Helieta sighed and thought again of Eleven and Kiki.
Over the past few days, they had become completely familiar with one another. Helieta had taken the two visiting guests from out of town through every interesting corner of the plantation.
Helieta had once hinted at the matter, asking whether Hesta had ever clearly promised them how much dowry she would give them when they married. Yet perhaps because of the language barrier, or perhaps because Hesta had truly never discussed such matters with Kiki and Eleven, Helieta discovered that her two new friends knew absolutely nothing about it.
The two girls seemed never to have considered that one day, Hesta would remarry. No matter how much property she possessed now, it would all belong to her future husband then.
If Kiki and Eleven could not claim what belonged to them now, then when they married in the future, their dowries would likely be docked until almost nothing remained... and that would put them in a truly dreadful situation.
Helieta thought of her cousin, who had married at the age of twelve. Because her aunt had remarried, her cousin's dowry had consisted of only one sheep and a young pony. That meager dowry had earned her husband's ridicule on the very first day of their marriage. In the third month after her wedding, she had died of illness.
Many people said she had died of influenza, but Helieta knew that she had died from three months of constant fear and tears shed day and night.
Seeing Kiki and Eleven's innocent expressions now, Helieta was filled with worry, but she could not explain any further to them.
"Lord, I beseech You..." Helieta clasped her hands and devoutly closed her eyes. "I beg You to watch over them as well. Let them all,