Free The Revelation of Louisa May by Michaela MacColl Page A

in the afternoon sun. The hill rising behind the house was called Revolutionary Ridge, a name that conjured blood and death, but these days the hill hummed with new life and the promise of summer. The garden was filled with every shade of new green and dozens of birds flitted about the sky, carrying twigs for their nests. Even her industrious woodpecker was trying to drill a hole in the chicken coop. Louisa sympathized. She would have to work just as hard as the tireless bird to feed all the mouths in her care.
    The man coming down the road from town was closer now but not so close that he could have seen George. She watched out of curiosity, wondering who he was.
    He wore a dark coat and a soft felt hat and carried a suitcase and bouquet of flowers. Not a farmer, she thought, andhe didn’t have the air of a merchant, either. She wondered if he had arrived by the train. He walked like a young man, but he was too far away for her to distinguish his features. Louisa felt that there was something familiar about the way he moved, but she could not place the recollection.
    Slowly she circled the house, keeping out of sight, to stand in the shadow of the front porch. With all the secrets going on around town these days, she told herself, it only made sense to pay close attention to strangers.
    As the man reached Hillside, he stopped. She stiffened, watching him carefully. Louisa caught a glimpse of his profile. He looked a bit like Fred, a very distant cousin who often stayed summers with the Alcotts. Fred was like a brother to Louisa; he had been a dear companion who was game for any adventure, even if he couldn’t always keep up with her when they ran in the woods. She hadn’t seen him in almost a year, since he went away to school. Although this man resembled Fred, he was taller and broader.
    The young man made his decision and unlatched the gate with a resolve that Fred could never manage. Approaching the door, he rubbed the back of his neck.
    Louisa let out a sharp exhalation of recognition. Only Fred had that particular mannerism. But how he had changed since last summer!
    â€œFred?” Louisa stepped out from her hidden alcove, startling him. “Fred, is that you?”
    He started toward her. “Louisa?”
    â€œIt
is
you!” she cried in delight. She stepped toward him, arms held out in welcome. Then she checked herself. Her friend Fred had been a companion on a hundred walks in the woods or trips on the river. She could hug
him
, but this young man in a suit felt like a stranger.
    Fred had no such qualms. He dropped his case and his bouquet. “Louisa, didn’t you recognize me?” he laughed. “Have I changed so much in a year?” He took her in his arms and swung her in an embrace that lifted her feet from the ground. His hat tumbled off, revealing an unmistakable head of curly red hair.
    She slapped at his chest. “Put me down. When did you grow so tall that you could spin me around like a top?” Finally he let her go. “How are you here, dear Fred?” She put her hand to her bodice to catch her breath. “Marmee didn’t say a word!”
    â€œShe doesn’t know. I’m so busy at the university that I hardly write anyone. But I had some free time, and no one else I’d rather spend it with than the Alcotts. So I boarded a train and here I am.” He grinned, revealing straight white teeth. “Now take me to the family. I cannot wait to see the expression on Marmee’s face.”
    â€œBut Fred, that’s just it,” Louisa exclaimed. “Marmee’s gone! She and May just left for the entire summer for New Hampshire. And Anne is gone teaching. It’s just me, Beth, and Father.”
    His open face fell, but then he brightened again. “Well, I’ll just have to settle for you, then,” he said, teasing her withhis large blue eyes. How disconcerting, she thought. Fred’s friendly eyes were exactly the same,