"It's not fair," I said, my eyes brimming with tears as I glared at her. "Why didn't you bring Abby back? If the Earl had pleaded with the Queen Mother, she wouldn't have refused."
My heart ached with a familiar pain, not just for Abby, but for myself. Parental favoritism left a lifelong scar on the neglected child.
Kind and gentle Abby… If they had brought her home, her fate would have been different.
She wouldn't have died alone in that frigid wasteland.
My anger seemed to roll off Jane. Her voice was flat as she explained, "Because my father is an Earl. How could he have a daughter working as a servant? What would people think?"
"And your mother?" I pressed, unwilling to accept that Abby had been sacrificed.
Jane's smile turned bitter. She hesitated before answering, "She… she wen
