When The Spirit Moves You

by Thomas DePrima

  "It doesn't seem like we have much of a choice," Roberta said. "The spirit of Martha Fuller doesn't seem disposed to helping us."

  "What would you do in her place?" Amelia asked. "Sure that your parents are going to grieve your loss and sink into depression, you suddenly find you have a surrogate that will take your place as if nothing had ever happened. Your parents will never know you crossed over, and so will never feel the pain of losing a child."

  Casting her eyes downward and sighing, Roberta said, "I probably wouldn't help us either."

  * * *

  Friday provided an opportunity for the men who had labored long and hard with the snow removal crews to rest and recuperate, but by lunchtime the young men were already restless from sitting around. The winds had calmed and the temperatures risen a bit, so the boys proposed that they and the girls go outside to build a snowman after lunch.

  As soon as the noon meal was over, the young people excitedly headed upstairs to their bedrooms to bundle up as warmly as possible. The girls layered on several extra petticoats, but all they had for their feet were the thin leather boots used for traveling. Fortunately, Anne was able to provide rubber overshoes to protect the leather from the snow, and by keeping the shoes dry, their feet would be kept much warmer than they would have been otherwise.

  Once outside, the boys selected a spot where the snowman could welcome the expected travelers, and then set about rolling massive balls of snow for his body. The January air was crisp, clean, and invigorating, and the girls enjoyed watching the boys build their snowman. They tried to help, but since women's clothes of the period didn't really lend themselves to any sort of athletic activity, all they could really do was watch or pack snow around the snowman's body where the rolled balls met as they were piled one atop the other. Still, it was delightful to be outside for a change.

  Tad and Donald kept 'accidentally' knocking each other over, while the girls giggled at their antics, but by the time the snowman was finished, the girls' feet were chilled, so everyone returned indoors to warm up and enjoy some hot cocoa. Amelia thought wryly that it had been their first time outside of the house in more than a hundred-twenty years, if you counted time backwards.

  The exercise had been enough to subdue the boys' restlessness and they were content to sit about for the rest of the afternoon with the girls, playing cards or checkers. Naturally the girls always lost, although sometimes they had to really work at making it appear totally convincing.

  In the ballroom later, the gaiety that the girls had felt during previous such evenings returned and they spent a wonderful evening dancing with their chosen partners. Anne's cousins and other friends had become increasingly jealous over the attention being directed towards the four girls by the boys, but Harry was delighted with the lack of competition as he did his best to keep the other five girls entertained.

  * * *

  The sun rose in a virtually cloudless sky on Saturday morning, and if not for the below-freezing temperature, it would be a perfect day for traveling. A week had passed since the big storm, and although no snow had fallen since, life in the area was only now returning to normal. Guests began to arrive just before noon, and to make more bedrooms available, Anne finally asked the girls to double-up. Martha's things were moved into Amelia's room, and Elizabeth moved in with Roberta. The girls then spent the afternoon greeting and mingling with the new arrivals.

  Each of the girls had brought a special dress for the party, and in the late afternoon they returned to their rooms to prepare for the evening's promised festivities. Amelia's gown, made of contrasting multi-textured fabrics, consisted mainly of Burgundy silk faille with floral patterned cut velvet, and was trimmed in pink silk-satin. It had a short, fitted bodice, which laced up the front, very full posterior bustle, skirt draping, and emphasized side panniers. Amelia knew that the gown would turn a few heads this evening, and looked forward to making her entrance.

  Knowing that Bitsy and Doris would be needed elsewhere, Martha and Amelia somehow managed without their help, spending more than three hours getting ready. Martha's gown was white silk brocade with gold accents. Amelia knew that Elizabeth would be wearing a baby-blue gown with a fully gathered and pleated underskirt of silk faille and an apron overskirt of blue jacquard silk while Roberta would wear her new multi-tiered gold silk brocade gown.

  When Roberta and Elizabeth joined them in their room, the four girls carefully examined one another's appearance, made some small adjustments, and then walked down to the drawing room, arriving on the first floor just as the clock in the foyer sounded seven times.

  Since the party tonight was a formal affair, the dance would start at precisely eight o'clock, and each attendee was given a dance card that reflected the evening's program. There would be twenty-four dances, with a stand-up supper being served after the fourteenth dance. A drawing room had been set up as a tea room, where cakes and beverages would be available throughout the party for those who needed or wanted such refreshment before or after the meal.

  As the girls entered the very large and crowded drawing room near the ballroom, all heads did turn, the men's in admiration, and the women's in appraisal. While all four girls looked wonderfully splendid in their gowns, Amelia felt extra special in hers. She scanned the room quickly, looking for Jeremy so that she might judge his initial reaction, but he was nowhere to be seen. Tad, Charles, and Donald were in the room though, and they hurried over to greet and compliment the girls. Following along behind them were four more young men that had just arrived for the party. All of the young men were wearing white-tie formal wear tonight, complete with white gloves, instead of their usual tailored suits. Harry remained where he was and continued his conversation with Barbara Pierce and June Smyth since the four girls had already shown preference for his friends.

  The new arrivals anxiously presented their cards and were introduced to the girls as more of Jeremy's friends from college. Victor Dupree was swarthy, with jet-black hair, a thin moustache, dark brown eyes, and a single eyebrow that extended across the entire front of his face, while Colin Grady had fair skin, curly red hair, limpid blue eyes, and was clean-shaven. Fredrick Hunter, who immediately announced that he preferred to be called Freddie, was also fair skinned, with brown wavy hair, a thick moustache, and the bluest of blue eyes that Amelia had ever seen. George Wilkes boasted a full beard that obscured the entire lower half of his face. Although his black hair and slate grey eyes gave him a very serious look, they couldn't overcome the wide friendly smile that he displayed as he introduced himself. Each new boy was a handsome specimen of Victorian manhood, and as they crowded around the girls, Amelia amusingly speculated that she hoped she and the other girls didn't get trampled in the rush later when the dancing started.

  As the others engaged in conversation, Amelia again scanned the room looking for Jeremy, but he definitely wasn't present. She did notice several people that she hadn't met yet, including a striking young woman that was standing with Patricia Burton. As her head turned in their direction, they quickly turned away, but Amelia was sure they had been staring at her. The woman must have arrived while she and Martha were dressing, because she surely would have remembered her. With soft auburn hair, a light complexion, and dark brown eyes, she appeared to be about the same age as Amelia, although at five-foot six-inches she was taller. But for a nose that was just a bit too pointed, she had a handsome face. Her exquisite blue velvet and white silk gown was complimented by a gorgeous necklace of pearls and sapphires, with matching earrings. Amelia had to wonder why the boys weren't fluttering around her like moths about a flame. As Amelia looked at her, the young woman peeked in her direction, then turned quickly away when she saw that Amelia was looking towards her.

  Rejoining the conversation with her companions and the young men, Amelia continued to watch the woman from the corner of her eye and saw that every couple of minutes the woman stole a furtive glance in her direction. Her attention was pulled away from both the conversation and the n
ewly arrived guest when one of the servants, Bitsy Jones, handed her a note. As Bitsy melted back into the crowd, Amelia smiled, excused herself, and turned around to read the note privately.

  Opening the folded paper she saw that it was from Jeremy. It read:

  'My dear Miss Turner, I beg you not to believe everything you shall hear tonight, and only part of what you shall witness. I regret that I shall be unable to escort you to the evening's celebration or dinner. Please do not seek explanation tonight; I shall make everything clear when I am able. Your most humble servant, Jeremy Westfield.'

  * * *

  Chapter Nine

  As Amelia refolded the note, she heard someone whisper at her side, "What is it, Amelia? Bad news?"

  Looking up, she saw Elizabeth standing there, a concerned look on her face.

  "It's nothing," she whispered back.

  "It can't be nothing; you look like you've just been told that you're going to be shot at dawn."

  Opening her fan and holding it to her face, so as to conceal her mouth, Amelia whispered, "I just received a note from Jeremy. He says that he won't be able to escort me to the dance tonight."

  "Why not?"

  "He doesn't say. The note only says he'll explain when he can."

  "It must have something to do with her," Elizabeth whispered, holding her own partially opened fan to her face and looking to where Patricia Burton had been standing with the young, unidentified woman.

  Turning to look at the woman again, Amelia saw that Patricia was gone. To her complete surprise, Jeremy arrived and faced the woman, his back to Amelia.

  "Who is she?" Amelia whispered. "She keeps staring at me whenever she thinks I'm not watching her."

  "I don't know; she hadn't yet arrived when we went up to change."

  As Amelia looked on, the woman smiled, put her hands on Jeremy's upper arms, and extended her head forward and up. Jeremy hesitated, then bent and kissed her on her cheek.

  "Did you see that?" Elizabeth whispered rhetorically, shock written all over her face as she turned towards Amelia.

  "She actually extended her cheek for him to kiss," Amelia whispered incredulously. "That's shameful, unless…"

  "Unless what?" Elizabeth asked.

  "Unless they're related, or they're—," Amelia said, unwilling to even state the latter possibility.

  "They can't be that," Elizabeth whispered, "we'd have heard."

  "From who?"

  "Someone— anyone! Anne would have told you, wouldn't she?"

  "Would she?" Amelia asked. "I would have thought so. She's supposed to be my best friend."

  In the twenty-first century, Arlene would simply have crossed the room and sought an immediate explanation, but Amelia couldn't do that, so she merely watched the couple as they talked. Jeremy's back was always towards Amelia, but she could see the woman's face as she engaged in animated conversation. Amelia noticed that the young woman's eyes traveled in her direction frequently. She was well aware that Amelia was watching, and Amelia never turned away when the woman's smiling face looked towards her.

  As the conversation participants behind her shifted their positions to allow another group to pass, Amelia found herself once again surrounded by her companions and Jeremy's friends. She rejoined the discourse, but she continued to glance towards Jeremy every few minutes. Once, when she looked, he was gone, but he returned a few minutes later with a cup of coffee or tea for the young woman.

  When, at one point, Patricia Burton was passing, Amelia reached out to gently lay her hand on Patricia's forearm so as to get her attention. Patricia stopped and looked questioningly at Amelia.

  "Patricia," Amelia said, "I saw you talking with that young woman who is presently with your cousin Jeremy. Do you know her?"

  Glancing in their direction, Patricia said, "Oh, yes. I met her last spring in New York at a ball hosted by the Vanderbilts. That's Margaret Stemple of Philadelphia. Her family is Stemple Steel."

  "Margaret Stemple?"

  "Yes, dear. She's Jeremy's fiancée."

  The words pierced Amelia's chest like a dagger.

  "Fiancée?" she managed to echo, as her windpipe seemed to constrict.

  "Yes, dear, didn't you know?" Patricia asked innocently, the corners of her mouth turning up just slightly. She harbored no great enmity for Amelia, but was somewhat resentful that Amelia was to be the maid of honor while Patricia hadn't even been asked to be a bridesmaid for her cousin's wedding. She also harbored some jealousy over the amount of attention paid to the four girls by the young college men during the past week.

  Amelia shook her head slowly. "No, I certainly didn't. How long have they been engaged?"

  "Margaret said that Jeremy proposed this past August."

  "But she's not wearing a ring. When she removed her gloves to drink her tea, I noticed that her ring finger is empty."

  "Margaret said that they didn't want to announce it formally until after Cousin Anne and Gerald are married and Cousin Jeremy graduates from college this summer."

  Amelia could only nod silently.

  "You'll have to excuse me, dear," Patricia said, "I simply must talk to Beverly before we go into the ballroom."

  As Patricia turned and walked away, Amelia had an almost overwhelming urge to run up to her bedroom. She felt deceived and used. Jeremy hadn't made any promises, but he had been pursuing her like a man in love. Roberta had heard the conversation and turned to Amelia.

  "The miserable philanderer," Roberta said very quietly with her fan to her face. "He's been chasing after you since the day we arrived. Now we discover that he's been engaged all along. Even Bobby Thomas, back home, isn't that low."

  "There must be more to it than we're aware of," Amelia said. "Look at this note Jeremy sent me earlier."

  Opening the small, pouch-like handbag that she carried on her left arm, she extracted the folded note and handed it to Roberta.

  "He's just trying to keep you from creating a scene tonight," Roberta said after reading the note. "He probably figured this will keep you quiet until after the engagement party is over. Don't forget, the boys are all returning to school tomorrow. He figures that by the next time you meet, this summer, you'll be over it."

  "Maybe," Amelia said quietly. "My head is spinning so fast I don't know what to think."

  "Don't give him the satisfaction of looking miserable. I'm sure that Colin, Victor, George, or Freddie will be delighted to escort you tonight. For that matter, Harry would love to escort you also, if he hasn't already asked Barbara or June."

  "I used poor Harry once, to get back at Jeremy after he kissed me," Amelia whispered. "I couldn't do that to him again."

  "That still leaves four others to function as escorts," Roberta said. "And you're not expecting a long term commitment; you simply want an escort for the evening." Without waiting for Amelia to respond, Roberta turned towards the four young men presently crowded around Elizabeth and Martha and said, "Would any of you gentlemen care to escort Miss Amelia Turner into the ballroom tonight?"

  Freddie was the quickest to respond, saying, "I would be most honored to escort Miss Turner tonight, or any other night."

  Amelia smiled at the eager young face and said, "Thank you, Mr. Hunter. I shall be delighted to have you as my escort."

  When the first strains of music from instruments being tuned were heard over the sound of the chimes from a mantle clock, the conversations ceased and the guests in the room began to assemble for the parade to the ballroom. Jeremy, with Miss Stemple on his arm, and without even a glance in Amelia's direction, moved into position behind Anne & Gerald, who would lead the procession this evening. William Westfield and Ophelia Kent, Gerald's mother, would follow behind the Westfield children and their partners on this occasion. Amelia smiled as Freddie happily extended his elbow to lead her to a position in line. The drawing room was so crowded that Gerald and Anne immediately led the first couples out into the corridor, giving the others additional room to assemble. When a servant informed
Anne and Gerald that everyone was ready, the happy couple led the parade to the ballroom.

  At the conclusion of the Grand March, escorts led their ladies to available seating around the room. Where in the past the boys had left the girls after escorting them to their seats, on this occasion they remained dutifully by their sides. Tad stayed with Martha, Donald with Elizabeth, and Charles remained near Roberta. It almost seemed that the three young men were declaring that these young ladies were off limits for the night. And in fact, very few requests for dances came from the other young men. They chose instead to ask the ladies who did not have glaring suitors standing nearby. Freddie, unsure of how to behave in the face of such highly unusual conduct, took his cue from the others and initially remained standing next to Amelia. Harry escorted Beverly Burton in, but then left her after she was seated, to join the young men that had only arrived today.

  Although practically assured of the first dance with Amelia, by virtue of being her escort, Freddie had no other claim on her, and the other newly arrived young men, and Harry, didn't hesitate to request dances. She limited the requests to two dances each, and soon had ten of the first fourteen dance lines on her card filled in. She left the third, sixth, ninth, and twelfth dances open, intending to sit and rest during those periods.

  As he had previously behaved with Amelia, Jeremy never left the side of Miss Stemple. Although she no longer looked at the couple directly, Amelia didn't miss very much as she watched them through the corners of her eyes. Whenever there was a chance that they might make eye contact while on the dance floor, she averted her gaze completely.

  Despite her intention to leave four dances open so she could rest, Amelia soon surrendered dances number three and nine to requests from other guests at the party. She steadfastly refused to give up numbers six and twelve though, and she found herself filling in the dance lines after the supper period to accommodate all the requests.