Distant Dreams by Tracie Peterson, Judith Pella Page A

choice.”
    “Oh? You mean you didn’t want to attend my party?”
    “Well . . . I didn’t . . . that is, it is nothing personal, you see. It’s just that . . . I don’t know . . . I guess it is as you said, I am too young.”
    “And is that why you sought out the library, because you felt intimidated by all the elders?”
    “Not really. I just suppose I prefer the company of a good book.”
    “To a party?”
    “It’s hard to explain. But I want so much to know things—things I’ll never learn at a party. I have so many—”
    But at that moment the chime for dinner sounded.
    “You were saying?” James asked. She was a child, of course, but a very intriguing one.
    “That was the call for dinner, wasn’t it?” she said. “I should be going.”
    “Let me accompany you.”
    “I can find my way, really.” And before he could say another word, she spun around, her silky curls dancing around her pale smooth neck, and walked quickly away.
    Impulsively, he almost hurried after her, but then thought better of it. Why bother pursuing a child? True, at fifteen, she could become betrothed to a man, but a marriage would not be quickly forthcoming. Nevertheless, James was seven years her senior, and there were plenty of lovely, more suitable women at his disposal.
    At my disposal, he thought ruefully. I’m starting to think like my parents.
    Still, he was in no position for whimsy. He had to be practical.
    What was more important to him than anything else was his career with the railroad, which could only be achieved precisely by thinking more like his father. In this vein, it was not Carolina but rather her sister Virginia who would best further his ambitions. It was certainly no great sacrifice. He’d already seen and approved of Virginia. It would not be hard to shake the little sister from his mind.

11
    Two Sisters
    Carolina had no idea why she’d hurried so from the library. And why she still had the science book in her hand as she entered the dining room! She quickly stowed it behind a large vase of flowers on a windowsill before finding her place at the long dinner table.
    The encounter with James Baldwin had been odd at best, downright disturbing at worst. She mused over it during dinner as she studiously avoided even looking in James’ direction. It was a wonder to her that he had failed to recognize her at first. He’d thought she was one of the eligible young ladies, not a child who had not even yet come of age. Imagine! It was rather thrilling to have a man of his stature think of her as a grown-up lady. But appalling, too.
    It made her more aware than ever of her fast-approaching maturity. In a few months she would be sixteen and would be officially presented to society; then no doubt other men would look upon her in the same way. She wasn’t ready for such things. Yet she did not want to remain a child either. It was terribly confusing.
    But no more so than the interchange in the library with James. Oddly, the moment she’d told him who she was, a subtle change had come over him, and he began treating her like a child. He wanted to know if the “elders” frightened her, obviously considering himself to be one of those elders, as he most certainly was. Even worse, she had fumbled for words to explain things that proper young ladies shouldn’t even think about. It must have seemed quite silly to a man like James, even if she had been able to explain them.
    Then she had rudely insulted him by implying she had no desire to be at his party in the first place. How could she have done such a thing? And to the very person in whose honor the party was given! For that she deserved the harshest reprimand her mother could think up. Instead, her mother, unaware of her rude behavior, let her attend the ball after dinner. It was the last place Carolina wanted to be, but she felt so guilty she didn’t have the nerve to impose her desires upon her mother’s generosity. Nor did she have the heart to return to