Bloom

Patched Caps and Sidesaddles

A passerby caught her eye, making her straighten up as the carriage rumbled past him. He was quite a young lad, possibly near her own age. His bright blonde hair was partially hidden underneath a cap with a ruffly sewn patch in it, the cap hiding most of the boy's facial features. All Adeline could see was that he had a tanned face with brown eyes, chocolate like. He was quite tall, possibly six foot, but it was so difficult to tell because he was several feet away.

He was carrying a pail in his right hand, the side of his body that was facing away from her, but to her utter surprise she saw no left arm swinging by his side. Instead she saw an empty shirt sleeve. He only has one arm! The moment she thought this, the stranger looked up at the passing carriage, almost glaring at it as he walked in the opposite direction the carriage was going.

However, the moment his eyes met hers she saw his face softened. A ray of sunshine briefly showed down on the stranger, illuminating his face. Adeline's breath caught in her throat at the sight of his eyes. They were like two squares of her favorite milk chocolate except it was as if someone had taken her mother's prized gold jewelry and melted it down, mixing it in with the chocolate. His eyes were a concoction of chocolate and gold flecks all melted together into one.

He smirked slightly at her gawking, his chocolate golden eyes lighting up as his lip twitched upwards with a half smile.

"Addie!" Her name brought her back to the present, forcing her to look away from the stranger as the carriage rumbled past him.

"Yes?"

Gardenia narrowed her eyes at her older sister, her mouth set in a frown. "Who were you just staring at?"

Adeline blushed, looking out the carriage window once more as she replied. "No one, Gardenia."

"Then why are you blushing?"

She glared at her younger sister, not daring to look at her mother's quizzical eyes. "You must be mistaken, Gardenia." Adeline said through her teeth.

"I just cannot believe she would do such an idiotic thing," their mother mumbled absentmindedly as she rung her hands in her lap. Their father put a hand out to stop her, enveloping her two hands in his one.

"My darling, we will find them." He smiled reassuringly at their mother but Adeline already knew that the chances of finding her sister were very slim. They might be in the next county by now.

The carriage slowed to a near halt as the estate's gates were opened, the ancient and slightly rusted gates squeaking rather loudly. "Remind me to tell Emmanuel to oil the hinges," Her father whispered to her as the carriage began its' climb up Johnson Hill.

After several winding bends, the estate at last came into view. Its' majestic red brick and two white columns might have reminded some of southern houses but columns were quite the fashion for any household, North or South. Several wide windows proclaimed the front of the house as their home, allowing sunlight to filter inside and place shadows on the walls of hallways. A balcony sat above the columns, allowing a view of nearly all of the family's land and the surrounding area.

Adeline sat straight up at the sight of someone standing on the balcony, their arms propping them up against the balcony's railing. Could it be?

As the carriage crawled closer, at last coming to a stop in front of the prized house, Adeline looked up at the balcony once more but no one was there. Had I been mistaken? Had my mind just been playing tricks on me? She again glanced up at the balcony but there was still no one there. Was that Camilla?

"Mother?" Adeline asked as her mother exited the carriage.

"Yes?"

"Do we have any visitors?"