I don't have any excuse for the lateness of this preview other than letting my busy schedule keep me from writing (which is no excuse really). So this is your "Happy Spring Break" gift !
In case you're wondering when we'll be getting to the actual battles and the old chapters from before...they're coming...I promise! For those craving the history, there was a really cool historical event that is significant to the Union that you'll learn about later in the completed Ch. 5. I know the first 4 pages don't explicitly show this event, but they do hint at it.
I'm going to stop now before I start rambling. Enjoy the preview!
Ch. 5: Aiming for the Moon and Hitting a Star
Alfred stared at the door for a moment longer and then scratched his head. "If that don't beat all. That lady could whip her weight in wild cats," he said quietly and then turned to look at Emily.
Her heart skipped a beat when they made eye contact. "Alfred," she said, still stunned at how much he looked the same and yet different.
Alfred sighed and cleared his throat. "My apologies to you, Miss Brown," he said with a slight bow. "I did not intend to bring any unpleasantness to your dinner party." He straightened up from the bow and gave her the gentlemanly smile she remembered from all those years ago. "I hope you can forgive me."
"Alfred," Emily said, taking a step towards him. It almost seemed unreal that he was in the same room with no one to interfere. "Oh Alfred, it's been so long since we last were alone like this, just the two of us!" she cried as she closed the distance between them and then wrapped her arms around him in an ardent embrace.
He stiffened at the contact. "M-M-Miss B-Brown!" he stuttered out. "W-What are you doing?"
Emily suddenly realized she had acted before thinking. She stepped back, her cheeks burning from embarrassment. "I-I-I'm sorry. I forgot myself for a moment." She smoothed out her dress and folded her hands in front of her. The heat from her cheeks traveled to her ears and then over her head. The fan Rose had given her suddenly became her savior; she immediately used it to to cool herself down.
Alfred watched her for a moment and then cleared his throat again. "It's quite all right, Miss Brown," he said as he straightened his clothes and adjusted his cravat. He then glanced at her and his cheeks took on a pink color. "I hope you'll forgive me as well. I don't remember meeting you prior to now or giving you any impression that we had an understanding of any kind."
She furrowed her brow. "Understanding? What do you mean by 'understanding'?"
He narrowed his eyes and furrowed his brow. "Why are you confused? Didn't your aunt arranged this whole party in hopes that I would become interested in courting you?"
Emily's face grew hot at his words. She'd completely forgotten the ruse that Rose had used. She opened her mouth to reply but only a squeak came out.
"Well then, I should tell you the truth about how I really feel and not keep you waiting one moment longer," he said as he straightened up and looked right at her.
Emily's heart skipped a beat at the eye contact and she fanned even more feverishly than before.
"I am sorry but I must tell you that my heart has been already taken by someone else," he said, looking away from her. His eyes lost focus for a moment and the corners of his mouth turned down slightly. "I'm afraid there is no one else in the world for me but her." He looked back at her and gave her a thin smile. "What is more, I've already committed my life to—"
"You really don't remember me at all, do you?" Emily said, interrupting his declarations. She couldn't bring herself to listen to one more word. Her eyes had started to sting and her heart ached with frustration. Why wasn't this conversation going the way she and Rose had practiced it? The conversation leading to a revelation had come so easily before.
Alfred blinked a couple of times. "Should I?" He wrinkled his brow and studied her face as if he was taking a look at her for the first time that evening. As he continued to examine her features, he subconsciously brought his right hand up, his fingers hovering over his heart. After a few moments, he moved his hand away, clenching it into a relaxed fist.
He held up his index finger and opened his mouth as if he was about to say something but instead closed it again and lowered his hand. He narrowed his eyes at her and took a few steps towards her, closing the distance between them by only a couple of feet. "Impossible. You couldn't be . . ." He shook his head and took another step towards her. "Are you . . . could you possibly be—"
Suddenly, Mr. West opened the door so forcefully that it slammed loudly against the wall and caused several crystal and ceramic furnishings to tinkle and shiver from the force of the noise. He barged into the room and strode over to Alfred without a glance at Emily. "Al, Polly has fainted," he said, grabbing Alfred by the arm. "I think she's sick."
Alfred's eyes widened. "What? That's impossible! She was feeling fine this afternoon."
Mr. West shook his head. "I know, but there it is. She's pale as milk and burning up with a fever."
Without a word, Alfred turned from Emily and Mr. West and rushed out the door and into the hallway.
An anxiety clutched at Emily's stomach. "Alfred, wait," she called as she instinctively followed him. Unfortunately, she started after Alfred at the same time as Mr. West and ended up bumping into him when they both tried to head for the door. Since she was still not used to wearing shoes with elevated heels, Emily stumbled forward, forcing Mr. West to catch her to keep her from falling face-first onto the floor.
"I beg your pardon," he said, trying his best to keep from holding on to her inappropriately as well as keep from becoming awkwardly entangled with her. He helped her to stand, but when she found her footing, he didn't release her right away, holding firmly onto her arms so she couldn't get away from him.
He stared at her for what seemed like an eternity to Emily. "What are you?" he asked finally, his eyebrows knitting together.
A wave of anxiety flooded over her from his continued gaze, and she wrestled free from his grasp. "I don't know what you are talking about. P-p-please excuse me; I need to talk to Alfred," she said. I think Alfred finally recognized me. Why did this awful Mr. West have to interrupt us right at that moment?
She glanced down the hallway and saw Alfred entering the drawing room where they had left the others. Not taking a second glance back at Mr. West, she hurried as quickly as her shoes would allow, giving into the anxiousness that didn't want to let Alfred out of her sight for too long.
She could hear Mr. West's footfall as he followed her to the drawing room. When she reached the open door, she was greeted by the sight of Alfred kneeling beside Miss Smith, or "Polly" as Mr. West had called her, as she lay in a lounge chair. Emily's breath caught in her throat, and a twinge of pain stabbed at her heart. This reaction confused her, and she stopped for a moment to ponder why she'd reacted that way to the scene before her.
"Here we are. This should do the trick," Rose said as she breezed past Emily with a small bottle in her hand.
Emily stepped back to get out of her friend's way and nearly fell again, only to be rescued once again by Mr. West. She turned to look at him; his face had the same quizzical expression as before. With a face warm with embarrassment, she stepped away from him, murmuring an apology.
She glanced back inside the room in time to see Alfred take the bottle from Rose's hand and hold it under Miss Smith's nose. Miss Smith shook her head and sniffed in reaction to the smelling salts and then took in a deep breath.
"Polly, what happened? Are you hurt anywhere?" Alfred asked, his voice giving away the apprehension he was feeling as he quickly set aside the smelling salts. He grasped Miss Smith's hand and scooted closer to her."Del said you were ill. How could you be—?"
"I'm fine," Miss Smith interrupted, letting out a weak laugh in an effort to reassure everyone. Her light olive complexion had grown so pale there was no color in her face at all. "I felt a little dizzy; that is all," Miss Smith continued, patting their clasped hands with her free hand.
Alfred reached up with his free hand, felt her forehead, and then stroke her hair. "Don't try to be brave. You're burning up and you look like you're at death's door. I'll order you a carriage and get you home right away."
Alfred's words from moments before suddenly echoed in Emily's head: I must tell you that my heart is already taken by someone else . . . What is more, I've already committed my life to— A flood of clarity came into her mind as she took in Alfred's worried expression and watched as he continued to hold Miss Smith's hand.
He loves her? Emily concluded silently. All at once, her heart throbbed forcefully and the room seemed to spin for a moment, forcing Emily to lean up against the door jamb and lay her cheek against it in an effort to keep the dizziness she was suddenly experiencing from overcoming her.
Miss Smith gave Alfred a small smile and patted their joined hands again. "Really, Al, I'm fine. Stop worrying." Almost as soon as she had spoken, however, her face grew still paler and she seemed unable to hold herself upright. She fell forward, forcing Alfred to catch her to keep her from falling out of the sofa.
As soon as Alfred embraced Miss Smith, Emily's face became hot like it had caught on fire. Her heart beat even harder, and another wave of dizziness flowed over her. She clutched at the door jamb to keep from falling over and did her best to stand as upright as possible.
"Are you all right, Miss Brown?" Mr. West asked, reaching out to her.
Emily, reading his intention, grabbed his hand for support. "I can't breathe," she managed to get out before gasping for air.
"Please, sir, if you'll give me your name, I'll announce you," they heard Rose's young butler, Isaac, almost shouted from the entryway, his tone desperate and panicked.
"There is no time for that," a young man replied.
The new guest's arrival was enough to distract Emily and Mr. West from her dilemma for a moment. They both looked towards the source of the commotion. A young man in his twenties with ash blond hair and greenish-blue eyes strode towards them, followed by a wide-eyed and panic-struck Isaac.
"Ben?" Mr. West said, stepping in front of Emily to stop the young man from going into the drawing room. "What are you doing here? Alfred specifically said that he did not want you to come here unless it was an emergency."
"I know that, Del, but . . . it is an emergency," Ben replied. Thunder rumbled above as if to accentuate his statement. "Or at least, Sam thinks so. He's the one who sent me here in a carriage as quickly as possible," he said, peeking into the drawing room. He took a moment to observe everyone. "I see," he said when he saw Miss Smith. "It makes sense now."
Alfred turned towards the three people standing in the doorway. "Did you just say Sam sent you here in a carriage?"
"Yes, it's waiting right outside the door," Ben said, pointing towards the front of the house.
"Then, let's get going." Alfred reached under Miss Smith and scooped her up into his arms. She tried to hold on to him, but it was clear she was too weak to do so, and he was forced to shift her weight in his arms so that she was leaning against his chest.
Alfred glanced at Rose, who had just finished ordering Charity to retrieve the smelling salts from where Alfred had set them. "I'm sorry to spoil the party further, Mrs. Greenhow, but it's urgent that I get Miss Smith home right away," he said to her.
Without another word to anyone, Alfred practically sprinted for the door with Miss Smith in his arms, forcing Emily, Ben, and Mr. West move out of his way when he reached the doorway. The other party guests quickly filed out the door after Alfred.
They crowded the hallway so much that Emily accidentally bumped up against Ben as she stepped back. "I beg your pardon," she said, turning towards him.
He tipped his hat, which he still had on because he'd rushed in. "It's quite all right, Miss."
Isaac did his best to gather everyone's hats and coats, but ended up having to ask Charity, Chastity and Grace for help.
Ben observed the commotion for a moment and then looked like he just realized something. "Hold on," he said, holding out his hand. "The carriage I came in only fits four people. You won't all fit inside."
"We know that," Mr. Cannon said, taking his top hat from Isaac. "We're not all going to take that carriage."
Alfred nodded. "I'm going to take your carriage with Polly, Sarah, and Kate." He nodded at the other two women standing next to him. "You men can follow in the carriages we came here in once they're ready."
"Oh, I see," Ben said. "That makes sense."
"Of course, it does," Mr. West said, letting out a scoff as he leaned against the hallway wall near the drawing room.
Ben shrugged and grinned at him.
After Grace opened the door for them, Alfred handed Miss Smith off to Mr. Haynes and then got in the carriage that was still waiting at the entrance. The other two ladies climbed into the carriage and smoothed out their dresses as they got settled. Alfred then took Miss Smith back and held her close to him like she could break at any moment.
Emily had stayed by the drawing room entrance because she hadn't recovered from the light-headed feeling she had experienced earlier, so she was confused when she suddenly felt water drip onto her cheek. She looked up to see if the roof was leaking as she wiped the drops of water from her face.
Mr. Haynes closed the door to the carriage and turned towards the other men. "Let's get those carriages rigged up," he said, as he stood under the porch covering. He held out his hand and caught a few drops of rain in his gloved hand. "This rain is going to cause problems if we don't hurry." The others nodded in agreement, finished putting on their coats, and headed out to prepare the carriages.
As they stepped out into the darkness, the sky lit up all of a sudden and thunder rumbled through the air. The vertigo Emily had experienced before came back with a vengeance making it seem as if the hallway was spinning around her.
"Whoa, hold on there, Missy," she heard Ben say just as the room closed in on her and everything went dark.
Slang Translations:
If that don't beat all!: An expression of amazement or wonder meaning.
Whip one's weight in wild cats: To defeat a powerful opponent