Ashes of Thornwood

Chapter 1

I sat on the edge of the porch, nervously smoothing the fabric of my dress. The late afternoon sun cast long shadows on the groaning planks of the weathered farmhouse, the unkept grass rising high beyond my ankles. It hadn't been a farm since Benjamin died.

The warmth of the day was slipping away, replaced by the cool breeze of evening. My sister, Lottie, sat beside me on the old porch swing, her eyes reflecting the same anticipation that churned in my stomach.

"You look lovely, Evie," Lottie said softly, sensing my nerves. "He won't be able to take his eyes off you."

I smiled, but the whirlwind of it all made me uneasy. "It's all so sudden, Lottie. A few months ago, Sebastian was a stranger, and now I'm waiting for him to take me away."

Lottie laughed lightly, her voice a balm to my anxious heart. "Well, you can't say it wasn't romantic. Meeting at the summer fair, him sweeping you off your feet during that dance..."

I sighed softly, recalling the memory. The fair had been a rare moment of joy in a time overshadowed by war. Though the war hadn't reached our little corner of the world, it was all anyone talked about. The fair was the only other news, providing a brief distraction from the grim updates from the South.

The fair was smaller than in previous years, but the fields were full of life, laughter ringing out despite the looming darkness beyond. I had been dancing freely with Lottie in the center of the old Harrelson barn floor, my hair down, to great gasps from the audience when I spotted him. Sebastian had been so different from anyone I'd ever met—confident, charming, with a smile that made me forget everything else. His short chestnut hair was groomed back, his green eyes glistening. When he'd asked me to dance, it felt as though the rest of the world had melted away.

"I suppose it was," I agreed, my fingers tracing the delicate lace trim on my dress. "But now, with the war and everything... it's hard to believe it's all real. A hasty marriage, they say, but one of love, not necessity."

Lottie nodded, her expression softening. Mother had insisted we dress nicely today, pressing our best gowns to make the right impression on Sebastian. The girls from school had gossiped endlessly: Why would Evangeline Harper, the girl too unique in her own skin who couldn't keep her gowns in order, marry a man of such wealth? Surely it was her parents' arrangement or their desperate need for money to fix the rusty old barn they called home. With Benjamin, the Harper's only son, gone... But little did they know, it was love that found Evie and Sebastian.

Sebastian had seen me across the dance floor, his eyes focused on my carefree dance, my hair down and shoes off, spinning unceremoniously to the beat of the music. The ladies gasped in horror, but I was free—freer than the corset that bound me to the slender figure deemed appropriate. A lady from church went to fetch my mother, who furiously dragged me off the dance floor. But Sebastian had already seen me as I was, and he quickly approached.

"May I steal your daughter away for a dance, ma'am?" he asked in a smooth drawl.

My mother, eyeing the fine buttons on his coat and the gold seams of his blouse, nodded and thrust my shoes into my hands. But Sebastian took the shoes from me and handed them back to her, stating, "She won't be needing those."

And before she could object, he swept me off my feet and onto the crowded dance floor, where we danced long into the night.

"Father and Mother approve, and that's what matters. Besides, marrying into a family like the Thornes is nothing to sneeze at. Their plantation wealth will see you well cared for."

Even Lottie and Mother were impressed by his wealth, though they overlooked his boldness at the fair. But to me, he was everything. I glanced down the road, hoping to see the distant outline of Sebastian's carriage. The hours felt like days, each minute stretching longer than the last. "I just want to see him, to know that everything will be alright once we're together."