~First draft. Very open to help~
The last dance, for her, was like dancing with a broom. It was stiff and very unentertaining. She kept a fake, uninterested smile on her face while pretending to have a good time. It was terrible. The magnificent room was just to beautiful to have too put up with the settings tonight.
The room was grand, as grand as any ballroom. It had a beautiful floor, and many wonderful and expensive furnishings. They had the finest servants and butlers and the best food. She was happy in here, if she was alone. She hated the formalities and the dancing. She hated the heavy, expensive dresses with the hooped skirts. The uncomfortable pumps the women wore with long earbobs that were almost too much. She hated balls and dances. They were high society gatherings, where snobby people arranged young couples. Young couples that were to get married.
These horrible settings and terrible men made it hard for Jennilyn to find a good young man who would respect her standards and loved her. Many told her that nobody cared about those kinds of things. Yes, they were rich and handsome, but Jennilyn could not find one good quality or skill that would amount to anything in them. Her parents, who were rich and in the highest class of society, disagreed with her principles and standards, they forced many socials and dances into her schedule. They invited many bachelors, whom they knew were taken with her. She was so tired of them. She was tired of the boys who awed over her, but didn't want to get to know her.
"Thank you for the dance, Miss Hampton." The broom winked and sauntered away. Only Jennilyn caught the wink. She knew she was pretty, but it was tiresome to have men act that way. Didn’t they have any standards? She answered her own question with a no. She curtsied a little late and gracefully walked to the magnificent French doors.
She sighed deeply when she heard her mother's commanding voice.
"Jenni! Jennilyn, where on earth do you think you are going? The night is barely through and many more are waiting to dance," she said, flustered.
"Oh dear Mother,” she said with a subtle sarcasm to her tone. “My feet are aching, my poor temperature is rising, and I have no fresh air. Please let me escape for just a while to cool down."
Her mother's stiff face looked harsh and Jennilyn feared it would be a no, but her mother’s voice allowed her. "Fine. You may go."
She burst through the doors, breathing in deeply while relishing the cool air on her face. A summer breezed sighed through the trees, rustling the leaves with a quiet whisper. Gathering her skirts, Jennilyn started around the hedges that were a brilliant maze around a spacious fountain. She cherished the garden and all the time she had spent here as a child. She tenderly touched the cool marble of the fountain. It was smooth and sweet. She rounded the corner of another hedge. A dark figure loomed before her. Her mouth opened to scream, but no sound came out..
"Jennilyn! Did I frighten you that bad?" Henry laughed. A laugh that had always comforted her, but now, she didn’t find comfort. Henry, her only brother and her oldest brother, loved to tease her so and was her best friend. She felt mad, but the anger ceased and turned into, once again, sarcasm.
"Oh! I shall have you hung, or chased!" she teased right back. "If I would have screamed, you could bet that those enchanting young men would be out here very quickly!" She tried to calm her pounding heart.
"I bet they would've. But no worries, for I would have hidden you away. Though how could we leave without dear, Georgie?" Georgie, or Georgiana, was Jennilyn's best friend. Though she was a servant, Jennilyn treated her with the love of a sister. She was the one girl Jennilyn could talk to.
"Yes, I would have to get her, but then you would have to carry her, for I know how much you swoon over her." Jennilyn watched the color in his face grow deeper, as her eyes grew accustomed to the dark night.
But the come back showed no sign of embarrassment. "Yes, I just might carry her. And you dear sister, you could either walk or perhaps carry me."
"Oh you!" Her fist flew towards his arm. Henry took it and laughed.
“Were you not having a good time?” he asked. Jennilyn knew exactly what he meant.
“No, I couldn’t take it anymore. Mama and Papa won’t let me be! I want to leave. Papa keeps getting so upset at me. I am not even seventeen! I don’t want to marry yet!”
Henry felt sympathy for his younger sister; the first and only Hampton daughter. His darling little sister was such a pretty woman now. A sweet heart-shaped face was dusted across the nose with a sprinkle of freckles; angels kisses as their grandfather had called them. Her dark brown hair that flowed like a waterfall down to her waist and curled softly. She had a slightly crooked smile that enchanted many. Her blue eyes were so extraordinary. The color was so bright. She had curves and stood at five feet four inches. Yes, she was the dream of any young man.
Her personality just set off her looks with an unnatural sense. The best qualities he could find were her brightness and sense of humor. She read too much and laughed even more. She talked and talked, but most of all, she cared. She cared about anything, everything. The word shy wasn't even in her vocabulary. She was stubborn and stood her ground. He loved how she stood up for others, but the thing he loved most about her was that she had wisdom beyond her sixteen years. It wouldn’t be hard to remember her beautiful young face.
"Henry, is something troubling you?" Her head cocked to the left. "You just sat there and I didn’t know what to do!"
"Yes, and we need to talk."
"Of what?"
"Take a walk with me." He hadn't planned on telling her, but it seemed right. He started in as they slowly started walking, her arm linked in his.
.
