Anne of Survivor

Chapitre Sept: Dreadful Fruitcake

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It was a week and three days until Grand Harvest Day. The day families came together to thank the Lord for the fertile land and healthy cattle by having an enormous feast once all crops ready for reaping had been harvested. And though Laveda was thankful this had been a particularly good year for agriculture, or so Henry told her, she couldn't help but be more thankful for the new life she had been given. The de Rangers were more wonderful than she thought they would have been, giving her the last of the family rooms available, excluding Anne's, and only asking her, in return, to do her very best when it came to her studies.

Every now and then; however, she would help Henry in the garden or give Verna a hand in the kitchen. Though they told her time and again this was not necessary, she felt she should do more than merely receiving excellent marks to show her appreciation. And receiving, not good, but excellent marks; she did. In fact, with Haru's assistance, on top of her regular meetings with Ms. Godwin, Laveda had grasped her mathematical studies with great confidence. Before, she hadn't realized basic algebraic theorems could be of any use to a lady, but once Haru explained to her she used them every day to calculate the profits and losses of her shop, Laveda was intrigued. And she finally understood why learning such a subject could be useful to her, for unless Andrew were to ask for her hand, she was more than likely to be left to her own devises.

Not wishing to think on that now, she decided it was time to get cleaned up and begin the day. Being the third Sunday of the month, the entire family, including Sophie and herself, was expected to join the other influential families at St. Ursula's Cathedral in town. Laveda had not yet been to St. Ursula's but from what her sister had implied, she didn't believe it would be to her liking; ladies dressed in their ballroom best, gentlemen suavely and ever so coolly watching as the ladies fluttered by, eyes and ears open to all but the sermon. Or at least that's what she had envisioned, a half day social engagement; nothing at all like the tiny parish on the hill the family attended on all other Sundays.

Laveda sighed as she glanced over the dress Cipriana had helped her make the week before for this very occasion; pinkish lavender with lace and plenty of fabric waves and folds. Though she believed, only two days ago, there was no other dress so pretty in all of heaven; she now wondered if it were fancy enough. After all, it would be the first time she was introduced to proper society. Sighing again to push away her fears, she turned to the basin in the corner of the room and filled it with the pitcher of hot water the maid would sneak in every morning; a quick wash would make her feel better.

The wash was not enough, Laveda thought to herself as she did her best not to fidget in her seat. Everyone in attendance was so gorgeous she was finding it difficult to listen to the sermon. Sophie must have known this, for her little hand slid over to rest on hers. Laveda drew comfort from her younger sister; glad she was not there alone.

Ethana witnessed this gentle moment between the sisters, and her heart began to ache. She remembered when she and Anne had been that close; how Anne was always trying to look out for her. Tears began to well up in her eyes, and she tried desperately to blink them away, glancing about the cathedral as a way to dispel memories.