Box Set: The ArringtonTrilogy by Roxane Tepfer Sanford

of her little
sisters. She was close enough for me to call out without exposing
myself.
    “Eliza Sue! Over here!”
    She stopped walking and looked for where the
voice was coming from.
    “It’s me, Amelia. I’m behind the tree!”
    “Amelia?”
    “Yes, please come closer,” I begged.
    She told her sisters to stay put and came
toward me and said curiously, “What are you doing hiding behind the
tree?”
    “John Mason went and took all my clothes when
I was swimming down by the river,” I explained in a pitiful
whisper.
    Eliza Sue was short and chubby. Her plump
face was pale and full of freckles around her nose and cheeks. She
wasn’t exactly a pretty girl, but her blonde hair was full and
shiny, with thick, wide streaks of platinum blonde highlights. I
always envied her hair. All of her sisters had dark-colored hair,
like Perry Montgomery and his wife. Eliza Sue once told me that she
had inherited the color of her hair from her paternal
great-grandmother, who was of Swedish decent, apparently.
    Her sisters Edna and Martha approached with
curiosity.
    “Tell them to stay back,” I ordered.
    Eliza Sue instructed them to stay put.
    “Go get me a dress, something to wear. I’ll
stay here until you return.”
    “But Amelia, none of my clothes will fit
you,” she said.
    “It doesn’t matter. Anything will do,” I
implored.
    “All right, I’ll find something.”
    “Hurry, please!” I cried.
    Eliza Sue went off, with her sisters in
tow.
    “Hurry!” I called again. She turned, waved,
and hurried along.
    I clung to the tree as the only means to
shield my nakedness. My body was changing dramatically that summer.
It was strange to see my baby body transform into a new, womanly
figure. When I looked at the other girls my age at church, I could
see I was maturing earlier than most. I knew that’s why Daddy kept
his distance, but it was just the opposite with all other men.
    That’s why when Perry Montgomery came into
the woods looking for me, I was frightened. Why hadn’t Eliza Sue
returned?
    “Amelia, Eliza Sue explained what happened. I
brought you a dress. One of Myrna’s dresses that she can no longer
fit into,” he called out.
    I closed my eyes and took deep breaths to try
and calm myself. No man had ever seen me naked, let alone a married
man whose eager eyes followed me whenever we were in the same room.
If Perry Montgomery could have undressed me with those eyes, I knew
he would have.
    Since the night he came out onto the gallery
and told me how beautiful I was, he had been even more intrigued
with me. After formal suppers and heavy drinking with the men, he
would excuse himself and follow me, even to my own bedroom.
    “Please, Mr. Montgomery,” I whispered when he
quickened his pace after me. I always managed to get to my room and
lock the door. I was a bundle of nerves around him. I no longer
imagined a lovers’ union with him. I grew too afraid of the way my
body reacted to my thoughts and fantasies about him. It was wrong,
and I feared his gaze, his chase, and most of all, his touch. All
those dreams, I soon realized, should have remained just that.
    “Why didn’t Eliza Sue bring them?” I asked,
praying he would just drop the dress and leave me.
    “After she told me what happened, I knew it
would be best if I took you home. I can explain everything to
Eugenia. I know how she is,” he said with great self assurance. “I
wouldn’t want you to get into trouble.”
    He was right. If Eugenia found out I had gone
to the river, I would be punished. Even though she knew losing my
clothes wasn’t my fault, she would blame me, regardless.
    I silently struggled with what to do. I had
never been in such a predicament. He must have sensed my
concern.
    “I will drop the dress by the tree. I promise
to turn and not look while you are dressing. I am a gentleman,
Amelia. A married man with daughters of my own. I, of course, will
respect you.”
    “All right,” I said, resigned, and listened
as he