Lucia’s childhood was a happy one. Her father owned a shipping company, so he was away on business most of the time. Her mother and grandmother raised her in their small house on the outskirts of a large port city. They were not extravagantly wealthy, but they were certainly on the way to becoming so. Lucia had many beautiful dolls and dresses as a child. When she was six years old, she began her schooling with the children of other prominent merchants in the port. She loved to read stories with lots of adventure, like Greek myths, tales of chivalry, and stories of pirates.
All of Lucia’s tutors said she was very clever. This was true; but she was not only book smart. Her grandmother, who was very old and a bit senile, always spoke her mind in an unrestrained and sarcastic way. If she was younger, she would have been regarded as coarse, yet because of her age, most people overlooked Lucia’s grandmother’s unchecked tongue. Lucia inherited her grandmother’s sharp wit and never ceased to amaze.
Therefore, she was a lively and interesting child of ten when tragedy hit. Within a month of each other, both her father and grandmother died and were quickly followed by her mother who died of a broken heart. So, Lucia was left under the guardian ship of an estranged uncle who took over her father’s business. Her uncle was an exceedingly dull man with no business sense. However, he had great taste for liquor and gambling, and as most men with such tastes was followed by legions of debt collectors.
When in dire straits, Lucia’s uncle sold her to a woman he once knew who owned a tavern. He felt he had done the right thing. For was it no fit and proper that a girl should be under the care and tutelage of another woman? And should not his niece help him with his debt? He did provide food for her for all of three months.
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