Chapter 6

The next morning there was a buzz around the breakfast table about the party that night. Colleen had to admit she was excited. The last party she went to was a local wedding in their county when she was eight. She was looking forward to getting all dressed up and dancing. Oh dancing, it was what intrigued her the most. The thought of some handsome almost stranger holding her waist, twirling her around the floor was tantalizing. She blushed at the thought and there would be so many young men there, especially with all the soldiers. Colleen was sure there weren’t as many men in all the counties surrounding their home that there would be at this party. Michelle could not stop going on and on about gentlemen who she said were simply devoted to her. She had to have named seven from when Colleen had come down stairs till then.

“Michelle?” Colleen said trying to catch her attention.

“What…” Michelle said slightly annoyed at the interruption.

“Do you really like any of them?” Colleen took a bite of her toast covered with strawberry preserves.

“Well…” Michelle was kind of dumb founded. “I supposed a few.” She looked down at her plate. “I don’t really know many of them to well. We never talk much except what they can get or do for me. Just things like that.”

“Oh I see,” Colleen felt a secret evil joy of unveiling Michelle’s veil of perfection. The table was silent for several minutes.

“What about you Marie?” Rachael inquired to break the silence.

“Mother says I’m still a bit too young to have beaus but going to parties and dancing is all right.” Marie stirred some cream into her coffee.

“Anyone you like?” Colleen asked.

“Not really, but I know he’ll come along,” Marie said hopefully before taking a sip. Colleen smiled at her. Marie seemed to be just so sweet. Colleen had no idea where she could have gotten it from. Soon after Colleen got up from the table and headed outside with her reading curriculum. She began to make her way over to the barn to find James. Colleen found him in the isle way of the barn brushing off a horse, so she stood there for a moment to just admire him. She thought he was so handsome. His skin was the most beautiful color brown and his near black eyes were easy to get lost in. James had been a hard worker all his life and it showed. He was tall, lean and perfectly muscular from all his farm work. He had his hair cut real short but what he had was very curly.

“I could just curl it around my finger…”Colleen bit her lip at the thought. “What am I thinking? He is a slave. Though he is handsome and I would think it perfectly natural for me to find him attractive, for he is an attractive man. Then, but then there is something else about him. Maybe it’s that he is so humble? Maybe…”

“Mizz Colleen?” James had finished with the horse and had walked over while cleaning off his hands.

“Oh James you startled me,” Colleen flashed back to the real world.

“Sorry Mizz Colleen,” James tossed a rag over on a hay bail. “Did you need me?”

“Are we going to have our lesson today?” she asked letting the smile that his presents brought come across her face.

“It may have to be a short one today Mizz. I have to get these horses all pretty for tonight,” James said looking back in the barn.

“Well we can run through the alphabet real quick then read our verse. Sound all right?”

“Mizz Colleen just about anything you sudgest will be alright with me,” Colleen blushed. Colleen made her way over to a near by hay bale and sat down.

“Now recite the alphabet with a word for each letter please…”

“A, apple; B, bird; C, Colleen…” James began. Colleen smiled. “E, Ending; F, friend; G, good; H, heaven; I, ice; J, James…” Collen smiled bigger.

“He figured that out himself just by how it sounds…”

“P, patient; Q…” James paused, “I can’t rightly think of one for Q.”

“Quale…” Colleen nodded her head.

“Quail…R, rose; S, sun; T, town; U, under; V, vine; W, window; X…”

“Don’t worry about x and z James…”

James nodded resisting the urge to say yes ma’am, “Y, yellow.”

“Very good. Now we’ll just do the Bible verse,” James sat down on the hay as Colleen pulled out the Bible.

“Now the earth…” Colleen began.

“Now… the earth…”

“Was formless…”

“And empty…”

“An’ empty…”

“Darkness was over…”

“Darkness… was over…”

“The surface of the deep…”

“The surface… of the… deep…”

“And the Spirit of God…”

“And the Spirit… of God…”

“Was hovering…”

“Over the waters.”

“Over the waters…”

“There, we are all done,” Colleen closed the book. James just sat there a moment looking at how stray hairs were falling against Colleen’s beautiful white skin. He took a deep breath.

“Well I best be getting back to work Mizz Colleen. Thank you again,” he said sheepishly as he stood.

“Be looking forward to tomorrow,” Colleen smiled up at him.

“So will I,” James smiled and turned to go back to the barn.

“Colleen!” Colleen’s head whipped around to see Rachael coming towards her. “What are you doing out here?”

“Enjoying the weather, it’s beautiful isn’t it,” Colleen quickly stuffed her flash cards in her Bible.

“Reading?”
“It’s the perfect atmosphere to read the word, don’t you think?” Colleen stood.

“I suppose,” Rachael paused. “Why don’t you come inside? We need to start getting ready and Michelle hasn’t even decided what to wear yet…” Rachael grabbed her sister’s hand and began to lead her sister inside.

All the girls spent the next few hours primping. Hair was done up, corsets tightened and dresses made perfect. The excitement continued to grow for Colleen. She had imagined it so many times. She knew exactly what to expect and yet knew nothing all at once. When she was finally finished getting ready she looked in the mirror. Colleen hardly felt like herself with her hair all done and curly and the long powder blue dress on. It fit her just perfectly. Colleen sighed.

“Colleen step aside. I need to take a peak,” Michelle ordered. Michelle was still in her undergarments, but wanted to make sure her corset had been satisfactorily tightened.

“I’m going to wait outside…” Colleen headed for the door.

“Don’t do much, you don’t want to mess up anything…” Michelle called after her. Colleen met Hannah outside the door.

“Hello Hannha…”

“Anythin else I can do fer ya Mizz Cauleen?” Hannah asked.

“No not really,” Colleen played with her sleeve, “How’s Rachael doing?”

“She doin fine,” Hannah replied, “Gonna be one a da bells a da ball.” Colleen smiled.

“I’m going down stairs,” she said.

“Yes um,” Hannah nodded and walked past her. Colleen made her way down stairs looking at the wall paper as she went. It depicted a Greek legend. The people in the art seemed to live so simply. Colleen’s life didn’t seem simple at all anymore. The war would change everything that she knew. What she didn’t know was what or how much it would change things. Patrick being in it would change things. She hoped that he would be at the party that night. Suddenely she wanted to go home and not go to the party and for things to go back to just as they were. Colleen sighed and reminded herself, that she couldn’t help the changes so she might as well accept them or be miserable. By this time she was in the front doorway leaning her head against the frame. It was very beautiful there. She took a deep breath and breathed in the smell of cherry blossoms from the garden. She closed her eyes.

“The silence…” Colleen thought, “It’s so soothing…”

“Mizz Colleen…” Colleen’s eyes popped open to see James standing just off the porch. “ ‘m I disturbin you Mizz?”

“I wonder if he knows how to dance…” Colleen thought. “Of course not James,” she smiled at him. “I’m just enjoying the air.”

“I understand…” James said peiring up at her. “I see you’re all ready. You look mighty pretty Mizz Colleen.”

Colleen blushed, “Why thank you.”

“You’re welcome…”

“How are the horses today?” Colleen said stepping out on the porch, hands clasped behind her back.

“The horses are just fine. I think they are excited to work today.”

“Excited? How could anything be excited to pull a carriage full of people?”

“They like their work. IT’s better than being cooped up in the barn like they would be…” James sat on the step and picked at a tall grass that had been missed during cutting. Colleen went over behind him and turned around to lean on the house’s big tall columns. “You like the outside don’t you?” James turned to look up at her. The light hit her face just right and he sighed softly.

“Yes, I do,” Colleen looked at the floor, “Makes me feel more alive. Most people just hustle and bustle and talk instead of just enjoying how beautiful it is. I think when we’ve stopped noticing God’s creations we’ve essentially stopped living.”

“You also have definite thoughts about things don’t you?” Colleen looked down at him.

“You I do, it’s just most people don’t want to listen to a girl’s opinions on things like that and… and the women I’m around don’t think like I do.” Colleen sat down on the porch floor leaning her back against the column. James turned to look at her.

“You can always tell me Mizz Colleen. I’ll listen…”

Colleen smiled, “Thank you James… I appreciate that. I do exaggerate thought. I have Hannah, she has always listened. Just maybe not always understood, but tried to very hard.”

“Yeah…” James’ eyes jumped away from Colleen’s face as he saw Michelle standing in the hall.

“There you are,” Michelle said coming to the door. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere… What are you doing sitting on the floor! You’re going to get filthy! And James what are you doing? Sitting around chit-chatting… If you have been disrespectful my brother will whip your hide…” James stood up and bowed his head.

“Oh no Michelle he’s fine. He’s done nothing wrong. Please don’t tell Max, honest,” Colleen pleaded as she stood up.

“Fine…” Michelle said eyeing James, “Come inside Colleen.” She reached out her arm for Colleen to take it.

Colleen took it and before the two of them went inside she mouthed to James, “I’m sorry…” James just nodded in return.

“Honestly Colleen you are too friendly with the darkies. They must be kept in their place…” Michelle said in the hall.

“We were just talking Michelle you don’t need to scold…” colleen began to make her way up the stairs.

“Make sure to wipe yourself off,” Michelle called after her.

Colleen rolled her eyes, “What does she think I am…” A while later all the girls were in their finery and ready to go. They were met at the bottom of th stairs by the men. Then they went out to the carriages. The adults got in the first enclosed carriage driven by the head of the stables Old Mitch. Rachael, Colleen, Max, Melvin, Michelle and Marie got in the second enclosed carriage driven by James. Then they all began the almost hour long trek to the Bradley’s.

“You ladies excited?” Max enquired.

“Yes!” both Rachael and Colleen exclaimed at once, followed by giggles.

“I do believe you will enjoy yourselves,” he smiled.

“Max is it true about how many soldiers will be there?” Colleen was eager to see if her brother would be there.

“I do believe so, I hear the entire regiment was invited and I doubt many will pass it up,” Max answered. Colleen smiled as she looked out the window.

“Colleen you never did clean off your dress did you,” Michelle stroked Colleen’s dress. Colleen tried to ignore her.

“I wiped it off sis,” Marie said.

“Well you didn’t do a very good job of it,” Michelle frowned.

“Oh I didn’t think there would be anything on the front of her dress. She just sat on the porch.”

“Sitting on the porch?” Max inquired.

“On the floor of the porch,” Colleen turned her head back around.

“What were you doing on the floor?”

“Talking to James,” Colleen began examining her dress.

“James? James the driver James?”

“Yes…” Max let out a laugh at that.

“What were you doing talking to a darkie?”

“Don’t call him that, he happens to be very intelligent. A perfectly good person to talk to,” Colleen frowned.

“I will call him whatever I please and James intelligent? Ha, and a person? No he is our property…” Max smirked.

“How dare you!” Colleen almost yelled now fuming.

“Calm down Colleen it’s not a woman’s business anyway…”

“People like you are why Northerners think we are so horrible…” Colleen huffed. Marie placed he hand on Colleen’s and whispered to her.

“Don’t worry about Max dear. He’s just a hot head who will only be able to get married to a complete mindless woman.” This made them both giggle. The afternoon was so gorgeous. Spring was definitely on it’s way. Colleen wished they were in an open carriage so she could feel the breeze. They passes another plantation where there were carriages waiting outside. This led Colleen’s mind to the party. The first thing that would be going on was dinner around 3:30. Then around 5 all the girls would take a nap while all the men discussed things. That evening would be the dancing. Colleen smiled, “Who will I dance with…”

About three in the afternoon they reached the entrance to the Bradley plantation. There were carriages and people on horse back all over the place. Colleen’s heart pounded with excitement.

“Look at all the uniforms..”

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