The Spirit Veil

• Prologue •

                    P R O L O G U E

Boston — 1850

Booming laughter filled the tavern as young and old men alike drank their fair share of alcohol. However, as many men as there were, everyone's sole attention was on one man, Scott Livingston; after all, he was the life of every social event. He was the richest, too.

He took the last sip of his whiskey, the only drink he'd had all night, surprisingly. Then he pushed his mug forward before a smirk upturned the corner of his lips. "All, as much as a pleasure it has been spending time with you," his cerulean blue eyes scanned over all seven men that occupied his round table, "I have a proposal to make to the most beautiful woman on this earth." Some of the men groaned, some called him whipped. But, Todd Harris, had something different in mind.

"Oi, are you serious? I thought you were joking. Why would you want to propose marriage to her, when you could choose from any lady in the town?"

Everyone's eyes in the tavern suddenly became glued to the situation. They knew chaos was in the making. Only a drunk fool would question Scott Livingston. Scott's blue eyes became darker as they narrowed at poor ol' Todd and it was silent for a few long minutes. One could tell that it was getting to Todd, his liquid courage was slipping away quickly. Being looked at like that by Scott was making him sweat bullets and his right calloused hand was anxiously reaching for his gun in its holder, just in case things got too serious.

The tension in the room was so palpable one could cut it with a knife. Todd's body jerked in surprise when Scott's sonorous laugh filled the room. The waitress was so nervous that she dropped her tray and a few glass mugs shattered into tiny bits as they fell to the ground. None of this phased Scott, for he was still smiling. Todd nervously chuckled, he was starting to question if this was even happening. Or maybe Scott had just finally gone insane and was actually going to kill him right where he sat.

"Todd, my friend, we could have a brawl right here and now, but like I said, I have something more important to accomplish. Nevertheless, the answer to your question is very simple. Why, would I want any other attention seeking, greedy whore in this town, when I can have Alexandra? She doesn't want attention and she could care less about my money." Scott's expression once again went serious as he gazed at a red faced Todd. When nothing else was said, he simply walked out of the tavern and toward his personal stagecoach.

As soon as Scott's lackey's eyes landed on him, he scurried from his place in the front of the stagecoach and quickly opened the door for him. The lackey bowed and then Scott stepped inside and sat down. The side door shut and then a few minutes later he could hear his lackey yell 'yah!' to  his expensive white horses and they began moving.

Scott's blue eyes glanced out the side window as he began thinking about Alexandra. She was truly wonderful. His fists clenched and his anger spiked when he thought back to the tavern. What did Todd know?! He didn't know his Alexandra! Scott inhaled shakily and his jaw clenched. He needed to think about something else, not an imbecile who knew nothing of his beloved.

He relaxed when Alexander's face came to the forefront of his mind. Her dark brown hair and those piercing hazel eyes. His lips formed a smile and just like that, thinking about his beloved made his anger fade away into thin air.

His right hand went into his right breeches pocket and his fingers wrapped around a small engagement ring. He brought it out to look at it. He could have went all out on the design, after all he had the money to do so. But, he knew Alexandra, and she didn't like extravagant things. Thus, the ring was an antique from his late mother. It was simple, yet beautiful. Silver because Alexandra didn't like showy things and in the center was a peridot gemstone. He'd picked this as an engagement ring mainly for the peridot; it reminded him of the color of her eyes.