The Gallant South- Part One

Chapter III- October 1, 1912

        "The what?" Cora asked, still standing in awe at the scene before her. Bettirose was looking at her and grinning widely, proud of everything. "The Minority Society! Mary Ruth Heiler's greatest achievement!" Her grand masterpiece!" she announced.
        "She...she built all of this?" Cora asked, feeling a little lightheaded. Sitting down at a vacant table while motioning for Cora to join her, Bettirose nodded. "She and several others. Built this place in 1857, originally meant to harbor runaway slaves. Now it's meant to harbor all the oppressed people in the city, and all the land around it. So, what do you think?"
        There were a million questions whizzing through Cora's head, all fighting over which was going to get asked first. Cora finally decided on, "What kind of music is that? I've never heard it before."
        Bettirose laughed a moment before nodding to the three gentlemen on the stage. She was about to speak an answer when suddenly, a voice from behind Cora spoke. "It's Ragtime! You tellin' me you ain't ever heard no swing before? Your life must be real sad for someone who's grandmammy created all this."
        Cora and Bettirose turned to look behind them. There was a tall woman standing behind them. Cora had never before seen someone dressed like her. Actually, Cora had never seen anyone like her. She was six feet tall with golden-blonde hair wrapped up in a shiny gold headband with a huge peacock feather that plumed out above her head. She was wearing a long, exotic-looking orange dress with a gold waistband and wraparound drapery trimmed with fur. She wasn't wearing gloves, which was a requirement for an evening ensemble. She looked like she'd just come from France or Europe, but her accent was southern and heavy.
        "You....I...wow." Cora stammered out, unsure of what else to say about the woman standing above her. And so Cora stared some more. The woman's arms were muscular, the first Cora had ever seen. Women weren't supposed to be that strong. Especially not first-class women. They had no need to be. Most rich women were small, thin, and perfectly skinny, just as man wanted. Not this woman, however. Her face was loose, not tight and stern and commanding. Her limbs looked powerful, not weak and delicate. She wasn't wearing any jewelry, not even a measly bracelet. The only thing she adorned was a small wedding ring on her finger. Cora had never seen a woman quite like her before.
        The woman only laughed as Cora stared. "You ain't never seen no rich lady like me, have 'ya?" she asked, reading Cora's mind. Bettirose snorted and said, "I told you so."
        "You...you look amazing!" Cora exclaimed, not knowing what else to say. She was learning many interesting things tonight. The woman, still laughing, sat down at the table and introduced herself. "I'm Mildred Henry, but you call me Millie. Ev'ryone here does. I bet Bettirose and Theo told ye all 'bout me by now," she said, and Cora shook her head.
        "Oh, really?" Mildred asked with the raise of an eyebrow and a look towards Bettirose, who shook her head. "We've not had time to tell Cora of all your...exploits. She's only just gotten here!" she exclaimed. Mildred nodded. "Yeah, that makes sense. Well, should we show Miz Cora here 'round the place? Have 'er meet ev'ryone?" she asked, standing up once again. Taking this to be a sign of walking, Cora stood up and Bettirose followed.
        "Where is everyone?" Bettirose asked, glancing around the room. Just as Mildred was about to answer, Cora noticed a woman sneak up behind her and before Cora could blink let alone comprehend the situation, the woman tried to put Mildred in a headlock, only to have her swing around and tackle the woman. Bettirose laughed, and Cora stood shocked at the scene she'd just witnessed.
        "I won." Mildred announced proudly, standing up and brushing off her dress. The other woman stood up a moment later, and Cora could see that she was a young Irishwoman of remarkable beauty. Her skin was pink and soft, her eyes were blue and shiny, and her golden-orange hair shimmered and tumbled around her shoulders in a most unladylike fashion. She wore a simple white evening gown with gold trim, nothing too fancy. Next to her stood a man with light brown hair and the start of a beard. He was wearing evening pants and a white shirt. Both of them looked to be in their early twenties.
        "Agh! Ye've gotten me again, Millie! I swear on yer God, how do 'ya do it?" she questioned in jealousy with a thick Scottish accent. Millie only laughed. "You gotta get better at yer timin'. Plus, I'm about ten times stronger than ye, if that helps," she replied. The woman groaned, and Bettirose and the other man laughed.
        "You...I...what?" Was all Cora could stammer out as she looked at the scene. Suddenly, everyone turned to look at her. The woman with the orange hair grinned widely, and Cora just assumed everyone knew who she was.
        "Saints above, is she related to Mary Ruth?" the man asked, looking at Cora with interest. Bettirose nodded, once again speaking for Cora, who was a little nervous about all the attention. Bettirose however, was not. "Yeah, this is Cora and she's come back to help us!" she exclaimed, causing Cora to look at her with a raised eyebrow. It was too late however, as the four people began clapping proudly.
        "Oh, nice to meet 'ya, Cora. I'm Henri Byrne, and this's me wife Josephine-"
        "But ye'll call me Jo, just like ev'ryone calls her Millie," the woman said, pointing to Mildred, who was nodding along in agreement. Cora stood awkwardly, not knowing what to say or do, so she said the first thing that came to mind, which was: "I...I've never seen women...fight before."
        Mildred and Josephine laughed, almost in pity. "Of course, you ain't been here long enough to see any...non first-class behavior. This is how the two o' us say hello." Mildred explained helpfully. Cora, however, remained horrified, and yet fascinated that such high-society people could be capable of such...non-properness. Cora had never seen anything like it, but then again, she was seeing a lot of new stuff.
        "It's also good practice for dodgin' the cops at the protests too!" Josephine exclaimed, and Cora nearly fainted from shock at her words. "I'm sorry, what? The what?" she gasped with her jaw dropped open, utterly horrified at what she was hearing. Once again, the four others all laughed, as if they were making fun of her in a non-rude way. Cora felt she needed to pick up on everything pretty quickly, or she'd be lost.
        "Yeah the protests. Suffragist rallies, not to mention equal rights protests. This city's been alive since yer grandmama got here 'afore the Civil War and started stirrin' things up. Thank God she did though." Mildred explained as if it weren't a big deal, which it most certainly was. She made it sound like this was normal for all of them. And maybe it was. Cora wasn't sure.