Chapter 5
Cassandra and
Charles lay on the soft grass in the beautiful sunshine. The day
truly was marvelous. It was warm and a drifting breeze fluttered through the
trees. The leaves fell down among the young man and woman.
“It
is a beautiful day,” Charles remarked placing the last bite of cake in his
mouth.
“So
beautiful,” Cassandra agreed.
“I’m glad
you wanted to spend it with me.” Charles reached for Cassandra’s hand and
caressed it lovingly.
“I’m so
glad we got to come here,” Cassandra sighed leaning her head on Charles’s
shoulder.
“Me too.
Every time I see you, my whole day just brightens.” He gave a light laugh, “The
first time I saw you, I loved the way you had your gorgeous hair up in a
twisted bun—like you do now. You had that white dress that came down to your
ankles. I knew you were the one for me.”
Cassandra
smiled at him. “You were there in your white suit with
the black bowtie and the spotless white top hat. You were the
best dancer I ever danced with and you were gentle and kind and thoughtful.
That’s what I liked best about you.”
Charles leaned over and planted a
kiss on Cassandra’s lips. “I love you Cassie.”
Cassandra smiled brightly, “I love
you too, Charles.”
~~~
Lillian,
Belle, and Danielle were in the kitchen starting supper preparations. The three
women continually glanced over at the grandfather clock. It had been nearly
five hours since Cassandra had left for her “picnic” outing.
Supper
came and went; still no Cassandra. Paul rode out on Midnight to search for her;
the twins rode out behind him. Belle and Danielle decided to go help too. Belle
took the last mule and Danielle went on foot.
Danielle
swung the lantern back and forth and shouted for Cassandra. “Cassandra!”
Danielle sighed and rubbed her eyes. She was tired from her long night
yesterday. “Where on earth could she be?!”
Finally,
Danielle gave up and returned home. She hadn’t seen any sign of Cassandra.
Instead she hoped Cassandra was waiting for her back at home.
Danielle
opened the cabin door and stepped inside. Seated on the couch with the younger
girls gathered around her, Lillian looked up at Danielle. Her eyes searched
Danielle’s but Danielle frowned and shook her head.
“No sign
of her,” she said sadly.
Lillian
took Paul’s big black Bible and began reading the story of Ruth. Danielle sat
down at the foot of the couch and listened. A little while later, Belle
returned to the cabin empty handed. At eight o’clock, Paul, Elsie, and Faith
returned with no Cassandra. Though worried as they were, Lillian and Belle
began to usher the girls into bed. It took some time, helping each child wash
their faces and get changed into their nightgowns. The older women had just
convinced the younger girls that Cassandra would turn up soon when the door
opened and Cassandra blew in.
“Cassandra!”
Belle exclaimed. Everyone heard the cry and ran out into the parlor to see
Cassandra. They all began asking questions at once.
“Did you
get hurt?”
“Where
were you?”
“Did you
get lost?”
“Was it
scary all alone?”
“Why did
you get home so late?”
“Lillian
told you to be back in two hours!”
“We missed
you!”
“Did you
try to run away?”
“Everyone
back to your rooms!” Lillian said raising her voice above the others. To
Cassandra she said, “Barn. Now.”
Cassandra
turned in surprise and quietly walked outside with Lillian following.
Paul nudged
Danielle. “Go with them in case Lillian blows up.”
Although
none would guess it, Lillian was known to have a short fuse and she could
easily lose her temper if she wasn’t careful.
Danielle
slipped outside with them to see what would happen. She slipped in the back
door and stood in the back by Strawberry’s stall. She was out of sight where no
would notice her but she could keep an eye on Lillian and Cassandra.
Lillian and
Cassandra stood in the middle of the barn. Lillian looked at Cassandra. “You
obviously did not go on your so called ‘picnic’ today so where did you go?”
Cassandra
sighed, “I went to town.”
“And…?”
Lillian prompted.
“I met a
friend.”
“A friend?
What kind of ‘friend’?”
“A good
one,” Cassandra retorted.
“Don’t
use that type of voice with me,” Lillian warned, “I’m angry enough.”
“I can use any type of voice I
want!” Cassandra shot back. “You’re not my real mother; I don’t have to answer
to you!” Cassandra turned to walk out of the barn.
Lillian
blocked her pathway and bit her lip in frustration, “That may be true, but if
you’re living in my house, then I need to know where you’re going and with whom
you are keeping company.”
“His name
was Charles Wiggins and we spent the day together,” Cassandra mumbled looking
at her feet.
“Wiggins?”
Lillian sputtered in horrified shock. “Wiggins?!”
 |
| "Wiggins?!" |
“I don’t
want you two ever meeting again.”
“What! Why
not?” Cassandra cried out.
“Because I
don’t want you too.”
“That’s no
reason at all! It’s not fair to me; I love him!”
Lillian
ignored Cassandra last comment. “Go inside and get ready for bed.”
Cassandra
glared angrily at Lillian before marching inside. Lillian sighed loudly and
Danielle stepped out from the shadows.
“You
shouldn’t have yelled at Cassandra like that,” Danielle said.
Lillian
looked up sharply. “She had no right to be gallivanting around with a young man
we knew nothing about! And you had no right to be eavesdropping on us!”
Danielle
frowned, “But you still shouldn’t have shouted like that. You’re new…you don’t
know us very well. You can’t be so quick to condemn. You didn’t even ask for
Cassandra’s side of the story.”
“As your
mother, I cannot let things like that go. I need to reprimand her actions.”
Danielle
stared at Lillian. “I thought you were just our friend,” Danielle whispered.
Lillian
stared back at Danielle in surprise. “Danielle…” she said reaching out to
Danielle.
Danielle drew
away from Lillian. “Don’t touch me.” With that, Danielle walked out of the barn
and into the house.
Lillian remained
in the barn. She had eagerly assumed the role of mother to the newly adopted
girls. She had always loved children and was thrilled to finally be a mother.
However, Lillian was beginning to think that she was moving too quickly. Maybe
she needed to be more careful and give the girls more space.
“I let my temper get
the best of me,” Lillian sighed. She slowly walked out of the barn and headed
for the cabin.
~~~
Danielle entered the house and went
straight up to the loft. She had a torrent of emotions flooding through her.
She was mad at Cassandra for sneaking off to be with some man, she was angry at
Lillian for yelling at Cassandra, and she missed her Mama.
Danielle walked over to the bed and
flipped back the blankets. She crawled beneath the blankets and closed her
eyes. She loved living with the O’Neals; she really did. But sometimes, she
felt like a stranger with the O’Neals. She missed her old life with her Papa
and Mama. They were family and they had a good life together. She missed
playing in the fields with her siblings and helping her father with the
animals. She missed sneaking into the kitchen and stealing freshly baked
cookies or playing pranks on her siblings.
~~~
“Lillian!” Belle called as soon as Lillian entered the house. “Come
quick!”
Lillian dropped her shawl and
hurried to the bedroom where Belle was calling from. “What’s wrong?”
Lillian asked halting beside Belle.
Belle pointed to Jinger’s bed. Poor
Jinger was lying sick in bed.
Lillian touched the girl’s
forehead, “She has a fever. She was acting very strange this evening.”
“I’m not sure what she has but
it’s bad,” Belle said. “Do you think I should stay with her tonight?”
“Yes…that
will be the best,” Lillian decided. Everyone left and went to their rooms
for the night.
~~~
Danielle opened her eyes. It was
dark out except a small sliver of light coming from the moon. I thought
I heard something… Danielle crept out of bed looked over the
banister and could see a figure by the front door. The door opened and the
figure walked out. I wonder who that was… Danielle thought
before she fell asleep.
~~~
Lillian exited her room after
Oakley had been taken care of. Paul had left early that morning to deliver wood
to Elm Springs. The town was about a four day trip round trip.
She hurried to the bedroom to see how Jinger was doing. To her
dismay, Belle and Hannah had both gotten sick during the night. Lillian
made a makeshift bed on the floor for Belle and tended to the three.
She left the room and met Faith and Elsie in the parlor.
“Where’s
Cassandra? I’m going to need her help,” Lillian said.
“She wasn’t
in her bed,” Faith said.
Lillian sighed, “Well, we must move
on. I’ll go get Danielle and you two go wake the younger ones.” Lillian mounted
the steps up to the loft. ”Danielle,” she called. “Time to wake up.” As
she neared the bed, Danielle mumbled something. “Danielle?” Lillian bent
over Danielle.
“I feel
awful,” Danielle said hoarsely.
Lillian applied her hand to
Danielle’s forehead. “You have the same thing. Are you thirsty?”
“Very.”
Lillian fetched a cup of water for
her and handed it to Danielle.
Danielle
thirstily swallowed the water. Lillian fixed Danielle’s blankets and returned
downstairs. When Lillian came down from the loft, she found that the three
young girls were showing symptoms of the sickness.
“I’ll stay
with Lynn, Megan, and Nadia,” Lillian said to the twins. “Faith, you keep an
eye on Danielle, and Elsie, you stay with Belle, Hannah, and Jinger.”
As the day progressed, Faith came
down with a fever and Elsie was feeling poorly too. Lillian helped Faith into
bed and found Elsie.
“I need
you to ride into town and fetch Dr. Young,” Lillian told the girl. “It’s too
much to handle now.” Elsie obediently mounted Ruth and rode towards
town. Lillian watched her go. She closed the door and retreated to the couch.
She was feeling terrible. Her head was pounding with a headache, she had a
fever, she felt shaky all over, and she needed to sit down. She sat down on the
couch and exhaled loudly. “You have to get up, Lillian,” she ordered herself. “You
have too.” But Lillian fell back onto the couch and with total exhaustion, fell
asleep.
~~~
Elsie veered dangerously far to the
right. She quickly righted herself and moaned. She was dizzy and
tired. Ruth snorted as Elsie tilted left and right.
“I’ll
never make it,” she said. She noticed a small dirt road leading off the main
road. She took a risk and turned on the road, praying that a house was nearby.
She was in luck. A house appeared a half mile down the road. A boy about twelve
years old was picking vegetables in a garden. Elsie stopped in front of the
house and dismounted. She staggered towards the house.
The boy ran over to help. “Are
you okay?” he asked as he ran over and grabbed Elsie’s arm to steady
her.
“No…I need
a place to rest,” Elsie said holding her head.
 |
| Elsie grew sick |
“What’s
wrong with her, William?” the woman asked.
“I dunno,
Grandma. She rode up and was staggerin’ back n’ forth. She looks
real sick.”
The woman felt Elsie’s forehead, “She has a bad fever. I’ll
see what I can do.”
Elsie barely remembered the woman
saying her name was Opal Corie. She mentioned her two grandchildren, William
and Silas, and her son, Titus, lived with her. Elsie murmured her thanks as she
leaned her head back and fell asleep.
Grandma Corie bustled into the
kitchen to fetch some medicines. ”William!” she hollered. ”You
go get your Pa.”
“Yes’m,” William said running
off.
~~~
Lillian woke up. She sat up slowly;
she felt achy. Her mouth was completely dry. She made her way to the kitchen
and got a glass of water. She took a pitcher of water and made her way to the
girl’s rooms. She filled each girl’s glass of water. Lillian stumbled out
towards the loft.
“I have to
get Danielle some,” she sighed. She started up the steps. As she stepped
on the sixth step, she swayed dangerously. With a crash, she dropped the
pitcher and fell down the steps. Lillian blacked out.
~~~
Cassandra
sat with Charles in his parlor. They had just finished a wonderful lunch
cooked by professional chefs.
“How is
everyone at your house?” Charles asked.
“Well,
Jinger was sick with a fever when I left. But otherwise we are fine,” Cassandra
answered.
“Lots of
people are sick,” Charles returned. “They have this horrible fever and the
doctor said it is very contagious.”
“Contagious?”
Cassandra asked nervously.
“Yes, it
is really contagious.”
Cassandra
clapped her hands over her mouth, “Oh, Charles!” She stood up quickly, “I think
I just did something truly horrible!” She grabbed her shawl and bonnet and ran
out of the room.
“Cassandra!”
Charles called after her. Cassandra ignored him and ran down the street. Harold
Wiggins appeared from the other room.
“Where did
she go in a hurry?”
“I told
her how the fever everyone has is very contagious and she ran off.”
Harold’s eyes lit up, “Is her
family sick?”
“I think
so,” Charles shrugged.
“Stop that
girl!” Harold exclaimed. “Postpone her for as long as you can!”
“But
Uncle—”
“No time
to explain. Hurry!” Harold dashed out of the house and Charles hurried to his
steed. He boarded his Thoroughbred and galloped up the road where
Cassandra had headed. In the distance, he could see Cassandra cantering
on her Clydesdale. He kept galloping and caught up easily.
“Cassie!”
he shouted after her.
Cassandra turned around and pulled
up. “What’s wrong, Charles?” she asked quickly.
“I need to
talk to you before you go back.”
“I don’t
have time for that. My family could be very sick!”
“They can’t
all be sick, trust me.” Charles dismounted and stood beside Cassandra. “I want
to know more about why Mrs. O’Neal said you couldn’t see me anymore.”
“There isn’t
much to tell…” Cassandra spoke uneasily. “I really should go and—”
Charles stepped closer to her and
placed his arms about her. “I’m concerned for our relationship, Cassie.”
Cassandra retold the entire evening
to Charles. She had just started when a horseman flew by. “ What on earth?”
Cassandra said watching the man recklessly gallop his mount up the
pathway.
“Some
crazy cowboy, I presume. Continue,” Charles prompted. Cassandra turned
back to him and continued her tale.
~~~
Harold was pleased that Charles had
stopped Cassandra. He galloped past them and continued until he
reached the O’Neal house. He left his horse in the pasture and knocked on the
door of the house.
“Hello?”
he called. No answer. He pushed open the door and glanced inside. It was
getting dark and no lamps were lit. He stumbled in and found a lamp which he
lit. The room was illuminated. He peered around. His gaze rested on the steps
to the loft. A woman lay motionless on the steps. He strode over quickly and
smiled his crude smile.
“Lillian Rosenthal,” he whispered.
He gently touched her shoulder and Lillian was stirred awake.
She opened her eyes and
looked at Harold. “You!” she cried out angrily.
“Shh,” he
said sternly, “That is no way to treat your rescuer.”
“My rescuer?
More likely my murderer!” Lillian coughed and held her head.
“You are
in no manner to speak now.” Harold bent over and picked Lillian up into his
arms.
“Put me
down!” Lillian hissed angrily.
“You want
me to drop you?” he said with a rough laugh.
“Better
than you holding me!” Lillian’s eyes flashed angrily as she tried to pull
free from Mr. Wiggins.
Harold ignored her and carried her
to her room. He laid her on the bed and gave her a glass of water. “You know,”
he began while she cautiously took a sip, “the best days of my life were the
days I spent with you. I’m sure your favorite days were then too.”
Lillian set down the glass of
water, “The best day of my life was the day I said ‘I do’ to Paul O’Neal.”
Harold growled deep in his throat;
a harsh crackling sound. “I couldn’t believe it when I was told you ran off and
married that man; dirt-poor, worthless, poor excuse for a man, Paul O’Neal!”
Lillian’s response was a quick,
strong, slap to his face. “Don’t you dare talk about my husband that way!”
Harold looked stunned for a
moment; but he regained his composure. “Why don’t you like me,
Lillian?”
“You know
perfectly well why!”
“I’m
telling you I had nothing to do with Mr. Hermann’s death!”
“I’m telling
you that you did! I heard you Harold! You and your friends planned to
kill him because you all were on his will. When my grandfather died, you would
inherit all his money and estate. You murdered my grandfather for your greed
for money.”
Harold sighed, “The sheriff
didn’t think I did.”
“He ought
to,” Lillian replied. She turned her head away from him. “Just leave me
alone…please…please.” Tears were now forming at the corner of Lillian’s
eyes.
Wow, this is interesting!
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