Anne raced to the house with fire on her heels. She just couldn't believe everything that was going on, it was too unbelieveable. It was a dream, just a dream, nothing more, nothing less. Her cousin did NOT just disgrace her family name she did NOT just make a fool of herself. She did NOT just behave in the MOST unladylike way imaginable. As she rode to the front walk, she could onmly get some consolidation in the fact that her aunt and uncle were going to flip out, and hopefully be there to drag her home when she FINALLY came to her senses. The door opened as her Aunt Elizabeth came right out. "Well?" she asked anxiously.

"Well, Aunt Elizabeth, hopefully by God's grace, your baby may finally come home."

"What on Earth do you mean by that Anne?"

"I mean, I believe I have succeeded in talking her out of this foolishness."

"You didn't.."

"Well, naturally she was rather hesitant at first..came very close to biting off my head. But I think once she calms down she'll foinally be ready to come home and you can go get her."

"Well, you're half right. We will be coming down..for her wedding."

Anne sharply turned around, "WHAT?!"

"If she wants to get married, Anne, than get married she shall. To whomever she wants."

Mrs. Radcliffe raced out of the house. "Elizabeth. Have you gone mad?!"

"I don't think so, Emily."

"But Elizabeth, you're a respected lady of society.."

"But I'm a mother first."

"You DO realize that you and your entire family may be disgraced over this. Never again will you be invited to the fanciest parties, never again may you be invited to Parlament gatherings.."

"Sarah may be invited to do some reporting, which I shall read."

"But you might never get a chance to see it yourself ever again, and you know how much you enjoy listening to those talks, how you enjoy meeting people of higher-class.."

"Emily, I would rather not get invtied to another ball ever again than to see my daughter miserable."

"What about Tom?" Anne asked, close to tears.

Elizabeth whirled around. "What ABOUT Tom?"

Anne stared, open mouthed. "Aunt Elizabeth..he's DEAD..gunned down, by those wretched AMERICANS!"

"Yes..but not all the Americans were in the war, not all of them were even involved. Yes, Tom is dead, and we can't do anything about it, but Sarah is an entirely different manner. She's in love, she wants to be happy. And all I've ever wanted is for her to be hapy."

"But she's marrying the enemy."

"She is not marrying the enemy, marrying the enemy is if she were to marry one of the relatives of the person who killed Tom,. But this man has no family, no relatives, and never did, he ca hardly be held responsible. Now, when is this wedding, which I hope to God you did NOT screw up."

"According to that Sybil woman, it is supposed to be in three days, at the Ludington home."

"I trust you'll show me where it is."

"But Aunt Elizabeth.."

"ANNE, BUTT OUT!!"



Two days later..



Sarah smiled at the home of the Adams's. She was celebrating her last night as a single woman at the home of her dear friend. Abigail had cooked a ham and a nice dinner. She had helped Sarah finish the dress and moved them both into a spare room in the house, the same spare room Sarah had stayed in when she had gone to visit them so many times before. She looked around at these nice sweet people that were so supportive of her and James. She cut off another peice of ham and put it in her mouth. Abigail stood up then and tapped the side of her glass.

"Children, John, I think a toast is in order right now."

"Oh, yes, yes," John said, standing up. "A toast!"

"Everyone, please raise your glasses to Sarah," she began. "Sarah, who's about to take the most important journey of her life tomorrow. I just know she'll be as happy as John and I were on our wedding day."

"As much as we still are, i might add," John said with a smile. "I look at you and James together, Sarah, and I see how happy you both are."

"There's a lot of love with both of you right now," Abigail said. "And I just know that over time your love will grow and nourish over time. Just remember, Sarah, marriage is a journey filled with adventure. You and James might be separated over time, like John and I were. But the important thing is to remember the love that is with you, to think about the good things, even when you argue."

Sarah had to laugh at that. "James and I have had a lot of practice in that field."

John laughed as well. "But the important thing is that the love that is there will always be there, and you must never stop remembering that and believeing in that. So, sleep tight," he joked.

Everyone laughed. "Anyway, Sarah," Abigail said, "As you begin this happy and wonderful new chapter in your life, we all wish you the very best and know that you will be as happy as this very family."

"Hear, hear," John said.

"To Sarah," Abigail said.

"To Sarah," the children said, rasing their glasses.

"Thank you," Sarah said happily, rasing her glass as well.



The next morning was bright and sunny, the morning sun was filtering through the curtains. James lay in the bed with his arms behind his head. He stared outside, thankful it ewas sunny. His heart almost burst with hapines and joy, he wondered how he was able to sleep at all, but thank God he did. One thought was in his head and had been there since he had first opened his eyes. "Today's the day! " He whispered that to himself again and again. "Today's the day! Today's the day!" This was the day he had waited for all his life, his wedding day! This was the last day he would sleep in this single bed, he would never be alone in this big empty print shop again. He smiled bigger than he ever thought he could. He got up out of the bed and put on his clothes. He walked down to the backyard and pumped some water into the huge tub that was near it. He put it on the stove to boil and poured it into the huge tub in his room. He moved carefully to not wake Henri, Moses, or Jabert who were sleeping in the spare rooms.When the tub was full he stripped and stepped into the tub. Grabbing the soap he begam to wash his body very carefully and slowly, making sure to get every single part of him. He wanted to make sure he was clean all over. No one had ever sen him completely without clothes ever since he was a tiny baby. Tonight, for the very first time, someone would. He wanted to make sure every part of him was completely clean. Soon he heared Henri begin to pound on his door.

"Ey, what's going on in there?' he asked. "You aven't come out for over an hour!" An HOUR?! Was he really taking that long?! Choosing to ignore Henri, he took his ponytail out and let his hair down. Flipping it over, he began to wash his hair throughly. Henri pounded on the door again. "Ey, I got to wash up too!"

Moses came over and put his arm around Henri. "Come on, Henri, let's let James finish washing up."

"But e's taking over an hour!"

"He's got to be extra clean tonight! Come on, help me get breakfast on the table, he needs lots of energy today!"



Joseph Plum Martin went back into the house, looking for Sybil. He had been helping her brothers and sisters set up in the backyard for the wedding and was ready for a break. "Hey, Sybil," he called out. Quickly she raced into the kitchen, not really looking to the right or the left.

"Let's see," she was saying to herself, "We got the turkey cooking in the oven, I jhave to get the tablecloth from the attic, the bread's got to finish baking."

"Sybil.."

"Kate's got to finish making the salad, we got to get the soup ready,"

"Ahem.."

"Can I help you?" she asked, finaly turning around.

"I just wanted to say that we're almost dine with the decorations, and the boys have the arc all set up if you'd like to see it."

"Sure," she said as they stepped to the window. Joseph drew back the curtain as they both looked out. The scene was absolutely breathtaking, the chairs were set up in two groups, forming an isle from the back door to the small raised platform the boys had built. The flower-covered arc surrounded the platform. The best white carpet the Ludingtons's owned was spread out from the back door to the arcway. The paper doves Jessica and Mary had made were hung up all along the fence. The flowers that the president bought were al set up along the ends of the chairs and surrounding the pulpit and up along the arcway. The paper doves were taped to the ends of the pots the flowers were in, and ribbons were all tied to each pot, forming the isle. Sybil had to gasp. "It looks so great. Wow, you guys have really been working hard. Guess, we're really ready for this wedding."

"Yeah," he looked at her carefully. "Hey, you look kind of nervous."

"I am a little," she admitted.

"What are YOU nervous about, you're not the one getting married!" he laughed. "You're just standing up for the bride."

"Yeah.but I just hope her parents don't show up today. You didn't see that cousin of hers, the way she was acting. I only pray that she somehow got lost or something and didn't tell her parents, can you imagine if they were to show up today and ruin everything?"

"Yeah, I mean, that wouldn't be fair at al. God knows they've waited too long and went through so much just to be together."

"James doesn't even have a family, he's been lonely most of his life, he deserves this."

"Yeah..but I wouldn't worry, Sybil, I think things are gonna go over well, so," he said, changing the subject quickly, "See, i had this idea..what if we put a big ribbon right here over the door to symbolize the tying of the knot."

"Wow, that's a great idea. You really have been working hard." Joseph held out his hand for payment, but Sybil just shook it.

"That's it?"

"All I had. Why, I thought you wanted to help with this."

"Well, yeah, but I thought there would be something else in it for me."

"Well, there is," Sybil said as she kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you, oh Dearest Friend, oh thou."

"That's it?"

"Oh no," her father said, coming out and shaking his hand. "Oh, dilligent, hard working friend, your tireless work will live forever in my memory." He laughed as they went back into the house.



Abigail came down the staris happily and met John downstairs. "She's still asleep," she said. "I think it best if we don't wake her..not yet." she smiled.

"Well, what time is the wedding?"

"Oh, not until 8:00 tonight, there's plenty of time. I don't even know why they chose to have this wedding in the backyard of the Ludington house."

"Well, they wanted to have a small, simple wedding. You know, they didn't want people to make a big fuss."

"Well, we would have made a big fuss. After all, Sarah does mean a lot to us. They could have gotten married here. This is a nice looking place, we would have given the best."

"Yes, but I don't think that's what tey would have wanted."

"You're right, probably not. Anyway, John, is the carriage ready for tonight?"

"Yes, it's been all cleaned and polished. We'll be ready to take her there tonight."



"Come, come, mon-a-mi," Henri said quickly when James finally came down the stairs. "We make you a BIG breakfast, fried eggs, sausage, ham, Moses is maing some toast, I insisted on it."

"Hmm..this LOOKS like Henri, this SOUNDS like Henri..I think I'll keep him!" James teased, running his fingers through his hair.

"So, ow you feeling, James?" The Marquet asked him affectionately. "Dis is da big day, ust a few hours more! You excited, any nerves?"

James looked down at his full plate. "A little," he admitted. "But I think I'm more excited than anything. Sarah's been such a huge part of my life already, I've pictured what this day might be like..but I never thought that it really would come. I can't wait to see her in that dress..I just can't wait for tonight..when I can take her in my arms and finally call her my wife."

Moses came into the room then with a huge plate of toast. "Eat hardly, lads," he said, setting it down in front of them before taking a seat himself. "We all need lots of energy today! I think I'm gonna go over to the Ludington's around 6 and help with any last minute set-ups. That way I can help Sarah out of the carriage when that Adam's pull up. You gonna be alright."

"Oh, yes," the Marquet said. "My family and I will drive James there around 7, plenty of time."

"Great, Marquet, thank you," James said. "Well, Henri, let's get busy. We have to print the paper extra fast today so we can get it out by this afternoon."

"Sacre blu, you mean we have to work on the paper today?"

"Yeah, isn't that great, just like old times, right, Henri?"

"But James, it's your wedding day, you shouldn't ave to work today!"

"Henri, I don't think the citizens of this city care WHAT day it is, they want the news, and we're obligated to give it to them."

"But James.."

"I'll give you eight shillings if you help me today!"

"Eight! Well..ok."



Sarah sat upstairs in her bedroom, her stomach a mixture of excitement and nerves as she brushed her hair. She fixed it up into all sorts of positions, wondering what would be perfect for this day. Finally she just decided to let her hair straight down in her loose waves. She took a deep breath and picked up her brush again, it almost fell out of her hand. A knock came from the door. "Sarah?" Mrs. Adams's voice called.

"Come in, Mrs. Adams," she called.

The door opened and Abigail came in."Hello, Sarah, how are you today?"

"Oh, excitied..a bit nervous I must confess. I can't believe this day has finally come."

She smiled. "I felt the same way on my own wedding day." She sat down on the bed. "Come and sit down next to me, Sarah, and we can talk.. A little marriage advice from an old married woman."

Sarah went over and sat down next to her. "You're not old, Mrs. Adams."

"Good answer," Mrs. Adams said, squeesing her hand. "No wonder I think of you like another daughter." Sarah laughed. "Well, Sarah, this is a very important day. The minute you say those vows a brand new world will open for you. The road is going to be adventurious."

"I am so used to adventure," Sarah said.

"I know, and you're about to enter a never-ending one." Mrs. Adams said. "The road will be long. Sometimes it will be smooth travel, sometimes there will be rocks on the road. It won't all be clear and romantic. You might be separated for long periods at a time like John and I. You might have fights, you might have problems. But there is one thing I know of that I can see. You can James have a powerful love. A love that reminds me so much of John and I. John and I still love each other as much as we did when we got married. That's because we have a secret, which I now share with you. Even when I am separated from my John, we still keep in touch by writing one another every day.."

"Like I used to do with my mother," Sarah said quickly.

"Yes, and every day we make sure to think about the good things we love about one another. We think of it every day, and that helps us get through the tough times and adds strength and happiness to the good times. Think now, my dear, what is it about James that you love the most?"

Sarah thought carefully, her hand instinctively reached up to touch her locket, knowing full well what the answer was. "The way he does the sweetest things so unpredicatably and so unselfishly."

"Then think of that, and concentrate on that at least once every day. Never forget also that you both have no more secrets from each other anymore. If you feel down, sad, depressed, bored, or ANYTHING, you tell him. Remember, that is extremely important, COMMUNICATION. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Wonderful, you're going to be fine. You will have a wonderful marriage."

She gave her a huge hug. "Thank you."



James had been riding his horse all day, entering Philadelphia, knowing exactly where he wanted to go. Finally he stopped at the very place. After so many years, the ashes where the house had been were still there, the charred remains of it still fresh in his mind. He was lucky, no one had bothered to build a new house in this place. It was so far from the city, he wondered if anyone had known it had burned down in the first place. But, nonetheless, this was where he needed to be right now. Taking off his hat, he knelt at the very spot. "Mother, Father," he began, "I felt I needed to come visit you before I begin this new part of my life. I know you were always with me, in spirit, in my heart. I know that I am where I am today because of you. I wish you were physically here with me now..I still miss you and think of you often. I wish you could meet Sarah, I know you both would love her. But Mother, Father, I know that you helped lead her to me. I know it was your love and your belief in me from Heaven that helped me to find my way to Dr. Franklin and become a reporter, and you helped me begin my own newspaper. I do also know that you lead Sarah to me to be my life mate and my soul mate.. And I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. I know you will be watching along with Dr. Franklin from Heaven. Thank you for believeing in me and for giving me all you have. I love you." He laid a white lily upon the remains and mounted his horse, he had a wedding to prepare for.