𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐒 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓
Chapter Six||Purple Ribbon
"Mr Miller is not a gentleman! In fact, he's far from it!"
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𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐇 𝐒𝐈𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 𝐒𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐈𝐂, 𝐋𝐄𝐆𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐒 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐄. Cora sat in a chair next to Meg and had her legs on top of the arm rests of her chair.
At that moment, Meg was calling for order while the siblings were making much noise.
"A new play written by Miss Jo March will appear at the Barnville Theatre in the course of the next few weeks," Meg spoke, a piece of paper in hand. "It will surpass anything ever seen before on the American stage."
Jo nodded her head and continued, "Starring the greatest actress from here to the Mississippi River, Miss Meg March!" She cheered as everyone clapped and Meg gave a bow.
"Bravo Meg!" Cora exclaimed, cheering for her sister. "And not to forget Miss Cora March, starring as one of the greatest dancers in the whole universe!" Jo added on as Cora got up from her seat and bowed.
"Weekly report, Meg good, Jo bad, Cora middling, Beth very good and Amy sort of middling," Meg finished happy with her own report.
"Very well done sirs," Amy spoke in a manly tone, knocking her pipe with Beth's. "Miss Cora March, please stand," Meg announced, sitting back on her chair and making Cora stand back up.
"Would you be so kind to give us a report on your classes?" Jo asked, slouching in her seat. "With no doubt," Cora smiled and took the piece of paper from Meg.
"During this week, Miss Cora March has experienced many foot injuries due to her partner who has two left feet," She said as all the girls gasped. "She assures you that they're not all that bad, but it does hurt to go on pointe."
"Carrying on during the course of this week, Miss Cora March has learnt one new thing. This one new thing being how to hold an arabesque for longer than before, although it added pain to her foot injuries."
"If I may interrupt you, Miss, but who was your dance partner?" Beth inquired curiously with a smile. "Mr Charles Miller," Cora replied with a roll of her eyes.
"Isn't that the wealthy man?" Amy asked, "What's he doing in a dance school?"
"His parents want him to learn how to dance," Cora said with a scoff, "He has two left feet, and he annoys me to no end!"
"I've heard Teddy talking about him before," Jo spoke, glancing at the curtain of clothes in front of her.
"Who's Teddy?" The four girls chorused confused. "Oh!" Jo exclaimed, laughing, "It's dear old Laurie, of course!"
"What does he say about him?" Cora inquired. "A gentleman with very wealthy parents and one of his good friends," Jo smirked, looking at her sister's bewildered expression.
"Him?!" Cora exclaimed, throwing her hands out above her, "I think you've got two people mixed up, Jo, because I tell you, Mr Miller is not a gentleman! In fact, he's far from it!"
"He has a cute nose," Amy commented with a shrug, "You and your noses!" Cora huffed, plopping back down into her chair, accidentally breaking one of the legs from the impact. "Cora!" All the sisters groaned at the same time.
"My apologies!" Cora exclaimed, going red and substituting her broken chair for another. "Are you going to tell us more about your classes?" Jo asked, raising her eyebrows.
"I'll tell you all in our next meeting," Cora spoke, waving her hand as to change the topic. Amy let out a noise of protest at the answer, but Jo carried on nonetheless.
Standing up she began to propose an idea to the girls, "Mr president and gentlemen," She introduced, "I wish to propose the admission of a new member! One who would be deeply, deeply grateful and would add immensely to the spirit of the club. I propose..." She spoke, pausing for dramatic effect.
"Mr Theodore Laurence!" Jo shouted with enthusiasm as the girls yelled at her. "Absolutely not!" Meg and Amy denied with a frown.
Cora fully agreed with Meg and Amy, this was a ladies club and no gentleman should be allowed in. However, it was Laurie, and Laurie was nice.
"What? Come, now. Let's have him," Jo spoke, deflating at her sister's denial. "He's a real boy! We don't want any boys!" Amy said, voicing exactly what Cora was thinking.
"This is a club for ladies," Meg added on. "I think we should do it," Beth shrugged, fiddling with her pipe.
"Why?" Amy asked, looking at Beth, feeling betrayed. "Even if we're afraid, I say yes," Beth said, holding Amy's arm. "Why?" Asked Amy again, still against the idea of Laurie joining their club.
"It's Laurie!" Beth defended. "What? No!"
Cora was going to add something on but saw a look on Jo's face which only meant she did something mischievous, so she kept a hold of her tongue.
"It will change everything!" Amy continued with a frown, crossing her arms. Cora looked at Meg and raised her eyebrow, Meg just shrugged and looked away,
Jo ended up calling a vote and everyone voted in favour of Laurie despite Amy's complaints.
Cora didn't mind anymore, maybe it would be good to have a boy in the club.
"Cora, what do you think?" Amy asked before putting her hand up. "I think it would be good for us, plus we could get to know him better!"
Amy just sighed, shaking her head, and raised her hand.
"And there is no time like the present," Jo said, smiling slyly as the man himself, Laurie Laurence, jumped out of the curtain of clothes.
Due to this unexpected surprise, Cora yelled in shock and fell backwards. Meg quickly rushed over to help her, laughing as she got Cora up and back onto the chair.
Cora just shook her head in embarrassment and sat back down. Everyone was laughing at her, including Laurie, who had gotten up from the floor. Not that she minded, it was funny.
"Ladies, ladies, please, please, this is my stratagem! I deserve the blame!" Laurie laughed, bowing, "Jo only gave in to it after lots of teasing!" He added on pointing to Jo who also bowed in her seat.
Cora just laughed, letting a contagious smile onto her face. "I merely wish to say as a slight token of my gratitude that I as a means of promoting friendly relations between adjoining nations." He said, looking over at Cora, who was currently looking at her sister Meg.
"And thus," He continued looking away, "I propose this set of keys for a little post office I've made in the forest by the pond," Laurie said standing up showing the girls a set of keys.
"There are a lot of propositions going round," Cora whispered to Meg, who laughed in response, slapping Cora's hand lightly.
"Yes, five keys," Laurie said with a smile, handing out the keys to each girl. When he got to Cora he gave her the key with a small paper attached to it and winked, "I'm sure my dear friend Charles would love to hear what you said," He whispered, turning away and handing the last key to Meg.
Cora, once again, went red, realising he had heard everything. Yes, even her insulting one of his good friends. She let out a sigh and hid away the paper in her skirt, meaning to read it later. Beth clearly seeing this exchange smiled, eyes lighting up in gleefulness, and looked away to examine her key. She was right. It was going to be an ongoing affair.
"This is for me, and without further ado, thank you for your favour. I will take my seat as part of the club!" Laurie stated with a smile, walking towards the vacant seat besides Cora and sitting down.
The two looked at each before smiling, and Laurie motioned to the key, which Cora then picked up. Laurie then gave her a nod which confused Cora tremendously and then looked away,
Cora saw Beth looking at the pair and raised her eyebrow, which Beth reciprocated. Cora just shrugged her shoulders, examining her key.
She noticed a purple ribbon attached to it, different to her sister's keys, which had red ribbons on them. Letting out a small smile, she put the key away and gave Laurie a grateful nod.
How on earth did he know her favourite colour?
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Authors Note
I WAS GOING TO ADD ANOTHER SCENE IN BUT THAT I WAS LIKE 'NAH I'M FINE' but hopefully next chapter will be some of the letters and maybe an interaction between Laurie and Cora. Oh and, what do you guys think of Charles Miller 😉😉 I also just watched dwd and I absolutely loved it. Florence Pugh>>>>>