Blackwell Bounty

Chapter Nine

"Edith! Are you ready?" Caroline called. 

In answer, Edith blew out a breath of frustration and replied loudly, "Just a minute." Then she turned her attention back to the small, round mirror on her dresser. She attempted once more to gather her hair back neatly, but to no avail. Often people complimented Edith on her long, dark, thick mane of tresses, but they did not know how truly unruly her hair was.

Hearing footsteps on the stairs, Edith assumed that her sister had tired of waiting for her younger sibling to emerge and was coming to drag her from the room so that they could be on their way. The harvest celebration was today and with only a few hours of sunlight left the festivities would begin any time. The Harris sisters had finished their chores early in order to prepare their appearances for tonight, but Edith had yet to succeed in taming the mass of ebony locks that threatened to make her scream in frustration.

"Edith," Caroline said, her voice faintly muffled from the other side of the door, which she promptly opened when she did not receive a reply.

The eldest Harris sister was dressed in dark, emerald green. The dress was obviously expensive, something that Caroline had toted with her all the way from Boston with the knowledge that the season was nearing time for the annual celebration. The rich color of the soft fabric that draped over Caroline's graceful, elegant form in neat ruffles brought out the green in her eyes, making them more alert and definitely more alluring. Her fair, straight tresses were gathered like a halo upon her head, giving Caroline an angelic appearance when paired with her high cheekbones and round, dark pink painted lips. She looked stunning, while Edith was stuck with the same coarse hair as Puck!

Caroline had always been the prettier one, Edith thought. Men favored Caroline for her elegant and willowy build, along with her fair golden hair. She'd already be married if she wasn't so picky.

Seeing the current feminine hair crisis taking place in the room, Caroline's gaze softened and the older sister decided to attempt a rescue. She swept over to her sibling's side, gently shooing Edith's hands away from the dark hair. With a heavy sigh, Edith rested her hands in her lap as she sat on the bench and stared helplessly into the mirror, bottom lip jutted out in a slight pout, irritated that she was nineteen years of age yet still felt like a little girl since she couldn't even manage to style her own hair.

Caroline combed the dark curls gently with a brush and then sifted her long, slender fingers through the locks, pulling them away from Edith's face. "There now, you're just twisting it the wrong way, you see." The blonde hummed a faint tune as she weaved Edith's curls into a hold that would keep her hair back and off her neck so as not to over heat herself during the festivities which included dancing, knowing well enough that her little sister would never choose fashion over comfort - unlike the eldest Harris sister. "The color blue compliments you, Edith. You made a good choice in dress."

Edith glanced down at the light blue gown covering her form. It was her best dress, with lace lining the plunging, yet still modest, neckline along with the short sleeves that rounded at her shoulders and swept down against the fair skin of her upper arms. The color contrasted drastically with her dark hair and brought her eyes to the forefront of notice. "Mother picked it out for me for my seventeenth birthday," she said, somehow managing to keep the frustrated tone out of her voice that usually surfaced in this subject of conversation.

"She has always had an eye for apparel."

Edith could hear the smile of revere in Caroline's voice without having to glance into the mirror's reflection to see her sister's face.

"I'd like to apologize for my behavior these past few days, sister," Caroline said, much to Edith's surprise. "It was childish of me, and here I am the eldest. I mistakenly spoke as if you were still young, when I know that you're well past old enough to make your own decisions. I didn't mean it in the way that it came out. Please, forgive me. I'd rather not fight with you in my last couple of days here in Blackwell. I'd like to go home knowing that I made amends with my little sister."