protecting Love
After her last meeting with the Union Soldier,Freya started to gather things that was important to her. She also started writing a letter to her father not sure how to find the words of how sorry she is to leave him. She had so much to do in such a little time not sure where to really start first. The lady of the house took to making lists of things she needed. She would start one list then remember she forgot something and start a whole new list. Miss. James had to keep her writings hidden from everyone in the house mostly keep them hidden from her father and Mr.Myer. Trying to keep everything under lock and key was hard to do when Mitchell Myer watching her every move. (Surprise he has tried to follow Freya to the out house yet.)
On one of the days Freya was trying to put all her lists on one paper. The lady of the house had at least ten lists in one hand and close to sixteen in the other. When she was about to start fixing them someone yelled for her down stairs. Miss.James stood up and threw her pencil to her desk and gave a deep sigh. "Oh good you did hear me, get your things whatever you need I'm going into town and you are coming with me. Now go on and grab a sweater." Mr.Myer said putting on his jacket. Miss.James looked at him like he has gone mental beyond out of mind. "I have things to do around here today so I'll pass thanks. Hope you have a good trip into town though." She started back to the stairs when Mitchell grabbed her arm his a strong grip and jerked her back to him. "I said get your things we are going into town. Don't make me repeat it. Now go!" Mr.Myer said in a low growl.
Mr.James came out of his study to see what was going on. "What is all this sound out here? I was reading my paper and I hear you two. So would you kindly tell me what has happened?" Before Freya could tell her father the bringer of heartache answered. "Simply put I was going into town and asked your beautiful daughter to come with me. She lost her balance and almost fell. Lucky for her I caught her. Now go on my love get your things so we can leave." Freya pulled his fingers off her arm and told him once again "I'm not going with you I have things to do around here today. Plus I was going to go to Ayden's. Only so much time before he goes off to college. Good bye Mr.Myer." Knowing that he couldn't do anything in front of the old man Mitchell was forced to be nice.
"Oh fine with me just make sure when you go over there to be safe. Try not to fall off your horse or anything. You think I can get a token from you before I go? Maybe a kiss?" Miss. James turned around and gave him a look that will burn someone alive. Freya walked over and patted his face and said "Maybe when we get married I'll kiss you but not today." Before Mr. Myer could say anything William said he agreed with his daughter and no man should see his daughter kiss anyone at all. "Remember my sweet dear we have a meeting with Pastor Kent tommorrow." Freya turned around to look at him. "Camden. His name is Pastor Camden. You should know that since you are in a rush to get married after all."
Mr. Myer left before he lost his temper in front of Mr.James and do something that would destory his chances with the lady of the house. Close to noon Miss.James goes into her mother's old sewing room and sees all the projects lay about. Freya goes to the dress dummy walking around it seeing all the marks and scartches on it. A skirt hangs half off the middle of it. While walking around the room she spotted a trunk covered in dust some cobwebs. "I thought you were going to Ayden's today. Must have changed your mind." The voice made her jump almost hitting her head on the low part of the room. The house girl stood there with a basket filled with clothes. "How did you know someone was up here Theodora? What Mr.Myer have you watching my every move for him?"
"First of all girly I saw you come up here with a candle. Second I would never take orders from that pathic escuse of a man. So no I'm not watching your every move for Mr. I have to know everything. Why are you up here anyway?" At first Freya didn't hear her trying to get the trunk open. "I came up here to see if my mother's wedding dress is up here. If I am being forced to marry that horse's ass of a man I'm going to wear my mother's dress. Is there a key or something to open this truck?" Theodora dropped the basket of clothes and walked over to the truck. "May I speak freely Miss. James?" Freya looked at the head house girl with a little surprised smile on her face. "Since when have you asked to speak freely with me or my father?"
The house girl gave a little laugh at that then spoke again. "I have seen what that man has done to you. I haven't said anything about it to your father yet. But Freya Elizabeth James if you don' tell your father what Mr.Myer has done to you I'll be forced to. You might not be my blood but you are like a daugther to me and sister to my children. Now if that Union boy comes around then I might give my blessing to him." Theodora said with a wink. Freya stood up dropping the lock of the trunk in her hands. "How did you know Mr.Rosemen was a Union boy?" The house girl picked up her basket again and went to the door then turned around. "He doesn't have a southren acent for one and another I saw his Union uniform in his bag when he stayed with us. I mean someone had to wash him a pair of clean pants and shirt didn't they?"
The lady of the house kept trying different things to get the lock to open up but everything she tried didn't work. She even tried taking a hair pin to the lock and got no where. Over two hours later someone knocked on the door. "You were supose to meet Nick and I down by the river over an hour ago. Forget to tell time dear little cousin? What are you doing other then getting your hair infested with cob webs? Planning to keep spiders as pets?" Freya glared at him with webs in her curls. "Yeah I'm planning to put it in your suit case for college you want it to be a big fat scary spider or a little one that bites alot?" Ayden tried to pull the webs out of her hair for her. "Surprise me Freya just keep it away from my father you know how he is with animals." Miss. James shook her hair making the webs fly everywhere. "I give up on this trunk I'll ask Eric to see if he can get the lock off."
Freya got up and dusted off her dress and headed to the door. "We going or not Ayden? I can pick your going away spider later on. Don't want to keep Nick waiting. I can clean this up later on." They went down by the creek and had lunch the girls teased and picked on Ayden. Freya told Nick all the Ayden stories she could think of. "Oh I bet you were a little cute little burned tomato Ayden." Nick said pinching his check between her pointer and thumb. Freya winced a little when she got up to get some freash water from the river.
"You have anymore stories on Mr.Ayden Hunter James here? I'm sure all his new friends at the college will love to hear them." Ayden watched his cousin carefully bending down to scoop up some water and heard her whimper some when she stood back up.
"You alright Fre'? I told you not to sleep out in the barn with the horses. Last time your back hurt for a week and half. And you were only ten." Miss. James tried to ignored him and sat back down like she was eight months along with child. "I have another story on Ayden if you want to hear it Nick. When he took money from his father's bible to buy sweets from the shop in town. That money was for his father's new pipe he had his eye on for two months. Ayden had marks up and down his backside from the switch father used." Nick tried not to laugh at the story but she couldn't help it. "Maybe I should hide my money somewhere Ayden can't find it. Maybe my corset. If he doesn't want another switch across his backside or have his college he won't go after it." Freya laughed trying not to wince from the pain. And they went on with their picnic cooling their feet in the creek.
A little while later Freya was walking home picking a sunflower saying "Tell my father, don't tell my father." Thinking the odds were in her favor with all those petles. "Tell my father. Fine only if i have to and well maybe in a letter." As Miss.James climbed the last step to her porch she dropped the steam of the floor and ran inside when she saw three bottles of wine and half a basket full of oranges. Freya went into the house and saw Theodora in the dinningroom clearing the lunch. "Two places Theodora? Did Uncle Kendall come over for lunch?" As the house girl grabbed the napkin that fell onto the floor she said no. "A certain blond world traveler decieded to pop in for a visit. Left trail of mud or something all the way up stairs. You will be cleaning that." Theodora said putting the second dish on the first along with the sliverware topping it all with the napkins.
Miss.James ran up all the stairs and flung open the door of the old sewing room. "You should really clean this room a bite better all these spider webs. You know how many you had in here?" Freya walked over to the trunk now open with lace of an old dress fell out. "Well you can clean them off along with the mud you tracked up the stairs. You made the mess not Cellia so you can clean it. How did you open this up I have tried everything short of a blacksmith." Ceillia held up a key and swung it around her finger and said: "Your saint of a mother had this tied with string to the back of the vanity in the corner. I tried it over in two other places before the trunk. The door to this room and father's room."
Freya picked up the dress falling out of the trunk. "Always count on my mother to have something simple as key hidden in a place no one will think it would be. What else have you found in here? Let me guess baby clothes from the baptisems of the twins and I? Or old love letters from my father to my mother. Maybe baby teeth that fell out from us kids were little." Ceillia got up and dusted herself off the best she could. "Yes,yes and don't be gross. No one wants to see that." Freya dug through the trunk the best way she could trying to be carefull just in case of broken glass.
Freya took out items of the trunk scraps of yarn and half broken knitting needles a long with some fabric as well. A stack of envolopes half a mile high was at the far left hand corner. The letters were covered in dust and only had two words standing out. "Pamela Swan? Hold on isn't your mother's name Pamela? Why would my mother have letters from your mother?" Freya got them out with the flyer of Ceillia when she was a child. Ceillia grabbed it from Miss. James almost ripping it in two. "I remember this flyer. Of mother begging people to take the flyer with my name on it. Of my photo when i was only ten years old. Oh how much I wanted to run into her arms that day." Ceillia gave a sniff and rubbed her eyes seeing her eye make up on her seleve. Miss. Swan sat on the floor again reading the letters one after another trying not to cry a tear at her mother's words.
Freya got up and went down stairs to the kitchen gathering some cookies and some tea. "Theodora did mother have a friend named Pamela? Last name Swan? Did she know about..." Theodora started meading the dough on her table. "If you are asking if your mother knew all about your friend and why she had run off? Yes your dear mama knew all about Miss. Swan and her true story. The Mrs. would exchange letters with Mrs. Swan back and forth. She thought it was only right. You will never know what Ceillia's mama went through when that girl took off until you have a little one of your own. And I pray three things girly. One that it won't be for a long time until you have a little one. Two it isn't with Mr. Myer. And three that your little one is as wild as you were as child so you know what your mama and papa went through bringging you up."
Theodora gave a little laugh at the last little bite adding more flour to the dough. Freya put down the tray and grabbed a pinch of flour and threw it at the house girl. "Call me a wild child. If you want a wild child I will show you a wild child." Theodora threw some back at her playfully laughing some. "You are lucky you are too big to put over my knee still little miss thing. No go on with you. Go tend to your friend off with you I have supper to cook and you will just get in the way. Get now!!"
As the day went on Freya spent time with Ceillia going through the letters one by one reading the words of each mother back and forth. Look at this one Freya this one was from your mother to mine. "Dear Pamela I fear the end is coming for myself and the boys. More blood comes out each day when I cough. I just pray that the boys don't suffer at all but perhapes my prayers are wasted on such things. As I write this I hear one of the boys coughing. I believe it's Brandon. Just know when I go I will watch over Ceillia as well as my own daughter. Just a matter of time before I and the boys leave the world. Just wish that my loving William takes great care with our little Freya the little fireball that she is. Until we meet in the next world Pamela.
Your friend,
Sophia James."
Ceillia folded up the letter putting it with the others in the box. "I had a feeling someone was watching me all this time. I just thought was that homeless mad man in New York. He only had half a dozen teeth,a good chunk of his nose missing and glasses that was missing a lense. Charming right? I must rememeber to write a letter to your saint of your mother on rememberence day. When is that again I always forget." The two of them got off the floor picking up the tray as well. "We can ask my father he might have a farmer's almanac in his desk. Get the dress from the trunk please I can't with the tray." Freya said nodding to the lacey dress hangging half way out.
When they got down stairs someone knocked on the door. Freya put the tray on the dinning room table and walked over to the door. "Miss. Swan can you take that dress to Theodora see if she can fix it if possible. I will get the door." Ceillia did a little bow trying to be funny headed off to the kitchen. Miss.James opened the door seeing the pony express man at the door. "Hello can I help you with something?" The man looked at the package and enovolope in his hands. "I'm looking for two men young lady. Mr. Wiliam James and Mr.Mitchell Myer are they around? " Freya looked at the items in his hands. "Yes they are I'm Mr.James's daughter and going to be married to Mr. Myer by the end of the summer. (Reminder to myself must find the strongest cleaner Theodora has and clean my mouth out with it.)
The young man eyed her up and down maybe looking for a ring or a tell that she was lying. "Well then I will leave these with you be sure they get them. And please sign here." He handed her a piece of paper and pencil to write with. She quickly wrote her name took the items from him then shut the door.
Miss.James walked over to the table opened the package first knowing what it proably was. More cigars that her father had ordered. He must have put a rush on them. When will he ever learn honestly. Well there goes almost five dollars wasted. The lady of the house then opened the letter adressed to Mr.Myer the return address was Lavender Rose Myer. Freya read the letter and dropped it not believing her eyes. This is just the dirt she needed to get him away for good. She folded the letter putting it back into the envolope stuffing it into her pocket. Her father stuck his head out of the study. "Did I hear the door my puppet?" Freya hide the box of cigars behind her. "Oh yes father but it was a mistake you know how people are. They see only the last name and not the first on the post box. They were looking for Uncle Kendall." Mr. James gave a nod and went back to his study. As Freya went to see what Ceillia was doing in the kitchen she thought must keep this to myself until I know more of Mrs. Mitchell Myer and how she was put in the asylum. Was she already mad or driven by it by the man that Freya was due to marry at summer's end?
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