The Prize (4 page)

                              
35

Virginia
couldn't comprehend why any
woman would even want to be a lady. A lady had to follow rules. Most of the
rules were annoying, but some were downright oppressive. Being a lady was like
being a slave who didn't have the fine home of Sweet Briar. Being a lady was no
different from being in shackles.

Virginia paused
before the headmistress's office, the decision already made. Whether Sarah
Lewis had spoken the truth or not, it no longer mattered. It was time to go
home. In fact, making the decision felt good. For the first time since her parents
had died, she felt strong—and brave. It was a wonderful way to feel. It was the
way she had felt right up until the minister had come to their door to tell
her that her parents were dead.

She knocked on the
fine mahogany door.

Mrs. Towne, a plump,
pleasant lady, gestured her inside. Her kind eyes held Virginia's, solemn now,
when usually they held dancing lights. "I'm afraid you will have to learn
to dance sooner or later, Miss Hughes."

Virginia grimaced.
The one person she almost liked at the school was the headmistress.
"Why?"

Mrs. Towne was
briefly surprised. "Do sit down, my dear."

Virginia sat, then realized
her knees were apart, her hands dangling off the arms of the chair, and quickly
rearranged herself, not because she wished to be proper, but because she did
not want to antagonize the headmistress now. She clamped her knees together,
clasped her hands and thought about how fine it would be to be in her britches
and astride her horse.

Mrs. Towne smiled.
"It isn't that difficult to cooperate, dear."

"Actually, it
is." Virginia was also very stubborn. That trait her mother
had
bemoaned.

"Virginia, ladies
must dance. How else will you attend a proper party and enjoy yourself?"

Virginia didn't
hesitate. "I have no use for parties, ma'am. I have no use for dancing.
Frankly, it's time for me to go home."

Mrs. Towne stared in
mild surprise.

Virginia forgot about
sitting properly. "It's not true, is it? What that wicked Sarah Lewis
said? Surely I am not to remain here—forgotten—a prisoner—for another
three
years?"

Mrs. Towne was grim.
"Miss Lewis must have overheard me speaking privately with Mrs. Blakely.
My dear, we did receive such instructions from your uncle."

Virginia was shocked
speechless and she could only stare. It was a moment before she could even
think.

For a while, she had
been afraid that Eastleigh would send for her, forcing her to go to England,
where she had no wish to go. That, at least, was one dilemma she did not have
to face. But he would lock her up in this school for three more years? She'd
already been here six months and she hated it! Virginia would not have it. Oh,
no. She was going
home.

Mrs. Towne was
speaking. "I know that three years seems like a very long time, but
actually, considering the way you were raised, it is probably the amount of
time we need to fully instruct you in all the social graces you shall need to
succeed hi society, my dear. And there is good news. Your uncle intends to see
you wed upon your majority."

Virginia was on her
feet, beyond shock.
"What? "

Mrs. Towne blinked.
"I should have known you would be dismayed by the proposal. Every
well-born young lady marries, and you are no exception. He intends to find a
suitable husband for you—"

"Absolutely
not!"

Mrs. Towne was now
the one speechless.

Anger consumed
Virginia. "First he sends me here? Then he thinks to lock me away for
three years? Then he will send me to another prison—a marriage with a stranger?
No, I think not!"

"Sit down."

"No, Mrs. Towne.
You see, I will marry one day, but I will marry for love and only love. A grand
passion—like my parents had." Tears blurred her vision. There would be no
compromise. One day she would find a man like her father, the kind of love her
parents had so obviously shared. There would be—could be—no compromise.

"Virginia, sit
down," Mrs. Towne said firmly.

Virginia shook her
head and Mrs. Towne stood. "I know you have suffered a terrible tragedy,
and we all feel for you, we do. But you do not control your fate, child, your
uncle does. If he wishes you to stay here until your majority, then so it shall
be. And I am sure you will come to be fond of your future husband, whoever he
may be."

Virginia couldn't
speak. Panic consumed her. A stranger thought himself to be in control of her
life! She felt trapped, as if in a cage with iron bars, worse, the cage was
being immersed in the sea and she was drowning!

"My dear, you
must make an effort to become a part of the community here. You are the one who
has chosen to be disdainful of the other fine young women here. You have not
tried, even once, to be friendly or amusing. You have set yourself apart from
the moment you arrived and we allowed that, being respectful of your grief. I
know why you held your head so high, my dear, but the others, why, they think
you prideful and vain! It is time for you to make amends—and friends. I expect
you to make friends, Virginia. And I expect you to excel in your studies, as
well."

Virginia hugged
herself. Had the others really thought her too proud and vain? She didn't
believe it. They all despised her because she was from the country, because she
was so different.

"You are so
clever, Virginia. You could do so well here if you bothered to try." Mrs.
Towne smiled at her.

Virginia swallowed
hard. "I can't stay here. And they don't like me because I am different!
I'm not fancy and coy and I don't faint at the sight of a handsome man!"

"You have chosen
to be different, but you are a beautiful girl from a good family, and in truth,
that makes you no different at all. You must cease being so independent,
Virginia, and you will be very happy here, I promise you." Mrs. Towne
walked over to her and clasped her thin shoulder. "I am sure of this,
Virginia. I want nothing more than for you to become a successful graduate of
this school—and a very happy young lady."

Virginia forced a
brittle smile. There was nothing more to say. She was not going to stay at the
school, and she was not going to let her uncle the earl choose a husband for
her—and that was that.

Mrs. Towne smiled at
her warmly. "Do give up your rebellious nature, my dear. The rewards will
be great if you do."

Virginia managed to
nod. A moment later, the interview was over and she fled. As soon as she was
alone on her cot in the dormitory, Virginia began to plan her escape.

Two days later,
Virginia performed her morning ablutions as slowly as she could. The other
young ladies were filing out of the dormitory while she continued to wash her
hands. Early morning light was filtering through the dormitory's skylights.
From the corner of her eye, Virginia watched the last of the young ladies
leaving the long, rectangular room. Miss Fern paused at the door. "Miss
Hughes? Are you unwell?"

Virginia managed a
weak smile. "I'm sorry, Miss Fern, but I am so dizzy and light-headed
today." She hung on to the bureau beside the washstand.

Miss Fern returned to
her, touching her forehead lightly. "Well, you do not have a fever. But I
suppose you should go to Dr. Mills directly."

"I think you are
right. I must be coming down with influenza. I need a moment, please,"
Virginia said, sitting down on the edge of her narrow bed.

"Take a moment,
then." Miss Fern smiled, walked down the aisle between the twenty beds and
finally left the room.

Virginia waited,
silently counting, "One-two-three," then she leapt to her feet. She
hurried across the aisle to the fourth bed. She went right to the bureau there
and began rummaging through contents that did not belong to her. Guilt
assailed her, but she ignored it.

Sarah Lewis always
had pin money, and
Virginia
quickly found twelve dollars and
thirty-five cents. She took every penny, leaving an unsigned note instead. In
it, she explained that she would pay the sum back as soon as possible. Still,
it felt terrible being reduced to thievery and she could almost feel her
mother's disapproval as she watched over her daughter from heaven.

"I will pay
Sarah back, Mama, every darned penny," she whispered guiltily. But there
was just no choice. She needed fare for a coach and an inn. As brave as she
was, she didn't think she could walk the entire eighty miles to Sweet Briar
without several nights' rest and a few good meals.

Virginia
then reached under her bunk. In
her cloak—despite the spring weather, the nights remained cool—she had wrapped
her few precious personal belongings: her mother's cameo necklace, her father's
pipe and a horsehair bracelet Tillie had made for her when she was eight. She
also had an extra shirtwaist, gloves and bonnet. The entire cloak was bundled
up and tied with string.
Virginia
went to a window at one end of
the room, heaved it open and dropped the bundle to the sidewalk below.

Virginia
somehow slowed her eager legs and
walked demurely downstairs, passing two of the school's staff as she did so.
Finally she reached the end of the hall. Ahead lay the

40                              

gracious,
high-ceilinged foyer of the building. There, marble floors vied with dark wood
columns and even darker wood paneling. The front door wasn't kept locked during
the day, as no student ever walked out. Virginia looked carefully around. This
was her chance to escape, but if someone saw her now, it was over before her
journey had even begun.

Footsteps sounded
from a different hall. Virginia darted back around the corner, not daring to
breathe, hearing two voices and recognizing them as belonging to the music master
and the French professor. She assumed they would cross the foyer and come her
way—all of the classrooms lay behind her. Virginia looked around and slipped
into the janitor's closet.

The pair of
instructors passed.

Virginia was
sweating. She had also lost all patience. She cracked open the door and saw
that the hallway was empty. She slipped out, peered into the foyer and found
that empty, too. She inhaled hard for courage and rushed across, flinging open
the huge and heavy front door. She stepped outside into bright spring sunlight
and she smelled and even tasted freedom. God, it was good!

She ran down the walk
and out the wrought-iron front gates, down the public sidewalk, around the
corner, and found her bundled cloak. Virginia seized it and ran again.

"I'm so happy we
could see you most of your way, my dear," Mrs. Cantwell said, smiling and
clasping Virginia's hands.

Three days had
passed. Virginia had spent most of the first morning on foot until she had left
the bustling city of Richmond behind. At a country inn she had eaten a hearty
lunch, famished from her long walk. There, she had stumbled across the Cantwell
family.

A matronly wife,
three proper children, a plump, bespectacled husband—all traveling in a pretty
private coach. Virginia had overheard their conversation, learning that they
had been to Richmond to visit the husband's ailing parents. Now they were on
their way home to Norfolk. Which meant they would pass within miles of Sweet
Briar.

Virginia had helped
one of the small children blow his nose and had quickly become the interest of
Mrs. Cantwell. She had lied about her age and marital status, claiming that she
was returning home to her husband after visiting her ailing mother in
Richmond. She had quickly slipped her mother's ring to her left hand to
corroborate her story. Mrs. Cantwell, upon learning of her destination, had
quickly offered her a ride, clearly desperate for company and help with the
children.

Now Virginia hardly
heard the pleasant lady. They were at a crossroads, one sign reading Norfolk,
the other reading Land's End, Four Corners and Sweet Briar. Her heart beat so
hard that she felt faint. Five miles down the road was her home. Five simple
miles...

"You must miss
your husband so much," Mrs. Cantwell added.

Virginia came to
life. She turned and clasped the blond woman's hands. "Thank you so much
for the ride, Lilly. I cannot thank you enough."

"You have been
so wonderful with the children!" Lilly Cantwell exclaimed. "And if we
weren't so close to home, I would insist we take you all the way to Sweet Briar
so we might meet your wonderful husband."

Virginia flushed with
guilt—she'd become an adept liar as well as a thief in a very short time, and
how she hated it! "May I write you?" she asked impulsively. She
instantly decided she would write Lilly Cantwell and tell her the entire
truth, while thanking her once again for her kindness.

"I should love
to hear from you and remain friends," Lilly cried, beaming.

The two women hugged.
Virginia then hugged tiny Charlotte, tugged Master William's ear and winked at
little Thomas. She thanked Mr. Cantwell as well, and as their carriage pulled
away, she thought she heard him remarking, "There's something odd about
that young lady and I still don't think she's old enough to be married!"