A Singular Swan

Sixteen year old Isabella Swan was used to hard work, she had being tilling the half acreage next to their home since just after she was able to walk; Renee Swan had made very sure of that. In addition to tending the garden, Isabella was well versed in animal husbandry. She was often present when their farmhand helped mares to foal in the barn. She bore witness to mares having foals and cows having calves and ewes having lambs and even cats having kittens. Renee was that kind of mother, she wanted her daughter to know all about the proclivities of nature, good and ill and she wanted her daughter to know the value of a good day's hard work.

From the time she was three years old, Isabella and her mother worked on the small farm from before sunrise until midday; while her father, the town's only school teacher, and a deacon of the church, tended to the business of teaching and preaching in the small hamlet of Pfalzburg in the Province of New York in which they lived.

Had fate not been so unkind, Isabella's life might have been easier, for her mother, Renee DuBois Swan, had not been born into an arduous life, quite the opposite in fact. But the fickle hand of fate had turned against Renee and all her fortune was in the hands of people with no blood ties to it. However Renee was not bitter, in fact she learned very quickly how to cope with whatever life gives you. She was quite proud of her ability to not only cope, but to enjoy all of life's simplest pleasures.

Renee DuBois had been born the only daughter of Charlotte and Peter Louis DuBois, whose parents were among the first settlers of this village. Charlotte's father, George Platt, along with eleven others from his regiment, had purchased 45,000 acres from the Lenape tribe and started the town. Because of its fortunate location, just near a deep bend in the Hudson River before it grew increasingly rapid on its way south to the colony of Manhattan, the village had grown fast, quickly populated by eager merchants whose businesses benefited the neighboring farms. Within five years of its purchase, the small hamlet had become a thriving, busy river towne; there was a blacksmith, a tailor, seamstresses, a general store where the farmers could purchase items as varied as seeds, tools, cloths and foodstuffs not available on every farm.

Renee's earliest memories was of walking with her mother, Charlotte, to the various merchants to purchase fabric for dresses and taking them to the seamstress down on Front Street so that she could be measured for a new dress. As a child Renee would get new dresses every month and she wanted for nothing, all things bright and beautiful were hers just for the asking. She'd led the life of a provincial princess, waking late in the mornings, nigh on noon, and being fed breakfast in bed. She was bathed twice per week and her chestnut hair was done up in intricate styles by her doting French nan, Sabine. At Peter's behest, Renee was tutored in languages and was taught the classics in literature; however, Charlotte did not see any benefit in her learning the mathematics and so she was schooled in point work instead.

Unfortunately, Charlotte Platt DuBois, though a loving wife and mother, was not a very hardy woman and after a brief illness she died at the tender age of twenty-six, leaving seven year-old Renee in the care of her grieving husband.

Peter DuBois, a very sentimental and now a very wealthy man, remarried quickly. Less than a year after his beloved Charlotte had passed, Peter returned home from doing business in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, bringing with him a very pretty young woman. He introduced her to little Renee as her nouveau mamain. His second wife, Hannah, was not enamored with Renee, as he had hoped she would be. He had chosen a charming, young bride, thinking that she would be a good mother for his sweet little Renee. Instead Hannah showed herself to be a needy and jealous wife, resenting all the attention that Peter gave his pretty little daughter. Soon, there were expenses and household needs that flourished aplenty, which prevented Renee from getting the dresses and treats to which she had been accustomed.

Things became even worse, three years later, when Hannah gave birth to a son. Peter DuBois doted on little Samuel and carelessly left decisions about Renee's care in the hands of Hannah. At the tender age of eleven, little princess Renee was demoted and had to learn to clean and cook alongside the servants. Hannah took great joy in telling her that it was required that she learn to do these menial tasks, because when it was time to get married, she was told in no uncertain terms, Renee would be leaving her father's home and all the luxury would be left behind. It made no difference to Hannah that practically all her husband's fortune had been inherited from Charlotte's parents.

A short five years after the birth of Samuel, Peter DuBois fell from his horse and was trampled. After three, painful days in bed, he gave up the ghost. Renee was only sixteen. Hannah DuBois took his entire fortune and moved back to raise Samuel near her parents in the Massachusetts Bay colony. She did not take Renee with her; instead she married Renee off to the young school teacher, Master Charles Swan, who had just recently arrived from Colony of Virginia.

While many of the towne folke thought a match with Charles Swan was beneath Renee, Renee herself was not unhappy about her fate; in truth, she had worried much more about the prospect that she would be taken to Massachusetts Bay colony and be married off there; she had heard very frightening things about the Puritans and their reluctance to accept others into their fold. She had also heard about the witch trials of years gone by, wherein many women were burned at the stake or drowned, suspected of being witches and working in the dark arts. Renee was relieved to have been left behind in the town she had been born in, counting herself fortunate to have never set foot in Salem.

It was not concern for Renee's future that caused Hannah to leave her in Pfalzburg, it was the complication and expense of taking an unwanted step-daughter back to Massachusetts; expenses that she hoped to avoid. One week after her husband was buried, Hannah DuBois entrusted Renee's marital arrangements to Widow Cope, and quickly left the towne that she'd never really come to regard as her home.

When Mistress Cope had first told Hannah of a likely match with the young teacher, Renee was relieved. She thought Charles Swan an exceedingly handsome, if somewhat serious young man. He was tall and spare of limb, with soft brown eyes and a quiet, pensive nature. He was only five years older than Renee, twenty-one to her sixteen, but despite his age he seemed mature beyond his years. She liked that he was a scholar and that he knew so very much about so many things; Renee valued education and the acquisition of knowledge for knowledge sake and looked forward to many evenings of illuminating discourses with her soon-to-be-husband.

But whispered warnings from some women soon had her growing concerned about the match. They whispered of pain through wifely duties and Renee worried about what that meant. When she approached the Widow Cope and asked about it, the older lady said that it was a woman's lot in life to suffer for her husband's pleasure and that Renee should think no more on it for there was no use wishing it different. Renee became more than just slightly alarmed, and tried to learn more about the mysteries of marriage, but no explanation was forthcoming. Widow Cope clamped her lips tightly and would talk no more on it.

The first night of their married life was a little difficult; for she'd had no foreknowledge of what it meant to "lie with" her husband, no one had ever explained to her the physical aspect of a marriage. She had never before lived on a farm nor had a pet, so she had never witnessed firsthand the natural drive in the male of the species. That first night she was shocked and shamed when she discovered that Charles Swan expected her to lie naked and do things with him.

The night of her wedding began innocently enough. After the evening repast which Widow Cope and Mrs. Berty had generously supplied, Renee and her new husband sat in the settee in front of the hearth fire. He held her hands gently in his, and murmured how tiny she felt, like a little bird in his bigger palm. She giggled and looked up into his brown eyes, her grey green gaze held so tenderly by his. He leaned forward and planted a gentle kiss on her forehead, which led to gentle kisses on her eyelids. "How beautiful thou art." He whispered as his lips met hers. Heart fluttering in her breast she pulled away and tucked her head to his chest. "Art thou ready for the bed chamber?" he asked gently and she nodded, suddenly realizing that she was very tired indeed.

She started up the narrow stairs and he had followed right behind. Renee had bent to light the candle on the dresser in their bedroom and then turned to find her husband nearly nude, chest bare, clad only in his unders. She was stunned to stillness as he walked toward her and took her hand in his as he led her to the marital bed.

"Oh my, how…no. I cannot…" she stuttered and struggled as he clasped her to his naked chest.

"Would you like my help with the lacing?" her husband inquired mere seconds before he reached behind her to start undoing her gown.

"No, please, no." she gasped as her gown started to fall away revealing her thin shift. "Charles, what on earth are you doing?"

"My wife, I am helping you to undress." He smiled as he bent to kiss her delicate shoulder laid bare by the loosened gown. "You are indeed beautiful and oh so soft." He chuckled.

"But we must not do this." Renee cried and she leapt from the bed heading for the door. Her gown was falling away with each step revealing her shift and her petticoat. Her movements slowed as she became hampered by the loosening clothes, and it gave Charles time to reach her.

"Oh please don't touch me!" she wailed.

"Why ever not?" He asked. Just looking into his face, marred by a puzzled frown caused Renee to break down into uncontrollable weeping.

To his credit, when she had started to weep, Charles stooped, retrieved his clothing and redressed. Fully clothed again he took the weeping girl into his arms. It had taken quite some time to console and calm her. Once her tears had ceased he opened his worn Bible and read some passages to her. He then explained what was meant by the passage in Genesis which included the phrase "to lie with". He then read from Corinthians "wives, submit to your husbands, as to the Lord."

"I had no idea." Renee murmured. "How could this be?"

He did not insist on intimacies that night although he and his new wife did lie side by side in the dark bedroom, each contemplating what the next day would bring.

Renee was glad of the night's reprieve; she could not bear to "submit" to her husband, no matter how handsome and kind. She was mortified that she was required to lie with him in nakedness. Charles was saddened that his new wife was so innocent that she had no idea how much he wanted to touch her soft skin. He vowed to let her sleep on it feeling sure that she would come around once the shock had worn off. That night there was no marital joining, but the nights that followed were another story.

The first few months of their married life was somewhat difficult for them both. Charles Swan took his marital oath quite seriously, and Renee submitted often to her husband's desires. After a few weeks she was no longer shamed by it, but found it rather peculiar that her husband enjoyed their coupling so much, especially since she herself felt no pleasure in it at all. She would lie there beneath him, night after night, detachedly looking at the varied expressions that crossed his visage, wondering what he was feeling when his jaw clenched and his nose flared. She wondered if his groans were from pleasure or exertion, he seemed to work so hard at what he was doing. And when he was done and lying on top of her she would wriggle from under his sweaty weight. She would roll onto her side, her back toward him, feigning sleep so he wouldn't attempt to touch her again.

Charles would lay there heaving for breath, wondering how he could make this easier for his wife. He wanted to bring her as much pleasure, but she would not tolerate his touch upon her body, she would only open her legs and ask him to make haste with it. Charles wanted to love her and shower her with tenderness.

Renee would curl onto herself, hearing him struggle for air and calm. She wished that he would desire her less often. Falling asleep she would begin to wonder if there would ever come a time when he would get his fill; she sincerely hoped so.

But alas, he did not get his fill. Even when her monthlies ceased and her little belly grew round with the child in her womb, he continued to reach for her in the dark. Charles' desire for her body was unchanged by her condition but fortunately, as God would have it, something changed in Renee. It was as though every nerve ending in her body had grown more sensitive and as a result of that, a strange new physical desire for her husband burned through her. She then came to understand the tremors that gripped him, for they now moved through her too. Each stroke of him in her brought her exquisite pleasure and when his tongue suckled at her breast she cried out with wonder as her mind took leave from her body. Minutes afterwards she found herself weeping from the overwhelming pleasure and joy she had felt in the arms of her husband. And he held her to him and soothed her sobs by talking to her in low sweet tones. Renee saw gentleness and love abiding in his soft brown eyes and each time thereafter, when they came together as one, she grew to love him more and more, until she loved him more than she had ever thought possible.

Two months after she turned eighteen, she gave birth to a little girl, whom they named Isabella, and they loved her to the utmost. Isabella was Renee and Charles' pride and joy, and they hoped to give their little girl a good life. And they did. They spoiled her whenever they could, but they taught her responsibility and humility as well. But the greatest gift they gave to her was the knowledge that she was loved. Isabella grew up to possess the best traits of both her parents. She had inherited Renee's charm and beauty and Charles Swan's keen mind, his eagerness to learn everything and his quiet, introspective ways.

Charles Swan worked very hard, trying to educate the town's young men; but the small fees paid by the few students' families was not nearly enough to support the little family of three. Fortunately, when Charles had first come north he had brought enough money to buy a small parcel of land outright on the edge of the hamlet and it had just enough acreage to keep a chicken house, three horses, two milk cows and an ox for tilling the soil. They had a small kitchen garden, big enough to sow herbs, beans, tomatoes, and carrots. In the summer there was an abundance of berries in the field at the bottom of Parson's Hill and Renee and Isabella often spent warm mornings picking them. Renee made the best blackberry preserves and she pickled vegetables from her garden to last through the long winter. The ten shillings her husband earned weekly from the school bought the necessities that the land could not supply.

Their life together was not especially difficult but it was not an easy one either. With only one hired hand, Renee willingly worked the little farm for their daily bread, and as soon as Isabella could understand how to do it, she was put to work weeding and tending the small kitchen garden. Indeed, she milked the cow and collected fresh eggs right alongside the elderly farmhand Mr. Arundell, or Aro, as tiny Isabella had called him. The Swan family eked out a small but steady living, always having more than enough to eat, and more than enough for the household necessities, but not much more for anything else.

Although Renee was a woman with supreme strength of character and will, she was not as strong in body. She would again grow big with child, only to lose each one before their time. After each loss Renee seemed to grow weaker. Charles grew more and more reluctant to plant his seed for fear of losing his darling wife.

By the time Isabella was ten, Renee and Charles had come to accept that she would be their only child. They loved her all the more, for in her they had the best child anyone could ever hope for. They doted on her and on each other and they vowed that they wanted only the very best partner in life for Isabella.

Being the daughter of the town's only teacher had its benefits. Isabella was a learned and an accomplished scholar by the time she was thirteen. Although many of her hours were still spent tending the soil, she always toiled late into the night on her studies. Renee had the foresight to instruct her daughter in French, Dutch and German. Isabella, having a natural aptitude for languages retained all that her mother had taught her and managed to learn Ancient Greek and Latin from her father. Charles had also instructed her in philosophy, mathematics and a bit of alchemy too. He had treasured tomes of varying disciplines of study in his possession and he and his daughter would pore over them accompanied only by the noise of the crackling fire in the hearth and the sputtering candlewick as the flames dwindled. They would only retire to bed when Renee came in to remind them of the late hour.

When she was sixteen years old, the selectmen of the town followed the mandate of the neighboring Massachusetts colony and expanded the only school. They employed Isabella as a teacher for the little girls of the village. The little ones were to be taught their numbers and letters and to read from the Holy Bible. It was only for three hours a day and only for a few months out of the year and they were limited to the pursuit of feminine endeavors such as reading, simple math, speaking French and needlework. Isabella taught the dame school that first winter and spring and into early summer, until the demands of the season forced the school to close so that the children would be free to work on the farms.

Both Renee and Charles were thrilled with their daughter's employment; he was admiring of her intellect, realizing that she had a superior and quick mind, and he felt proud that the town leaders recognized it too. In truth, Charles Swan had spent many a restless night, tossing and turning in his bed worried about Isabella's future. There was no doubt that Isabella was the most beautiful girl in the village, indeed possibly the most beautiful in all the surrounding hamlets. And, due to his and her mother's tutelage, she was easily the brightest and most educated. Even so, a handful of the neighboring families had set their sights on her as a perfect candidate to marry their uneducated rough sons.

Charles, unbeknownst to Isabella, had been approached many, many times, by parents and grandparents who were eager to make a match for their sons. Of all the young men in all the surrounding counties Charles could think of none that was deserving of his lovely daughter. It wasn't just because he was overly protective or just because he was her father and esteemed her most highly because of that relationship. It wasn't because he realized that he would miss her terribly if she were married, but he truly recognized her value and could not set her up in a life that was not befitting of her gifts. He could not and would not waste her to these local yokels.

His worry for her future grew a hundred fold when he was approached by Tyler Crowley's father, Eleazar. Initially he had thought Eleazar Crowley was seeking a betrothal between his oafish son and Isabella. But he was even more appalled and disheartened when he realized that Eleazar desired Isabella for his very own wife. Eleazar was nearing forty years old and had buried three wives already, all three having died after being married to him for just a few years. Charles could not in good conscience accept Eleazar's offer, which angered Eleazar. Unfortunately for Charles, Eleazar was a town selectman who had earned a deserved reputation as someone who did not take kindly to being thwarted. It was said by many folk in the town that if one could bend to Eleazar he would make a great friend; but if one stood against him he would make an even greater enemy.

Charles Swan was not by nature a fearful man, but neither was he a fool, he would put nothing past Eleazer Crowley. He said nothing to his wife for he did not want his darling Renee to fret, so, not a week after Eleazar's visit, Charles had made up his mind and had a proposition for Renee and Isabella. He told his daughter that he had a fine longing to travel back to Virginia to see his family, the family he had left behind so many years ago. His parents had long since passed on, but he did have an older brother and a younger sister who were still living in Virginia.

His brother, Phillip Swan, had married and had children before Charles had moved up north. The younger sister, Mary, had married George Brandon. Her own daughter, Mary Alice, was just a few months younger than Isabella. Isabella listened to her father's plans and was curious about her father's kin and previous life and she agreed that they should go as soon as school had closed. Charles urged Renee not to share the news and he waited until the day prior to their departure to inform the church that he would not be able to fulfill his duties as deacon but would be going away for two months. He then let his farmland to the neighbors, with their assurance that old man Aro would still hold his position. And for the first time since his arrival in the town, Charles Swan had a little extra money.

Eleazar's objectionable offer hanging over his head, Charles was eager to leave Pfaltzburg and travel with his wife and daughter back to his family home in the Colony and Dominion of Virginia, which he hadn't set foot in for almost twenty years. In the back of his mind he was hopeful of finding a good match there for Isabella, and if he couldn't he was determined that she would find a position as a tutor for the offspring of some wealthy family. He did not want her returning with them to that town.

Their final destination would be the Swan farm, but first they would have to travel to Williamsburg by ship. They would stay in that fine town for two nights only and then journey on to Rich Mount, a small town forty miles west northwest of Williamsburg.

It was early May when they departed from Pfalzburg and boarded the good ship Fortune's Keep. They had good weather and made good time, hugging the coast and turning at Cape Charles into Chesapeake Bay. From there it was a short carriage ride to Williamsburg, where they would stay for the night with some distant cousins. Charles was impressed by the changes in the Colony of Virginia, since he had last been there. The lieutenant governor was now Sir William Gooch, who had succeeded Alexander Spotswood, he had imbued the colony with an energy and spirit with his leadership. It had grown from an untidy scraggly little colony to a mini England, very political and very much for Crown and Church.

His first cousin, Eliza, and her husband William Newton, welcomed them into their home. The housemaid led the way upstairs, showing Isabella into the most charming bedroom she had ever seen, or even imagined. The first thing her eyes rested on was a mahogany four poster bed covered in pale lavender linens, placed between the two long windows, dressed in curtains of white muslin. A charming little writing desk and chair stood under one of the windows, and under the other was a trunk with a quilt on top. A rocking chair was set near the fireplace of the left wall with an oval rag rug under it. Along the right wall a bureau and dry sink took pride of place; to Isabella the bedroom was sheer luxury.

The Newtons lived quite elegantly in this stately home on Williamsburg's outer reaches. Isabella had never seen such opulence, columns at the front door, beveled glass windows and doors, gleaming mahogany and sumptuous fabrics on the settees. She wandered around the downstairs rooms in awe of everything. She stepped through the doors onto the balcony and sighed. The grass was greener here and the early evening air smelled so fragrant with the scent of apple blossom and magnolia.

Master Michael Newton found her in the parlor as she gazed up at a portrait of some long dead ancestor, and introduced himself. After a short conversation he rang for some refreshments. Isabella declined the offer of brandy and asked for some tea. Michael teased her about her simple country ways and she smiled with him although she was all too aware of the underlying disdain. Minutes later Charles and Renee joined them followed by Eliza and William. After Eliza filled Charles in on what had been going on with the Swans since his departure, they sat down for dinner. William Newton was an importer of food stuffs from the Caribbean, namely molasses, sugar, lemons and limes. With the urging of his son, Michael, William had become keenly interested in importing another type of cargo from the Caribbean, namely slaves. Charles, Renee and Isabella were horrified at the thought, and Charles said so, which did not sit well with the young Master Newton.

But Master Newton had more interesting things on his mind than discussing the morality of the slave trade with his cousin, the too upright, too morally constrained deacon Charles Swan of Pfaltzburg, New York. Michael's thoughts were taken up by the young and graceful beauty that was his third cousin, Isabella Swan.

Knowing he had only two days in which to woo Isabella before she and her family set out for Rich Mount, Michael invited them to accompany him the following evening to a ball being given by some of the town merchants for important guests who had just lately arrived from England, by way of Jamaica.

He spoke enthusiastically about the guests of honor, Carlisle Cullen and his younger brother, Edward, who were as wealthy and successful as they were mysterious. They exported sugar and rum from their many Caribbean plantations, as well as exotic spices and wood to the colonies. Importers and trades people vied with each other to do business with the Cullens, for they had the finest reputation for fairness and honesty. Strangely enough they had just as strong a reputation for ruthlessness when crossed, it was said by many that the Cullens honored good business men and deplored cheats. It was also said that you could rest assured that your shipment would make it to port, for not one of their cargo ships had ever been boarded by pirates. It would seem as if the dreaded bands of cutthroat pirates feared the Cullens' wrath more than they feared the devil himself.

Michael Newton had heard enough about the two men and his appetite was sharp to make their acquaintance and do trade with them. He wondered if they traded in human cargo, he had no idea if they did, but he suspected that successful businessmen with a reputation for ruthlessness would not have an aversion to making their wealth in any area.

He suggested to Charles and his wife that they bring along Isabella to accompany them as there would be plenty young women in attendance. Charles was not certain if this type of ball was something they should participate in. He had no head for business and while he saw the fruits of the Newton's labor he was morally opposed to business men who had no morals when it came to humanity. He was just about to say a polite "no thanks" when Master Newton assured him that is was a ball for Acquaintanceship and that Isabella was assured of meeting many eligible young men there. Renee and Charles exchanged looks, and with a deep sigh Charles agreed to postpone for one day his trip to Swan farm.

Most of the following day was spent in preparation for the upcoming ball for Eliza Newton was insistent that Isabella's simple gown would never do. "Tis not a country ball dear cousin, 'tis important to present thyself in thy best raiments and finery."

Renee explained that they had not brought any finery with them on their journey. Isabella smiled to herself thinking that they had not left any such finery behind either. Eliza assured them it was a simple matter to address. Mrs. Weber, the upstairs maid, would be able to take in one of Eliza's silk gowns for Isabella to wear.

They decided that the peach silk would suit her coloring best. And after much thought she decided that Isabella's pink petticoat would serve quite well with just a touch of lace to dress it up. Renee would easily fit into another of Eliza's gowns, the blue one. When Renee demurred, insisting that it was not necessary for her to dress well, Eliza insisted that it would not look good on the Newton's if the Swan family were not dressed appropriately. Renee's lips tightened ever so slightly, but she smiled politely and acquiesced.

Late that afternoon the maid helped Isabella into her clothes. She first put on borrowed silk stocking which tied with ribbons at her slender thighs and slipped her feet into silken slippers. Over this she wore her own best linen shift which had been embellished that day with additional lace at the neck and at the elbow length sleeves. Next were the bodice stays which came just below her bosom. The stays pushed her breasts up and Isabella prayed that the borrowed gown would cover the exposed flesh, for she could not imagine going out in public looking like this. Over that she wore the borrowed hooped petticoat which tied around her waist, not unlike an overly large apron, to fall just above her knees. She had never worn such a garment before and wondered how she would be able to sit in it. The maid showed her how to sit at the edge of the seat and clasp her hand to keep it down.

Finally the opulent silk gown went over it all, and while it provided more coverage it still revealed most of her cleavage. The maid then tucked a lace kerchief above it so it would not show too much. Isabella declined the lace cap that the maid held out to her. She had washed her hair earlier in the day and she pinned it up and the maid adorned it with two pretty ribbons. All in all she was tucked in tight but not too uncomfortably. She smiled as she wondered how her father was faring, she very much doubted that Charles would bow as easily to any request that he dress in "finery".

Indeed Isabella was proved right when she and Renee appeared in the parlor early that evening. Charles was there clad in his deacon's outfit of black breeches, black waistcoat and open coat over a simple white linen shirt. His leggings were white and his shoes were polished to a high shine as was his dark hair. Renee took a deep breath and walked up to her husband, laying her hand onto his chest. "Husband mine, thou art as handsome as the day we wed." She smiled.

"As are ye, dear wife." He smiled at his heart's desire, before looking at his only child dressed in her apricot silk gown over the lace adorned petticoat. "Isabella, I fear that I will lose ye tonight to some handsome young whelp."

"Not likely father. For I'm sure there shall be many there more beauteous than I. For all my finery I am a simple country girl. I have nothing that any young man would want."

Renee tisked as her husband walked over to hug his dearest daughter. "Not only are ye beautiful in face, but even more so in mind, my dearest one. I fear that no man shall ever deserve your hand. At least none of these young fools. And though an older, wiser man may appreciate thy intellect, I have no desire to see you wed to some old buzzard." He sighed as he released her from his embrace. "If only there was such a one for you who had youth and maturity."

"Why all this sudden talk of marriage, father? I am happy with my lot. I have a good life in Pfaltzburg living with my wonderful parents. I enjoy teaching, I want for nothing else. Mayhaps I will never leave my home and always abide with thee. I look forward to being a helpmeet to you and mother until you are both old and grey."

Charles Swan chuckled. "That is not the life for you dearest. Thou were born for better things, and Pfaltzburg is too full of wolves." Charles was ready to show his hand. "It is for that reason we are here dearest one. Eleazar Crowley has asked for thy hand in marriage."

Renee gasped in surprise and Isabella shook her head and laughed. "Surely he does not think Tyler is ready for marriage. He is such a foolish boy, always carousing and getting into scrapes. If not for his father he would have been pilloried for causing that fire in the woods behind the church. I cannot imagine being married to such a one as him."

Charles shook his head. "You are misunderstanding me, my dear. Eleazar does not wish for you to marry Tyler, he desires to marry thee himself." Isabella blanched as her father continued. "Eleazar was furious when I told him that you are too young to be married. He promised me that he will not wait past thy next birthday. For that reason I brought us to Virginia. Hoping that we may find you a suitable marriage and if not then a position as a tutor or governess in some wealthy household."

"Father it is highly unlikely that many Virginia families are in need of a female tutor." Isabella stated pragmatically. "And it is unlikely I will make a match in one night."

Renee hugged her daughter. "Do not worry child. All will be well. I foresee a charmed life for thee, thou hast no need to fear." At that moment young Newton joined them, dressed in enough lace and silk to put Isabella's finery to shame.

He informed them that they should go on ahead of his parents who will be taking another carriage in a few minutes. "I do not wish to be late meeting the Cullens." He stated. "It is of the utmost importance that I speak with one or both before others get to them."

He held his arm out for Isabella to take as he ushered them to the front of the house where the larger carriage was waiting.

If Isabella thought the Newton's home was elegant she had no words to describe the huge estate where the ball was being held. "Fieldstone Manor is one of the finest homes in Virginia." Young Newton told them. He informed them that it was once considered for the governor's house and it is far finer than that abode. But alas it is too far from the center of town and it was decided against.

Cousin Newton escorted her into the ballroom, followed by her parents. The wall sconces and candlelit chandeliers threw a golden light on everyone and everything in the large room. Isabella's eyes scanned the painted ceiling and the silk clad walls. It was a warm May night and the beveled French doors were open to the wide verandah. Her eyes scanned the room coming to rest on a pair of amber eyes set in an inordinately pale, handsome face. She drew in a breath, surprised to see that although he was speaking to his companion the golden eyes remained fixed on her.

His auburn hair was swept back into a beribboned pony tail. The forehead was high and smooth, the brows were thick and masculine above the golden gaze. His nose was strong and straight, the nostrils slightly flared above his deep rose lips. As she stared at that mouth, the tip of his tongue swept moisture along the soft crevice and Isabella suppressed a shudder of fear and excitement. If she did not know better she would have said that his jaw was carved from marble, it was strong and sure and clenched tightly. She saw him swallow and her eyes followed the movement in his throat as it disappeared into his lace cravat.

"I believe those are the Cullen brothers." Newton gestured with a slight thrust of his chin. "The one with the darker hair is the younger Mr. Cullen." Her cousin then dropped his voice and whispered to no one in particular. "I hear the young women swoon for his handsome looks but he does not give them a second look. It is said that he has a mistress in the islands, I believe she is a mulatto." Isabella's gaze had drifted upwards as her cousin spoke and her eyes were once more surveying the handsome face. His lips curled into a sneer as if he had heard what her companion had said, but his eyes, his eyes seemed to be looking into her very soul. With strength of will she had not thought she possessed she tore her gaze away and looked around some more, trying to escape the penetrating eyes. Moments later when she felt brave enough to look again she saw a different pair of amber eyes looking questioningly at her. She scanned the room and the younger Cullen was nowhere in sight. Her cousin made his excuse and left the Swans to approach the other man.

Isabella turned to her parents, her cheeks flushed and her heart still beating somewhat erratically. "Mother, did you wish to grab a bit of fresh air on the verandah? It is quite warm tonight is it not?"

Renee looked at her daughter with concern, "You do look flushed my dear. Why don't we go outside? Your father will fetch us a cup of cider, hmm?"

Mother and daughter moved gracefully toward the nearest set of doors, and as they were about to do so they pass by the group of men which included young Newton and the older Cullen brother. Newton reached out and took Mrs. Swan's elbow. "Cousin, please stop a moment so that I may introduce you to Mr. Carlisle Cullen."

"Mr. Carlisle Cullen please to meet my cousin Renee Swan and her daughter Isabella. They have just come from New York Colony. Renee, Isabella this is Carlisle Cullen of Bermuda Colony."

The women curtsied as Carlisle smiled. His smile lit up his pale features and his tawny golden eyes were watchful seeming to miss nothing. "It is a pleasure good ladies. I wish to introduce you to my younger brother, but I do not see him about just now."

Rene smiled and answered. "Perhaps later, thank you Mr. Cullen. Isabella is a little warm and we shall be going outside on the porch to get a bit of air. Please do forgive our haste."

He bowed to them and smiled in understanding. As they turned towards the doors they heard Michael Newton broach the subject of doing business with the Cullens.

They were out in the warm May air for just a few moments before Charles joined them drinks in hand. Isabella took a sip and wandered away from her parents and stopped at the railing. She attempted to calm herself as she looked out onto the gardens. She tried not to think about the expression on the face of the younger Cullen brother. The way he had trapped her within his gaze had unsettled her for she felt sure he had, for some unknown reason, taken an immediate dislike to her. And the way he had looked at her made her fearful and excited enough to become lightheaded. She stood on the balcony she calmed and laughed at her own foolishness, how silly of her to imagine that a stranger could affect her to that extent. Obviously her loss of breath was the direct result of the tightness of her bodice and the stuffiness of the many warm bodies milling about in the ballroom.

As the minutes passed, Isabella relaxed and felt much more at ease. Her mind again went back to the face of the younger Mr. Cullen. The look he had given her had shaken her to her core. The flare of his nostrils, the tension in his jaw and the lick of his lips had seemed almost feral.

Just then a lovely smell assailed her nostrils, so alluring and enchanting that she turned on her heel to find its source, only to see Mr. Edward Cullen leaning against the column. Her instinct in that moment was two-fold, one part of her wanted to get as close to the scent as possible, but the other part of her found something in his eyes forbidding. He swallowed again and continued to stare at her, making no move to introduce himself. As it was earlier in the ballroom, she was once again caught in his bold gaze, sure that he was trying to find the window to her soul. Again his tongue swept over his lips and his nostrils flared. It again occurred to her that he was both beautiful and very dangerous.

"So, Edward, have you met the lovely Isabella Swan?" The voice of Carlisle Cullen reached her ears but she could not see where he was standing for she was unable to tear her gaze away from his brother's amber eyes.

Edward Cullen straightened from the column and walked over to where his brother was standing in the glow of the light spilling from the ballroom. "I have not yet had the pleasure, dear brother." His voice was deep and warm, so thrillingly male.

"Isabella Swan of New York, this is my younger brother Edward Cullen."

Isabella curtsied and as she straightened Edward reached for her hand, clasping her hand loosely. "Miss Swan, 'tis a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise, sir. I hear you and your brother are from the islands."

"It is so. We were born in London, but have found our fortune in the Caribbean. We only venture to the colonies once a year to do some trade, but we prefer to stay on our islands."

"Islands? You live on more than one?"

Carlisle Cullen answered her. "Yes. We have a home and offices on Bermuda, and in Jamaica. But we make our real home on the twin islands a few miles due south. I live on L'isle du Foret and Edward lives on L'isle des Oiseaux."

Isabella was intrigued. "I've only read a little about the exotic Caribbean Islands. Poison fruits and dark magic and native people who are cannibals and wear bones as jewelry. Tell me is it as wild and dangerous as the tales?"

The brothers looked at each other and hesitated. Then Edward Cullen bent his head in assent. "It is even more dangerous than you have read, Miss Swan. The things that happen in the islands are fraught with mystery and are sometimes inexplicable. But for what it's worth the danger is not from the natives but rather from nature. I must concur that the real danger is indeed dark and deep and still unknown to most."

Lost in his eyes again, Isabella drew a breath; surprised still by how his eyes continued to captivate her.

They were interrupted by Carlisle suddenly speaking. "Ah brother, I see the elder Mr. Newton headed this way with his son. I expect that he will try to convince me to join them in the business venture that his son has proposed. I must make it clear we do not trade in human cargo."

"Do that, brother. Tell them that not only do we not trade in flesh, we do not ever do business with those who do. I cannot abide it when greed usurps morals, when supposed gentlemen do evil and then go to church on Sunday and pray to God. Such hypocrisy!"

"Neither do I condone it, but I do not wish you to lose your temper. Stay and entertain this lovely young lady. I will inform them of our ways. Will you please excuse me Miss Swan."

"But of course, Mr. Cullen."

And as he took his leave she realized that his younger brother still held the hand she had originally offered in greeting. "Tell me, Miss Swan, what brings thee here to Williamsburg at this time of year when many are fleeing the heat and enjoying the cooler climes of the hill country?"

"We will only stop here for a day or two. My father was born here in Virginia and he wanted my mother and me to meet his relatives. We will be leaving Williamsburg in the morning and journeying to Rich Mount and from there we'll go on to visit with the Swan Family of Shenandoah."

"Oh. So you will not be here very long." He seemed to relax and breathe a relieved sigh.

"No sir. We arrived the day before yesterday and we leave early tomorrow."

His hands moved to encircle her wrist and he rubbed his thumb absentmindedly across the pulse beating there. "Well fortune smiles on us, for had the the ball not been set for today we may not have met."

Isabella grew warm and flustered at his intimate caress on her skin and tried to remove her hand from his hold, only now registering how unusually cool his touch felt against her warm skin. He tightened his grip ever so slightly and again looked into her eyes as though he was trying to read her soul.

"Your hand, sir. It holds me too tightly." Isabella breathed, looking up at him through her lashes, mortified by this intimacy.

He seemed to get a hold of himself and he reluctantly surrendered her wrist. "Please forgive me, my lady. I forget my good manners."

"It is of no consequence, sir." She assured him politely, knowing it was of grave consequence indeed. She only hoped no one else had seen how he had been touching her wrist.

Isabella saw her parents standing across the wide porch talking with her cousin Eliza and waved them over. Edward Cullen followed her gaze and then his eyes returned to her. "So are your parents here seeking to make a suitable match for thee?" He asked her quietly. Isabella was startled by his acuity and then it occurred to her that there were many parents at the ball who were also seeking a match for their daughters. He surprised her even more when he whispered, "Perhaps there is some older suitor back home who has asked for thy hand and will not take no for an answer?" She nodded astonished by this young man. How could he know such things?

"How do you know this?" she inquired wonderingly.

He shrugged and looked at her parents. "Are there not always too many suitors for a beautiful young lady? And is it not often the case that the oldest one who has the most influence wins out over the others?"

"I suppose." She unconsciously sighed, thinking that perhaps her plight was not so unusual and that maybe her parents' hope to avoid a match with Eleazar Crowley was destined to fail.

His eyes were on her face again. "Do not fret Miss Swan. I am sure the situation will come out fine for thee. You seem to have a charmed life." His words echoed those of her mother's.

Her parents joined them at that moment and Edward introduced himself. After a few minutes discussion about the weather and the political climate, Michael Newton left his father's side and joined them.

"Please excuse my manners, dear Cousin Isabella, but I noticed you have not had the opportunity to dance. Will you do me the honor?" He held his arm out to her and she nodded. As he guided her into the ballroom Isabella hurriedly informed him of her lack of skills. "I am afraid that I do not know the latest dances, cousin. Indeed I have never danced, only observed."

"Do not fear, Isabella. You need only follow my lead and the actions of the other women beside you. The music will draw you in." The violins started and he led her to the floor to dance the minuet. It was slow enough for her to follow and when the music changed to the even slower tempo of the Viennese Waltz he took her in his arms and led her through it. After a third dance Isabella gracefully made her adieu, insisting that she should return to her parents and made a quick detour outside for the cooler air.

She made a hasty retreat into the darkest corner of the verandah so she could take off the lace kerchief at her breast, exposing her bosom to the cool air. Grateful that she had found a dark, solitary corner under the wisteria, she patted her brow with the kerchief, wishing that she'd had the foresight to borrow a fan from her cousin Eliza. She was alone for only a few minutes when she was assailed again by Edward Cullen's smell. It was more fragrant than that of the overhanging wisteria and she did not have to turn around to know that he stood right behind her.

"Miss Swan, I have brought you a cooling drink."

"Thank you sir, but you have me at a disadvantage." She murmured, refusing to turn around to face him, embarrassed by her state of undress.

"How so?" he inquired and Isabella felt sure that he was not one to set much store in decorum.

"Sir, I have had to remove my kerchief in order to cool off." She replied, mortified that he had caught her in such a vulnerable position.

He reached around her and laid the little silver cup on the stone railing in front of her and resumed his stance behind her. "You have no need to be ashamed. Even without the kerchief, you are more modestly covered than many others in the ballroom."

"That may well be Mr. Cullen, but I am not used to revealing so much." Her face was flushed and she was grateful that he could not see her blush.

"That is a pity for you are enchantingly beautiful."

She hurriedly fixed her kerchief to her bosom and turned around, only managing to raise her eyes to gaze at his cravat. "Sir, I do not set much store in outward appearances and sweet phrases." She retorted quickly, and then continued more softly, "And I fear that your words are mere flattery, for I know well that I am no beauty."

"But you are, quite so. Do you not own a mirror?" He inquired wonderingly.

She shook her head. "I must confess that we are simple people from a small towne. We enjoy the beauty of nature, the dawn, the moonlight and the stars above; there is nothing more beautiful than the colors of the Almighty's world. I cannot imagine owning something so frivolous as a mirror, just to gaze at my appearance. My face is what the dear lord made it; flaws and all."

He reached for her chin and tipped it up until her eyes met his. "Miss Swan I have a discerning eye." Edward Cullen informed her softly. "I see every flaw in nature, and I assure you that you have none."

They stood there in silence, Isabella had no words in her head with which to answer him. His next words were uttered so quietly that she was not even sure he said them or if she imagined them. "But I must confess that I may be swayed by your unique fragrance, for it goes to my head. I cannot think straight when you are near." At that he drew nearer until she could feel him through her clothes. He inhaled as if smelling the sweetest bouquet.

"Please sir, do not say such things to me." Isabella closed her eyes and stammered, completely overcome by his nearness. "I have no desire to be a rich man's dalliance." Her heart was beating as though it were a bird on the wing she felt certain he could feel the beat of it across the inches that separated them. And truthfully she was afraid of him, she felt sure his dogged pursuit of her meant that she was wading into dangerous waters.

There was a long uncomfortable silence and she felt her words echoing in her head. His voice, when he finally responded was clipped and cool. "Please forgive me, Miss Swan, I got carried away. I did not mean to offend thee. I will leave now." He released her chin and she felt rather than heard him move away. Once his scent was gone she relaxed, only then noticing that when he'd been standing near the air around her had cooled down quite a bit. Now that he had left, the mugginess had seeped into her clothes once again. How strange.

They made an early night of it, leaving the ball well before eleven on the clock. Renee had a headache and Isabella confessed to her mother that she could not bear the stiff corset about her middle for too much longer. They took their leave in the smaller carriage, apologizing to the Newtons for the early escape. Eliza was quite sympathetic, "My dear Renee I quite understand for when I was in your condition I was never able to keep my eyes open past sunset."

Renee flushed and they took their leave. The carriage ride was silent, Charles held Renee close to his side. "Dear wife, are thee unwell or are thee with child?" he inquired.

Tears sprang to Renee's eyes. "I fear that I am with child. I feel quite ill and I am so tired." And she started to weep with exhaustion.

"Dear, do not cry. It will all turn out well." Charles reassured his wife. Isabella reached across and held her mother's hand as she drifted to sleep in the arms of her concerned husband.

Isabella tried to ease his worried mind. "Do not worry, dear father. I will do my part to make things easier for her when we return home. She can take to bed and I will do all the chores."

He sighed and smiled gently at his daughter. "I must worry because being with child takes such a toll on her health. I hate to see her suffer so. And daughter, I do not think you will be able to help your mother this time."

Isabella reached out smoothed her father's worried brow. "Of course I will. Perhaps I can work less hours at the school and remain with her more."

He stilled her hand and held it to his heart. "My dearest Isabella, though I love thee, I hope that ye do not have to return to Pfaltzburg, for that would surely mean a match with Eleazar Crowley. That would break our hearts."

"Do not worry so. I will not marry that man; nothing he says could persuade me."

"A man such as Crowley does not take no for an answer."

"I do not have to take him if I am already promised to another. We can tell him that I am betrothed to someone here in Virginia. He will not be able to disprove it. I am more concerned for mother. I think there may be treatments for what ails her. Maybe a visit to a country midwife would help. I have heard that raspberry leaf tea and nettle soup would help in this time." Isabella whispered to her father.

Her father nodded and held his darling wife closer. Seeing them holding on to each other Isabella made two vows. One, she would only agree to marry someone she could love, the way her parents loved. And two, she would seek a remedy for her mother. Because, she realized, her father would never be able to survive the loss of his beloved wife.

Later that night Isabella sat at the window seat looking out across the moon-dappled meadow behind the Newtons' home. Having removed the pins and ribbons which had kept her curls in place, she sat brushing her hair before retiring to bed. Her mind tortured by concern for her mother, wishing that she could do something to help.

Would I were a doctor, she thought to herself, I would be able to do so much more for her.

The soft breeze moved the leaves of the willow outside her window and all of a sudden she felt very sleepy. The call of her bed was irresistible, and after blowing out the lone candle, she laid herself on the soft linens and drifted into slumber.

For all her concern over her mother, the evening's activities had rendered her so tired that her fall in to sleep was complete and deep. When her dreams came they were unexpected.

The musings of her tired brain called her back to the ballroom where she had first laid eyes on Edward. The setting was the same, yet the circumstances were vastly different. In her dream she was in her long night shift as she drifted through the French doors into the ballroom. There were but a few candles that lent an eerie glow to the walls. She could hear the music, but there were no musicians to be seen, and she wandered through the stately home searching for the source of it.

She left the ballroom behind only to enter parlor where the sound of the music grew louder. Through the parlor door she entered a dimly lit hall, with a grand curved staircase that led to an even darker upstairs. She gathered her gown in her hands as she climbed up and up. With each upward step the music grew louder until it seemed to be as one with her heartbeat. As she crested the top of the staircase a door at the very end of the hall opened. She was drawn to a figure standing there and the closer she came she could see it was Edward. His face had the same feral look as earlier.

He looked fierce like a soldier just returned from battle. He looked hungry like a man starving for something to fill his bones. He looked resigned like a criminal who knew his time of avoiding the gallows had run out.

His ferocity made her frightened, his hunger made her heart race, but his look of surrender made her heart break. As she hesitated wondering whether to walk back down the stairs, he raised his hand and held it out for her and without another thought she released the hem of her nightgown and hurried to his side fearing that he would change his mind. As she reached him the music filled the room and he swung her into his arms. It felt as though she were flying, it was nothing like dancing with Michael Newton. Indeed her feet barely touched the floor as they danced. They danced endlessly around the room until the music ended and they walked to the balcony. She wondered at his strength and stamina for he carried her weight and did not seem to find it arduous. "You are not like other men, are you?" She asked.

He looked at her unsmilingly and shook his head as if it pained him to admit it. "No, I am not."

"What are you?"

"Does it matter?" he asked in return. "You are unlike any other woman that I've ever known. I do not question it. I only know I have need of you."

"You have need of me?"

"Yes. I need to be near you. You have awakened something in me; a desire to stop and rest and just be. I have not felt that before. My better self says I should not take what is meant for another, more normal man, but the selfish creature that I have become cannot let you go." He bent to her neck and his open mouth hovered over her pounding pulse. "Tell me do you want this?"

A soft "yes" slipped from her lips.

"Good. Because I do not think I would stop, even if you were to send me away."

A sound awakened her and her eyes opened. The dream had been so real that she was surprised to find herself in bed at the Newton's. The open window was bringing in fresh, clean air but his scent lingered all around the room. Isabella sat up and looked around the room, silver in the moonlight. No one was there but her, but she heard the words float in on the air from the outside. "I have need of thee."

"Isabella?" Her mother stood in the open doorway, small candle in hand.

"Mother, what is wrong?" Isabella jumped from her bed and ran to her mother's side, reaching for her cold, trembling hands. "Are you unwell?"

"No, no. I had the oddest dream and I had to come and see that you were all right." They walked until they reached the corner of the bed where Renee sat down gratefully.

Isabella hugged her mother's all too slender frame. "As you can see, I am fine. What was the dream?"

"You were kidnapped, taken by a ghostly pirate sneaking into your room in the night. It was so real; I raced in here to make sure you were still here."

They both started to laugh at the thought. Isabella had no thoughts of sharing her own odd dream with her mother as it would probably alarm her even more.

"It was just a dream, brought on I'm sure by the excitement of a new place and an exciting ball." Isabella reassured her mother with a smile.

Renee dabbed at her damp eyes. "I've always worried about you, since you were little. Maybe because of all the babies I've lost, but I've worried that I would eventually lose you too." Renee gave a watery smile.

"You won't ever lose me, mother. I am yours for life. I cannot ever be apart from you or father."

Renee patted her daughter's hand, humbled by her innocent declaration. "Alas, Isabella, that is not the way of the world. One day soon, you might be living far from us. You are of marriageable age, father is seeking a suitor and it is unlikely that suitor would want to return with us to Pfaltzburg. You are likely to remain here, never to see us again." At that Renee started to sob. "I will miss you so, my little girl."

Isabella's tears welled up in her eyes. "Mother, do not worry. It is not good for you." Isabella and her mother hugged for a long time. "Mother, maybe we should consider accepting Eleazar Crowley's proposal. At least it would keep me near to you and father."

Renee shook her head in horror. "That would be worse than losing you, my dear. He is not a very nice man. It is cause for concern that he has buried three wives. We cannot allow it." They sat quietly each to her own thoughts. Renee sighed and got up, giving her daughter one last embrace. "I should let you get some sleep. I will pray on it, and hope to God things will work out."

Isabella sat for a long time after her mother's departure pondering her fate. She had never before wished that she was born a boy, but now she did. Had she been born male, she would have been able to seek her own way in the world, deciding her own future. As a boy she would have had the freedom to make decisions. She might even have studied medicine or law. She would have been free of obligation to make a good match.

Feeling a chill she got up and went to close the window, kneeling on the trunk. She saw him then, standing under the willow tree. His tall figure caused her heart to leap in her breast almost cracking through her ribs.

"Edward Cullen?" She whispered disbelievingly into the night.

His pale, beautiful face was ghostly in the moonlight. Then he smiled, tripping her heart again. In the blink of an eye he was beside her standing in the dimness of her bedroom. "Isabella?" His moist open mouth at her neck again, as before in the dream.

"Is this all just a dream?" she whispered dazedly.

"Yes." he whispered into her skin. "This life you now have is but a dream. When I take you, you will awaken to immortality. You will want for nothing. You will have all your desires met." Grasping her long, dark hair in his tight fist, he licked and sucked at her neck, holding back just enough not to hurt.

"What will you do to me?" she whispered achingly aroused and supremely fearful.

He undid the ribbon at her throat, pushing it off her shoulders until the linen fell and rested on the curve of her hips. He groaned thickly, bending to skim her tight nipples with his slightly parted lips. He moved and licked the thin skin above her painfully beating heart.

"I will take you, make you mine forever."

"T...take me?"

He slipped his hands along her sides and skimmed her nightdress off her hips, taking the bloomers down with them. His long fingers reached between her thighs, stroking the tender flesh between her dark curls, hearing her delighted gasp.

"I will take you here." he flicked her nub. "Then I will take you here." He bent and lightly nipped at her pounding pulse. "Then you will be mine."

Isabella's knees buckled and he carried her to her bed, laying her naked body gently on the cool sheets. "Now?" she begged.

He smiled, stroking a long finger between her flushed breasts. "No. I am still somewhat civilized. And I have no desire to break your mother's heart. Although had she not arrived when she did I may have done so. Tomorrow I will pay a call on your father."

He bent and kissed her soft lips. "Tomorrow our lives begin."