Authors Note: Thank you to all my loyal readers who have read my stories. I will try to get these chapters up with more speed.
Note: Southern Chick and JESSEK: All in good time, all in good time.
Ordinarily, Ella Lorena Kennedy wasn't beautiful. This night was an exception, however. She looked positively stunning; she would be the belle of the ball, with every man fawning over her, and woman pea-green with envy.
Ella was in a carriage, the clip-clop of the horse's feet on the road had a soothing effect on her. It was also rather warm tonight; she hoped it wouldn't be too warm in the ballroom.
The carriage stopped, and a man appeared and held out his hand, she grabbed it, and stepped out of the carriage. She walked to a large building, around her were other people, some couples, some people who were alone, and she heard fragments of conversations, and laughter all around her.
Ella entered a large room, this place was positively stunning! Due to her life in Tara, she had never seen anything so beautiful and luxurious. There were a group of women standing over in a certain area. Feeling nervous, Ella couldn't decide to join them or not. When an attractive young man came over and asked one of the ladies to dance, she decided to.
She went over and stood with the other ladies, the other ladies looked at her, with what Ella perceived as envy, and out of curiosity. After what seemed to be a short while, a man came over and asked Ella politely to dance. She agreed.
"Oh what an experience this is!" Ella thought to herself privately. Ella felt what is was like to be the belle of the ball for the first time in her life. For the first time in her life, men were asking her to dance because they wanted to, not because they felt obligated to.
Almost in a state of nirvana, Ella danced and danced. While dancing with a rather short gentleman who had what sounded like to be a French accent, (she had heard plenty of those since she arrived in New Orleans) she looked over and saw a woman. She was in a lovely white gown that reminded Ella of a wedding dress, her face was completely disguised by her mask. She was a rather attractive woman, Ella could tell; however it wasn't that which shocked Ella and knocked her out of her state of nirvana. It was the woman's eyes. Her eyes were like two emeralds placed there for the ball. This shocked Ella greatly; as there was only one person she met who had eyes just like her.
When the dance stopped, she politely thanked the gentlemen, and complimented him on his dancing skills, even though that was the last thing on her mind. She had to get out of there. She left the ballroom, calmly, not trying to stick out. She came to a large room that was like a lobby. There were other people in there, chatting and such.
Ella sat down in a chair. Her heart was racing. The one other person who had her eyes that she had known was her mother. Was the woman in the white dress really Scarlett? Ella asked herself. Was she being ridiculous in thinking that the only two people in the world that had green eyes were herself and Scarlett? Ella went with the latter theory. She took a deep breath, composed herself, and turned to go back into the ballroom, but another thought hit her. It wasn't the eyes, she thought. There was something else that made her think that it was Scarlett. She didn't know what, but there was something.
Was that woman really Scarlett? Ella then thought of turning back and running away, and then she decided against that, she decided that if it was, she should greet her properly and somewhat reserved. Ella went back into the ballroom, and started a dance with another gentleman. Ella was now disturbed, she was obviously distracted, and kept looking around at the ladies to see if there was the woman in white. Ella never saw her. Ella, being very distracted at this point, sat out, and tried looking for her. However, specifically looking for one person in an enormous room of people that were dancing and constantly moving around is by no means an easy task.
Midnight came, and the time to unveil the masks came, Ella was comprehensive about this, she was more curious in looking for Scarlett, if it was really her, then seeing who was behind the masks. Ella took hers off, and applauded. She decided it was hopeless. She slipped the mask back on and went outside and got into a carriage, which took her back to her hotel room.
Back in her room, Ella threw the mask and the dress off carelessly, and put on a nightgown and went to bed. She was tired, but the thought of the woman in white kept haunting her mind. Eventually, she did go to sleep.
The next morning, a knock at the door woke her up, and a maid brought her breakfast. Ella got dressed, and decided to explore New Orleans in greater detail. When passing through the lobby, an older gentleman greeted her with a friendly "hello."
Ella traveled through New Orleans, and eventually came back to the hotel. The same man was there, and he smiled when Ella walked into the lobby. He got up suddenly, which surprised Ella somewhat. "Hello, miss." He said rather nervously. I just have to say that I saw you last night at the ball, and I was very enchanted by you." He said all with a smile. Ella was surprised, she was so preoccupied with potentially seeing Scarlett, that she didn't really notice anyone else when they all took off their masks. "My name is Donald Hedgecock, and I would be pleased to have the privilege of accompanying you to a nice restaurant, Miss-" He all said at once.
Ella was surprised. No man had ever courted her before, and no man ever asked to have the privilege of accompanying her to a nice restaurant. "Yes, Mr. Hedgecock, I will. My name is Ella Kennedy, by the way, Ella Lorena Kennedy.
The evening came. Ella agreed to meet Mr. Hedgecock in the lobby at six o'clock. She was very jittery; she had never done anything like this before. She dressed in a nice dress, however modest, and put her hair, and decided to wear a hat. She went to the lobby, and found Mr. Hedgecock dressed in a very nice suit. Ella went over to him, and he greeted her and said "ready, Miss Kennedy?" She complied.
They came to a very nice restaurant which Ella had never been to before. It was a little pricy, but Donald didn't seem to mind. Donald and Ella chatted about various things, as it turned out, he was from Virginia, and came to New Orleans when he was 24, to start a new life for himself. When he asked about Ella's life, she briefly mentioned that she lived on her mother's plantation with her aunt and uncle, and that her parents were both deceased.
That was a lie, Ella knew it, but she would rather spare the details of Scarlett's divorce, and secret pregnancy that followed from her first beau. The next weeks that followed were wonderful for Ella. Donald was a very kind man who gave her little gifts such as flowers and books, and he took her to the most exciting places in New Orleans.
For several months, this continued. Ella stayed in New Orleans, and though she looked for Scarlett, there was really no progress as far as that was concerned. Ella thought it was probably just some other woman with green eyes that she saw.
Ella was very happy being with Donald, and what she believed that would make her even happier approached. When they were waiting in the lobby, Donald got down on one knee, and asked: "Miss Kennedy, would you do me the honor of being my wife?" He said with a small garnet ring before her. Ella was stunned. She had always feared she would die an old spinster, because no man would ever want her because of her face. Ella sat there wide-mouthed, stunned, and replied: "Yes, Mr. Hedgecock, I will."