Chapter 2

Todd’s Point of View

I still remember the day I realized I loved Ann. My parents took the whole family to her house to celebrate her sixteenth birthday. Since I wasn’t allowed to bring Alex along, I figured it was going to be boring with no one but our parents and my sisters there. I would have brought another one of my friends had they been able to come along, but they were busy. When we got to her house, I sat in the parlor, bored out of my mind, while the girls all giggled and talked about stuff only girls would be interested in. I tuned these topics out fairly well.

As I was staring out the window, Ann walked up to me. “Would you like to play the new game my parents bought me for my birthday?”

Anything to get away from the mindless chatter appealed to me, so I nodded and followed her to her bedroom. Ginny, one of the servants in her household, was with us, so there was no way anyone would think we were doing anything improper. Her bedroom was a typical girly bedroom but somehow, it didn’t seem so bad compared to what my sisters’ bedrooms were like.

She handed me a deck of cards. “The game is called Solitaire. Are you familiar with it?”

I shook my head.

“It’s a game you can play by yourself.” She shuffled the deck and set seven cards out in a row on her desk. I watched as she continued to set the cards out. Some were faced up and some were faced down. As she did this, she explained, “Since I’m an only child, I don’t receive games that are for two or more players. This card game is fun and can be tricky. If you make a mistake, you have to hope you’ll get to use the necessary card again.”

“Why are you doing this for me?” I had to ask it. Usually, she didn’t notice me.

She smiled at me.

I blinked. Since when did she look pretty?

She handed me the rest of the cards. “It can’t be fun for you to sit in the parlor and listen to us talk about clothes and jewelry. I know our parents are close and wanted to spend the day together, but it’s hardly any fun for a boy to be surrounded by girls. Also, I was the one who insisted that Creepy Alex wasn’t allowed to come. I’m sorry, Todd, but I just can’t stand him. He thinks his pranks are funny but I don’t.”

I shrugged. “I guess he’s not for everyone.”

“I had hoped that maybe one of your other friends would be able to come. Simon and Jeff are actually nice. It’s too bad that didn’t work out. So I thought if you could play an interesting game away from the rest of us, it would help pass the time.”

“Thank you.”

She spent the next five minutes teaching me the rules of the game, and I was intrigued by it.

“I will let our parents know that I invited you back here so they won’t bother you until it’s time to eat,” she said.

“Would you like me to stay here, Miss Ann?” Ginny asked her.

Ann looked at me for a moment before turning back to the servant. “No. I trust him.”

That was when I fell in love with her. From that moment on, I sought her out whenever she was around. I found that I was able to have a good conversation with her as long as we were alone, with a servant quietly watching. Being wealthy with servants following us all over the place, we grew up used to it. But the times when I could talk to her without one of my sisters, our parents or a friend with us was rare. Most of the time, I had to listen to her and Agnes talk. I stayed as long as I could tolerate the conversation. On several occasions, I attempted to change the topic, but Agnes dominated the room so I gave up and left. As much as I loved to sit and look at Ann, I could only handle so much female talk.

I spent hours staring at her picture. It was the only one I had of her. It was taken on her sixteenth birthday. She gave Agnes a copy. I wanted to ask for one too but was suddenly too nervous around her, so I offered to buy Agnes’ copy.

“Ann’s my dearest friend,” she said. “If I sell this, it’ll be like I’m selling my friendship. I can’t do that.”

I didn’t hide my disappointment. “It’s just one picture. You have others of her.”

“True but this is her most recent one.” She paused and gave me a careful look. “Do you love her?”

I shook my head. “Of course not.” Like I would ever admit such a thing to my sister!

She didn’t seem convinced. To her credit, she didn’t give me a hard time about it. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll ask her for another picture.”

“You’re not going to tell her why, are you?”

“I should. It might be the first step to her becoming my sister by marriage.”

“I just want her picture. I don’t want to marry her.” At sixteen, I wasn’t thinking that far off into the future.

“I’ll get the picture and I won’t tell her why.”

As soon as I got the picture, I framed it so it would stay in good condition. As the year passed, I often gazed upon it and recalled the day she taught me Solitaire.

It was easy to admire her dark hair, fair complexion, brown eyes, and hourglass figure. I couldn’t think of a single thing that was wrong with her. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. She did have one flaw. She didn’t love me.

My last attempt to get Ann’s interest came in October when we were seventeen. She came down with a fever and was unable to attend school, so I volunteered to take her homework to her. This was my chance to talk to her without Agnes being around.

Monday through Thursday, I visited with her in her bedroom. Ginny stayed in her room while I discussed the class lessons for the day and recorded her answers to the questions on our homework. Even when she was sick in bed, she was beautiful. Her disheveled hair and runny nose did little to discourage me. It was nice to see her without her jewelry, fancy dresses and hats on. We mostly made small talk, and I thought she was beginning to enjoy my company. I know the more I learned about her, the more I loved her. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to do after we finished school in May.

“I suppose it will be time to get serious about looking for a husband because I have to,” she said thoughtfully. “I hate to say it but sometimes being wealthy isn’t much fun. You have to do what others expect you to do. For once, I would like to do something that isn’t proper.” She glanced at Ginny and smiled. “I often tell Ginny that one of these days, I’m going to let my hair down and go outside without a hat or a parasol.”

I grinned. “I wouldn’t mind seeing that.”

“Oh, I know it isn’t a big thing as far as the rules go.”

“Who says you have to do something drastic? Sometimes just doing something small can help when we live under the expectations of our parents.”

“So you do understand.”

More than she realized. That was one of the reasons I went along with some of Alex’s pranks. They were harmless and funny. I didn’t want to mention him though. I wanted to keep the atmosphere pleasant.

“What are you going to do, Todd? Are you going to college or start working?”

I hesitated to answer her question. I was seriously considering moving to Jamestown, North Dakota to be a farmer. Alex’s aunt and uncle, who lived in Fargo, told me many stories about farming and North Dakota whenever they came for a visit. They also sent him pictures which he showed me.

Finally, I answered, “I’m not sure yet.”

“Tell me. Do men have the same pressure to marry that women do?”

I thought over her question. “No. At least, I don’t. We do feel pressured to find a suitable job.”

“So we have our own pressures to deal with. How do you cope?”

“By dreaming of what I want to do.”

“Really? What is that?”

Did I dare tell her? I wanted to, especially since I was hoping to ask her to marry me and go with me when we finished school. But with Ginny there, I decided not to mention it. I didn’t know how much servants talked amongst themselves and did not wish my parents to discover my possible plan. The only person I trusted with the information was Alex who faithfully kept my secret and helped me find out more about farming and North Dakota.

“It’s alright. You don’t have to tell me,” she said. “I can understand the need for a secret.”

Again, she amazed me.

“I suppose we should discuss my homework,” she stated before she sneezed into her handkerchief.

“God bless you,” I whispered. Even when she sneezed, she was pretty.

“Thanks.”

We turned to the homework.

When Friday came, I wore my best suit. It was a medium gray color with a dark blue tie. I even paid attention to how I combed my hair. This would be the day I would ask her if I could court her. Since we had some pleasant conversations over the week, I was hopeful that she might start to see me in a more romantic light. I didn’t want her to think of me as just Agnes’ older brother.

When I arrived at her house with her books, my heart pounded loudly in my chest. I rang the doorbell and waited for her servant to answer. I followed George into the parlor and smiled at the sight of her. She wore a gorgeous dark green dress and had her hair neatly pulled back with a dark green bow. I didn’t dare hope she dressed nicely for me.

Ginny took my hat and coat.

“You look like you’re feeling well,” I greeted as I set her books on the table.

“I do. Thank you.” Ann motioned to the chair. “Will you sit down?”

I sat in the chair while she sat on the sofa. Of course, I wished that I was sitting next to her but knew it wouldn’t be proper until I was courting her, and even then, I wouldn’t sit too close.

“My fever is gone, though I still have a stuffy nose,” she reported. “I do appreciate your keeping me current on my school work.”

“It was either come here or work at my father’s bank.” That wasn’t really the reason I was doing it, but I didn’t feel ready to say the truth yet.

“Are you ready to start that so soon?”

I sighed as I thought about working there.

“Apparently.”

“I take it that it doesn’t please you. You should be able to have the job of your choosing after you graduate, so your time at the bank will be temporary.”

“We’ll see.” The truth was, if she showed any interest in me, I would seriously consider staying in Virginia and working at my father’s bank, but I didn’t want her to feel responsible for such a decision. After a few moments of awkward silence, I said, “We got a new student today.”

“Really? Who?”

“Kent Ashton. He just arrived two days ago from New York.”

Her eyes lit up. “New York? How impressive.”

I frowned. A lot of the young ladies in class thought Kent was exciting. Did I really have a chance next to someone who was obviously more charming and sophisticated than I was? “Yes. Many girls seem to be taken with him. Alex had to welcome him the only way Alex could.” It wasn’t my intention to bring Alex up but I hoped to get off the topic of Kent.

“Oh no!”

“You know, Alex may be a prankster but he’s harmless. He’s not all bad.”

She rolled her eyes. “Alex is so childish. When are you going to get tired of his foolishness? I hope Kent doesn’t assume everyone is as ill-mannered as Alex.”

I stiffened. “I admit that Alex does joke a little too much, but he is a good friend.”

I thanked the servant who brought me a cup of hot cocoa.

“Personally, I think he’s a bad influence. If I hadn’t dumped sand all over him when we were ten, he never would have left me alone. I hope Kent will teach him a lesson.”

I grinned as I recalled the day Alex and I were so bored in class that we threw pebbles in her hair until she got fed up and poured a jar of sand all over us. “I must have taken two baths that night to make sure all of that sand was off of me.”

She chuckled at the memory, her mood brightening.

“It was kind of funny.”

“Everyone in class learned not to mess with you after that. Oh, Agnes wanted me to give you her letter. She wanted to come but I felt it was best that she wait until you’re healthy. I don’t want her to risk getting sick.”

“Tell her I miss her,” she replied as she took the letter. My heart rate increased as our fingers lightly touched. “So, what homework do I need to do?”

I wanted to say something more but decided to go over her homework.

After an hour, I stood up to leave. “I will see you on Monday. I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

“Thank you again for bringing me my homework so I don’t get behind in school.”

I shrugged. “It wasn’t a bother.”

Ginny brought me my hat and coat. I slipped them on and hesitated. Would it be appropriate to ask her if I could court her?

“Is there anything else?” she wondered.

Suddenly, I realized I couldn’t do it. “No. I better go.”

And so I left with a lot I wanted to say but couldn’t.