Free Harnessed Passions by Dee Jones Page B

front of the mirror next to her
wardrobe, staring into the reflection of her swollen hazel eyes.
She was going to have to face this, regardless of how much she
wanted to cover her head and run. She felt like Anne Bolin being
led to the gallows, reluctant to meet the executioner who would
lower his axe and erase her life, yet bravely facing each step with
determination and dignity.
    Her black crimson gown lay across the back
of the chair between her vanity and bed like a shroud, respectable
for mourning. She pulled on her stockings and slid into her chemise
and bloomers, followed by the corset she despised, the heavy
petticoat and finally the gown itself. Complete with a pair of
black slippers, she looked as beautiful and unshakable as Victor
Turner would have preferred his only daughter to appear. If she
hadn’t known the turmoil churning inside her stomach, she would
have believed the image staring back at her from the reflective
surface of her full-length mirror, was full of confidence and
unwavering sophistication.
    Julia sat down at her vanity and applied a
light dusting of powder to her ivory complexion; nothing elaborate
she told herself, just a hint of normalcy. She tugged her brush
through the length of damp dark hair, trying to straighten out the
mess her bath had made of it. It always took so long to style her
hair that she rarely bothered with anything more than a bun or hair
combs to hold it back off her face, sometimes even an occasional
braid. She had often considered cutting it as some of her friends
in Boston were doing, but never did. She liked its length and in
truth, she felt it was her best asset.
    As she tied a black ribbon around the thick
layer of hair at nape of her neck, a knock sounded on the door.
Anticipating her mother, she merely replied to the door being
unlocked and continued with what she was doing. As the door
cautiously pushed open, the dark head of her younger brother poked
around the corner.
    "Make sure you're decent," he teased her,
through the narrow opening. "I'm too old, to see my sister naked."
Julia laughed rushing to the door and pulling it open wider,
unaware the young man had been leaning against it. He stumbled into
the room and right into his sister's waiting arms, laughing as he
hugged her to him.
    "Jeremy, you clumsy nut," she laughed,
returning his embrace.
    "You do know how to make men fall for you,
sis," he teased, as they sat together on the edge of the bed
holding hands.
    "When did you get home?" she asked him,
hoping to avoid the subject of what brought him back.
    "About three this morning, I came as soon as
I got mother’s telegram. Why didn't someone contact me sooner? I
would have been here; perhaps I could have helped or done
something." Julia shook her dark head, sadly.
    "There was nothing you could have done.
Father had been ill for a number of years. I guess it was only a
matter of time."
    "Mother told me about him leaving you the
stables in his will," he said, mixed emotions echoed through his
words. "If I can help I will but you should know I'm getting
married once school is finished and I don't want to live in
father's shadow. I don't want to become so obsessed with work I
lose sight of my life and my family. He was a good man for the most
part I suppose, maybe even a good husband, but as a father he left
a lot to be desired. I don't want my children growing up without
theirs the way we did. Never seeing him, never knowing rather or
not he'd be there for your birthday or Christmas. Never really
knowing who came first, his damned horses or you." Jeremy stood and
walked to the open door leading to the veranda. His hands thrust
deep in his pockets, his back to his sister.
    "How do you say good-bye to a man you barely
knew?" he whispered in the stillness of the room.
    "I'm sorry Jeremy," she answered, feeling
the same agonizing pain she knew her younger brother was suffering.
"I just wish I could say something to make it all right."
    "I don't think there's