Ceasebury

By M. Danielson-Kaslik

1781. A colony in turmoil as some men five years ago declared independence; a concept 17-year-old Theodosia Ceasebury is trying to grasp. The turbulence in The Colony of Virginia is only matched in magnitude by Theodosia’s own struggles with her family, her society and ultimately who she wants to be. And of course, the girl in yellow who lives in the chamber across the hall.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press UK
• Release date: Oct 20, 2021
• ISBN: 9781982284633

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Copyright © 2021 M. Danielson-Kaslik.

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ISBN: 978-1-9822-8464-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9822-8463-3 (e)

Balboa Press rev. date: 10/20/2021

Contents

About the Author

Part One: Love

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-Two

Chapter Thirty-Three

Part Two: Marriage

Chapter Thirty-Four

Chapter Thirty-Five

Chapter Thirty-Six

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Chapter Forty

Chapter Forty-One

Chapter Forty-Two

Chapter Forty-Three

Chapter Forty-Four

Chapter Forty-Five

Chapter Forty-Six

Chapter Forty-Seven

Part Three: Devotion

Chapter Forty-Eight

Chapter Forty-Nine

Chapter Fifty

About the Author

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My name is Mitzi Danielson-Kaslik and I live on a very small Island called the Isle of Man. I’m currently seventeen. I have been writing since I was fourteen, which I began by accident. It was Christmas of 2018 and I had recently been gifted a notebook. I was on my way to London to see my boyfriend (now fiancé) when the train broke down and suddenly, I had the idea that I should try writing something to pass the time. I did. It was slightly better than I expected and so I kept writing whenever I got the chance. I slowly got better and branched out for the descriptions I did initially to poetry, then short stories, then my first novel Palvine (published in April 2021) and then onto this novel. The idea for Ceasebury came to me in March during lockdown when I saw a painting of a little boat by a Georgian Summer House. After historical research and development, I began writing the story which I have never before heard; how the other side’s people were and are never evil. I think this is a universal message as it is always easier for us as people to observe life from a single window.

In case you’re interested…

Instagram: @mitzidanielsonkaslik

Where I posted my original writings: http://www.shortstories101.com/users/mitzi1776

Other books by this author:

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        Palvine (2021)

For Marley: thank you for

always reminding me of the

importance of freedom.

Part One: Love

"Freedom in the practical sense is

the independence of the power of

choice from necessitation by impulses

of sensibility." – Immanuel Kant

Chapter One

1St July, 1781 - The Colony of Virginia

The mid-summer sun shone down sharply upon Ceasebury Creek in the July afternoon. The light darted from the pure pale blue sky to the facet of the slow-running river, which tripped and fell over the rocks and stones as it babbled along its path down to the mouth, a place I had never been in all my seventeen years living in Ceasebury. The water rippled lightly as I ran my ring finger slowly through it before extracting it, shaking it gently in the warm air and then turning the page of my novel slowly.

The sun was so bright in the late afternoon that I often had to return to Ceasebury Manor before three o’clock, but today I had been able to get away to the Creek for a little light reading. I would have to return soon anyway and prepare for a dinner with Master Kingston, a gentleman I had not yet met, who – as I understood it – was heir to the Kingston Estate and lands, owing to the death of his three elder brothers in some war or other which spared Dorian (the gentleman I was to meet with) owing to his age (a happy thing on his part as he was now to inherit vast wealth, slightly less fortuitous on their part). That war or other had left only Dorian, Lord Kingston (his father) and his younger sister, a girl a year my senior whom I had had the pleasure of being acquainted with for coming on five years now. My mother has agreed rather reluctantly to take her under her wing after her own mother, Lady Kingston, had died shortly after her three eldest sons. It was thought that my mother could be relied upon to bring her up from a girl into a marriageable young lady and help her through the courtship process and secure her a strong match, Marquess Ravenswood, perhaps. It was thought that my mother was a more appropriate person to take her to a good match than Lord or Master Kingston. After all, what do men know of courtship or marriage?

Her name was Gabriella Kingston.

Gabriella had lived at Ceasebury Manor for the last five years in the chamber across the hall from mine and insisted upon perpetually dressing in various shades of yellow. It looked awful with her hair, but I hadn’t the heart to tell her (nor did anyone else, it seemed). We had taken our lessons together (although she was far less literary than me), we ate together each day and often sat together in the afternoons and evenings, when I wasn’t out at the Creek, of course. And I had been out here so much more lately.

We were both to formally enter society (such as it was) this year, and she seemed so hopelessly ill-informed on the topic of men and marriage. This was a source of worry to me. I mean, they tell me men know nothing of courtship and marriage, but surely, they must know more about sex than Gabriella. The human race had survived so long for a reason. I was amazed by her lack of curiosity. Had she never read a novel in which some handsome young rogue goes for a roll in the hay with a pretty girl? I supposed she couldn’t have done, for I had to convince Cheyenne to get them for me at the town brothel where the proprietor of the establishment, a Mr Jameston, kept a small but well-ordered collection of novels of this kind in a little library of sorts. I would write to him every so often and arrange the loan of one of these novels and pester Cheyenne to collect for me the next time she was in town. I truly appreciated Mr Jameston’s cooperation in the whole affair. He even slipped in little nude French playing cards on occasion, which were really my style, but it was nice to know that I am more physically attractive than most women.

That’s what I had turned the page of; one of Mr Jameston’s novels.

But, returning to Gabriella, surely she had at least wondered what happened after ‘… and they all lived happily ever after.’. Hadn’t she ever questioned why it is that husbands and wives share king-sized beds with soft white sheets and feathery pillows and blow out the candles a little before going to sleep? Apparently not. Not that it mattered so much, for one way or another, she would be wed and - hopefully – her new husband would be able to enlighten her on what awaits her. I shut my eyes for a second and leaned back, allowing the hot summer sun to kiss my bar neck.

Theodosia! a sharp voice called, breaking the hazy silence of the Creek.

I switched around to see a mess of dirty blond hair trotting up towards me from the white Georgian Summer House on the opposite bank.

Theodosia, it’s almost half-past three, my brother will be arriving for dinner soon, and you need to come back to the house to get ready.

It was Gabriella.

Don’t worry, we’ve got hours until he comes; I’ll come back to the house soon.

No, we need to get our curls. He’ll be here in two hours, and so will Marquess Ravenswood, come on. How did you get over there? She looked confused as she stared blankly at my position by the bank opposite her.

Well, I’m in a rowing boat. I would have thought you could use your own inference from there, I paused.

Mr Jameston’s novel was still between my legs, so I picked it up and thrust it into a little pocket on the inside of my hoop skirt I had sewn in for exactly this purpose. Gabriella looked at me, still confused.

I’m coming.

I picked up the oars and rowed myself back to the side of the Creek with the little Summer House and Gabriella. I hopped out of the boat and tied it to a tree trunk protruding from the grassy bank.

Good. Thank you. Your mother is losing her mind at the house. She’s shouting, and that’s making Cheyenne worry that she won’t be able to get you ready in time, She said rather hurriedly.

She shouldn’t worry about me. I always get ready on time.

Well, she is. Anyway, are you excited to meet Dorian? I haven’t seen him in such a long time. He promised that when I came here to live, he would come and visit me, but we’re such a long way from Kingston Grove that I suppose he didn’t get the chance with running the plantation and all, but he wrote to me telling me how excited he is to meet you tonight. Everyone’s talking about it back up at the house.

We began to walk back up the hill away from the Creek and the Summer House and towards the white columns of Ceasebury Manor, which came into view over the vast, lush green lawn.

I suppose you will marry my brother, won’t you? You shall be Mistress of Kingston Grove before the autumn, she giggled.

We shall see about that. I paused. Mistress Theodosia Antoinette Kingston.

Yes, that’ll be it. You should practice writing that in your lovely cursive hand. That reminds me, I got you a little present. it’s up in my bedroom.

Gabriella grabbed my hand and pulled me up the path towards the house.

The clock chimed a quarter to four.

Chapter Two

As we passed beneath the groves of blossom which hung low over our heads, I couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like to be whisked away to Kingston Grove after my marriage to Dorian, for Gabriella had been right, I would most likely be married by Autumn. I would be Mistress Kingston. It was thoughts of this that swept through my mind as Gabriella, and I sat in our cushioned chairs, our hair being pinned into place. Cheyenne had been worried sick about my whereabouts, and when I told her I had been at Ceasebury Creek, she had understood. My apology to her and to my mother had felt somehow hollow, though. I was worried, and that worry seemed to grow and grow as I got ready for dinner.

I was not a fool. I knew that my match with Master Kingston was almost completely secure because it’d be agreed upon by men sitting in dusty rooms many years ago. I had a large dowry and a good family name. When I was married to Dorian, what would happen to Gabriella? Her possible match with Marquess Ravenswood was so tenuous, one couldn’t help but wonder if she would ever secure his proposal, let alone in the course of this summer. That would mean she would have to go a year living alone at Ceasebury Manor without anyone here to keep her company. I wondered if she had thought of this.

As we dressed in our corsets and pale evening dresses, I shot a few sideways glances at Gabriella. She looked a little worried. Perhaps she too knew that if she couldn’t win the heart of the Marquess (the process of which would begin tonight, if it were to begin at all), she would have to live alone here until she could. It was as I completed the difficult task of dressing that my mother came into the open white dressing room Gabriella and I were sitting in.

Miss Gabriella, would you give us some privacy? my mother asked tentatively.

With a slight start, Gabriella hopped out of the room, tripped slightly over the hem of her gown. My mother pushed the door shut behind her.

Darling, she smiled, I need you to be perfect tonight. The Marquess will be here in ten minutes. You must amaze him with your beauty, your charm, your wit and all the other qualities any young bride ought to possess. Do you think you can do that? she paused.

What? The Marquess? Marquess Ravenswood? I thought I was to wed Master Kingston. I replied, bemused.

Well, yes, you were, but plans change, darling. The Marquess is of higher rank and title and possesses a much greater fortune. With your beauty the way it is, you are bound to capture his heart.

But, what about Gabriella? Who will she wed? She can’t marry her own brother.

I know, well, you are my main concern. You will wed the Marquess easily. Gabriella will have to find herself another match.

And how will she very well do that? How do you think Gabriella will survive in this world without a high ranking, respectable husband? That’s why she was brought here, isn’t it? So you would get her a good husband.

Yes. It is. We will have to find her another match. I will not talk about this any further. You will talk with the gentlemen tonight, and you will win the hearts of both and secure a proposal. Calm yourself and come downstairs. Oh, not a word to Gabriella or Master Kingston.

My mother left the room. I shook my head and picked up my skirts. I suppose my name would now be Theodosia Antionette Ravenswood by the end of the season.

After I left the room, I saw Gabriella standing on the cream carpeted stairs that led down to the main hall and eventually the dining room. How could I not tell her? She took my hand and whispered to me that she had my present. Slowly, she took her hand from behind her back and passed me a rectangular package wrapped up in white and lilac cotton.

It’s a notebook. You can use it to practice writing your new name, its got a calligraphy pen with it. You can keep it wrapped in this little veil under your pillow, and then maybe you’ll have dreams about your new husband. Gabriella whispered with a slight giggle.

I thanked her and put it on the side table next to my bed.

We walked together down the white marble steps. I could feel her hand shaking a little in mine and wondered if part of her knew that she would not be married by the end of the season. The hard black and white marble felt somehow heavy beneath my feet, and the guilt of all this tumultuous secret was heavy in my chest. I felt almost hypnotised by the secrets I was keeping from Gabriella, not just the marriage, but the things I knew would come with