The ball room was abuzz. Socialites from all of Enid and the rest of blooming Oklahoma Territory had come in their best suits and gowns to welcome home Jessop St. Cloud. His favorite pie and punch had been made and his name was on the lips of all the guests. Fathers and mothers had born along their daughter from the ages of eighteen to thirty in hope of making a match. The eligible women strolled the room like flower petals in a gentle breeze, fanning themselves beneath the lavish chandeliers and painted dome.
Annie was among them. As nervous and eager as ever. Selene felt sorry for her. From what she could gather, Jessop St. Cloud wasn't interested in her. Selene thought Annie was a pretty white woman and certainly nice. She wondered if Jessop was interested in women at all or if his taste was purely in his own ego.
"You better not let them see you watching," Taitiann warned from behind.
Selene let the burgundy curtain fall back into place and she backed up in the hall. "Wouldn't it be grand to go to a party like that? The floor just screams for dancing."
"Dancing," Taitiann said thinking of home. "I imagine the old house is home for birds and strays by now." She could clearly picture autumn shedding its dismal decorations upon the exposed charred floor of what used to be their parlor.
The voices beyond the curtain raised and applause were heard. The sisters hurried back over to the curtain that separated the south wind doors from the ballroom and peeked out.
"Can you see him?" Selene asked.
"No, there are too many people in the way." Taitiann looked over her shoulder. "He must really be something, you know with a party like this."
The room eventually cleared as the guests went to eat. The servants were kept busy the whole night, filling glasses and picking up collapsed revelers off the floor. From the bedroom they shared the Fairchild women listened to the clock chimes. After the midnight hour not a sound could be heard but they remained in the room for good measure.
/
It wasn't until sunrise the next day that Selene woke and went downstairs. Despite being up late into the night she felt refreshed but perhaps that had something to do with her eagerness to speak to Jessop St. Cloud. The curtains had been taken down from over the doors and to her surprise the ballroom floor was immaculate. Stopping in the center of it she looked out the tall windows letting in the autumn light. Her younger sisters played across her mind. She wondered what they were doing and if all was well in Maine.
When she heard a shuffle she turned away from window to the east wall that led into the rest of the house. "Jethro?" She put her hand over her heart. "Good morning."
A smile came to Jethro's face. "How nice it is to hear you be the first one to say that to me."
Selene felt her face grow warm. She crossed the room to the door where he stood and took his arm. "Where are you heading?"
"The west garden," Jethro replied. "It doesn't get much attention but I always did like to walk through it. There's a miniature windmill and a Wendy house." He put his free hand over hers as they crossed the room to the door. "Have you seen them yet?"
"Oh, I've been too busy to explore," Selene said when Jethro suddenly stopped walking.
"The dome," he said then looked up.
Selene did too and sure enough they were standing smack dead in the center of the room.
"It's warmer here," Jethro said and Selene tried to feel the difference but couldn't. "Will you dance with me?"
YOU ARE READING
Fairchild's 7 Daughters-The 12: Book One
Historical Fiction-Old Ghosts Die Hard- Mr. Fairchild has always been an honest man, so no one can understand why he and his family are suddenly driven from their house. Without a word of objection the family settles in a little house beneath the pines. But each Satu...
