1760

To her dying days, Jane Braddock would never understand why anyone would choose to settle in a place such as the Americas; and the reason why her father insisted that she join him in the colonies, puzzled her even more. If Jane had it her way, she would still be sipping tea and eating cakes with her friends at the teahouses in London, and not living in such a brute lawless country. But, life never went the way she planned.

Since the death of her mother, Lady Ann Braddock, Jane's father had wished for his only child to join him in Albany, but the unrest in the settlements among the English and French prevented the journey for nearly two years. However, now that things appeared to be reaching a calm, the time had finally come for Jane to make her new life in America. She couldn't say that she liked it, however, it was nothing like London; and she never saw her father, but she was used to that. Jane had learned long ago that General George Braddock was a soldier first and a father second.

It had been three months since she arrived, and in that time Jane had only spent but a few days with her father before he was called back to Fort Edward; she did not mind, since the man she called Papawas hardly more than a stranger to her. In truth, she had very little memory of him at all, he was always off on some campaign or another. And deep down, Jane blamed him for the death of her mother. If only he wasn't away so often, perhaps then she wouldn't have gotten sick.

A sharp rat-tat-tat on her bedroom door drew the girl away from her thoughts. She turned in her seat so she could see the door and said, "Come in."

It was Phaedra, a tall girl of dark complexion and pale blue eyes, a rarity to indeed be found among the people of the African continent. Her father hired her as a servant to take care of his daughter and tend to her needs. She was one of the few free slaves in the whole New York area, and Jane came to think of her more as a friend than a ladies maid.

"I was about to go down to the market miss, and wondered if you might be needing anything."

Jane smiled. "No, Phaedra. Thank you!"

"I'll be back in an hour or so then miss," she said closing the door.

'Another excursion to the market?' she thought. This would make the third one this week. Surely Jane hadn't eaten that many sugared dates. So what, or more particularly who, could be so interesting at the market? Jane knew she shouldn't pry into her maid's affiars, but she let her curiosity get the better of her, and even if it turned out to be nothing, at least it would give her the excuse to get out of the house. She couldn't bear being cooped up here for another day.

"Phaedra!" she called, running down the stairs to catch up with her.

"Yes, miss?"

"I'm coming with you. I think it is about time I saw the city, don't you?"

"Yes, miss," she said curiously.

Jane finished pinning her saucer-shaped hat into place and sighed happily. "Good!" she exclaimed and reached for her coin purse. "Let's be off!"

The market extended the entire length of the street, which was about a quarter of a mile long and wide enough for two carriages to pass each other easily. The shops and stores surprised even Jane, who though had long been accustomed to the finery of London, found that many stores could surpass those back home. After her eye caught sight of the most beautiful dark blue silk she ever saw, Jane simply couldn't resist to have a new a new riding habit commissioned to be made. It was an extravagance, but one she could afford, and it made her forget almost entirely the original purpose which brought her outdoors to begin with.

As she progressed further down the street and having lost sight of Phaedra long ago, the young girl stopped to admire her reflection in a beautiful ornate mirror decorated with silver along the edge. She began to think of all the reasons that could justify the purchasing of something so nice and completely unnecessary, when she saw a familiar face appearing in the mirror. Jane turned around and looked curiously at the woman standing across the street, admiring a book. She wasn't much older than herself, perhaps twenty-one or so, with long blonde hair, tied neatly into a braid at the base of her neck and doe-like eyes. Under normal circumstances, Jane wouldn't have given her a second glance because of the plain dress she wore, if it hadn't awakened in her a feeling of the past.

"Do you know that woman over there, the one in the green dress?" She asked turning to the shopkeeper.

The elderly man grunted in reply, "Aye! I've seen 'er once or twice, but she ain't the sorta gurl you want involved wi' the likes of you."

His answer only confused her. That sort of girl didn't look like a prostitute or even one of low morale. In fact, she looked quite the opposite. She had a baring about her which echoed refinement and gentility. However, since Jane had been told so and she was not the kind of girl she would want to get mixed up with, she tried to force it from her mind, but to no avail.

Crossing the street, Jane came to stand in front of her. "Excuse me, miss. Forgive me, but you remind me of someone I know... or used to know."

A bewildered expression was on the other girls face for a moment as she, in turn, examined the woman before her. It was clear that they both reminded each other of someone belonging to a former life they once knew. At last, she spoke, her voice soft and low, "You remind me of an old playmate I had when I was younger, back at Portman Square."

Suddenly it dawned on her. "Alice?" she said in disbelief, "Alice Munro? It is me, Jane!"

"Jane?" Alice laughed, drawing her into a hug, which the other girl didn't refuse, much to the surprise of the shopkeeper across the street.

"I can't believe it's you." She said pulling away and reaching for Alice's hands. "We thought you had been killed, or worse, abducted by wild savages when we never saw or heard from you again. Why didn't you write?"

"Well," Alice began hesitantly, "it's a long story and I have someone wai-"

"I insist upon hearing it." Jane cut her off, leading her to a small bench a few feet away.

Again Alice tried to explain that it wasn't the right time or place, but the other would not hear of it; and so, Alice began her long narrative of everything that had taken place over the last five years, starting with her departure from England, all the way until her life now, leaving out only a few details she felt Jane wasn't ready to hear.

"My sister and I were indeed captured by Indians," she explained to her stunned friend, "but thankfully, the same men who came to our aid on the George Road saved us from the Hurons."

"Why didn't you return to England?"

Alice looked down at her lap and thought for some time for the right answer. "When Cora told me that she intended to stay and marry Nathaniel," she began tentatively, not bothering to look up again. "I did not see a reason to return. My father had been killed, and the only family I ever really knew was my sister, Cora. So I decided to stay as well."

"I don't understand why you would want to stay given everything that has happened to you, poor dear." Jane declared rather indignantly, "and simply because your sister chose to stay in this awful place does not mean that you had too as well. If you had come home, you would have had me, Alice, and Henrietta and Louisa, Florence and all of the friends who care for you-"

"She isn't the sole reason I am here!" Alice cut in, almost a little too loudly.

She knew Jane meant well, but Alice had forgotten how prejudiced and vain her old friends could be at times. She knew they couldn't help it either; it had been instilled in them since childhood by their governesses and tutors. How grateful Alice was in later years that her Mother and Sister taught her to care for others less fortunate, rather than judge them for what they lacked.

Alice turned to her friend, who was looking forlorn at her harsh reply. She reached for her hand, "I am sorry. I didn't mean to sound so cross."

Jane didn't answer.

She drew in a deep breath and tried again. "I am sorry, Jane. Truly."

At last she looked up, feigning a sniffle to induce more sympathy. "I forgive you, as always, my dear Alice. But I know you're hiding something from me. Tell me and all shall be forgotten."

Just as Alice was trying to figure out how she was going to get out of this situation, the voice of a small child reached her ears and she looked to the direction where the sound had come, for there was no doubt that it was Rebecca, her daughter. Like a Godsend, there was her escape waiting for her at the end of the market street. Turning back to her friend, Alice made her excuses, promising to write and explain everything, then left.

"Ready?" her husband asked when she rejoined them.

"Like you wouldn't believe!" said Alice picking up her daughter and starting for home, leaving a confused Jane alone on the bench.

Authors Note: Well, here is my new Uncas and Alice fanfic. I am sorry if it isn't very good. This is only intended as a short and somewhat humorous story. I do not plan for it to be more than five to six chapters long. Please excuse any errors or poor writing.

Well, how do I sum up the character of Jane Braddock? She's wealthy, well educated, kind when she chooses, and a complete brat. As it would have been expected in those days, Jane looks down all those who are less in rank and station than herself, but, I promise, she will learn a lot by the end of the story.