Clandestine: A Story of Three Sisters

Chapter 2

Chapter Two- Welcome to Hush

Jed Crawley's carriage bumped along the path as it made its way through the quiet town of Hush. Georgia was very pretty, and Hush was a town that showed off all the pretty parts of the state. Small, but pretty. It certainly was different from the large city in South Carolina where Jed was from, but a good different.

As the Clandestine mansion came into view through the window, Jed straightened his auburn hair and rubbed his green eyes awake. He made sure his vest and jacket were properly buttoned as the carriage halted. The driver came around and opened the door, and Jed stepped down and out of the carriage.

"Welcome! Welcome!" An older man, dressed very dapperly, came forward. He had a raspy voice that boomed loudly in the open air, and a white beard but a balding head, though Jed could see he used to have very pale yellow hair. He also had kind, bright blue eyes that gave him a sincere expression. A woman came forward with him, also older but still a handsome lady with dark hair and pretty cocoa eyes.

"Mr. Clandestine, I presume?" Jed asked, shaking the man's hand. "Jed Crawley, much obliged."

"Yes, yes, welcome." The men finished shaking hands, and Jed took the woman's hand to kiss it. "My wife, Caitlyn. And my daughters are here." The man led Jed forward a little to two younger women.

"My middle child, Madison." Mr. Clandestine announced, indicating a girl of seventeen years who wore white lace and had milky brown eyes. Her very light brown hair was pulled back in a braid, and her face was slowly lighting up with a smile.

"Much obliged, Mr. Crawley." As Jed kissed her hand, she blushed deeply and Jed decided she was pretty.

"The honor is all mine, Miss Madison." He straightened and looked to the other girl. She was just slightly taller, and Jed guessed she was the one: the fiancé. At nineteen years old, she had a beauty that seemed older in a way, ethereal. Her hair was much darker than her sister's, almost black, but her eyes were the light blue of her father's. She was beautiful indeed, but her beauty scared Jed in a way he couldn't explain. Her expression wasn't as soft as Madison's, which made her seem mad to meet him. "Miss Charlotte?"

"Yes, this is my eldest, Charlotte." Mr. Clandestine announced. "Your betrothed."

"Pop," Charlotte whispered, but she quickly bit her tongue and turned back to Jed to let him take her hand. He kissed it without breaking eye contact with her, and the kiss seemed to last years rather than a few seconds. "Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Crawley." Charlotte told him quietly, almost ruefully.

"Jed," he insisted. "And the pleasure is all mine." Charlotte simply nodded her head, but broke eye contact with him, choosing to look down at her feet instead.

"I'm sorry, seems my youngest is missing," Mr. Clandestine chuckled. "She's always off doing something, but you'll meet her later at dinner. Come, get settled in, and then you can take a tour of the grounds."

"Charlotte can take you!" Mrs. Clandestine offered suddenly, earning a look from Charlotte. But the girl quickly put her head back down and asked to be excused. "Yes, dear. Go grab some walking shoes and take your sister with you."

Charlotte took Madison's arm and they turned to go into the house. As they walked, Madison whispered, "He's handsome! Mind if I join your tour?"

"Please," Charlotte whispered back as they entered the house.

***

Jed had finished packing away his things in the guest room, and met Charlotte and Madison at the front door of the mansion.

"Ready?" Madison asked with a smile.

"Yes, thank you." Jed smiled back, also smiling at Charlotte, but she ignored him or simply didn't see him as she turned and went outside. The three of them walked to the back of the house, Madison explaining how much land they had, telling him about the fruit orchards and grain fields.

"We have one of the biggest farms in the town," Madison told him proudly.

"That's lovely," Jed replied with a grin as they walked through said farm. He could tell she was acting coy and flirtatious toward him as she talked about the farm, smiling and flipping her now loose hair over her shoulders. If he hadn't been engaged to her sister, someone like Madison would've taken to his fancy immediately. He generally liked lighter haired girls, though Madison's was still a bit darker than he liked and her eyes were not the enchanting blue of her sister's.

"We also have many horses and other livestock," Madison told him, her face still bright and blushing. Jed noticed Charlotte hadn't said a word, simply walking behind them with her head hung down.

"Do you have any sheep?" Jed asked.

"Why, yes." Madison replied, a bit confused.

"My family has a very large sheep farm," Jed explained. "I'd love to see how yours is."

"Sure! Let me just go and check with our shepherd and then we can visit," Madison replied just as Jed hoped she would. He nodded and Madison ran off to fulfill her duty.

"Miss Charlotte, I had hoped for a moment alone." Jed told her quickly.

"Why?" Charlotte asked, stepping back a bit.

"Just to talk. You haven't said a word, and yet you're my guide, are you not?" Jed gave her a sweet smile, his dimples creating charming creases in his cheeks.

"Right. I'm sorry, I'm just not in the right mood, Mr. Crawley."

"Please, Jed." He insisted again.

"I'm sorry, I can't." Charlotte shook her head, not meeting his eyes.

"Why not?" Jed asked, chuckling. "If we're to marry, you can't keep calling me Mr. Crawley."

"If we're to marry," Charlotte responded under her breath, but Jed heard.

"Do you not like me, Miss Charlotte?"

"I hardly know you, Mr. Crawley." Charlotte looked down again, wringing her hands.

"Well, that's why I'm trying to get to know you." Jed reached out to touch her hand, but Charlotte quickly shrunk away as if he were poison.

"Mr. Crawley," Charlotte had a warning tone in her voice. "Don't try anything, please."

"Miss Charlotte, I'm only trying to talk to you." Jed quickly explained. But he let his flirtatious side escape a little as he said, "If I were trying anything else, you would definitely know."

"Mr. Crawley!" Charlotte straightened up and said, "I believe my sister can handle the rest of the tour. If you'll excuse me--"

"Please, Miss Charlotte--"

"I find your attitude unsatisfactory and crude."

"I was only quipping--"

"I don't think it was funny at all," Charlotte reprimanded.

"Miss Charlotte, don't be unreasonable." Jed told her, his voice becoming a bit harsh.

"Unreasonable?" Charlotte raised her eyebrows. "Mr. Crawley, you may think I am some sort of naive Southern belle, but I assure you I am fully capable of taking care of myself, and I don't need you to call me impolite names and tell me crude jokes. Excuse me." This time, Jed let Charlotte leave, and she stomped away without turning back. Jed whistled out a sigh and shook his head. She was quick-witted; a bit too quick-witted.

Madison was still nowhere in sight, so Jed started to meander between the apple trees in the orchard. It was beautiful, with pretty blossoms everywhere and the sun shining through the branches to create a brightly lit path among the trees. It was pretty, but Jed found himself getting quite lost. He turned back to try to find his way out of the orchard, and stopped mid-step.

Standing before him was the most beautiful creature Jed had ever seen.