Workhouse Waif: A Victorian Romance (Westminster Orphans, #2) / Westminster Orphans (ePub)

Suddenly orphaned at the age of 7.

Thrown into the workhouse by an indifferent uncle.

Tormented by cruel guardians and a girl who hates her...

Only 7 years old, little Eliza Shaw ripped from the arms of her big sister and taken away under cover of darkness to one of London's bleakest workhouses.

Eliza, still grieving after the death of her parents and the loss of her three oldest siblings, tries to adapt to life in the workhouse with her little brother Frank.

She befriends Ginnie, and tries to survive by avoiding the cruel taunts and abuse by Daphne and the guardians, but is devastated when both her friend and her brother are one day nowhere to be found.

Life drags on, until one day there seems to be a ray of hope when she is sent to work as a housemaid for a wealthy donor. There is one big drawback: two of them are plucked from the workhouse, and the other one is none other than Daphne.

Daphne's cruelty and manipulative ways continue in the wealthy Turner household, and Eliza is often blamed for things she has not done. Time and again, she and Daphne are warned against fraternising with the young masters, lest they be instantly dismissed.

Gradually, Eliza finds a life for herself, but she always wonders what had happened to her family, so cruelly split up.

Then one day the unthinkable happens, and Eliza is forced to rely on her wits and talents to survive the cruel streets of London...