Anna and the Gardener's Gift

By Sarah Alita Wark

Anna and her mother have lived and worked all Anna's life for the royal Romanov family. When her mother dies suddenly she is hidden by her friends to avoid homelessness. Several chance encounters with the princess make her more careful but what will become of her as winter approaches? Trying to make adult decisions is difficult when you are twelve, but she is assured that prayer will help her find God's plan. Will He tell her in time what she should do?

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Apr 13, 2023
• ISBN: 9781664296114

Sarah Alita Wark

Sarah Alita Wark is a registered nurse, mother and wife from beautiful New Brunswick, Canada. With a love of reading,writing and children, this book is her first. Always fascinated by the Romanov family, Sarah has weaved a fictional peek into their era and into the lives of their staff. Anna in particular, is a character created for Sarah's 12 year old niece Phoebe who shares her love of reading, animals and outdoor adventures.

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Copyright © 2023 Sarah Alita Wark.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by

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without the written permission of the author except in the case

of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

WestBow Press

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and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-6642-9612-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-9611-4 (e)

WestBow Press rev. date: 04/11/2023

This book is dedicated to the avid young

reader, 3 of whom, helped me to write it.

They are:

Phoebe Knox, my amazing neice and idea person,

Bentley Hamm, who has depicted the characters,

and

Eden Tyler, who has encouraged me from start to finish.

Enjoy!

CONTENTS

1     Midnight Scare

2     Chance Encounter

3     Surprise Invitation

4     Bonfire Night

5     Leaving Home

6     The Prodigal Returns

The%20Gardener%27s%20Gift%20Character%20Legend.jpg

ONE

Midnight Scare

A nna’s mother, Sofia, died in service to the Romanov family in the spring of 1912. She was young and strong and had been a faithful servant in the palace since her teenage years. Anna and her mother had lived and worked in the luxurious Winter Palace in St. Petersburg for all but a brief time when Anna was first born. As soon as Anna was old enough, she had been put to work in the palace, doing anything her mother thought she could to help. The children of staff for the Romanovs were also given a small amount of time each day to learn, and one of the older valets assisted the children with their studies when able.

When Sofia took sick, the palace staff thought to shield Anna by keeping her away from her mother. The last few days of her life, Sofia was quarantined to an unused portion of the palace. So then it came as a complete surprise to Anna that she found herself orphaned within a week of her mother taking ill. Anna had not even said goodbye to her. In shock, Anna convinced herself that the death was all a ruse to escape the difficult life they shared. Several days went by after the brief funeral. Eventually Anna realized that it must not have been, for by now, her mother would have come for her, and she had not. Anna’s father had died years earlier, in service to the emperor of Russia, Nicholas II. As the tsar of Russia, Nicholas II and his imperial family were the ruling royalty for all of Russia. So now, without warning, Anna was officially an orphan. Her only other family was Peter, an older brother away in the military, training to serve the emperor as well. The staff wrote to Peter to inform him of the death of his mother immediately. Peter would not be released from service to come home, even temporarily.

The servants and maids—who all loved Anna’s mother deeply—were unsure what to do with Anna. She could see them whispering, staring, and weeping for her, and she despised it. Anna looked just like her mother had—slight in frame and tall for her twelve years. She had wispy black hair that was an almost shocking contrast to her pale skin. Her huge, dark, and serious eyes took up most of her face. The only other distinctive feature Anna possessed was a rather large apple-shaped birthmark on her neck. She had begun to be more conscious of it lately and normally kept it covered.

After several days of fuss and murmurings, she found herself being woken in the night by a servant. Due to her drowsy state, she was half carried and half ran to the nearby stable. It was a cold, dark night, and she could not remember ever being outside at such an hour. The faint light of the silver moon was barely enough to guide them from the palace, along the well-worn trail. Huge shrubbery banked both sides of the path, dark and thick and silent as they hurried through. It was so quiet, as if even the cedar of the hedge had been sworn to secrecy that night.

Suddenly the barn doors swung open with barely a sound. Anna was grabbed roughly in the dark, swung up and carried by strong, firm arms. She could not have escaped had she wanted to. A small cry of fear escaped her lips, and a quick but gentle hand slapped over her mouth. Feeling more curious than afraid, she did not make another sound or squirm to get loose. The gentle handling informed her that it was someone she knew carrying her. In the dark, they hurriedly moved through a massive space for several minutes before coming to a stop. She felt herself being passed to another pair of hands and carried gently along. She spotted a small light ahead, and at this point, she was lowered down to walk. Anna led the way into a room of sorts. It was dark with deep recesses and tresses that loomed large overhead, like giant beams of strength. There were few items to see in the space, most notably a candle burning in each corner. Peering at her were several faces, at least ten. It pleased her to see that she knew most of them. At least I’m not being kidnapped, Anna told herself.

She looked behind her to see who had brought her this far and saw several of the servants from the palace who she knew by name.