of getting to Ireland now due to lack of finances; however, even if the money came, her mood certainly lacked the desire to travel, especially to her parents’ beloved homeland.