Chapter 12

The garland was strung through the parlors of Ms. Peabody's ladies school, an exciting reminder of the Christmas season that was quickly approaching. The chilly autumn air had since become rather frigid, requiring the fires to be kept at a constant liveliness. In the back parlor, across from the piano, sat a rather large Christmas tree, decorated by the little treats each girl had made. It was always tradition that the Sunday before everyone went home for Christmas, they would adorn the tree with its final decoration, the star of Bethlehem and then light the candles. One of the senior girls would play the piano as they all joined in singing carols. Christmas was just so magical. It was most everyone's favorite time of the year. For some, the excitement was in the decorations and the warmth of a fire, for others it was about the Christmas carols, or the opportunity to go home for the first time in nearly three months, but for most, it was the anticipation of the annual Christmas ball.

The ball itself was always held on the Friday before everyone left for the holidays. All the girls were finished with their final exams before noon and the rest of the afternoon was spent preparing for the evening celebrations. The boys from St. Peter's Academy would arrive sometime around seven. Dinner would be served and then the dancing would commence. It was always the most fun of the year and each girl usually went home with dreams of their Christmas dance tucked away into their hearts.

Sarah loved Christmas. She loved everything about it. She loved the coldness of winter and the necessity of wrapping herself in a warm blanket at bedtime. She loved the taste of hot chocolate enjoyed on special late nights. She had adored Christmas Carols even as a small child and looked forward to singing them each year. Of course, there was the dance, but the thing that perhaps made her the most excited was getting to go home once more. The Clarkson family had grand traditions for Christmas morning and Sarah thought it sad that one day she may not be able to partake in those traditions, but for now, she was perfectly content.

Her demeanor reflected this solemnity as she sat back on the little sofa with a blanket laid over her lap. She was working intently on a handkerchief she was embroidering for her mother's Christmas present. After every few stitches, she would hold the garment up and out as to admire her work. Smiling to herself, Sarah couldn't wait to see how proud her mother would be that her skills were coming along so nicely.

After coming to a stopping point, Sarah laid the cloth in her lap and looked up across the room to where Marjorie was sitting in a wing-backed chair practicing her French. Judging by the look on her friend's face not all was going well.

"Not any better?" Sarah broke the silence, her rosy cheeks flushed by the heat of the fire. Marjorie grimaced as she shut her book.

"Not at all. I don't even want to think about it for now. My head hurts." She dropped the books off the side of the chair.

"Hello, ladies." A singsong voice (which Marjorie deemed entirely too happy for this time of night) came floating into the room. When they looked up, Lillian Driskell and Alanna Forsythe were wandering into the room. As usual the two girls were bright and cheery, the perfect porcelain dolls. Their skirts swayed just so with the movement of their steps and they seemed to glide perfectly across the floor. Marjorie thought they looked like puppets.

In all fairness, it must be recorded here that both Lillian and Alanna were beautiful, kind, sweet girls. They were always friendly to their classmates and offered help if anyone needed it, but they were, as most girls are, prone to bouts of pettiness. They were quite aware of the station of their fathers in society (after all that is how they managed to be at Ms. Peabody's was it not?) and they were fiercely loyal to their own dear friends- one of those friends of course being Kathleen Roberts.

Kathleen didn't have quite the genteel personality that her other friend's did. Well… that's not entirely true. She was quite amiable to most girls at Ms. Peabody's. However, from the very beginning there was something that clashed between Kathleen Roberts and Marjorie Quinn. Perhaps, it was the strong controlling personality each shared that was to be blamed, or maybe it was the simple fact that Kathleen understood Marjorie well enough to know which buttons to push in order to set her off. Whatever the case, the two girls rarely ever got along and, as a consequence, Marjorie rarely chose to deal with Kathleen or her friends.

Unfortunately, for Marjorie that wasn't truly an option today as the two girls came sauntering into the front parlor and took their seats with Sarah and Marjorie. Lillian leaned over and gazed at Sarah's work- a 'presumptive' move that annoyed Marjorie.

"Oh, that's absolutely gorgeous!" Lillian exclaimed. "May I?" In compliance, Sarah offered the delicately made garment over and beamed as she did so. "Oh, yes. Its darling, Sarah. Who's it for?"

"I'm making it for my mother." Sarah answered, blushing deeply.

"Your mother is going to love that." Alanna inserted, leaning over.

Somehow, during the discourse of the girls, Marjorie felt as though she had completely faded into the background. Did anyone even still remember she was sitting there? Straightening her posture, Alanna began to fill everyone in on her Christmas plans and the presents she had gotten each member of her family before turning her attention to each member of their little group. Soon Marjorie found six pairs of eyes staring expectantly at her. "What about you, Marjorie? Have you done your shopping yet?"

"Not really. I'll get my little sister a book and perhaps I'll buy my father a scarf." Marjorie had no desire to explain much further than that. Sarah was the only one who knew that when she decided to embroider the handkerchief for her mother, Marjorie set about an attempt to knit her father a scarf. The experiment was a horrendous failure, and Marjorie was left with a little money to buy the few Christmas items she had to give.

"Oh well, that's nice." Lillian answered, smiling sweetly. "Tell us about your little sister, Marjorie. Will she be joining us at the academy soon?"

It was a completely innocent question, one posed by someone who was interested in the life of the mysterious Marjorie Quinn. However, as the question left the lips of the unknowing and went jutting into the room, Sarah watched Marjorie's eyes narrow.

"She'll be turning eleven in February, but she goes to a girls school in Boston." Marjorie tried to make her answer as nondescript as possible.

"Oh, but you should convince her to come here. We'd have such a wonderful time with her if she's anything like you, Marjorie." Alanna replied, a little too excitedly. Marjorie, however merely frowned against the vigorously nodding heads.

"My sister is nothing like me." Marjorie felt a little satisfactions in the way the happy looked seemed to stall on the faces of the girls sitting across from her, and yet before she had to answer any more questions, the front door swung open and girlish giggles filled the room. Both Lillian and Alanna's eyes widened.

"Kathleen must be home. She went riding with one of the Saint Peter's boys this afternoon. He's quite fetching and is in line to inherit his father's steel industry." Lillian whispered as both she and Alanna rose to move to the entrance to the little parlor. Standing behind the door, they peered around the frame in order to catch a glimpse of the mysterious young man. Marjorie, rolled her eyes behind their backs, but Sarah, who would never lower herself to snooping at the door, craned her neck to see into the little room. The laughter was louder now, almost obnoxious if you were to ask Marjorie. The pleasantries didn't last long. Each could be heard saying their goodbyes and whispering about how pleasant the evening was. The unmistakable sound of the door shutting sent Lillian and Alanna rushing back to their seats.

As Kathleen entered the room, she paused at the door for just a moment and smoothed at her hair in an attempt to draw the attention, and questions of everyone in the room. Her intentions were only obvious to Marjorie. Lillian and Alanna looked as though they were sitting on pins and needles; they seemed to be void of the ability to actually sit still. After a moment or two, when it became apparent that Kathleen was not going to be the first to speak Lillian finally broke the silence.

"So, how was it?"

"Oh, it was absolutely so lovely." Kathleen sighed, floating into the room. "First he took me to a nice dinner, and then a carriage ride through town. Of course, Ms Jacobson was chaperoning, but we still had a good time. I feel like I can talk so easily with him." Kathleen's far away gaze matched the motion of her hands and they ran across her loose strands of hair.

"I imagine he is so romantic!" Alanna exclaimed falling back onto the cushioned sofa. Marjorie merely watched the scene through cynical eyes. How could those girls fall over one another like puppies clamoring for the food bowl?

"Oh he is!"

"Who is this again?" Marjorie interjected. If they were going to act this way, at least it must be over someone worthwhile. As Kathleen's icy eyes turned to Marjorie, she smiled slightly. In Kathleen's mind, the girls were always in competition. Marjorie was the one girl who would not bow down to her, and in fact would be likely to challenge her for her status amongst the girls who lived here. This new beau of hers would most definitely keep her above the other girls at Ms. Peabody's.

"It's Jason Carrington." Kathleen beamed her pride, but unfortunately for her, Marjorie could not hide her initial reaction.

"Jason Carrington? That pimply little nerd? Why I've heard that he has less social skills than a hermit crab. All this commotion is about him?" As soon as Marjorie heard the words leave her own mouth she mentally scolded herself, and yet the moment she saw the embarrassment flood Kathleen's cheeks her shame turned to pleasure. She watched as Kathleen, speechless, searched for a proper comeback. Lillian and Alanna sat with their mouths hanging open. Only Sarah seemed to fight against the smile that was tightening across her lips.

"Well, at least he's better that what you have right now." Kathleen finally found her voice. However, the desired effect of her words wasn't immediately felt by Marjorie. No, she didn't have a beau and that wasn't something that she had ever desired, but for some reason the retort began a dull ache deep inside her chest. Brushing off the comment, Marjorie merely shook her head.

"I'm perfectly fine with the way things are right now, thank you."

Kathleen's eye narrowed, "you thinks so now, but let's talk when you're old and alone." With nothing left to say, Kathleen turned and glided out of her room, her skirt swaying behind her.


Joseph opened the door to his Beacon Hill home and heard the familiar sound of fluttering piano notes dancing through the air. The pure and simple tune that was being played was perfect in its childlike simplicity reminding him of the beauty of what life can be. He had to admit that after such a hard day at work, even one such as today when he had lost a patient, coming home to such beautiful music was rather soothing.

It had been almost three weeks since Michaela have been forbidden from seeing Miriam and during that time Joseph had watched his daughter throw herself into her schoolwork making perfect grades in almost everything she did. She practiced the piano almost constantly, always playing when he returned home, and she had even started working a little harder on her sewing- a skill that Martha was instructing her in. In all, Michaela's life for the past few weeks had minimalized significantly. She of course, didn't see Miriam nor did she have any interest in seeing any other girls. She simply spent the days by herself. Joseph knew that had it been up to him, he never would have been able to let her do this for all three weeks. All she had to do was ask him to change his mind; he wasn't strong enough to say no. Yet, Michaela didn't ask, and so she continued trudging through her punishment, and she was almost done now. Marjorie would be home Monday in preparation for Christmas on Wednesday. It was a little over a week away.

The piano music continued to flutter through the foyer as Joseph entered and went to leave his bag and papers in his office before making his way into the morning room where he was sure to find Michaela strumming away at the keys.

The proud father stood quietly at the door, unobserved for several minutes, enjoying the sight of his youngest daughter. She was so proper, sitting erectly on the piano stool as her fingers danced over the top of the ivory keys to produce her music. She looked grown. Suddenly Joseph was aware of how very different this young lady was than on the day he first held her in his arms. He could remember every lesson she learned and every fall she had taken along the way. She was already ten years old and in another few years she would be leaving to go to school and embark on her own life. For just a moment, Joseph carried the intense desire to stop time in its tracks. As selfishly as it sounded, he didn't want Michaela to grow up and leave him. In the past five years, she had become his purpose in life, the reason he woke each morning. Yes, he enjoyed his job, but it was his life as a father that always seemed to the pinnacle of all his years.

In the few minutes that passed it seemed to be a struggle for him to let time start once more, to let it leave his finger tips and blow away as if it never existed. That was the remarkable thing about special moments. They always came and went as if nothing ever happened unless there was someone there to remember. Joseph wanted to remember.

Walking into the room, Joseph knelt next to Michaela and waited for her to finish her song. When it finally was over, he applauded substantially.

"Beautifully played my darling." Michaela merely blushed and closed the top of the piano. "How was your day today?"

"It was alright. I made an A on an arithmetic test."

"Well I'd say that's marvelous! Did you talk to Miriam today?" The question was meant to be an honest one, Joseph having not forbidden her from talking to her friend at school simply hadn't heard Michaela speak of her. However, he instantly knew that this was the wrong question to ask as Michaela stared at him blankly.

"No, I haven't spoken to her since I explained that I couldn't see her until after Christmas." Sighing, Joseph couldn't help but smile at her. Even without his knowledge she had done her best not to disobey him, and she never complained. Joseph couldn't help but wrap his arms around his little girl and pull her close.

"My dear, you are truly beautiful inside and out. Your honesty is admirable. What's wrong?" Joseph asked as he watched Michaela's eyes lower to her lap.

"I… um… well we've been writing notes back and forth, so we haven't exactly not been talking."

Joseph chuckled and kissed her on the cheek. "I believe that the exception can be made," and yet her demeanor didn't change.

"I suppose that since I told you that I need to tell you that… that…" she took a deep breath and squeezed her eyes shut. "There was a student from the boy's academy across the street who threw a mud pie at Callie Strickland and made her cry, and I chased him across the street because it wasn't fair that he didn't get punished. The headmaster caught me on the boy's property and told me that if I didn't leave his pupils alone that he was going to write our teacher and have him discipline me."

"Mike…" Joseph warned but stopped himself.

"I'm sorry, but Callie was crying and that boy just laughed!"

"You must learn to pick and choose your battles and learn how to fight them."

"Yes sir," and after sniffing. "Do you think Mr. Johnson would punish me?"

"Mr. Johnson's not going to punish you for something like that."

"But he made Janey stand in the corner last week just for talking during lessons."

"He's not going to put you in the corner, Mike."

"I hope not, because I can't think of anything more humiliating than having to stand in front of the classroom where everyone can see me and know that I did something wrong." Once again, Joseph had to laugh. If only that was the worst thing she'd ever face. Michaela's dim expression, however reminded him that it was never all right to laugh in the face of another's problems, no matter how trivial. Tilting his head to one side, he brushed her hair out of her face and studied her demeanor. Now wasn't the time for her to be upset, it was nearly Christmas, and besides she had spent far too much time alone the past few weeks. He needed to find a way to put a smile back on her face.

"I have an idea. How about we go out for dinner? Your choice." Joseph watched as Michaela's eyes light up as she scooted off the piano stool, eager have a night out.

"Can we go to Catalina's?" She asked, her serious gazed being replaced by a bright smile. Joseph's idea had hit its target.

"Of course."

"And take a walk through the park? I think the nativity may be up."

Joseph chuckled. Worries are rarely worth brooding over for more than a few moments. "And we can take a walk through the part. Is that permissible to you?" Michaela nodded vigorously. "Alright then, go and fresh up while I tell Martha our plans."

In a flash, Michaela had raced out of the room, leaving Joseph standing fingering her forgotten piano music. Just like a special memory fluttering against the erosion of time, it was as if she had never been there.

So Chapter 12 was relatively short, but Christmas is coming! Yay! Let me know what you think guys!