Seline hugged the stout little bay mare. Will came and put his arms around Seline. He held her for a long time. Finally Will released his grip "It's time you head home. Let them know about Heinz and where his body is. They will send some men to fetch him so he can be burried." Will brushed her hair back from her face and kissed her forehead as they embraced one more time. Will backed away and turned to go. Seline looked at him from behind as he walked off toward town. She could not let him go without telling him. "Will wait!" Will stopped mid stride. Seline ran up to him mare in tow and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. She tried to put every bit of emotion behind that kiss. Will's surprise turned to welcome and then delight. He embraced her back and picked her up off her feet. As he set her down and looked into her face with a smile that melted her heart, she knew that he had to come back to her. He had to come back and he had to be hers. "Well now boy, this is not wh
When Seline rode up the drive, it was clear that her absence had been noticed. Her mother was standing outside with her hands on her hips looking very upset. She did not say a word but pointed to the barn. Seline dismounted and turned to her mother. "Mama Heinz is dead. He must have fallen from the horse and was killed. he is in the woods on the far side of the road going to town after the Evan's farm drive." Mama covered her mouth with her hand and looked at Seline in disbelief. She began to cry. Mama put her head down and sucked in a deep breath. "Alright. I will tell your father. I do not know who they will send out to get him as all the men have been called out to fight. Mr. Dells is here and I need you to go in through the kitchen and straight up to your room. The water in the basin on your wash stand was warm a few hours ago but you will have to do with cold now. wash up there is some rose and lavendar water that Henni made for you. Put it on after you wash and then I will be up
Seline entered her father's study. Both men were seated and got to their feet as she entered. "Seline, come in and sit down." Seline's father pointed to the second chair in front of his desk. Mr. Dells looked at Seline appreciatively. With an approving smile he turned to Papa. "I am glad that she cleaned up well. Now, since I saw her with the Evans boy earlier and you are in breech of the agreement that we made, I will marry her 1 week from today and I will take the horse that she was riding when I saw her with that boy." Seline spun in her chair. "What, that horse belongs to Heinz, and why are you in such a hurry?" "Well I guess he won't be needing it anymore then since we just got some boys to go out and get his body to bury it. As for the hurry, why wait. There is no one to show up at the wedding except those that are already in this house. I am in a hurry to produce an heir and my house needs a woman to do the cooking and cleaning as no one has done any since my previous wife fa
Seline welcomed the chance to go upstairs and get away from everyone. Instead of going to Alice and Alene’s room she went to her own and shut the door. She leaned on it and sank down to sit on the floor. She hugged her knees and cried. Mr. Dells was not the man that she had always felt sorry for. He was a cruel, uncaring man. The thought of marrying him was frightening. At one time she thought that she had accepted that she would have to marry whom ever her father chose for her, but now it seems even her father has no choice. For her, everything changed when she first kissed Will. She knew at that moment that she could not marry another, her heart was his. There has to be a way that she can get out of marrying this awful man. She had to be careful how she did this because if she didn’t marry him she had a feeling that he would go after Alice, or even Alene since her marrying Mr. Glassman was a condition of his original letter. She would think on this long and hard. She would talk to
Seline knocked on the door to her father’s study and was bade to enter. When she went in she was shocked. Her usually neat and well put together father was disheveled. His jacket was thrown over the chair, his waistcoat was unbuttoned, and his shirt was half unbuttoned. His usually neatly combed hair was almost standing straight up as if he had been trying to pull it out. He had a bottle of the bourbon that his friend Dr. Misner gave him for his birthday. A large tumbler was in one hand and the other hand had a pen. He appeared to be writing a note. Seline did not take a look at the note, but she knew that, he too, was up to something. Seline sat in the same chair that she sat in earlier when she and her father met with Mr. Dells. “Papa. I have an idea, but I need both your help and your blessing.” Seline’s father looked at her. He was a mess, but not quite as drunk as he may have seemed. Still she knew that he may be a bit more influenceable after having had so much to drink.“What
“It seems there are a lot of people looking for him tonight.” The guard said. He pointed to a Row of tents and told Papa to follow it to the far end and he was in the 3rd tent from the end. Papa thanked him and moved on. At this time of night most of the men were asleep, but there were a few that were still awake because they were nervous about what lies ahead. They walked the horses single file between the tents and found the one they were looking for. There were already 3 horses staked outside. Papa quickly dismounted and handed his reins to Pastor Oliver. He walked around the other side of the tent. When he came back he was followed by not only Will, but his brother Zeb, and Mr. Glassman. They all walked up to the group standing with the horses. “Did they explain to you why we came out here tonight Will?” Papa questioned him. “Yes Sir, they did. I am ready.” Will looked him in the eye and stood tall. Papa turned to Zeb and Mr. Glassman “And how about you two? Are you both ready?
After Papa left with Pastor Oliver and Seline’s sisters left with their new husbands, she was left alone with Will in the camp. It was now very dark. Many of the campfires had gone out and most of the men that had been keeping a nervous vigil had long since given in to trying to get some sleep before they moved out and started their long walk in the morning. Will grabbed Seline’s hand and led her around to the mouth of his tent. They went inside and sat down together on the bed roll that he had made on the ground. Will took Seline’s hand and kissed it. “I can’t believe it. I thought that I would never see you again, and now here we are and you are my wife. It is like I get to have everything that I ever wanted in one night, only to have it all taken away again in the morning.” His eyes had turned sad. Seline knew that they would be apart while he went off to war and she would stay with her parents as if nothing had changed until he returned. The only thing that was different is that
Seline woke drowsily but warm and comfortable against Will’s side. He still held her in his arms. She could be very happy waking up like this for the rest of her life. She heard lots of bustling outside the tent. Men’s voices were carrying through the tent. Seline suddenly realized that she should not be in camp. She rolled over and shook Will’s shoulders. Will woke up with a smile on his face. He wrapped his arms around her tighter and leaned up to kiss her. She kissed him back but put a hand on his chest. Will suddenly froze, realizing that it was morning and the men were getting ready to move out. Seline was not supposed to be in camp. He had been told last night by his commanding officer when his brother and Mr. Glassman showed up that they needed to be gone by the time they were ready to move out in the morning, and that there were to be no women in camp. Mr. Glassman had bribed the guards at the gate with the money that Seline’s father had given Zeb to let the girls in with the