Teach me your ways sensei. Glad to hear of your success! I don't think it's wrong to enjoy it, as long as we give credit where it is due. Congrats!

Man...😣 I thought it was just your classes keeping you from posting more on your story. You mentioned joint pain, which could very well be a result of uc. However, all the alarm bells are going off in my head. Have you been tested for lyme? If so, what were the results? Praying.

Aww! 🙏

Awesome Zee! Cover looks great!

Hey, maybe she's born with it

Lots I agree with here. I strongly dislike: -Most dystopian novels (with a few exceptions) mainly because its overdone and the recent works have the basic same plot. -Horror due to a highly overactive imagination that gets sucked into stories. I don't mean scary parts in movies mind you, I mean Poltergiest movie level stuff. -I really don't like "Bonnets and Bibles" novels. -I agree with @Accord64, erotic romance should be voluntarily burned. -Finally, I don't like how romance is done today. People make fun of disney movie characters for love at first sight, but not novel characters for sex after the first date (and particularly before marriage). A lot of it is degrading too. The man is usually forceful-raping the girl because he can't take it anymore-but then his bad behavior is excused in the name of love. In fact, there's a lot of excused bad behavior in romance. No one acts like a mature, stable adult, especially when the gal has two hunks to pick from and leaves both hanging for an inordinate amount of time because she's too indecisive, ignorant, and selfish to pick one, or tell both to get lost 😡

Yes

Lol, I actually woke up this morning wondering about PDs Chris. It could work either way @Sarah Daffy Private security, or police are good options if you decide to go that route.

Also, check on the phone bit. I just remembered that 1840 might be a little early for Aunt Eunice to have a phone. She might have to send another servant to fetch the police.

1700s was the first printed check I think. You may need to "check" on that SarahDaffy

See, you already have the set up for dementia here.

The timeline I visualize is as follows: 1. Raven forges the check and bolts 2. Heidi is made a house servant to pay for the debt. 3. Aunt Eunice starts to have memory issues over the next few years. She misplaces things, then berates Heidi for it. 4. Something rather expensive goes missing. Aunt Eunice's mind is really suffering by now (and dementia patients often have angry outbursts). She accuses Heidi of stealing that, and the money, then phones the police. 5. Heidi, already itching to get out of there, has enough fear drive to make the leap now. The police could find her on the run.

Well, the scenario could still work. Perhaps she has already been contemplating making a run for it, but Aunt Eunice 😉 gives her a figurative "push" out the door when she calls the police.

Hm, does she have to run away? Auntie dearest thinks that Heidi stole a lot of money already. What if other things turn up missing? There doesn't have to be a culprit. Maybe aunt has early onset dementia and sells an item, forgets about it, then blames Heidi. Heidi could run away then. Or not. The police could pick her up either way.