Everlasting Light - A Civil War Romance Novella by Andrea Boeshaar Page A

Jennifer Marie Stokes is headed right that way. That’s what Mama said.”
    “Hush,” Alaina scolded, “or I won’t tell you what my invitation says.”
    Rebecca clamped her mouth shut while Alaina tore at the embossed paper. Although her family was what South Carolinians referred to as plain white folk , Alaina and her sister had been taught to read and write.
    Scanning the printed type on the invitation now, excitement gathered like a snowball rolling downhill. “I have been invited to Jennifer Marie’s eighteenth birthday party.”
    “Mama won’t let you go. There’ll be dancing, and Mama says dancing is a sin.”
    “I won’t dance. I’ll just watch everyone else.”
    “She won’t let you go.”
    “Yes, she will, but don’t you dare say a word about it. It’s my invitation and I’ll do the asking. Promise?”
    Rebecca shrugged a slender shoulder and tossed her walnut curls over it. “All right. I promise, but just because you’re my only sister, and I love you dearly.”
    Alaina leaned forward and pressed a kiss on the girl’s cheek.
    In the end, she had somehow convinced both her parents to allow her to attend the party. Before she knew it, she was on her way to the Stokes’ plantation, riding in a luxurious buggy Jennifer Marie had sent for her, complete with a lady’s maid for an escort.
    It was a half-day’s journey from the Dalton farm to the Stokes’ plantation, but Alaina was filled with such anticipation that she barely noticed the ruts in the road that threatened to jangle her bones from their joints. Once she arrived, Jennifer Marie insisted she nap before preparing for the party that evening. However, Alaina felt too excited to rest, and she dressed carefully, donning a new gown she’d sewn for this occasion.
    “Oh, now, honey, you can’t wear that old thing!” Jennifer Marie frowned at Alaina’s simple blue dress with its high neckline and lacy white collar.
    Embarrassment gripped her. “I can’t?”
    “You look like a ten year old in that outfit. Here …” Jennifer Marie led Alaina to her ornate wardrobe and threw open its doors. “Choose one of my gowns. Perhaps this lilac creation will adequately complement your fair complexion.”
    “I couldn’t possibly wear one of your beautiful dresses.” Alaina gazed longingly at it.
    “Why not?” Jennifer Marie’s delicate blonde brows raised in surprise.
    “Because it’s … it’s too … beautiful .”
    Jennifer Marie laughed. “You goose. I own only beautiful things. Look around you. Is this room not the most exquisite bedchamber you’ve ever seen?”
    “It is indeed.” Alaina’s gaze fell on the four-poster canopy bed with its yellow satiny comforter. The same sunny material hung across the long mahogany windows which overlooked the vast cotton fields beyond the mansion.
    “Lending you my favorite gown is the least I can do.” Jennifer Marie patted her elegantly coiffed blonde ringlets. “After all, you saved my life that day in town and I shall never forget your kindness.”
    “You have more than repaid me.” Alaina vividly recalled the incident in which she’d pulled Jennifer Marie out of harm’s way as a runaway wagon careened down the main street of Columbia.
    “I haven’t even begun to repay you.” Jennifer Marie’s hazel eyes sparkled with adoration. “You are my very best friend, Alaina Dalton.” She leaned closer. “I have a big surprise for you tonight.”
    “For me? But it’s your birthday party.”
    Jennifer Marie laughed, sounding like a twittering little bird. “Change quickly and you’ll see what I have planned.” With that, she left the room in a billow of pink taffeta.
    Feeling uncertain, Alaina removed her simple frock and allowed Jennifer Marie’s maid to help her into the lilac-colored gown with its wide hoop skirt. Much to her delight, it fit perfectly, although the neckline was much too low to be considered modest. If Mama saw her, she’d have a fit! But it surely was the