Read Online The Velvet Shadow by Angela Elwell Hunt - Free Book Online

devotedly. Charily is fine, and ready my textbooks nearly as well as I do. Pray for me during my exams, during which I shall endeavor to do you honor.
    I am, most ardently, your loving daughter.
    Flanna
    Flanna folded the letter, slid it into an envelope, and sealed it. She searched among her papers for a sheaf of stamps, then wondered ifthe letter would even reach her father. Now that South Carolina had declared itself independent from the United States, would the postal service deliver mail to Charleston?
    “I pray you will find your way home,” she whispered, pressing her lips to the heavy vellum. Then, turning around, she called Charity from her mending and asked her to post the envelope.

    Three days later, Flanna stood with Alden, Roger, and Mrs. Haynes outside the majestic brick house. Alden’s four-day pass was about to expire, and Roger had invited Flanna to his brother’s farewell luncheon. Flanna enjoyed the meal very much, for Mrs. Haynes’s attention was focused almost entirely upon her soldier son. She had little time or energy, it seemed, to fret about Flanna.
    Now Flanna shivered inside her elegant blue velvet mantle and leaned closer to the curving brick wall at the front of the house. She tapped her toes beneath the hem of her gown, hoping this public good-bye would not take long.
    Roger stood next to his mother on the front steps, his arm supporting her while she wept into a lace-trimmed handkerchief. Standing stiffly and rather awkwardly in front of the house, Alden Haynes nodded one final time at his brother.
    “Take care of her, Roger.” He turned the catch in his voice into a cough, then lifted his hand. “I may be back soon. Until then, farewell.”
    Mrs. Haynes burst into fresh weeping and burrowed her head into Roger’s chest. Patting her shoulder, Roger glanced helplessly at Alden, then mouthed a silent apology to Flanna.
    “Miss O’Connor.” Alden turned to her with a snap of his heels. “My brother has asked me to see you home. Since the train station is near your residence…”
    “Thank you very much,” Flanna answered, understanding Roger’s reasoning. He was doubtless eager to have Flanna away from his distraught mother, who might say anything once Alden had departed.
    Flanna stepped forward and corked her hands firmly into her muff, more than ready to leave the sorrowful scene. Alden salutedhis brother, then picked up his bag, a gesture that evoked even louder weeping from Mrs. Haynes.
    “Shall we go?” Alden led Flanna away at a brisk pace, not slowing until they had left Louisburg Square. “I’m sorry you had to witness that,” he said, pausing at a street corner. He waited until a passing carriage had moved through the intersection, then looked down at Flanna. “Mother is not usually this emotional. But with all this talk of war—”
    “Major Haynes,” Flanna interrupted, giving him an understanding smile, “you do not need to explain. If our situations were reversed and my brother were going off to a military post, I think it highly unlikely that my father would be able to restrain his feelings.” She softened her tone. “He would not cry, I don’t think…but his heart would break, just the same.”
    “Indeed.” Alden’s expressive face became almost somber. “I wish I knew how my father would feel about these present difficulties,” he said, walking again, “but I am certain he would do anything to preserve the unity of these United States.”
    “He was a patriot?”
    “He was a general in the army.” His voice brimmed with pride. “A fine soldier, and a brilliant strategist. He gave his life in the Mexican War. I was fifteen at the time.”
    “I’m very sorry.” They walked in silence for a moment, then Flanna turned her head and looked up at him. “Is that why you chose a military career? Are you following in his footsteps?”
    His eyes warmed slightly, and the hint of a smile acknowledged the accuracy of her intuition. “I suppose you’re