The graying hills and valleys were dappled with Autumnal hues of diverse oranges, reds, and yellows all the while being bathed in mists and fogs mingling with smoke from chimneys and piles of burning brush. In the air clung the scents of both freedom and Fall. The world seemed to take a collective sigh of relief since the Germans finally sued for peace. It was Sunday, the Lord's Day, and everyone attended little Starr's Hollow Baptist Church knowing that it would be the last Sunday they would have to pray for an end to the war. On Monday, the Eleventh Day of the Eleventh Month, at the Eleventh Hour, the guns would finally fall silent. All would finally be quiet on the western front.

There were to be dances and parties galore in the coming days, but though the Darcy family was thankful for the Armistice, they could hardly forget the price at which it was attained. An empty chair was to always remain at their table, and a cross stood under a willow tree. Their Albert, like so many other lads, gave his future that others may have one.

The fighting wasn't over yet though, and Gideon was still in the trenches. Everyone said an extra prayer that God would spare him in the last, futile hours of the war and bring him safely home to his wife and son. Ginny wouldn't really rest until he was again in her arms.

Aunt Lizzy was ready to return to England and to see how the family there was faring. In all her years, she never before had spent so long away from Pemberley, and her heart ached to return. Still yet, she had grown accustomed to life at Dovedale and would never have traded that time for anything. There was a new danger that was possibly more dangerous than the war lurking about in the midst; Spanish Flu, and because of it, George requested that she remain with them until the epidemic vanished.

"I could never face Father if you caught that wretched 'flu on the ship, Aunt Lizzy. You must stay here at Dovedale with us a while longer where it is safe. Nothing of that sort will touch us here, but in a cramped place such as a ship, you're asking for contagion."

So it was settled that Aunt Lizzy would remain at Dovedale a while longer, and everyone was openly thrilled. They had become accustomed to her grandmotherly presence in their family, and would have been lost without her.

The newlyweds found that married life in The Little House suited them quite well. Never before had Katie been so willing to keep house, prepare meals, or do any of the sundry other things that Abigail always saw to at Dovedale. She enjoyed laboring for her own little home and her own dear husband as he spent the days working, and often times they would choose to spend an evening meal alone in The Little House than with everyone else at Dovedale. They went for long, ambiguous rambles into the woods, lost in each other's company. After Albert's death, Katie didn't know she could feel so joyful and alive, but she did, and each time she held little Jacob in her arms a new sort of thrill and hope excited her soul.

Johnny surprised himself at how easy it was to come home to a lively, beautiful wife such as his. It came to be that he couldn't remember a time when he wasn't her husband because surely their souls had been knit together in Heaven.

Bells rang out about the world, making a much sweeter noise that that of gunfire. It was over; the long arduous task finally was finished. Freedom was victorious. Yet, it had been too long since a letter came from Gideon; weeks in fact. Dread crept back into their hearts. They had heard of useless casualties wasted away mere moments before the guns fell silent. Still yet, it wasn't time to celebrate. It was a time for waiting.

Katie remembered another time when no word came for a long period of time from a soldier. She could only pray that this instant would have the same reward as when Bertie and William arrived on Pemberley's doorstep Christmas two years previous.

So, they waited and waited until George grew restless and decided that everyone needed a bit of a change in order to brighten and lighten the general mood. He was pleasantly pleased with himself, being able to secure what would hopefully be a memorable and enjoyable evening for his family. His delight was incredibly evident when he entered the dark, somber living room of Dovedale on Friday evening.

"George, there's a smile on your face ten miles wide. You haven't heard any word from Gideon, have you?" Abigail asked as she greeted him at the door with her customary kiss.

"No, Abby my dear, I wish that I had, I truly do, but I've not. I do think that it's high time that we as a family take our minds off of things for just a short bit. Worrying can't bring our boy home any sooner, and I don't like the pallid looks about any of your faces. That's another reason I insisted that Johnny stay home with Katie today. We all need to keep our strength about us lest our new Spanish enemy attempt to invade."

"What do you have in mind, George?"

"I have here in my breast-pocket, six tickets to the football match between our Sooners and those Razorback Hogs in the next state. They're playing in Fayetteville this year, and I think that it would be pleasant to view the splendid foliage on the drive there. What do you say, Abby? We've not seen our boys fight on the field of sport in a while."

"I don't know, George. It'll seem different without our boy out there on the field."

"Abby dear, I believe that Bertie will be on the sidelines, on the field, and sitting next to us. I can't imagine even Paradise could keep him from football for too long. I for one would like to go in order to feel closer to him."

She smiled wanly at him, and he noticed the lines around her eyes the seemed to have popped up so suddenly and the silver streaks that were beginning to shine in her russet hair. He wanted her to be happy, truly happy again and never thought of his own wrinkles and strands of silver.

He looked to where Ginny and Aunt Lizzy were playing with young Jacob, "What do you say, Aunt Lizzy? Would you like to see an American football match?"

"I have to admit," his aunt smiled behind her dark eyes, "that ever since I first heard young Albert explain the sport, I've been mightily curious about it."

'What say the newlyweds?" he asked Katie and Johnny as they canoodled and whispered to each other across the room, beside the fire.

"Wild horses couldn't keep me away, Daddy," Katie answered. Her husband merely nodded.

"Ginny, what of you? You of all of us need to get out and breathe in some fresh air."

"I couldn't keep Jacob out in that fresh air, Mr. Darcy. I had better stay here at Dovedale, near the mailbox."

"Ginny, I already spoke with Mrs. Cole down at Hollow Hill. She volunteered to watch the lad. I think she's very lonely these days since Woodrow passed. That house is probably a very empty place now that she's alone. Jake would be good company for her. Besides, I want Gideon to return home to a hearty, healthy wife, and you're beginning to grow transparent. I have to insist."

She smiled, wishing her own father had ever taken such care of her. "Well, if you insist, then I cannot deny you the joy buying me one of those splendid Dr. Pepper drinks, a frank and a cotton candy."

George grinned from ear to ear because there was nothing he loved more than to be of service to those he cared for. "It will be my pleasure, Ginny. Just make sure our Katie doesn't eat your frank. She was like a rabid wolf when we first saw them and the cotton candy at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition."

At this, Katie had to protest, "Daddy, I was only ten years old! I was a growing girl! You're going to make my husband think that I'm a pig."

"Oh Katie-girl," Johnny laughingly assured her, "I already know all about your appetite!"

She thrust a dirty glare Johnny's direction and jabbed him in the shoulder, but then laughed. Her vociferous appetite was a standing joke in the family and had been for years. Whenever strangers would watch her eat, they always would be amazed at how much food such a slender person could consume.

Early the next morning, Jacob was deposited with a very happy Widow Cole, and everyone else piled into George's Cadillac and began the winding journey across the state-line into Razorback country.

The foliage was beautiful, and Katie couldn't help but with that camera could take pictures in color to capture the awesome glory all about them. Out of respect, they bowed their heads and said a prayer at the site of another battle; one fought in the war between the states, Prairie Grove. Each ate at least two franks, Aunt Lizzy learned to like the handy little cuisine and thoroughly enjoyed stopping in a little drug store for one of those soda drinks. She tried some of Ginny's Dr. Pepper, but decided she preferred Katie's Coke-a-Cola the best.

Albert surely must have been there along the sidelines and everywhere else at that game. His very presence was felt as the Sooners crushed the Razorbacks to a historical 103-0 loss. They cheered and yelled with the best and loudest of the fans. Johnny and Aunt Lizzy learned that day they too were unabashed fans of their adoptive state's football team, and Ginny smiled and laughed more than she had in ages. It was a successful trip and a memory that each would hold in their hearts for the rest of their lives.

If only moments of such pure happiness could last forever. Alas, they cannot though. Upon returning to Dovedale, Ginny rifled through a pile of fresh mail while Katie and Johnny played with Jacob on the porch of Dovedale. Without warning, Ginny suddenly collapsed and hit her head on the railing before Johnny could catch her.

Please don't forget to leave a review. Also, visit our new forum, "A Tangled Web." The link is on my profile page.