Lily of the Valley

Lily of the Valley- Chapter 1

I AM WRITING THIS AS A FICTIONAL NOVEL. MOST OF THE NAMES OF PEOPLE OR PLACES ARE FAKE, AND IF THEY ARE THE NAMES OF ACTUAL PEOPLE, THEN IT IS COMPLETELY COINCIDENTAL. Thank you, and please comment to let me know what you think. :)

Chapter One - Stockard Valley, North Carolina, year of 1892

Lily Carter smashed the buzzing fly against her vanity table, finally silencing it. She flicked its squished carcass off the vanity and sighed in relief. The flies were relentless in this hot North Carolina weather, and summer was the worst time of all. Lily fanned herself with her small hand, trying to ward off the heat coming in from her open bedroom window.  

"Evelyn! Evelyn, please come in here!" Lily shouted. She twisted her long, wavy blond hair on top of her head and wiped the sweat off that was gathering around her bright, sky blue eyes. "Evelyn!"  

"Evelyn isn't here! She's helping the barn maids cause the harvest is starting today." Lily's older sister, Genevieve, said as she entered the bedroom the two sisters shared. Genevieve and Lily looked pretty close alike, but Genevieve was taller, with a thinner figure while Lily was a few inches shorter and curvier around the hips and bust, but still tiny around the waist. Genevieve had the same pale blond hair as Lily, but Genevieve's was straighter and she always kept it in a tight braid down her back, while Lily let her locks fly free. Also, Genevieve had their fathers brown eyes instead the blue eyes Lily had taken after their mother. Her brown eyes gave Genevieve a more softer, refined look than Lily's blue which brought out her youth and wild personality.  

"Ugh, why is the harvest today? I'm dying of this heat and I need Evelyn to pour me a cold bath." Lily whined. She would scold her personal maid, Evelyn, later, that was for sure.  

"Oh, come out of it. Listen, Lily we need to discuss something." Genevieve replied.  

"Alright then, what is it?" Lily asked, sensing some nervousness in her sister she hadn't seen before. Genevieve was usually very calm and quiet, but now she seemed to be a little jumpy. 

"Mother just told me that I am to be married." The room grew quiet as Lily absorbed this. Genevieve and Lily may not have been much alike, but they were very close. Lily didn't know how she felt about losing her sister. 

"When? And to whom?" Lily shouted. 

"Later this summer, in a few weeks time. His name is Jasper Connelly. We've never met him, he's the son of one of Pa's friends in the city."  

"The city! Will you live there after the wedding?"  

"I s'pose so. I'll live where my husband takes me." Genevieve told Lily, hesitating a little on the word "husband."  

" I can't believe Pa is letting this happen! You'll be gone forever!" 

"No I will not, Lily. I'll visit you-all all the time." 

"I don't know, Gen. I don't like the sound of this." Lily felt her heart clench, and she tried to bite down her sadness. 

"Aw, darlin', it'll be alright. You'll see." Genevieve said, and hugged Lily for a moment before exiting the bedroom. Lily still couldn't process the information. Not only was her sister leaving her, but she was also leaving her with a man she didn't know! What if he was ugly and pockmarked, with bad teeth? Or what if he was cold and worked too much, leaving Gen all alone in a house in the big city? Or worse, what if he was a bad man, a murderer? No, sir, Lily didn't like the sound of this Jasper Connelly at all, and she decided then and there that she hated him, and she would never let him marry her sister.