𝐃𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐞- 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐨𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞

ELEVEN

"Let's see what we have for little Lottchen, hmm?" Charlotte pulled the rosy cheeked girl onto her lap as soon as she sat down and sorted through the collection of knitted hats and scarfs she and Beth had brought. Her eyes glanced towards Beth who was holding the baby and feeding the other children biscuits and cheese. Their smiling faces were hidden beneath their new coats and hats as they munched happily on their treats. Charlotte picked up an old green scarf that once belonged to Meg. "How about this one?" She asked Lottchen, tickling her stomach and sending a cascade of giggles through the room.

"No!" The little girl smiled as she shook her head and swatted the scarf away with her little hands.

Charlotte sighed dramatically, making Lottchen giggle again. She shifted through the basket, taking out a deep red scarf that Jo had elected to give up. "This one?"

Lottchen shook her head again and Charlotte shoved her hands into the depths of the basket, pretending to be shocked as she pulled out a pink scarf and held it out to Lottchen. "Now, where did this one come from?" She dangled it in front of the little girl and moved it further way teasingly as Lottchen grabbed at it.

"Yes!" Lottchen clapped her hands together merrily. Charlotte wrapped it around her neck as snuggly as possible, hoping to stave off the cold for a little longer. Charlotte and Beth were alarmed at the rosy cheeks and weak sniffles that plagued the children, and although Marmee had decided it a consequence of the cold weather, Charlotte wanted to make absolutely sure they were as warm and protected as they could be.

After bidding Mrs. Hummel goodbye and leaving the rest of the biscuits and winter clothes with her, Beth and Charlotte headed back home along the dirt trail. The trail was already covered in an inch of fallen leaves, which crunched underneath their feet.

"Race you?" Charlotte paused and tightened her grip on her empty basket as she prepared herself to take off, but Beth still took her by surprise by dashing down the trail without hesitation.

The two girls squealed as the ran downhill, kicking up leaves as they went. The cold wind stung Charlotte's face but she kept going, feeling her hair come loose from the braid she had tucked in her hat. She chased after Beth, who was laughing and throwing her arms up in celebration as she made it to the road first. "I won!" Beth smiled as Charlotte heaved and bent over, exaggeratedly trying to catch her breath.

"Who's that?" Charlotte said breathlessly as she watched a distressed woman dash towards the Marches house.

Beth gasped in realized and took a few rushed steps forward. "Marmee?" Beth asked as she began to hurry after her. Charlotte ran beside her, and they bolted through the front door just as Hannah ran upstairs for a suitcase and Marmee had begun to rifle through the parlor.

"Marmee? What's happened?" Beth asked, finding comfort in Marmee's arms.

Charlotte took their baskets and abandoned them beside the front door. "Is everything alright?" Her heart sank in her chest as Marmee's worried eyes gazed at her, watery with tears.

Meg, Jo, and Amy had yet to leave for their daily tasks and stood worriedly in the parlor as Marmee paused. She caught her breath for the first time since she was handed the telegram that contained the very thing she had feared. "Your father is very ill. I must go to him immediately." Marmee wrapped her arm around Beth comfortingly as the other girls enveloped her in warm hugs.

The girls flew into a frenzy, gathering up clean linens and medicines as Marmee and Hannah packed them in the suitcases.

"Is Jo back yet from Aunt March?" Marmee asked as she placed vials of medicine between the fresh linens Amy had gathered. Jo volunteered to ask Aunt March to finance the trip to Washington D.C. and her father's recovery and sped from the house in a cloud of dust, but had yet to return.