Read Blue Waltz for Free Online Page B

said as always, her milk-white complexion filled with adoration and pride. "Of you, Browning Holly. Tall and proud. Dressed in fine clothes. A man to contend with."
    And when her mother said the words, Belle knew her father was pleased.
    Browning laughed and pushed his empty bowl away, then leaned back. Pulling a pipe from its pouch, he filled the bowl with tobacco, tapped it down, struck a match, then clamped the stem between his teeth.
    Belle loved the smell of tobacco, the rich aroma wrapping around her, telling her everything was all right. She loved as well what she knew came next.
    "We'll receive invitations from everyone of importance," he continued. "And your mother will wear dresses of lavender chiffon with sheer scarves of gold,
    Blue Waltz 39
    settin' off her delicate complexion, and silk laces so soft they could only be spun from the most exquisite of threads."
    Madeline giggled like a debutante. Browning took her hand and squeezed lightly, briefly.
    "She'll have mountains of bonnets with feathers and frippery no one could match, and furs by the finest furriers in the city." He looked back at the fire, pulling thoughtfully on the stem of his pipe. "Just as she had before she married me."
    Madeline reached across the table.. "And I'll have them again. I believe in you, Browning Holly. Just as I have since the day we met."
    Browning looked at his wife, and Belle saw all the love he felt for her mother. A twinge of panic flashed through Belle. She loved her mother dearly, but sometimes she felt so sad and alone when it seemed her father loved her mother so much more than he loved her. She pulled in a deep breath. Belle knew from experience that if she didn't prompt him again, she would be left alone at a table covered with a half-smoked pipe and empty dishes when her parents went off to their room.
    "And what about me?" she demanded, forcing a laugh.
    Her mother pulled her hand away, red rushing to her cheeks, but her father simply continued to gaze at his wife. Tears burned in Belle's eyes when she determined that she had failed. The stories were at an end.
    But then her father's face shifted and he smiled.
    "We will dance, little one, on St. Valentine's Day," he stated, turning his attention to his daughter.
    Belle leaped up from her stool and began to dance. "Twirling, twirling, round and round," she chanted, relieved. "On my birthday."
    40Linda Francis Lee
    "Every person there will stop and stare in awe at your beauty."
    Extending her arms, she twirled, her skirts billowing about her tiny legs.
    "With hair like creamy waves of chocolate," he continued, "and eyes almost painfully blue, you'll dress in a gown of lavender silk, with miles of the finest ruffled petticoats and flowers in your hair."
    She ran her hand over her hair and twirled once again, her movements exaggerated, playacting all that he described.
    "Every man there will try to claim your first dance," he said, pushing up from the table, his lips spread in a grin. "But you will dance with me, my precious Blue!"
    He swept her up into his arms and she squealed her delight. Round and round they went, sweeping elegantly across the floor.
    They danced about the room for a few more minutes before her father set Belle down. "There it is, the fine story of Boston and even a dance on Valentine's Day. Just the first of many."
    He turned her in the direction of the thin ladder that led to the loft where she slept. "Now, off to bed with you, young lady."
    "Happy birthday," her mother added with a smile and a gentle kiss.
    Up in the loft Belle slept secure on her straw-filled mattress. Burrowing deep, she pulled the covers up to her chin. A small window had been built into the side wall. Belle loved her window and kept the curtains tied back. When she lay in bed, on clear, cloudless nights she could see the moon and the stars. During the day, if she stood just right, she could see the very edge of the farm on which Papa worked.
    Even though her father grumbled