More Than This
An American Girl: Felicity Fanfiction
By: DaggerQuill
Chapter Two
January 1782
Returning to Williamsburg was different this time, knowing he would be staying. The streets and houses didn't have the same feeling that they did in his nostalgic memories. He saw people he remembered outdoors enjoying the sunny afternoon, but they had changed. Emily Mitchell, a girl around his age, was large with child, Mrs. Conrad had much more gray in her hair, and Mr. Fulton did not have any of his left. As he approached the gate of the place he remembered most, the house in which he became a man, he saw a girl working in the garden. She had changed entirely, her red hair had grown long and was tied with a light blue ribbon that matched her dress, her cream colored skin was scattered with light freckles. Despite not having seen her in years he immediately recognized her.
"Miss Polly Merriman?" He asked with tip his hat.
"Yes, Hello." She greeted in a sweet voice that made Ben smile.
"I'm here to see your father, is he home?"
"No, he is working at his store, my mother is inside if you would like to speak with --"
"Polly, who are you talking to?" Felicity's voice asked before he saw her walking out of the barn. For a moment Ben couldn't breathe, she was just as he remembered her, except, grown up, and extraordinarily beautiful.
~*~*~*~*~*~
"You know better than to talk to -" She continued, until she looked up and saw the man standing before her. She suddenly wished that her stays were not tied so tightly, then maybe she wouldn't feel so dizzy. She couldn't help but stare at him.
"Good day Miss. Felicity." He said tipping his hat.
Some part of her brain knew it was improper, ungentlewomanly, but Felicity was never good at listening to that part of her brain anyway. Without hesitation she ran into Ben's arms.
"Mother! Mother!" Felicity heard her sisters call but didn't really comprehend it. She felt a familiar comfort, but at the same time a swooping sensation as if she had fallen off one of her horses.
"What's wrong, darling?" asked Mrs. Merriman coming down the front steps. At the sound of Mrs. Merriman's voice Ben let go of Felicity and they each took quick steps away from one another. Felicity could feel her cheeks burning bright pink, but neither of them dared to look up.
"This man showed up and embraced Felicity!" Polly reported. Felicity stole a glance at her mother; she appeared confused, but also a bit amused.
"Well who is this man who is showing up and embracing my daughters?" Mrs. Merriman asked, with laughter in her voice.
"He didn't say, but he knew our names." Polly said matter-of-factly.
William stomped onto the porch slamming the door behind him, "Mother Nan was demanding I help her with the laundry! Tell her I don't have—" he stopped abruptly, "Who's he?" he asked bluntly.
"Oh!" Ben said looking up. Please excuse me for not announcing my self, or writing to say when I would arrive. I am back to finish my contract with Mr. Merriman."
"Oh, of course, and Ben you don't need to apologize, you are always welcome here!" Mrs. Merriman said, hugging the young man in a warm, motherly way. "Do you remember Ben? He was your father's apprentice when you were young." She asked William.
"Ugh, the only apprentice I remember is Timothy, and if he is back then I'm leaving this time." William said with a scowl.
"Me too!" Polly chimed in.
"I'm sure you'll want to talk with Edward. Felicity was just getting ready to go to the store; she can walk there with you." Mrs. Merriman said, turning back to Ben. "But first let's get you settled in; William will help you carry your bags up to the loft. I'm sorry we don't have a nicer place to put you, Ben."
"He can have my room! I'll stay out in the stables!" William volunteered excitedly.
"That's not necessary at all, I've slept in much worse places than stables, I would be honored to say in yours."
"Like where?" William asked eagerly as he shouldered Ben's bag.
"Well there was one night we were staying near a swamp, then it began to storm, so the ground…"he said as he walked away.
"I was supposed to go with Lissie!" Polly protested, after the boys walked away. "I wanted to ride Penny!"
"Lissie can take you riding after she gets back. She and Ben need to go together and catch up." Mother said giving Felicity a fluttering feeling in her stomach. "You can wash up and then help Nan and I make a pie to celebrate Ben's return, alright?"
"Okay!" Polly instantly agreed and ran inside, her mother following behind.
Felicity's head was spinning. Ben was home. Seeing him made her realize how long he'd been gone. She understood for the first time they way the years pass, the way they bring things and take others away. She spent so much time wondering if she would ever see him again, and now he was back.
Felicity was supposed to bring Penny to her Father this afternoon, so he could make a delivery. Felicity went back into the barn to finish saddling her, but her fingers stumbled through the usually thoughtless motions.
She had only just finished when he came down stairs. "Are you ready?" she asked politely.
"Of course, if you are." He responded with a smile which made her blush as they headed out to the dusty street.
"It's quite warm for January." He commented after they had walked past a few houses.
"Yes," she said, "it is very nice, isn't it" she added lamely. She looked over at him to see if he was going to say anything else, but he didn't.
Felicity had never been a quiet girl, and she and Ben had been so close before he had left. She was stunned that as they walked side by side she couldn't think of one thing to say to him. He had been through a war and she had spent six years ridding horses, learning dances, and flirting at parties, she felt that anything she would have to say would be of absolutely no interest to him. Ben, of course, had always been shy and she was unsurprised that when he glanced at her still staring at him he quickly adverted his gaze.
There was no denying he was different, he was taller and Felicity suddenly found herself wondering if he had always been this handsome, or if their time apart had improved him. Annabelle had always said he was a handsome lad, perhaps Felicity had simply been too young to notice. He had always been serious, it led to his quietness and made him a hard worker and a loyal friend, but now there was a loss of innocence in his eyes which was replaced by a solemnness that she knew she would never understand.
"I missed this." He said suddenly.
"What?" She asked without thinking. She then saw that he was looking straight at her, with a tender look in his eyes, but her confusion seemed to have a discouraging effect.
"Well…" He stammered. "Williamsburg, The people, the streets, the store---" And there they were standing in front of her fathers store. He would take Ben to the back room to discuss important business and she would just head back home without having said more than five words to him.
So much for her mothers little plan.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Dinner on the night of Ben's arrival turned out to be just as awful for Felicity as their walk that afternoon. She simply sat there, silent, picking at her food, while everyone was oblivious to her subdued behavior.
He talked with her parents and her younger siblings. He seemed captivated by Polly, and William spent the entire meal asking Ben questions with a look of fascination. He answered them all, but she could see that there were parts of each of his stories that he wasn't telling. Ben had always been honest, and even though she knew why he was doing it, his slight dishonestly upset her.
The few times she did think he was going to address her he would suddenly find something very interesting anywhere else in the room, like the new dinning table or how much William and Polly had grown in six years.
She had excused herself directly after the meal and went up to bed, where she lay awake miserably thinking that their childhood friendship had only been that, and was now ruined.
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