Southampton
“One, two, three. One, two, three,” Mildred Westmoreland counted as she traced Meg’s steps around the room. “Good, now remember to hold your arm up. It must be stiff. That’s it.”
The sound of cheerfulness in her mother’s voice was not only surprising but refreshing. Ever since her mother had decided that she would teach Meg to dance herself a few months ago, they’d spent quite a bit of time together each afternoon. Though Ms. Strickland had insisted that she knew all of the dances Meg was sure to encounter once she began attending balls on a regular basis, Mrs. Westmoreland had been appalled at the poor quality of her instruction and had taken over the duty almost immediately. She had explained to her daughter that very afternoon, “As a young lady, I was renowned for my dancing skills. No daughter of mine will embarrass herself at a ball.”
While it had been odd at first—after all, Meg
New York CityIt was a crisp fall morning, and because Charlie preferred to be outside when possible, he had decided to go for a walk about the grounds to clear his head and gather his thoughts.In a few short weeks, he would be off to attend high school at the New York Preparatory School, not far away in Manhattan. Though he was certain he would see his parents frequently, the idea of going off to school after so many years of being tutored at home was a bit unsettling. His friend Walter would also be attending, so at least he knew he’d see a familiar face. Nevertheless, he was quite fond of his parents and thought he would likely miss them quite a bit, despite knowing they would visit regularly, and he could come home often.Though he had determined to push thoughts of Mary Margaret Westmoreland out of his head months ago, he couldn’t help but wonder if he should write her another letter once he knew his school address, on the off chance that she m
SouthamptonMeg had expected a visit from the monster the night she told her mother, but remarkably, that didn’t happen. In fact, she had heard him come up the stairs late that night, heard her mother’s footsteps in the hallway, and then heard a series of loud banging noises and doors slamming from the other end of the house. Though their home was quite sizable, it wasn’t so large that she couldn’t surmise that her mother and uncle must be having it out about something. Meg was hopeful that, despite her initial reaction, her mother was both shocked and dismayed at what her uncle had been doing to her. She was not brave enough to get her hopes up entirely, but she was at least hopeful—and that was a bit better than having no hope at all.For obvious reasons, Meg was a light sleeper, and when she awoke to find the sun peeking beneath the heavy draperies that covered her windows, she was startled. Why hadn’t Ms. Strickland woke
Meg’s eyes grew wide with dismay as Mildred scooted her chair out and tossed her napkin on the table in front of her, giving her daughter one last callous look as she did so. It had never occurred to her that her father would actually disapprove of what she had been doing. After all, she wouldn’t have been driven to do any of those things if he had still been there to protect her, to keep her safe from the monster and her own mother.She kept her vow of not crying when there was any chance someone might see her and swallowed back her tears. The lumpy porridge looked completely unappealing now, and she was certain any toast she put in her mouth would catch in her throat and choke her to death. Since she’d heard Tessa go out the back a few moments ago, she knew the coast was clear to do yet another thing her mother detested, though it hadn’t been on the list, and she took her dishes out into the yard and fed the scraps to her uncle’s hounds.
Giving the book another longing glance, she sat down at her table and pulled out her mathematics book. It was by far her worst subject, but she thought, if she wanted to impress a new governess, she should likely study it a bit more. Young women didn’t have to know nearly as much about calculations and sums as young men, but she’d be expected to know something about how numbers worked. She felt like such a failure every time she attempted to do a simple long division calculation. Whenever she began to court, she would make sure that all the young men she accepted invitations from could do their computations so that she wouldn’t have to.“That does not look very exciting at all,” Kelly said from just behind her. Meg hadn’t heard her come in and startled a bit at the unfamiliar voice. “I’m sorry—I didn’t mean to frighten you.”“Not at all,” Meg said. Being frightened was a weakness, and she had
New York CityThe view from his room in the New York Preparatory School was not nearly as appealing as the one in his study at home, which was actually quite helpful when it came time for Charlie to complete his assignments. Despite Walter’s constant invitations, he generally chose to stay indoors and do his work, even during the times when the young men were allowed to go outside and have a bit of fun in the yard. Today in particular, he was much more apt to stay inside and finish his history assignment. The temperature was near freezing and there was a thin layer of snow on the ground. However, Walter was persistent, and for some reason, Charlie decided that the only way he was ever going to stop Walter’s pestering was to finally give in and head outdoors, promising himself he’d only stay for a bit and would head back in as soon as he possibly could.Though his school didn’t have a football team, one of the other young men was fond of the spor
Southampton“The curtains need to be cleaned,” Mildred Westmoreland instructed as she walked through the parlor, Tessa and a new girl, Sarah, close behind her. “Take them all down, take them outside, and beat them until the dust is all gone. Do you understand?”“Yes, madam,” Tessa replied with a nod.“How do we get them down?” Sarah asked, but a sharp elbow from Tessa silenced her, and if Mrs. Westmoreland had heard, the question was ignored.“This floor is never clean anymore. Sarah, if you must get down and scrub it, then do so,” the mistress of the house continued. “I’m tired of having ladies over for tea only to see them grimace at the floorboards.”“Yes, madam,” Sarah answered, learning her lesson from the last time.“When you are finished with that, come and check with me. I have a few other oddities that need to be attended to. I believe wh
Mildred let out a deep sigh and leaned back in her borrowed chair. Though she was still attempting to look bored and uninterested, Meg could see fear behind her eyes. “Your father and John Ashton were good friends. They were college roommates. I suppose Charles would like to meet you because his father must speak of your father often.”“This letter says, ‘I do hope that you will write me back soon. If we are to have a future together, I should like to get to know you as soon as possible. Since you’ve not answered my first several letters, I am beginning to wonder if I’ve done something wrong.’ What is he talking about, Mother?”“I honestly don’t know,” Mildred replied, straightening her back and looking down her nose at her daughter. “I suppose I could have your uncle look into it next time he journeys overseas….”“You have other letters from Charles to me, don’t you
“Mary Margaret,” Uncle Bertram called, rapping on the door and stepping in slightly. He looked at Kelly and then stopped in the doorway, as if he didn’t want the lady-in-waiting to see him enter Meg’s room.“Yes, Uncle,” she called, standing, her eyes on the floor.“Your mother asked me to give you these.”She glanced up to see several envelopes in his hand. She could tell from across the room that none of them had even been opened.Kelly jumped up out of her seat and made her way across the room to retrieve them. “Thank you, sir,” she said as she took them from him.While Meg wanted to ask why they were never given to her in the first place and why it was okay for her to have them now, she didn’t do so. “Thank you, Uncle,” she said, dropping her eyes back to the floor.She watched as his heavy shoes turned, thankful that he was leaving. But a few steps out into th