Hey you all! I am finally back with the 6th chapter. I am super duper sorry it took so long to write this chapter. Also, pls forgive my grammar (P.S. I'm an amateur😅)
As I mentioned in the previous chapter, I'll be posting a question at the end of the chapter...so keep a lookout😉
Chapter 6 (Louisiana Bound)
Dawn came faster than Mandie had expected. Perhaps that was because she had spent the entire night packing her valise, and didn't retire for the night until half past one.
The sun's rays shone into the blue and gold patterned curtain, waking Mandie, Celia, and Sallie from their slumber.
"We got to get up!" Mandie exclaimed, leaping out of bed. "We're going to New Orleans today. Mandie was so excited she practically used a pillow to hit Celia and Sallie awake.
"Wha…what?" Celia mumbled, she sat up and rubbed her sleepy eyes. "What time is it now?"
"It's seven, and we're going to New Orleans in an hour, remember?" Mandie replied as she continued to hit Celia with the pillow, Comee on Celia! Get up! We can't waste any more time."
"You sure are excited to see Joe," Sallie teased from the other side of the bed. Apparently, Mandie hitting her with a pillow proved effective.
"Yes….well, no, I just want to make sure he's safe, that's all." Mandie haltingly replied, her smile betraying her voice, however.
"Are you certain?" Celia asked, noticing Mandie's unusual smile, "your smile is telling otherwise."
"Of course I'm sure," Mandie replied, "aren't you excited to meet Joe as well?"
"Why, yes…of course," Celia answered, "let's cut this silly talk, shall we?"
"Yes, let's!" Sallie agreed, and she went to the wardrobe to take her traveling outfit.
"Mind if I use the bathroom first," Celia asked the girls.
"No, not at all," Mandie replied, "go right ahead,"
"Thanks!" Celia headed to the bathroom.
Fifteen minutes later, Mandie, Celia, and Sallie appeared at their doorway in their traveling outfits. They each bought a bonnet to wear especially since it was summertime. As they approached the dining room, they saw that everyone was present, except for Mrs. Taft.
"Where's grandmother?" Mandie asked, noticing that Mrs. Taft was absent.
"She's still in her room," Elizabeth replied, "have you girls finished packing your valises?" She looked from Mandie to Celia to Sallie.
All three girls nodded their heads. "Yes ma'am!"
Jonathan came over from the other side of the dining room, "Morning girls! Nice to see you finally made it out of bed,"
"Sheesh! You probably got here not too long before us." Mandie lightly nudged Jonathan.
"Maybe, maybe not," Jonathan replied with a mischievous grin, "Oh yes before I forget, any updates from that Isabel, girl?"
"No, not that I know of." Mandie replied, taking the letter from her dress pocket she whispered, "I still have the letter, perhaps it'll give us some clues."
"Is that the letter Isabel gave you when she first arrived?" Celia asked,
Mandie nodded her head, "Yup, I haven't had time to read it, why don't we read it on the train."
"Good idea, we have to do it discreetly lest the adults suspect something." Sallie cautioned.
"Missy Manda, I'se got a lettuh for you," Liza approached Mandie, "It dun have a return addrus,"
"Oh thanks, Liza," Mandie thanked the maid as she accepted the letter, "I wonder who sent it,"
"Let's open it on the train journey later," Jonathan suggested, "I'm famished,"
"Me too!" Sallie and Celia both said in unison as they took their places at the dining table.
The adults seemed to follow suit because right after the young people had sat down, the adults immediately took their places in their respective seats.
"Amanda, would you pass me the bread?" Elizabeth called from two seats directly across from her daughter
Mandie passed the buttered bread to her mother. "Here you go,"
"Thanks, dear," Elizabeth replied as she took the basket of bread from Mandie.
Just then, Mrs. Taft appeared at the entrance, flustered, "Sorry I'm late, I had to reply to an urgent business letter."
"No problem, Mother, we've barely started breakfast anyways," Elizabeth assured her mother.
Soon the adults had engrossed themselves in one big conversation, which centered mostly around Joe's upcoming graduation, while the young people ate their food with quick determination and silence, occasionally casting a glance at each other.
Not long after, everyone had finished with breakfast and went to their separate rooms to do some last-minute packing before heading for the depot.
"I'll get the letter," Mandie grabbed Celia's hand and headed for the stairs, "Celia, come with me."
Jonathan turned to Sallie, Doo you honestly think Isabel Whatever Her Last Name Is can be trusted? I mean she seems pretty cautious, in fact, a little too cautious, if I may say so myself.
"You know what, I have a weird feeling about this whole situation too," Sallie sighed, "but I can't just ignore Isabel because she seems suspicious, I have to find out for myself if Joe is really in danger or not."
"Yea, you're right, I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to my buddy, Joe." Jonathan agreed.
"I got the letter!" Mandie exclaimed briskly walking down the staircase.
No sooner than later, valises were packed into the buggy, 'See you soons' were exchanged between the adults as Mrs, Taft, Dr. & Mrs Woodard would be arriving the next day, and certain anxious faces were on their way up to the buggy.
After ten minutes, Abraham and Jason Burns each driving one buggy, halted to a stop just outside the depot. The men then got out to take the valises down.
"Stay safe and have a happy holiday!" Mr. Burns waved goodbye to them after unloading the valises and assisting the ladies in coming down the buggy.
"You too, Mr. Burns!" Mandie waved back.
"Miss Manda, Abraham grabbed her arm, God be with you." His eyes seem to suggest something more than a well wish.
"And with you," Mandie replied, somewhat confused by what he meant.
Time seemed to be allies with them, as the train arrived not long after goodbyes were exchanged, everyone boarded the train and a curious observer would notice a mixture of expressions- excitement and anticipation or anxiousness and fear
"Perhaps now would be a good time to read the letter?" Sallie suggested as the four of them were seated in a separate cabin from the adults.
Good idea! Read it read it! Jonathan urged
Mandie tore open the envelope and began studying its contents, "Hmm, that's weird, there's just a train ticket from Charleston, South Carolina to New Orleans, Louisiana," she observed, rummaging through the envelope, "oh wait! There's more…a card with a person's name and address."
"That's strange….and it was sent by Isabel right?" Sallie asked,
"Yes," Mandie confirmed, "She personally gave me the letter,"
"What's the name of the person on the card?" Jonathan inquired
"Denton Mills and the address is 2000 Lakeshore Dr, New Orleans, LA 70148, United States.
"Why does that address sound familiar?" The New Yorker wondered,
"You're right, Jonathan, I've definitely heard of it before," Mandie affirmed, "but where?"
"Is this person supposed to help us find Joe and rescue him, assuming he's in danger?" Celia asked,
"Or maybe Isabel is just trying to play a prank on us, or worse still, she could be working for that mysterious trench coat," Jonathan spoke up, still determined Isabel was up to no good.
Mandie rolled her eyes, "just because you've never met her before doesn't mean she's necessarily a bad person, sure she may be cautious, but isn't being cautious a good thing?"
"I didn't say she's a bad person, I only said she might be a bad person," Jonathan argued back, "besides, you can't trust someone you've met for like what? One time? That's not how it works, Mandie."
"Well, she did say she was a friend of Joe's," Mandie noted,
"And you trust her words?" Jonathan interrupted, "Good to know you don't have trust issues, apparently."
Mandie was about to speak when Sallie spoke up, "You know what, let's just go to wherever this address is," she pointed to the card that was in Celia's hands, "and decide our next move from there,"
Everyone nodded in agreement. In the meantime, the train ride was coming to an end. Just half an hour till New Orleans, Louisiana, according to the conductor.
Half an hour seemed to come by like the wind, after a few 'choo, choos', conductor's announcements, and occasional coughs & sneezes, the train had finally halted at the depot in New Orleans, Louisiana. A majority of the passengers seemed to go down all at once, patience was definitely not their expertise.
"We're here!" Mandie exclaimed. Grabbing her valise with one hand, she grabbed Celia's with her other and practically dragged her towards the doors. Sallie and Jonathan quickly followed. It was fortunate that they were the only ones in their cabin, at least that's what they assumed, who knows? Maybe a certain 'someone' could've just been casually spying on them through the pretense of reading a newspaper.
"Someone seems to be pretty excited to see Joe," Celia remarked teasingly as they began walking towards the two carriages Uncle John had previously hired.
"Pretty excited won't even come close, I bet she's dy..ying to see Joe," Jonathan winked at Mandie, "am I right?"
"Quit it Jonathan Lindall Guyer the Third!" She nudged his arms annoyingly, yet an observant Sallie could see her lips slowly forming a smile. Jonathan was right, excited was an understatement. Why wouldn't Mandie just admit she loves Joe? It's not like Mandie would be revealing a shocking secret.
"Sooner or later, she's going to admit it," Jonathan mumbled knowingly.
"Couldn't have agreed more," Celia whispered in his ears, while Mandie turned her head to make sure the adults were in sight.
The adults were not too far behind, and once everyone had reached the two carriages conveniently stationed near the exit, the men began loading the valises into the trunk and soon the whole group were off on their way to a hotel where they'd be staying.
Along the journey, Celia spoke up, "We should probably tell Uncle Ned about Joe's supposed kidnapping and the name & address card you received right?"
"Yes yes, of course, why didn't I think to tell Uncle Ned about it, he'll know what to do." Mandie agreed, "I'll tell him as soon as I get the chance."
After a few minutes of silence, Jonathan suddenly remembered the other envelope Mandie had received that morning. "Mandie, don't you have another letter, the one Liza gave you?" He asked the blonde girl who was looking intently at the scenery around her. Louisiana sure was different from North Carolina. The architecture seemed older, but at the same time, perhaps more majestic in a way. Mandie couldn't really explain it. The scenic mountains and rivers were breathtaking and even the bumpy road on which the carriage rattled on seemed different somehow.
"Mandie, Mandie!" Jonathan tried to get her attention,
Mandie snapped her head in his direction, startled, "Yes, what…what were you saying?"
"The other envelope?" Jonathan repeated.
"Oh yes, you're right, how could I forget?" Mandie quickly dug out the letter from her purse.
"Well, it's simple, when you think too much about a person, everything else seems to just disappear from your mind." Jonathan grinned mischievously.
"Anyway, what does the letter say?" Sallie wisely stepped in knowing an argument was about to take place between her two friends.
Mandie hastily tore open the envelope whilst shooting Jonathan a disapproving look. "Oh a letter, it says, "I can see you, I'll hunt you down, I'll make sure you never get to see him again. You hear me, Mandie, your days are coming to an end.
"Oh no!" Celia gasped, "Oh Mandie, what are we going to do?" Tears started falling down her freckled face.
"Who'd send you a threat?" Jonathan wondered, scratching his chin, "Who did you offend?"
"Is there anything else in the letter?" Sallie asked Mandie who was in a daze.
"Oh, there are more threats," Mandie jolted herself back to the present and continued reading the rest of the letter. "Just like his. Oh, poor girl! Poor innocent girl, too innocent, but I don't play victims and bullies, I play the game I want! Read the letter. Read it over and over, maybe your God will give you a miracle, and maybe you'll get the happy ending you want. But if you don't then I'll get my happy ending. Oh isn't that amazing! Of course darlin'."
"This…this doesn't even make any sense, why would a random stranger want to kill you?" Sallie scanned the letter over and over again.
"Joe," Mandie cried, "not Joe, please just not Joe! He's going to die and I won't ever get to see him again. Please God keep Joe safe, don't let him die, don't let any of us die!" With tears streaming down her face, she closed her eyes and looked toward the sky.
"Joe's going to be alright. Wherever he is, God is with him." Jonathan, placed a reassuring hand on her arm. "Besides Joe's a tough guy, remember how you told me how he almost died after being kidnapped by the 'Medicine Man'? Joe is going to be fine…I hope." He whispered the last two words to himself. As much as he wanted Joe to be alright, just like everyone else, a part of him refused to believe what he told Mandie. That Joe was going to be alright. Because 'who knows?' Who knows if Joe is going to be alright? No one. Only God.
The last ten minutes of the ride were filled with a dreaded silence. The day they were supposed to be excited about seeing Joe and visiting his college was now the day they'd get caught up in a dangerous adventure. One that could potentially involve life and death.
How did you all find this chapter?
Now time for the Mandie question, "What are some ways you relate to any of the characters in the series?