A Frolic in Friendship on New Year's

Act 1, of 1

You were made to go to the New Year's dance at the Farrell's mansion with your sisters tonight. You were surprised to get a note in your letter box from the wealthy American made sheet music company owner's son Everett, as he always teased you for being too strong for a girl in your school house days. You were in such a daze as you curled your eldest sister's hair that you burned a piece off and quickly apologized sliding in an heirloom comb securing the burned short lock, your daze had nothing to do with being surprised that Everett had the heart to invite you and your sisters this time to his annual soirée and more due to the fact that you never liked this sort of formal occasion since you had little etiquette to show off and are never described as any kind of debutante. You and all of your sisters finally arrived at the front entry way to the Farrell's. As their butler took your overcoats and muffs away, you realized that you never really noticed how large your far neighbours' house was since you always had looked at it from an entire empty field away. Rows and rows of pine garland and red silk ribbon lined the long hallway and spiralling staircase before you, along with oranges stuck with cloves hung about on every chandelier down the hall to the dining/ballroom. As you enter you suddenly realize how poor you are, everyone seems to be wearing bright taffeta dresses with pure white lace and silk accents of the latest fashions, while you and your sisters have altered old dresses of your mother's and aunts' with slightly tarnished lace and crushed silk flowers. After you dine with your sisters at your assigned table, your eldest sister followed by your youngest sister, are quickly spotted by two equally eager young gentleman as the music begins playing. Everyone rises from their seats excluding your shyest sister, she instead sits with Everett's grandmother and chats at a leftover table, while everyone else searches the room for a pretty face to dance with. You are utterly shocked when a young feisty gentleman with a burgundy silk scarf tied on his shirt joyfully pursues you with a matching handkerchief swaying in his hand. His eyes look at you with an unfamiliar emotion that you very much dislike, almost some sort of hunger. You feel like prey, it feels like everyone is now looking at you, expecting you to accept your fate as a weak woman and give in to what society wants. With nothing else to do, you run and curse your restraining wooden crinoline through a doorway and slam the French doors shut behind you as best as you can falling with relief to the ground. "Oh, hello!" A voice suddenly says, you look up stunned as you scramble to your feet and straighten out any wrinkles in your dress, you look at the gentleman the familiar voice belongs to and see a familiar face to match. "Oh my! I'm so sorry sir!" You utter nervously as you lower your gaze, "I'm sure that you were busy studying, seeing that this room is a study. I will be on my way now..." "No..." he replies "you didn't interrupt anything at all, I felt awkward having only strangers to talk to and look at tonight. I'm now far from any of my friends, living with my grandfather." You then realize exactly who you're talking to, "Aren't you my neighbour? You just moved back from Europe, that's why you have that accent right?!" He nods. "My name is (your name),I was made to come with my sisters tonight, and I also could not stand it out there. A stranger looked at me, well strangely and I'm pretty sure that he may have wanted more than just a dance with me. Oh, sorry. Please introduce yourself, you see I do not yet have good etiquette for these things." He smiles, his chocolate brown eyes shine in the lamp light. "My name is Danny, um, Daniel Laurence. I did just come back from Europe. I am in fact your neighbour, I remember seeing you and your sisters going to run errands and playing around your yard, it looked like you were all having a lot of fun and I almost wanted to join in but didn't want to disturb you." You smile, he's much kinder and much more fun than you thought a wealthy man from Europe would be. His face suddenly lights up, "I have an Idea! Since we aren't having any fun at the dance, let's make our own fun, right here, right now!" He motions to a door off of the study you're both in, it leads out to the Farrells' back garden. He steps out opening the door to the cold winter night air. You look outside unsure about going along with his plan, he notices your nervous look. "Don't worry, Everett is a good friend of mine. His father and my grandfather go way back, so he's sure to understand if we have just one race around to the front entrance." You nod now eager to have your kind of fun. You step out alongside him, hiking up your skirts and crinoline. You both get into starting positions. "1, 2, 3, go!" He whispers loudly. You both start running around the corner of the mansion then straight ahead ducking at every window you pass until you reach the front of the house. "You win." Danny mutters as he catches his breath. You drop your skirt when you both reach the door. "What if it has been locked?!" You say concerned. "Don't worry," he tries to reassure you, "when ever the Farrells have a party like this they almost always leave their front door unlocked for late arrivals, in any case Everett gave me his spare key if I needed it in a time such as this." He tries the door, it does not budge a bit. You try the door, it most certainly is locked. He takes out a key ring with four keys on it. "I know it must be one of these two." He says pointing to two very similar looking golden keys. He tries them both, none work. He puts his head in his hands, "I'm so incredibly sorry about this (your name), I was almost certain that it would work out the way we wanted it to, but alas god has other plans." You then notice something that might save you both, "Look Danny! The far window, it's open!" You shout excitedly. "Yes, you're brilliant! I will go through the window, into the house and open the door for you, then we can explore inside and have more fun!" He takes off his jacket and wraps it around you to keep you warm while you wait for him. He slips through the window, two minutes later he finally gets to the door and opens it for you. When you get inside you return his jacket to him. "I'm so sorry to keep a good friend waiting in the cold for so long." He says in a caring tone. You smile shyly, you've never had another close friend other than your own sisters before. "Let's see what trouble we can get into before I have to get back to my sisters!" You say enthusiastically. You both walk upstairs and creep inside white French doors. The room is massive as if it were their second ballroom. At one end a large bed with posts and curtains, at the other another set of French doors. You open them, it is a walk-in wardrobe. "Look at all of those clothes! This must be Mr and Mrs Farrell's chambers! Let's try on some clothes, we shall switch roles tonight!" You say as you grab one of Mr Farrell's suits. "To keep common decency we shall both take turns going into the closet and close the door while we change!" Danny nods approvingly. He picks out a very nice silk ball gown, much like the ones guests are wearing tonight , he holds it while you close the closet doors behind you. You take off all of your skirts and sigh in relief when you untie and drop your crinoline from your waist. You tuck any loose undergarments into the pants, shirt and suit. You top your outfit off with Mr Farrell's hat, tie and cane. " It looks like you will need help getting dressed Danny, just take your jacket off and we can put the dress over top if you would like." You suggest, as you worry over any guests finding you both alone in a bedroom. "Well I have put on a dress once or twice before, while playing around with some of my old theatre friends in Europe..." You give Danny a playful glare as to say "Do you really think that you are able to do this as fast as we need to?!" He then realizes that he would in fact need your expertise as you have three sisters that you help dress all the time, not to mention modesty's sake. "Oh, but of course we should most definitely do as you suggested (your name), for both time and modesty's sake!" Danny takes off both his jacket and vest. You slide a corset over his head, you give each other an awkward smile and you both laugh under your breath. You gain your composure again and lace the corset and tie it tight enough so that it conforms to his body but loose enough that it wouldn't hurt him. You make sure with him that it doesn't hurt, you then tie your crinoline around him. As soon as you are finished tying the crinoline, Danny in pure amusement moves so that each and every wooden hoop sways on the connecting fabric strips. His fun is interrupted when you place the chosen dress over him and the crinoline. You fasten the dress in a hurry as you hear footsteps on the stairs, as soon as you finish you hear silence and peer out the door to make sure there is no one outside. You spot a decorative comb on the vanity that matches the gown to a T and pin it in his hair, he takes a look in the dressing mirror and twirls in delight. "So about you having fun with your theatre friends in Europe, it must have been an amazing experience! I'd give anything to be a part of the theatre, especially as playwright! My aunt may take me with her, you see I take care of her most of the time and I think that she may thank me by bringing me with her when she returns there. Was it everything that I imagine it to be Danny?" You ask as you bow like a gentleman and hold out your hand for him to take. " Well it was really a lot of fun, we would get together after each of our plays' run, we would switch costumes and play around all the time! Of course there were times when it was not as fun, but not many. I truly do miss it since I moved here, the theatre isn't the same and attitudes around actors are more derogatory here than in Europe." He takes your out stretched hand and curtsies as a lady would. You both dance to the music from below, you spin him as you both laugh. You then hear the bedroom doorknob turn and open, in shock you both turn and stair wide eyed as it does so. You see the face of the party host himself. Everett starts to smile mischievously as he notices both of your outfits. "Danny I'm glad you could make it, it has been such a long time! Well, it seems that I may have interrupted something, I will just leave you two to your fun!" He laughs cheekily. You both shake your heads in a panicked protest of what wild idea Everett had about what both you and Danny may have been doing in his parents' bedroom together. When he leaves, you help Danny out of the ball gown, corset and crinoline, and step back into the closet, shut the doors behind you and re-dress in the clothes you came to the party in. You put away all that you took, including the comb you almost forgot was still in Danny's hair. You leave the room and quickly go down the stairs before any guests see both of you together. As you re-enter the ball room the count down to midnight begins, you gather with your sisters and Danny as everyone shouts out the seconds as midnight creeps closer and bringing with it the New Year. As the grandfather clock in the corner of the Ballroom chimes as it strikes midnight you run and hug Danny. You whisper to him with a smile "I just know we are meant to be good friends!" He whispers in your ear back "I've felt the same while we were together tonight." As you and your sisters get ready to leave for your return home, Danny offers to take all of you in his carriage, you at first refuse his offer, but as you introduce him to your sisters he continues to insist due to it being such a cold night and you finally accept. You return home right at the time you agreed you would with your parents, you and your sisters thank him again as he drops you off at your house. Before you go back inside and join your sisters you invite him to come over anytime and play as you had that night. Even though you never had really discussed that night with each other afterwards, you and Danny both had the best time ever spent at any party either of you had ever attended on that night while you frolicked away from the formality of the event and made your own party and a life long friendship.