Charlotte

“I must go, darling,” my father insisted. “You know that I can’t stay here, as the other men risk their lives in the revolution. It would be immoral, like forcing one into slavery for the fun of it.”

At this, I protested, “But Father, we’re poor enough as it is. If you were to die in the war—” I didn’t dare finish that thought, for my sister, Rose, who was only nine, was in the room. She usually cried whenever we brought up the war. I was already surprised that her cheeks were still dry.

My mother walked into the room at that time. We may have been poor, but our family had wealthy friends who brought fabric for dresses to be sewn, so my mother donned a beautiful emerald, green gown, with a matching brooch. My sister’s dress was pale pink, which went well with her brown hair.

I twirled my long blonde hair with my fingers as my mother said goodbye to my father. I glanced over at my sister to see that she was beginning to tear up, so I gestured to her and led her outside to the garden.

When we reached the garden, I told Rose to sit down on a bench near the daffodils.

“Stay here for a moment,” I told her. “I’m going to go ask if Delilah and Juniper can come to play.”

“Charlotte, shouldn’t I come too? Mother always says that you’re to make sure nothing comes and snatches up a little girl like me. It doesn’t help that I am small and vulnerable to such things.”

“You aren’t that small, Rose. You’re almost tall enough to reach the shelf with all the Shakespeare tragedies, right?”

“Well, yes, but I’m barely four feet tall. All the other girls my age have got to be at least six inches taller. Even the handsome boy whose family owns the inn is probably around four feet, eight inches.”

“Rose, that boy is older than you by probably two years.”

“He can’t be eleven! All the eleven-year-old boys are supposed to begin work! He doesn’t do anything for work, yet. He hasn’t even bought a horse to train for the--” She broke off and burst into tears. “Why must he go? Father can’t leave us here with no money. We’ll starve!”

“He’ll be alright. Come. Let’s go fetch the Patterson's. They’re always good at cheering you up. Chances are they already have an idea for a game that’ll take your mind off it.”

I waited for Rose to calm down a bit before we set off for a brief walk to the home belonging to the Patterson family.