Ah, a new story for my readers…about time, huh? I'm sorry that I haven't been updating any of my stories yet (I have a serious case of writer's block for Nefarious Visions) but I hope that this new story will be a pleasant break. Enjoy! –Shelby-
Disclaimer: I do not own the YuGiOh series or any names mentioned.
January 1, 1849
Dear Brother,
Happy New Year! I'm glad you enjoyed the Christmas gift I sent you. It was rather hard to get my hands on that model steamship, but it was worth every penny to hear how much you liked it.
As you know, I'll be in the town of Montgomery, Alabama for as little as three weeks and down to your town, Columbus, Georgia. I'm coming to finalize a deal on cotton crops from Barbour County down to Apalachicola Bay, Florida. I also wanted to stop in for a visit to see my little brother and his fiancé.
God bless you.
Your brother, Seto Kaiba
It had been three weeks since Mokuba Kaiba's older, and still unmarried, brother Seto had sent him that letter. The servants of Kaiba Hall, with the inclusion of Mokuba's fiancé Serenity Wheeler, were trying to prepare for the gentleman's arrival at eight o'clock that evening. The head household servant, a widower named Yami Marik, ordered the servants to polish The mahogany stair banisters and tables, the checkered black-and-white marble floor was to be wiped until you could see your reflection in it, flowers were to fill the wall sconces and coffin niches on the first, second, and third floors. The guest bedroom was to be laid with fresh linens and a nosegay of peonies and marigolds to be placed in a vase on the small roll-top desk. When everything was said and done, all was ready.
The servants bustled into the kitchen and checked on the dinner. It was sure to be fantastic; lobster on long grain rice, sweet potato casserole, and cured honey ham with fresh pineapple rings, spicy turtle soup and finally lemon meringue pie for dessert.
Mokuba walked into the first floor sitting room and looked at his reflection in the large Belgian mirror. Black curls were pulled back into a tail at the back of his neck to reveal a tanned, handsome face. His blue eyes were mysterious and wise for one his age, a mere twenty-one. A small black mustache daintily graced the top of his full mouth. In his dark green waist coat and doeskin trousers, he made a cutting figure. A soft rustling behind him made him turn to greet two young girls.
One was shorter with auburn hair, the other slightly taller with golden locks. The auburn-haired beauty in pink chiffon was his fiancé, Serenity. She grinned and clasped the hands to her chest to straighten the ruby necklace she wore. A matching ruby ring stood out against her fashionably pale skin: these were engagement gifts from Mokuba. She walked to Mokuba and looked at him with loving eyes. At an age of sixteen, Serenity was wise and loved Mokuba for sharing her love of Christ.
The older girl was Serenity's sister, Joey. Joey, at seventeen, had always disliked her birth name 'Joline'. She liked it best when people called her 'Joey' or simply 'Jo'. Joey's long blond tresses had been fashioned in bouncing ringlets that cascaded down her back, tortoiseshell combs holding the locks in place. A navy ribbon was tied halfway down her slender neck in a tiny bow. Her gown was an icy blue taffeta that flowed gracefully over the hoop and petticoats and down to the floor, covering her blue-slippered feet. Lace with pearls dotted the boat neckline, sleeve cuffs and hem. The shine from the pearls gave her bare shoulders a glowing, creamy complexion. Her brown eyes, lighter than Serenity's, shone wisely and snapped with mischief. Serenity opened her arms and Joey rushed forth, the twinkling laughter harmonizing as the embraced lovingly.
"Oh, after all these years my family will finally be together." Mokuba joined the merriment and hugged them both, lingering a moment to brush a kiss over Serenity's lips. Joey blushed and seated herself on a love seat.
"Yes! I am so excited to meet your brother, Mokuba. Aren't you excited, Joline, Dear?" Serenity sat down on a small stool near the fireplace. She seemed to expel excitement, for Joey could not stop trembling.
"Please don't call me Joline, Sister. I don't like that name," Joey sniffed. Serenity only smiled.
"Don't be so sure, Dear. One day a man will say your name and it will be the sweetest sound you'll ever hear. If you're anything like me you'll even hear bells! Besides, it's time to grow up, Joline. We're not children anymore." Despite the fact that Serenity was younger than Joey, she always seemed to be the wiser.
"She's right, Joline," Mokuba interjected. "I never liked the way my name sounded until Serenity said it that day we were introduced at the warehouse. I thought God had sent an angel by mistake, but I realized that she was the one love of my life. I wanted nothing more than for her to say my name again and again." He looked at his fiancé and beamed.
The sudden sound of hoof beats broke the romantic reverie.
"Oh, he's here!" Serenity nearly jumped off her stool. "Come, Joline, we must make a graceful entrance!" Joey took Serenity's hand, giggling, and run up the first flight of stairs. The large crystal drop chandelier blacked any view up to the landing, so the girls took the opportunity to observe the elder Kaiba before they were introduced.
Mokuba paused to brush dust off his shoulders and opened the double doors.
Stepping out onto the veranda, Mokuba stood between two of the thirteen plaster-on-brick columns that surrounded the house, reminiscent of the Greek Revival style. He waited patiently as a stable boy took the sweating horse from the hands of a dashing gentleman. The man turned and smiled widely.
"Mokuba, my dear brother, I have missed you!" Seto doffed his hat and embraced his brother. Mokuba stepped back and observed Seto.
Seto had always been handsome (NO DUH!) and had no trouble with female admirers (NO SHIT!) but at age twenty-five, he was in his prime. His brunette mane was glossy and soft to the touch, his clean-shaven cheeks smooth. His deep blue eyes had attracted many a soul but Seto still hadn't found himself a wife. Seto was dressed in a white naval uniform that glowed in the moonlight; his medals shining and the gold braid signifying his rank as captain.
Mokuba ushered him into the house with a clap on the back.
"Ah, it feels so good to be home!" Seto sighed. It was true: Seto had left home when he was twenty and help Mokuba get an apprenticeship with a colleague with a series of cotton warehouses. Seto had gone overseas and trained in the British Navy, graduating at the top of his class. He returned to America and stared a co-operative cotton exchange with a local Columbus farmer, Mr. Tristan Taylor. Sub-managing a steamship line to transport the cotton, Mokuba had gained his apprenticeship and replaced his brother as Mr. Taylor's business partner, leaving Seto to carry out the establishment's more foreign affairs.
"Yes, it is so good to have you back at Kaiba Hall," Mokuba commented. He looked up to the landing and smiled secretly. "May I introduce you to some lovely ladies, Brother?"
"Yes, I've been waiting to meet this beautiful lady that has captured by brother so fiercely," Seto chuckled. At this cue, Mokuba held out his hand toward the landing and breathed proudly as Serenity began her descent.
She looked beautiful. She seemed to float down the grand, curving staircase and drifted silently to Mokuba's side. He smiled proudly.
"This is my fiancé, Miss Serenity Wheeler. She and her sister are the wards of Mr. and Mrs. Yami Bakura." Serenity held out her hand and Seto bowed correctly over it, kissing it lightly.
"Ah, so you are as beautiful as Mokuba claims you are. His rambling doesn't do you enough justice, Miss Serenity." Serenity's cheeks colored as she received his compliment.
"Thank you so much, Captain. My sister is here as well," she looked at Mokuba and he nodded. Simultaneously, Joey began her graceful descent down the stairs.
She drifted down with the grace Serenity only wished for. Her bare shoulders were squared, her chin up, eyes shining. Seto gasped quietly at this sight before him. She floated in her icy cloud and smiled at her sister's side.
"May I present Miss Joline Wheeler," Mokuba said. Seto's shocked expression, however hard to tried to mask it, did not go unnoticed. Serenity smiled as well.
"Miss Joline, the pleasure is entirely my own," Seto bowed low over her hand. Joey's cheeks colored brightly as he kissed her hand with more pressure than decorously appropriate. He looked up and, too, blushed lightly.
"Now that the introductions have been taken care of, let's go eat!" Mokuba laughed and linked Serenity's arm through his. Joey stayed aback until a light touch at her elbow brought her back to reality.
"Shall we, Miss Joline?" Seto linked her arm through his. She could feel the strong, corded muscles of his upper and lower arms, relishing in this contact more than she should have.
The evening went by pleasantly and with much laughter. The dinner was enjoyed by all, Seto vigorously complimenting the servants on their culinary expertise. Conversation flowed freely through the group. Seto was telling tales from his days in England, his voice low and then high with the emotion of the story. Joey was caught in every word. When the ladies were excused for after dinner relaxation, Mokuba took out his cigars and passed one to his brother, who seemed far away and looking in the direction of the sitting room where the ladies were.
"What is on your mind, Seto?" Mokuba mumbled as he poured Seto a tumbler of whiskey. He filled his own glass and looked up at the still oblivious Seto.
"Hm? What was that you said, Mokuba?" Seto shook his head and blushed in embarrassment as he took the tumbler from his brother's outstretched hand.
"You're thinking about Miss Joline, aren't you?"
"Hm? What was that you said, Serenity?" Joey cleared her head of thoughts about Seto Kaiba and turned to address her sister. Serenity smiled and handed her a teacup.
"You're thinking about Captain Kaiba, aren't you?" Joey's blush made Serenity only smile wider.
"Oh, you do! You do like him!" Serenity sat by Joey and hugged her tightly. "And just think, Joline, if you married him, we would all be related! Wouldn't that just be wonderful?"
The men had finished their whiskey and cigars and joined the ladies again for evening entertainment. With much persuasion, Joey got up and crossed over to the Chickering grand piano and sat down gracefully, her dress billowing over the stool. She played the opening notes of 'The Tennessee Waltz' and prompted the guests to dance. Much merriment filled the evening until at last Serenity and Joey had to leave for their mansion, Apple Springs.
"Good night, my dear," Mokuba whispered quietly to Serenity under a magnolia tree. "Soon you'll be here to stay." He brushed a kiss across her upturned lips and smiled as he held her close.
Joey smiled from the carriage but wished Serenity would hurry her goodbye. Joey wanted to get as far from the enchanting Captain Seto Kaiba as she could. A figure appeared at the side of the carriage and reached inside. Joey nearly screamed but realized it was the very man she wished not to see.
"Miss Joline, could I speak with you for a moment?" Captain Kaiba asked quietly. Joey nodded and let Seto help her out of the carriage. He guided her to a secluded gazebo and held her against him dangerously.
"What be the meaning of this forward behavior, Captain?" Joey struggled to be free but realized to her dismay that the very muscled arms she found so attractive now held her against her will.
"I'm so sorry, Miss Joline, but I needed to tell you right away!" Seto breathed, his breath hot against her soft face. She turned her big brown eyes up to his sapphire blue ones and waited for an explanation.
"I didn't think that I'd be infatuated so easily," he whispered, "but, alas, I am. Oh, Miss Joline, I am entirely smitten with you! I am going down to Eufaula, Alabama for a month but you must let me call upon you whence I return. Will you wait to see me again?" Seto leaned down and pressed his lips softly against the golden curls at her forehead.
"Oh, Captain Kaiba, I had no idea you felt this way! Surely I will wait for you...but I must know one thing. Are you as devoted a Christian as your brother?" Seto smiled and kissed her forehead again.
"'Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.'" Joey sighed as he quoted a verse from 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8.
"Yes, I am a Christian," Seto murmured. "Would it matter if I wasn't?"
Joey looked at him with shocked eyes. "Of course it would! I would never give myself to a man who did not share my faith...no matter how much I like him." Her last words waned to a whisper.
"You do like me, then?" he whispered. Joey blushed deeply and Seto only smiled wider.
"I do. I do like you," she murmured quietly. She felt a strong hand underneath her chin, tilting her face upwards.
"It should please you, then, to know that I like you too."
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