104. Rain Baby

Rain baby, rain baby, please make it rain.

Let the droplets fall.

The sky is crying from sadness or joy.

The rain will wash away all.

Rain baby, rain baby, please make it rain

It can be hard or light 

My soul needs lifting, my burdens removed.

Rain makes everything right.

Rain baby, rain baby, please make it rain.

Release my every care.

Greet me with your gentle kiss,

Your sweetness fills the air.

Rain baby, rain baby, please make it rain.

I'll see you round the bend.

Your comfort brings me all I need.

You'll see me to the end.

103. The First Stepsister - A Scientific Study

What a grand house this is! The Viscount of Bellamy is surely very rich. I know he is a fool, but he must command power with  this kind of wealth. Perhaps he could be persuaded to fall in love with Denise. With the Viscount as our brother, my dear Edmond and I would be unstoppable! 

We are shown up to the Viscount's sitting room and he greets us with wide open arms and the silliest smile I've ever seen on a grown man. You would think we were his dearest relatives. He even bounces on his feet like a schoolboy. "My ladies, welcome to my home. I am Sir John Porpington, Viscount of Bellamy. I am so pleased that you are so willing to participate in my study. Please, for my records, what may I call you?"

Foolish or not, he is rich, and so I must treat him as if he were my superior. It falls me to do so to this childish man. "Your Grace, I am Lady Muriel Fawcett, this is my sister, Lady Denise Fawcett." He looks at me expectantly and I grit my teeth. What an insult to have to introduce that dirty rag of a girl. "And that is our maid, Cinderella." He leads us to a grouping of chairs, one lone and high-backed, facing three cushioned. He sits in the lone chair and indicates that we should take the others. How dare he expect me to sit with Cinderella! I am beginning to lose my patience with this fellow. "She can stand. Our maids do not sit with us, sir." I respond.

Without even looking at me he says "We are all equal in science. Please, Cinderella, have a seat."

The little runt smirks at me like she's better than the queen herself and sits down on the other side of Denise. If the Viscount weren't here I would slap that smile right off. For now I content myself with planning the punishment she'll receive when we return home. Perhaps Mother will finally turn her out of the house like she should have ages ago.

"Please, sir, my name is Ella." She  contradicts me. She hasn't done that in years. "I know it is probably irrelevant to your study, but my father always told me that you have to be as accurate as possible with science." Science? What does Ella the Cindermaid know about science? Or her father? He abandoned us ages ago.

"Your father was a man of science, was he?" the Viscount asks her. He seems to have completely forgotten that two ladies sit here in the room with him.

"Yes, sir."

"Very well, Miss Ella. Thank you." He writes something on a little notepad. I don't think he would do very well for Denise after all. He wouldn't appreciate the value of a wife of such high birth.

Our father was a baron before he died, after all. That is nothing to scoff at. We are no lowly commoners. 

What does this boring man have to do with Edmond? I had hoped to see him by now. As if summoned by my very thoughts, a young man appears before us . I hadn't realized there was another entrance to this room. He is not my Edmond, but he is mighty handsome. And so tall. I feel as if I recognize him, but I cannot say why.

"Sir," he presents himself very well. I wonder how it would feel if his strong ss were wrapped around my waist. I shiver at the thrilling thought. "Can I bring you anything, sir?" he asks. His voice is very heavenly.

"No, thank you," the Viscount answers. A pity. I could use someone pleasant to look at while I am kept from my dear Edmond. 

"Are you sure, sir? Nothing at all I can do for you?" he repeats. Surely he desires my company. I look so well today, what man could resist my pull? He flushes and I know his thoughts must mirror my own.

The Viscount sets down his stylus and looks the young man over. "Actually, I could use you." Blessed Viscount. "Yes. As a contrast to these ladies. Come and join us." He stands directly in front of me and I can feel my cheeks burn as the Viscount introduces us. "This is Lady Muriel, Lady Denise, and Ella." The young man bows to each of us in turn, even Ella. He is so well-mannered. I am glad to finally have a kindred spirit in this house.

"I see your blue-eyed theory is disrupted, sir," he says with a little flirtatious smile.   "Lady Muriel has some of the darkest eyes I've ever seen." I am sure my cheeks are scarlet. 

"Who is your friend?" I ask the Viscount in my most charming tone. I can be really quite alluring when I want.

He answered me himself. "I am Denning, Sir John's valet." A valet? How dare he flirt with me? What pretension. What falseness! I knew he was a scoundrel the minute he clumsily fell through that door. I will see to it that my dear Edmond heard of his audacity once we are wed. He will see to it my honor is not besmirched by this nobody.

Perhaps he has realized his place, for his attention is on little Cinders now. 

"Miss Ella. You look familiar." He says. Familiar? How could she be? She hasn't left our estate since that man abandoned us. And he's certainly never been to our home before.

Now she is fluttering all over Denise. My sister has no ambition in life. She does not understand the necessity to marry well. It will be her undoing some day.

What is the matter with her? She is probably still pouring about Mother helping her to get this far. I don't know what she is so unhappy about. She cut my foot, too. And yet I am here, ready to meet my prince.

Denise's eyelids flutter and she falls off her chair. She is unconscious. What will Edmond think? Denise will ruin us.

I scream.

102. I, Sariah

 As a mother of four teenage boys, I thought I was prepared for anything. My boys had very different personalities. The older two, Laman and Lemuel, were rowdy boys. My third, Sam, was shy. He preferred to stay in the home with me. He was always gentle and sweet. After him was Nephi. He took after his father in every way. Each morning they would sit down together and pray. Then they would study the words of our Fathers. My husband, Lehi, would go into the city and teach the people what he had learned. Lehi was always teaching. It was his passion and his calling. Nephi would often go with him to watch and to learn.

We had a good life. It was simple, but pleasant. We had no needs they we couldn't take care of. Laman, Lemuel, and Nephi were all apprenticed to good masters and Sam helped care for our animals.

That was our life until my husband had a strange dream. He felt convinced that we needed to leave our home, our city, and our country. We needed to leave our world behind, or we would be destroyed with. Unrest was growing in Jerusalem. Our people were ignoring the words of the Lord. Threats had been made to many of the teachers and prophets. 

I didn't know if the Lord sent Lehi the dream or if it came from his own suppressed fears, but I didn't argue when he said we should find a new home. I imagined he meant we should go to Sheersheba, Bethel, or Moab. I assumed we would stay at inns or as visitors with relatives. I didn't expect the desert.

Lehi was my husband. We were one. So I went with him. We gathered our family, or livestock, food, our tents. We took supplies for our journey and no more. 

It was difficult to hear Laman and Lemuel complain about the journey. They wanted to know where we were going and I had no answer. They wanted to know why they had to leave their friends and I had no answer. They wanted to know when they would return and I had no answer. I was their mother. I was supposed to have every answer. But I had no answers.

And still I followed Lehi.

For days we travelled further and further away from Jerusalem. And then Lehi had another dream. The boys had to go back. They had to go back for the records of our fathers. Nephi went without question. Sam -- steady Sam -- did what was asked of him. Laman quarreled. Why didn't we get the records before we left? Why couldn't Lehi see we would need them? I felt those questions burning in my heart, but I would not question Lehi in front of our sons. We were their parents. They should never see us divided. And so the boys left.

They were gone for too long. My boys had been killed. I knew it. I was angry and confused and heartbroken. My babies, the joys of my life, had been sent on a fool's errand. My husband was crazy. He didn't know where he was going any more than I did. He had let his fears lead us into the bitterest of trials, and now my boys were dead. Shame on me. What a fool I was for following him blindly. 

With my boys gone, I expressed my fear and my anger to Lehi. I wept and I cursed him. I told him he was a fool and he had sent our sons to their deaths. He let me speak evil of him. He let me scream til my throat burned with the agony of my anger. And then he held me and wept with me until I could cry no more.

When I was quiet again he stroked my hair and whispered to me: The Lord was with us. 

Our sons returned. All four of them were alive and well. They had the records of our fathers. With the Lord's guidance, they had retrieved the records and found their way back to us. They had followed the Lord's directions as Lehi had explained them, and they were back.

I prayed with thanks more fervently that day than I ever had before. Though I had not seen the visions that my husband had, though I had not heard the words or felt the urges that he did, I could see and feel the blessings of the Lord's hand. I knew that we were being led by the Lord.

I knew that He loved me.

101. Farm Sounds

Bark bark cluck cluck

Cockadoodle doo

Oink oink baa baa

Moo moo moo

Ribbit ribbit quack quack

Neigh neigh neigh

Woof woof eheheh

Bray bray bray

Snort snort squawk squawk 

Bow wow wow

Cheep cheep heehaw

Meow meow meow

100. The Prince - A Scientific Study

Ella. I finally had a name. It had to be her. I knew that voice. The gentle soft stir in the wind. It must be her. And if her father taught her about science, why not history, diplomacy, politics? It made so much sense. Could Alfred get her to say more? I had to know for sure before I revealed myself. 

One of them screamed and the Viscount called for a servant. I couldn't help myself any longer. I peered through the small crack between the door and the wall. Someone was on the floor. I could not simply stand by and watch if someone needed help.

I came around the door and joined Alfred's side. He stood like a statue, rooted to the spot, staring down at the commotion. Bellamy and the maid fussed over one of the sisters. The other was still screaming. I knelt by the maid and asked what I could do. My heart skipped a beat when she looked up at me. I knew those eyes. It had to be her.

Then she spoke. "She's hot. Too hot. We need to cool her down. I need water and clothes to wet her brow. And I need to loosen her clothes to help her breathe. Sir John, can you help me turn her?"

I remembered a basin and a pitcher in the side parlor. As I rose to fetch them she called, "Your Highness." I turned back to her. "Could you send someone for Cairos? He has a cottage by the river, near The Stag's Horn Inn." Cairos. The physician who had a cure to our plague. So it was her. "I will, Miss."

"Ella," she supplied.

"Ella." 

99. Alfred - A Scientific Study

"Three more girls are on their way, Ed," I said, folding up the Duke's note. "Did your lady ever mention having a sister?"

Edmond didn't look away from the fire when he answered. "She mentioned only her mother. I suppose she could have sisters. I didn't mention Kate or Mary. Part of the problem of keeping your identity hidden is not being able to ask any questions that can be turned around on you. Why was I so foolish?" 

Not for the first time I answered, "You didn't know." It was all I could say anymore. We'd had the conversation a hundred times, it seemed. I'd never seen Edmond so dejected. He was always hopeful. Now he just seemed lost. "We'll find her."

He nodded absently. "We'll find her."

The door opened and the Viscount of Bellamy bounced through. "Is it true? Three from one house? By golly, this makes things interesting indeed. I wonder what their parents' feet are like. I don't suppose we could send someone to fetch them as well? No, no, of course not. I know. I'll focus on your problem, today, not mine. But it is most intriguing. I'm so glad you've allowed me to be part of this. I never would have thought of studying women's feet before. You've opened up so many questions for me. Have you noticed that they've all had blue eyes so far? No? I'm sure it's just a coincidence, but I am eager to see whether these three will follow that pattern. I can't really see how feet and eyes are related, can you?"

He waited expectantly for my answer, as if I actually knew what he was talking about. People never gave Bellamy enough credit. He was eccentric, yes, but he was really quite clever. Who else would even think to compare the ladies' eye color when conducting a study on feet? I certainly hadn't. "No, sir," I answered. "I can't see the relation there."

"No matter. We'll see soon enough. And there's plenty of time to make a new study of it if need be. Ah, Your Highness, here they come. Would you like to take a look? I don't think they would be able to see you from down there. Oh they are lovely ladies."

"No, thank you," said Edmond, rising from his seat at last. "It wouldn't help. Time to go into hiding again." 

I nodded to the Viscount and followed Edmond once again into our little side room, leaving the door ajar. I didn't bother trying to fill the silence. Edmond was too involved in his own thoughts to pay attention to me. But I didn't mind. I knew it was rudeness to me. He just wanted to find his love.

The door to the outer room opened and I could hear the rustle of skirts before Bellamy began his interview. "My ladies, welcome to my home. I am Sir John Porpington, Viscount of Bellamy. I am so pleased that you are so willing to participate in my study. Please, for my records, what may I call you?"

An overly sweet voice answered "Your Grace, I am Lady Muriel Fawcett, this is my sister, Lady Denise Fawcett. And that is our maid, Cinderella." Bellamy must have motioned for them to sit down, because the voice continued, "She can stand. Our maids do not sit with us, sir."

I crossed Lady Muriel off of my mental list. There was no way this woman was the same girl that had helped a page pick up a tray of minced meats he had dropped. I looked to Edmond for confirmation and he shook his head.

Bellamy responded. "We are all equal in science. Please, Cinderella, have a seat."

"Please, sir, my name is Ella." Edmond stood abruptly as the girl continued. "I know it is probably irrelevant to your study, but my father always told me that you have to be as accurate as possible with science." 

"Your father was a man of science, was he?"

"Yes, sir."

"Very well, Miss Ella. Thank you."

Edmond beckoned me to him and whispered in my ear. "Go out there. Talk to them. See if it's her. Go. Go. Go." He pushed me out the door before I could even respond.

"Uh, umm, sir," I stuttered, trying to come up with some excuse for my sudden arrival. I bowed, "Can I bring you anything, sir?" 

"No, thank you," Bellamy replied, confused.

"Are you sure, sir? Nothing at all I can do for you?" I tried to express my intent to join him without words and he seemed to catch my meaning.

"Actually, I could use you. Yes. As a contrast to these ladies. Come and join us." As I joined his side, he began the introductions. "This is Lady Muriel, Lady Denise, and Ella," he pointed them out as he said their names and I bowed to each in turn. 

"I see your blue-eyed theory is disrupted, sir," I tried to hide a smile at the Viscount's sudden turn of countenance. "Lady Muriel has some of the darkest eyes I've ever seen." She blushed and batted her eyes at me as if I had given her the greatest compliment in the world.

"Who is your friend?" She asked Bellamy coquettishly.

Not sure how he would answer, I introduced myself. "I am Denning, Sir John's valet." Her coy demeanor dropped instantly and she looked out the window. 

Her sister had the same dark and heavy features, though less haughtily carried. She looked about ready to faint. "A pleasure to meet you, Lady Denise," I waited politely for her to respond but she said nothing. She smiled a little but it looked more like a grimace than a greeting.

I turned my attention to the smallest of the three. It was she I had been sent out to assess, but she wasn't looking at me. She was focused entirely on her mistress. She was small and frail-looking. She had a similar build as Edmond's lady, but it was hard to be sure while she sat. And the dress she wore hung so loosely around her. I didn't know what answer to give Edmond when I returned to him. 

"Miss Ella. You look familiar. Have we..."

I started but was interrupted by her.

"Denise, are you alright? Do you feel well?" She put her hand to the lady's face. "You're burning up. Denise, can you hear me?" Lady Denise turned her face toward Ella, but before she could utter a word, her strength left her and she slipped to the floor, unconscious. 

Lady Muriel screamed. Ella dropped to the floor beside Lady Denise. The Viscount called for a servant. I just stood there.

98. Love Life

Giggles and goats

Bickers and boats

Knickers and notes

Kickers and coats

Achoos and chores

Abrupts and bores

Asures and snores

Gimmes and mores

Tykes and trikes

Boys and bikes

Loathes and likes

Hornets and hikes

Digs and disses

Bribes and blisses

Hugs and kisses

Mister and Missus