Chapter 5
Weeks had passed since Martha had been couped up in that little room recovering from the wounds on a body she was still struggling to adjust into and learning to get used to being called Mary, a name so foreign to her. She hadn't spoken in weeks, the sound of the voice coming out of her throat was not hers and it was difficult to get used to. The strange faces she couldn't recognize at first slowly began to become faces she got a little comfort seeing especially the little boy, but she hated the life she was living, one of poverty and lack.
Whoever brought her here could at least have given her a better life, not this poor miserable life in the body of a weak girl, a bastard at that. She had been told this morning that she was being called at the main house by the lady of the house, her supposed father's wife. From what was described to her by the little boy, she was wicked, at least to him.
Lady Winston hated the girl whose body she was in and she could see why. This girl Mary was a constant reminder that her husband was a cheating scoundrel who could not put his manhood where they belonged. She imagined having to constantly see a reminder of your husband's infidelity but still, that was no excuse to turn the child to a slave and one not treated well at that. Didn't the woman sit to reason, this girl had access to the food supply, she could easily poison everyone at once or run away with very expensive belonbings after all, what did she have to lose?
She contemplated dealing with the Winstons now she was in this body but she would have to understand them first to uncover secrets she could use against them. She had decided; she should remain mute until it was time to speak. If she was stuck in this body she might as well make proper use of her time here. Tomorrow she would answer the lady of the house and see the monster that ran the household.
Lying on the soft bed filled with silk bedspreads so soft every day had made Mary realize one thing; she loved this life, she loved being Martha. Guaranteed she was sorry for whoever had to take her place in her miserable world but whatever sent her here had a reason. She had a wretched life back there, this was a little compensation from the universe, a luxury she had only dreamed of before. She had started remembering little bits of this life she was living now, mostly in dreams and recurring events. She still struggled sometimes with the choice of words used in this world, many of which would turn heads back in her world but it was embraced here, accepted, celebrated as expressing oneself.
The thoughts of her birthday party had been keeping her awake these days, she decided it had to be grand. It would be a good opportunity to study everyone around her, the leaches, true friends, allies, and potential threats. This party would unveil her, not as the Martha they know but as the Martha she had become. Her phone beside her rang, checking the caller ID it was one of the designers she was to pick from to design her cloth, honestly, his work was trash but she gave him audience, pretending to be interested in what he claimed was so out-worldly and not fit for just anyone. She was special he kept saying, but of course, Mary knew her money made her special. Silencing the phone she decided she would ask her assistant to send him an email declining his services. She was tempted to tell him to shove his designs up his arse but she would not, for reputation sake. Closing her eyes, she drifted back to sleep, one filled with dreams of her past life, a life she would kill rather than return to.