Molly-Jane Walter

Chapter One

I sit outside on a wooden bench, watching the sunset. Pink and gold shot through with red and lavender. I don't suppose that in all of my short ten years, I had ever seen a sunset so beautiful. Around me, crickets started their daily melody. The garden was quite big but was cared for wonderfully by the gardeners. I liked to help tend to the garden. The head gardener, James, had taught me from a young age how to care for the plants and flowers. Every afternoon, I would help him water the plants. James would go around the garden with the other gardeners and water the plants in the mornings, as I was often busy with lessons. Looking around me, I take in the beauty of the garden. Giant oak trees surrounded the border, while Roses, Daffodils, Gardenias, Sunflowers, and all sorts of other flowers sat at the bases of the trees. Think of the garden in the season of Spring from the book Little Women, then add more trees, more flowers, and more cheeriness to the picture. Then you might have something close to how the garden at StoneHill Manor looked like to me. "Molly! Time to come inside now! Dinner's ready!" Laura called from the kitchen. Laura was one of the maids at StoneHill. She was a pretty thing, with long blonde hair, usually tied up in a bun at the base of her neck, pale skin and freckles. Her height was not tall, but she wasn't a midget either. Her character was kind and considerate, yet at times, her temper got the best of her. Sometimes she frightened me when she got so angry. I hated to upset her, seeing as Laura was my one true friend in this horrible Manor. "Coming!" I shout back. I sigh heavily, for I hated to leave the garden. Running as fast as my legs would carry me, I make my way across the garden. I suppose it was because I was so hungry, having only been allowed to eat a small breakfast, and a piece of bread with a slice of cheese for lunch, that I ran so fast. The garden glowed as it basked in the fading light of the setting sun. Being out in the garden was my favourite place to be. No aunt, no cousins, no torment. I could simply be one with nature, enjoying all the plants, the animals, the flowers, the beautiful sunsets... so you can see, reader, why the garden was my favourite place at StoneHill. Reaching the large wooden door that led to the kitchen and servant quarters, I take off my boots and set them down beside the mat. They were covered in mud, for it had been raining almost half the day, and go inside to where Laura was waiting for me. While it had been raining, I was put in my bedroom, and told by my aunt that if I so much as moved out of the room, I would be punished. My aunt, as I said, treated me most of the time as though I were invisible. Still, if I had only been allowed to, and if it was proper, I would have loved to have gone and played in the rain, jumping in the puddles and splashing water all around. However, such fun was not something I was allowed to endeavour.

"Wash your hands now, and I'll put your plate on the table, ready for when you come back". She said, as she grabbed the most enormous piece of pumpkin pie I had ever seen. I nod like mad and make my way towards the wash basin. Pouring some water from the jug, I splash my face and arms with water. Looking at myself in the mirror, I sigh. Why did I have to look so plain? My cousins often teased me about my looks, saying that I would never turn into a marriageable young lady when I grew older. I study myself in the mirror. If I could just be beautiful, even for a day, to wear fine clothes, the most expensive jewelry, to ride in a fine carriage, to have many men come to court me...but that was simply a fantasy. For surely it would never happen. Who would possibly want an orphan girl? One who had no wealth or estate. One who would never truly be as beautiful as the ladies who go to the evening opera...another sigh. Oh, the opera. How lovely it would be to go! Ladies dressed in the most expensive fabrics, feathers and jewels in their hair, jewelry adorning their neck, wrists and ears, oh how magnificent it would be to attend the opera! Oh, I should not have started thinking about the opera...for now I am falling into a daydream so deep, that I should be in trouble with Laura if I were even a minute longer at the wash basin. However, I cannot help myself. It had been so long since I had daydreamed. I imagine myself in a lovely gown, my hair adorned with jewels. Gentlemen at the opera would gaze at me, wondering who on earth this lovely young lady could possibly be. I would smile shyly, not giving away who I was, or where I had come from. They would whisper behind their hands, trying to figure out if there was some way that they could uncover my identity. I would walk into the box, and take my seat. The actors would take their places on the stage, and the opera would begin. The lights would be turned low, and from down below me, the rustling sound of the audience's programs, and the hush as the actors began their performance...