Forever Claire, Chapter 13.

The sound of a bang awoke Claire out of her long slumber. It frightened her, but it only took her a minute to realize what it was. Her bedroom window blew open and hit the wall. She could feel a breeze coming through the open window.

"Oh, it's only you, Emily," she said with a sleepy whisper. She slowly crawled out of bed and went to the window. The moon once again lit up the garden and the fountain. It made it look golden.

Claire pulled a shawl over her gown and quietly walked down the stairs. She didn't want to wake her mother, Mirilla or Myron. Some of the wooden boards on the floor creaked. She slowly opened opened the door and walked down the steps. The ground felt cold and damp on her bare feet as she walked toward the garden.

"What took you so long?" a young girl asked as Claire reached the fountain.

"I came here as fast I as I could," Claire replied. "I'm still sleepy."

"I'm glad to see you Claire, I've missed you," the girl replied.

"I missed you, too, Emily," Claire said, still wondering if she were dreaming, or if she were addressing some kind of ghost or spirit. Claire wasn't going to bother to ask, because Emily never seemed to give a direct answer.

"So, are you excited about the trip to Europe?" Emily asked.

"Oh, yes, but it's kind of scary," Claire answered. "I've never been on a boat before."

"Oh you will love it," Emily said. "Mother only travels on the nicest ships. They will pamper you on the journey."

Sounds much better than the ship Meggie O'Hara used to tell Charlie about on the trip over from Ireland.

The two girls skipped around the fountain. Claire told Emily about the trip to Gettysburg and the horrors she'd seen. She told her about meeting her uncle and holding his hand before he died.

"Mom, Mirilla and Meggie told me he is in a better place," Claire said. "They said I should be proud of him and the sacrifice he made for his country."

"He is in a better place," Emily said, trying to reassure Claire. "And you should be proud."

This nightly visit came to a close when the two girls walked up to a rose bush in the garden.

"Promise me you won't forget me," Emily said.

"I promise," Claire said. "I promise you'll get a rose from this bush for your birthday every year, just like the one mother brings you. You're my sister. How can I ever forget you?"

*****

Claire still felt a little tired when Mirilla woke her up the next day.

"What did you do, get up in the middle of the night?" Mirilla asked as she helped Claire put on a dress over her undergarments.

Claire didn't know what to answer. She didn't know if the visit from Emily was real, or a dream. She could never really tell.

"I'm glad you're up," Mary Windham said. "We've got a much busy day."

"I know," Claire replied. "We've got to pack for our trip."

Claire didn't realize how much of a job that would prove to be. She, her mother, Mirilla and Myron loaded trunk loads of clothes.

"We've got to pack so much," her mother said. "We're going to be gone for three months."

It was to be a journey of a lifetime, Claire was told. Their first stop, ironically, would be to Ireland, almost retracing the steps of the O'Hara family.

"I'm almost envious," Meggie told her a few days before. "It's green and beautiful. I'm sure you'll only see the beautiful parts of the island, the castles."

They would also be journeying to Scotland and England before crossing the channel into France, Prussia, Austria and Italy. Mary Windham talked to her about seeing the Alps she learned about in books, the palace at Versailles, seeing great works of art and ancient Roman ruins.

But still, Claire thought about those she would miss. She would miss Meggie and the boys. She'd miss Myron and Mirilla, who would be looking after the place in their absence. And she would miss those trips to the garden, real or imaginary.

It helped that Becky and her mother were coming along for the trip. They were going to have such an adventure together.

****

Lawrence and his family came over before the carriage ride to New York City. He brought a bouquet of flowers and proposed marriage.

"Oh how sweet," his mother replied.

"We're much to young," Claire said as she climbed aboard the carriage. "But I'll think about it when we're in Europe."

She and Becky laughed because Lawrence seemed to take her seriously.

There were actually a train of carriages journeying to New York. One carried Claire, Becky, their mothers and Mirilla. Myron rode in the carriage carrying their trunks for the journey. Another carriage carried the van Husens. Meggie wanted to make sure she had a chance to say goodbye.

"My that is a big ship," Meggie told Claire after they reached the port. She locked arms with Claire as they stood on the dock. "It's much nicer than the one I came over on."

She couldn't help but smile as she saw Claire clutching onto Beatrice. The old doll made the first journey across the ocean. It would be making the second as well.

Claire gave the boys a hug before she locked arms with her mother Mary and walked up the ramp and into the ship.

****

The older woman warmed herself at the fireplace as the young girl ate her cake.

"Oh grandma, tell me more of your stories," the young girl said.

"I'm getting a little too tired," the woman replied. "It's past your bedtime. It's also getting past mine."

"You know mother, she really loves your stories," the younger woman said.

"You enjoy them, too Kathryn," the older woman said. "You also really use to enjoy the ones your grandmother Windham used to tell."

"Emily, you must make me a promise," the older woman told her granddaughter.

"What is it, grandma?" the girl replied.

"You must promise me that you'll never forget your great aunt Emily," the older woman replied. "Always make sure she gets a rose for her birthday."

"From the bush in the garden?" the young girl asked.

The older woman nodded.

"I won't forget, grandma, I won't" Emily said.

The older woman hugged the young girl and her mother before they left the parlor.

The older woman went upstairs to her bedroom. She opened up her window and looked down on the garden. Again it was lit up by the moon. It looked golden as usual, especially when the light reflected off the water in the fountain.

"Well sis, I've kept my promise to you," she said. "Thank you for bringing me here."

The end