The Battered Bracelet

Jacob, Year 5

In the 1760s life was tough so you had to keep your secrets secret. Especially, for a Catholic. Our story starts in a beautiful, mature young lady’s house: Fairfax House. She had been working on this invention for a very long time. She was making the beautiful bracelet. She retreated to her writing table.

“Lady Anne?” the voice asked. “Aah, Lady Anne, there you are.” It was one of her many servants, Lola.

“What do you want!”

“I just wanted to know if you wanted some dinner,” she panted, “what are you working on?”

“Nothing” she said sternly, pushing back her Catholic bracelet carefully. After all, Anne didn’t trust Lola completely. “Now leave me alone!” she demanded. Anne let out a deep sigh and carefully lifted her writing table and reached for her bracelet.

“Oh, did you want that dinner?” Lola asked.

“Get out!” snapped Anne. She sat back and fear flooded her, had she seen? Anyway, she’d finished. Anne slipped her bracelet onto her wrist. She gasped with delight. It was beautiful. However, due to Anne’s religious dedications she knew she couldn’t go out wearing the ever so beautiful bracelet. Why, I hear you ask? Ah, well that would probably have something to do with the big symbol for being Catholic dangling from her bracelet.

This bracelet saw many things from its view on its owner’s wrist. It saw: prayers in the morning, feasting in the day and nightmares in the night. Awful nightmares in the night where she reached for her bracelet and grasped it to her chest. Today Anne was travelling with her bracelet in her luggage. It was a grave risk. They were going to an inn in London as Anne had an appointment with the bank of England. So it was very important that the bracelet wasn’t seen in public. Anne slipped into her sedan chair with her luggage in her hand. The journey was long and rough. After a few hours they arrived in London, the inn wasn’t far so they decided to walk where they were staying.

It was a brief five-minute walk to their inn. It was ‘The Bird’s Nest Inn’. Anne left her luggage in the care of Lola, the only servant she had decided to take on her stay in London. Anne left her luggage and departed for the bank. Lola sat down next to the luggage. She stared at it. She felt like something was staring back.

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