Read Online Where Love Runs Free (Tales from the Upcountry) by Caroline Friday - Free Book Online Page B

the mahogany sideboards, and there were
silver and brass candelabra with burning, rose-colored candles at every turn,
giving the whole house an ethereal, elegant glow. Angelina had never seen it
look more beautiful. “Oh, Ella!” she said, feeling the tears prick the corners
of her eyes.
    “Don’t you dare cry, now. Mr. Edward, you tell her, I don’t
want her messin’ up that pretty face over candles, flowers, and a little home
cookin’.”
    “I don’t know, Ella. I don’t blame her for tearing up over
this. You sure have put on a spread,” Edward boasted, popping a miniature
cheese puff in his mouth. “Mmm, mmm. That’s mighty tasty.”
    “Not too salty?” Ella asked.
    “No, ma’am. That’s real good.”
    “All right, well go on outside and meet your guests. Go on.”
Ella waved them off like she was shooing a pair of birds out the window. “Look!
People’re already comin’ up the drive.”
    Edward opened the front door for Angelina and ushered her
into a more wondrous spectacle than the dining room and main parlor. The front
porch was adorned with flowering pots bordering the porch railing and hanging
baskets filled with spider plants, Boston ferns, pink and white begonias, and
red geraniums. Flickering oil lamps lined the walk to the house and into the
garden area where a large white tent housed a five-man fiddle band in black
tuxedos and temporary wooden dance floor. Near the band was a long, buffet
table covered in a full-length tablecloth with another enormous floral
arrangement, two silver candelabra, and about a dozen cakes and pies. There was
a tall, white coconut cake with cherries on top, a chocolate pie with whipped
cream, lemon meringue custard topped with strawberries, and an apple cobbler.
Then there were iced sugar cookies, chocolate and walnut brownies, and Ella’s
famous chocolate fudge. Angelina’s corset tightened looking at all of the
delectable treats. Too bad she wasn’t the least bit hungry.
    “Oh, Angelina Raeford, you are lovely . . .”
    “Congratulations to you and Edward. It’s about time he found
a good woman . . .”
    “Oh, that dress is gorgeous! You remind me of your mama,
lookin’ as fresh as a daisy . . .”
    Angelina worked the crowd, smiling, chatting, and shaking
hands with all of Laurel Grove, pretending to be happy. First, there was
Reverend Michaels from the Methodist Church, along with Mabel Andersen and some
of her mother’s old friends from the Women’s Society. Then there was Jessie and
some of her riding companions and Edward and his breeders from Rutherford Hall.
Isabella Richardson whispered and giggled with Rebecca Thompson and Miranda Sutherland,
wearing her blue silk gown and diamond and pearl earrings. Angelina nodded and
smiled but decided she didn’t have to talk to them.
    “How’s that wild stallion doin’ for ya?” Isaac asked,
joining Angelina as she watched the party from the covered porch. He offered her
a cup of fruit punch and smiled his familiar tobacco-stained smile.
    “Oh, he’s fine—just fine.”
    “You broke him in yet?”
    “I’m working on it,” she said, sipping the sweet liquid.
    “Well, like I said, he’d be a good contender for the Carolina
Challenge this year. You thought about that?”
    “I’ve thought about it,” she nodded, batting her eyelashes
so he wouldn’t be offended at what she was about to say. “But who I enter in
the Challenge is my business, Isaac Richardson. I certainly won’t be telling
you any of my secrets.”
    “Smart lady,” he said, taking a gulp of punch. “Good head
for business like your daddy. Who knows? Maybe you’ll be able to teach that
future husband of yours a thing or two—”
    “What’s this?” Edward slithered up behind Angelina, his
breath hot on her neck. “You planning on teaching me something?”
    “Naw,” Isaac said with a chuckle, trying to lighten the
mood. “We were just talkin’ ’bout the Carolina Challenge.”
    “You mean the race I’ve won