American Girl

Delaware

The platform stretched out long and empty. Her fellow passengers had departed quickly, and the train left filled with new travelers. Selena Mills sighed heavily and lifted her carpetbag. In the past, her parents had greeted her at the station with warm, welcoming smiles. But things had changed practically overnight. She would never see her parents again, and Mills Haven, Delaware, would never seem like home again.

For six years, Selena attended the Pritchard Boarding School for Young Ladies in Baltimore, Maryland. Her father insisted his daughter required a proper education regardless of the cost. Although they had to scrimp and save, her parents kept her in school until her graduation year. Selena was sixteen, nearly seventeen.

Miss Pritchard had called her away from her classes two days previously. All eyes turned toward the opening door and watched Mabel-Grace Willows stride in, holding a folded blue note. Several girls exchanged glances, wondering who the headmistress wished to see. It usually meant one of the girls had broken a rule. Miss Perkins quickly accepted the note, glanced at it, and called Selena's name.

Selena's face grew pale. She knew she hadn't broken a rule. Shrugging her shoulders, she rose and followed Mabel-Grace into the corridor. Eleven pairs of eyes followed her exit. As the door swung closed, Selena heard a rush of questioning voices and the sound of Miss Perkins rapping her knuckles on her desk.

Miss Prichard stood at the open office door, waiting for Selena. Her expression matched her iron-gray hair, pulled into a bun tight enough to erase her facial wrinkles. The headmistress curtly dismissed Mabel-Grace, leaving Selena alone with The Iron Lady.

"Please, sit down," Miss Prichard said, pointing to one of two chairs facing her vast desk. She moved swiftly behind the desk but remained standing.

Selena sat and grasped her hands tightly in her lap. Multiple protests formed in her mind, but she knew better than to voice them. Miss Prichard did not tolerate outbursts from her students. However, when she spoke, her voice remained calm, almost soothing.

"I'm afraid I have rather bad news for you, Miss Mills," she stated, the fists of both hands resting on the desktop. "Your parents were killed last night. It was a motorcar accident."

"Motorcar?" Selena gasped the new word. "Oh, but no, they can't. I mean, they couldn't. I...but they don't own a motorcar."

"It wasn't their motorcar," Miss Pritchard stated unemotionally. "Their buggy was run off the road by the motorcar. They both sustained broken necks, killing them instantly."

"Mr. Toad," Selena muttered—more to herself than to the headmistress.

"What did you say?" Miss Pritchard snapped. "I didn't hear you."

"Mr. Toad," the distraught girl repeated. "That's what we call him. I mean, Clarence Hawthorne. He's the only one with a motorcar. Mr. Toad because..."

"I get the idea," the headmistress interrupted, waving Selena to silence.

For months, Papa complained about Clarence Hawthorne's motorcar. Judge Hawthorne was the wealthiest man in Mills Haven. He gave his only son a motorcar on his twentieth birthday. Day and night, the car sped haphazardly along the county roads. Papa said he would eventually kill someone. Selena never imagined her mother and father would fall victim to Clarence's motorcar.

In her mind's eye, Selena saw the tragic event: her parents driving home from evening church services, Clarence racing along the darkened road. The horses spooked, and the carriage tilted as it bumped along behind the matched team. She covered her face with her hands and wept uncontrollably.