Inheritance

Part 2. Chapter 31: Fear

And so she put on her best dresses and tried to be charming at social events—trying desperately to catch the eye of any boys who might be interested.

The boys turned their noses up at her and didn't like the fact that they were always looking up at her. Her gruff manner didn't help either.

There was only one who was interested in her; the boy who she had roughhoused with as a child—the one who had helped get her into trouble years ago.

His name was Rory.

His eyes were glued to her at social events. However, he was never brave enough to ask to court her during them.

All the other men would either ignore her or give her ugly looks.

She would sit next to a boy, introduce herself, and the boy would not even look her in the eyes. They would yawn and wait for her to leave.

Because she saw that Rory was looking at her yearningly, she sat down next to him once, too.

Nobody wanted either of them.

Nobody wanted Pollyanna because she was tall and muscular like a man, and nobody wanted Rory because he was short and quiet like a woman.

They made polite conversation together.

They found that they liked each other very much and had a lot in common; including the dream of eventually becoming a knight.

Rory had been too shy--too nervous--to ask to court her that day, however.

Pollyanna had a great chance to get Rory's attention, however; it was a festival in which a traditional dance was performed by unmarried girls to catch the eye of any promising suitors.

Pollyanna learned all the steps and put on a vibrant dress with six different layers. Every layer was a different, bright color. The poof and color at the bottom of the dress was accentuated by the incredibly tight, black-colored bodice at the top—it gave her rather straight and boyish body the feminine curve she desired.

The dress moved beautifully.

The eligible men in town sat in a circle around a fire and watched the girls dance with hunger in their eyes.

Pollyanna kept glancing at Rory as she moved to the intoxicating music under the starry night sky.

He was looking at her, too, but he still looked to nervous to ask to court her.

In a desperate bid to let him know she was interested, she winked at him while no one was looking—he blushed and looked emboldened for the remainder of the dance.

Pollyanna and the rest of the eligible girls did curtsies at the end of the dance and dozens of men immediately flocked to the other girls.

Pollyanna, for her part, looked at Rory.

He had stood up and was coming her way with a confident stride. Pollyanna grinned.

If it weren't un-ladylike, she would have dashed into his arms. As it were, she stood with her shoulders back and her head held high; her hands neatly clasped in front of her.

Rory held up a hand and opened his mouth to say something--but Pollyanna was wrenched away from him by an older man with a strong arm.

Pollyanna didn't recognize him. "Who are you...?"

"My name is Kline, I'm a new citizen of your quaint little town. I used to be a noble at the castle, but I wished to live a quieter life in my twilight years. My wife died recently."

He looked her over with eyes that saw her as little more than a meal.

Pollyanna looked to Rory and saw the look of devastation on his face.