He lost two minutes later.
Ellie put a lightweight red coat over her pale yellow dress and tied a large-brimmed floppy white hat with a red bow falling off of the back onto her head. And Jon wore a brown corduroy blazer and tweed newsboy cap.
“Would you like to sit in front or back, my dear?” Jon asked as pulled her by the hand over to his horse Penny.
Ellie shrugged, “Back, I suppose, would be fine.
“Alright then.”
Jon hopped onto the horse, sliding one leg over to the other side. He held out his hand to Ellie, “Come on up, Mae. There’s plenty of room.”
Ellie smiled and took his hand. Using only a little strength, Jon was able to pull her up onto Penny’s back behind him.
“Make sure you hold onto tightly,” he warned, “For we won’t exactly be moving slowly, my dear.”
As instructed, Ellie wrapped her arms tightly around Jon’s waist.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Ready.”
With that, they were off. Through the grassy hills of Donners Bend’s countryside they rode, laughing all the while. Jon was right, they didn’t move slowly; Penny ran as fast as a bullet across the land just as the sun was beginning to set. Although Ellie’s hat was tied on with a ribbon that ran beneath her chin, she was still afraid it might fall off, so she held onto it with one hand and onto Jon with the other. Every so often Jon would turn his head around as they were riding and point out some various landmark or building.
They passed by Ol’ Smith’s shop, a few old abandoned farms, Jon’s house, and the Rhodes orchard and mansion. They could see the children playing in the backyard. Gracie sat on a red gingham blanket, braiding her doll’s hair, while Leah and Demi climbed up one of the smaller trees, and Wesley swung back and forth on a little wooden swing hanging from one of the tree’s branches by two strands of rope. Juliet, the maid, sat next to Gracie and read a book quietly.
“Shall we say hello?” asked Jon as he turned his head around quickly. His hair flew into his grayish brown eyes, making Ellie smile.
“Well?” he laughed.
Ellie nodded, “Yes, a quick hello.”
As they neared the Rhodes’, Jon pulled back the reins a little to slow Penny down.
“Who is it?” Gracie asked, setting down her doll and standing up to get a better view. She looked up to Leah and Demi in the tree for her answer.
“It’s Ellie!” Demi exclaimed, preparing to hop down from her seat on the branch.
“It’s Ellie! It’s Ellie!” Leah repeated.
“Be careful,” Juliet reminded, as they jumped down onto the grass.
Wesley stood up on the swing and called out, “It’s a horsie! It’s a horsie!”
Gracie laughed, “Good call, Wes!”
“Good evening Gracie, Leah, Demi, Wesley,” Ellie paused, “And Juliet, of course. You’re doing well I hope?”
Juliet nodded and said shyly, “Quite well.”
“Who’s your friend?” Demi asked, coming forward.
“My name’s Jon. Jonathan Robert Smithton. What’s yours?” Jon called down.
“I’m Demi Louise Irene Rhodes, but everybody calls me Demi.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Demi.”
“Johnny,” said Ellie, “I’d also like you to meet Gracie, Leah, and Wesley.”
Jon smiled, “It’s nice to meet you all.”
“Can we come on a ride too?” asked Wesley.
“I’m sorry, son, but I don’t think there’s room,” Jon answered.
“That’s alright,” Juliet added, “For I don’t think mistress would want the children going out right now.”
“Yes, that’s probably true,” Ellie agreed.
“Are you Ellie’s sweetheart?” Gracie asked of Jon.
Ellie and Jon laughed and Jon replied, “Well, that was rather straightforward, wasn’t it? The
answer is no, miss, but we are very good friends. Isn’t that right, Mae?”
“Oh, yes. Quite right,” Ellie said with a smile.
“Why do you call Ellie, Mae?” asked Leah as she cocked her head to the side confusedly.
Jon grinned, “I don’t know. It’s just a little nickname I use for her, but I’m not the only one using a nickname. You should ask her why she always calls me Johnny instead of Jon.”
Leah turned to Ellie, “Why do you?”
Ellie wrapped her arms around Jon’s waist tighter, giving him a hug, and said, “Because he looks like a Johnny to me.”
Leah giggled, “That’s silly.”
Looking up to the darkening sky, Jon said, “We’d best be off now, Mae, but it was nice meeting all of you,” he tipped his hat at the children.
“It was nice meeting you too,” Gracie replied politely like the perfect little lady her mother had taught her to be.
“Goodbye!” Ellie called, waving behind her as Penny began to canter off around the orchard and back into the hills.
Because Ellie hadn’t lived in Donners Bend long and she was very unacquainted with the land, she asked Jon, “Where are we going now? Home?”
He shook his head, “Not just yet.”
Jon guided Penny down dirt paths, across rocky streams, and through thick forests. The wind whipped Ellie’s feathery hair behind her, and her hat flew right off her head. If it hadn’t been for the red ribbon around her chin it would have fallen off completely, but now the ribbon ran across her collarbone and the hat sat on her back. Ellie laid her head lightly on the back of Jon’s shoulder, causing Jon to smile.
Finally, they reached what Jon had been searching for.
“This is where I used to come play as a child,” he told Ellie, “I’d come here to be alone, to be free, to be calm. No one ever knew about it, until now.”
They were in the middle of the forest. Ten large pine trees made a perfect circle around the grassy area in which they were. Looking up, the sun was shining beautifully through the trees and into this one, heavenly-like ring. It was like someone had taken a piece of the sky and framed it in this one magical spot in the center of the dark forest.
Jon hopped off Penny and lead Ellie in an orbit around the outer edge of the circle by Penny’s reins.
“It’s beautiful,” Ellie said truthfully, for she couldn’t take her eyes off the piece of sky above her.
Jon smiled, “I used to come here to read, and dream, and just think. I called it my felicity, I don’t know how I even knew what felicity was at that age, but I guess I must have learned it somewhere. It’s that blissful place of pure contentment.”
They stayed there, in Jon’s felicity, for who knows how long. Jon lost track of the time, but it must not have been too late for the darkness couldn’t prevent them from seeing one another. Together they lay on the ground in the middle of the grassy circle.
“Do you know what?” Jon asked finally.
“What?”
“I don’t think I’ve felt this perfectly content in a long time.”
“Me neither.”
Just as the sun dipped beneath the horizon in the distance, Ellie felt a light drop of water hit her forehead.
“Did you feel that?” she whispered.
“Feel what?”
Another drop hit her arm, “That.”
“Oh no,” Jon said as he sat up, “It’s raining, isn’t it?”
Only seconds after he held out both his hands, drops of rain hit each.
“Come on, Mae,” he said taking Ellie’s hand and pulling her up, “We have to go. It’s too late to be far away from home in the rain.”
Jon hopped on Penny and pulled Ellie up behind him. Without warning, Jon kicked Penny’s sides and they were off. Ellie held onto Jon’s middle tightly and bit her lip from fright.
The dark, mysterious forest surrounding her didn’t seem too inviting. Plus, she was afraid Jon wouldn’t be able to see where they were going, and Penny would trip over something, sending them all tumbling to the ground.
The wind whipped cold d
rops of rain into her face and Jon’s. First she tried to protect herself by holding her hat back on her head, but when that became too troublesome, Ellie buried her head in Jon’s back and tried to hide from the rain, which was beginning to come down harder. The ride home was longer than both Jon and Ellie had expected, and by the time they reached Ellie’s house both were soaking wet. Ellie’s skirts clung to her legs and she could feel her hair sticking to the back of her neck.
Jon hopped off Penny and helped Ellie down. Taking her hand, he ran with her to the front porch and immediately began apologizing:
“I’m so sorry, Mae,” he said, taking off his sopping tweed hat, and running his hand through his dripping whitish blond locks, “If I’d known it was to start raining tonight, I’d have never taken you out. And now I’ve probably ruined your dress, and your hat, and I really didn’t mean to. Honest.”
Ellie smiled and placed her hand on the side of his face, “It’s alright, Johnny. You don’t need to apologize to me. My dress and hat will dry out; don’t worry. And I assure you I had a wonderful time, despite the rain.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
Jon smiled and wrapped his arms around Ellie in a friendly hug. She smiled and hugged him back.
“Well, I’d best be off now,” said Jon as they broke apart, “I’m sure Penny’s plenty angry at me.”
Ellie looked over at the drenched horse and agreed, “Yes. You should probably be getting her home. Thanks for the wonderful evening. Goodbye, Johnny.”
He gave her a quick, amiable kiss on her damp cheek and replied, “Goodbye, Mae.”
Setting back on his tweed newsboy cap, Jon ran back out into the rain, jumped on Penny’s back, tipped his hat, and rode off through the rain back to his house. Ellie smiled and went inside to dry off.
The next afternoon, Ellie and the children sat inside the Rhodes house up in the children’s schoolroom. They’d just finished a day full of studies including reading, writing, history, math, and French. And now, it was finally time to play. Because of the wet grass outside, the children were allowed only to play with their toys indoors in the playroom today. Gracie, the leader of the group, came up to Ellie with a new plan for today’s playtime.
“Can we invite Katie and Jeremy over?” she asked.
“Who are Katie and Jeremy?”
“They’re our neighbors, the Thompson’s,” Gracie explained.
“And our friends,” added Leah.
“Well, I suppose they can come over for a few hours or so,” Ellie agreed, “But how exactly does this work? Do we all have to walk over and invite them?”
“No, no,” Leah shook her head, “We send over Matty.”
“You mean Matthew? The carriage driver?”
“Yeah, Matty. He rides over and invites them for us,” said Gracie, “He likes to go.”
“Yeah,” Demi agreed, “Because he likes to go see Miss Emy.”
“Miss Emy? Who is Miss Emy?”
“Miss Emily is the Thompson’s nanny. Matty’s in love with her,” Leah said with a giggle.
“May I go ask Matty to invite them over please, Ellie?” Gracie asked.
“Yes, you may.”
Gracie ran down, and when she’d returned the children went to the window to watch Matthew ride over to the Thompson’s on a silky black horse. Around fifteen minutes later Juliet knocked on the playroom door and the children exclaimed, “They’re here! They’re here!”
Demi opened the door and in walked two children and their nanny. The children looked very alike, and one could tell they were siblings instantly. The girl, who looked to be around Leah’s age, had long auburn hair that she wore in a braided bun with long coral-colored ribbons hanging out the bottom. She wore a coral gingham dress with a square-cut white collar and white stockings. The boy, a little older than Demi, had smooth auburn hair and wore a black sweater, white oxford shirt, gray tie, and khaki pants.
The two children immediately ran in to join their friends and began playing with either dolls with Gracie and Leah, or trains with Demi and Wesley. The nanny walked over with a bright smile on her friendly face and introduced herself, and the children.
“Hello! You must be the children’s new nanny, correct?”
“Yes,” Ellie said with a nod, “My name’s Eliana Mae Henderson, but I’m called Ellie.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Ellie,” the woman said as they shook hands, “I’m the Thompson’s nanny. Their names are Katherine Paige and Jeremy Francis, though they go by Katie and Jeremy. And my name is Emily Jean Hardesty.”
She was a pretty girl, with soft, light brown hair she let fall onto her shoulders instead of tying it up as Ellie did. Her bright, green eyes were full of life, and she had a thin and innocent, yet womanly, frame. She wore a lavender gown with dark violet accents.
“Hello Emily, it’s nice to meet you,” Ellie returned. Then, gesturing towards the chairs in the corner, she asked, “Would you like to sit down?”
“Love to.”
The two nannies sat and chatted in the corner while the children played all afternoon.
“So, how are you liking Donners Bend so far?” asked Emily.
“I love it,” Ellie answered, “It’s so comely and charming.”
“And the rain doesn’t bother you?”
“Not at all, in fact, I rather enjoy the rainy days of Donners Bend.”
“Well I guess one has to if one lives here for long,” Emily laughed.
Ellie giggled along, that’s true.”
“And how are you enjoying your job?”
“It’s going quite well, I must say. The children, though at times they can be a handful, are very sweet and playful.”
“I’m sure they are.”
Through their small talk, Ellie found out that Emily had lived in Donners Bend her whole life. She’d been with the Thompsons since she was just a girl working as a maid, and she’d become the nanny about four years ago, for she was seventeen now. By the end of the conversation Ellie just knew she and Emily would soon become friends.
Chapter 5 - Benjamin Fanning
A month quickly passed by. Marcelle usually came every weekend for at least a day, though sometimes she’d only be able to make it every other weekend. She’d already snagged up another beau to add to her list. He stopped by one weekend with Marcelle so he could meet Jon and Ellie.
His name was Ross Lancaster and he was just another one of Marcelle’s bumbling idiots in Ellie’s opinion.
“But you have to admit he’s irresistibly handsome,” argued Marcelle.
“Yes, he is,” Ellie agreed.
And he was, but Ellie couldn’t help but hope that someday Marcelle would find a man worthy of her time. A man that wasn’t just handsome, but sweet and loving and fun. Ross was such a bore Jon could barely keep a conversation with him, but Marcelle assured Ellie he was an amazing kisser. And if Marcelle was happy, what else could Ellie do?
Jon and Ellie successfully convinced Marcelle that they had begun a small romance, though they denied any statement that they had begun courting. Ellie adored attended “outings” with Jon while Marcelle was in town. And so did Jon.
Marcelle, though she wouldn’t admit it, still felt a bang of jealousy when she saw how happy Jon and Ellie were together. Ross was great for a little fun, but Jon was still Marcelle’s heart’s true desire.
Ellie’s time working as a nanny was going wonderfully. She loved the children and they loved her. Her hours also began increasing, which meant more income, as Mrs. Rhodes began expanding her florist shop in Rochester and staying away from home for longer periods. Emily and Ellie became quick friends, just as Ellie had imagined they would. Almost all the rainy days they spent locked up in the house with the children.
Ellie also began seeing Emily from time to time in other places: talking with the carriage driver Matthew in the stables, behind the house, hidden in the orchards. All they’d ever do was talk, but Ellie knew someday that would turn into
more.
One Sunday when Ellie wasn’t working, she’d gone over to Ol’ Smith’s shop to see Jon. Ellie sat cross-legged on the counter while Jon took an inventory of the random items filling the shelves. The little bell rung on the door as a woman entered.
“Mr. Smithton?” she called, not seeing Jon, “Mr. Smithton, are you here?”
“Hello, Mrs. Kirk,” he replied with a friendly smile, “How can I help you on this fine, fine day?”
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