Tracie Peterson Read Free

and wallpaper for their new home in Potwin Place.
    Maggie threw open the window. “I won’t be forced to give up all that I love. It’s just not fair!” she cried out loud. “Father can’t force me to leave Grandmother and marry someone I don’t know.”
    There was a light rap at the door. “Maggie, do hurry along, Child. We’ve only a few minutes before we leave,” her grandmother called softly.
    “In a minute,” Maggie responded. She hurriedly reached out the window to take hold of the trellis. Her skirts were quite cumbersome as she struggled to put her foot out the window. Gingerly, Maggie climbed onto the delicate wood frame sharing space with the climbing roses. The trellis shook vigorously for a few moments, then settled under her weight.
    “If he thinks that he can just come in here and take me away, he’s got another think coming,” Maggie muttered to herself as she fought her skirts and the trellis. “He’s got to be twelve kinds of a fool to think I’d go anywhere with—” Her tirade ended abruptly as she was wrenched from the trellis into the arms of Garrett Lucas.
    A look of amusement played in Garrett’s eyes, and Maggie couldn’t help but notice how effortlessly he carried her, squirming and twisting, back to the front door. “You were saying?” he questioned sarcastically.
    “Oh, you are insufferable! Put me down!” Maggie said, suddenly finding her voice.
    Garrett carried her through the etched glass double doors of her Queen Anne home. He took the stairs two at a time and didn’t stop until he reached the upstairs hallway.
    “Which room?” he questioned.
    “Put me down! Grandmother!” Maggie yelled.
    “Unless you want me to help you pack, I suggest you settle down and do what your grandmother told you to do. I’m going to be watching this house the whole time, so no more tricks. Do you understand?” Garrett’s words left Maggie cold. “Do you?”
    Maggie nodded slowly.
    “Very well,” Garrett said as he set Maggie on her feet. “Now get your things together and be quick about it, or I’ll come in and help you!” With that he went downstairs and left Maggie to watch after him in total amazement. Who was this man?
    Maggie hurried to the sanctuary of her room. There was no more time for memories or escapes. If she couldn’t get away from Garrett at home in Topeka, would it be possible to flee while on the train?
    Suddenly, a plan began to form. “If Father thinks he’s won this round, he’s wrong.” Maggie said, pulling out a drawer from her writing desk. She dumped the contents onto the desktop. Coins and trinkets spilled out. “I’ll show him,” Maggie muttered to herself as she counted the money. Finally, thirty dollars and some change was counted out. “I wonder if this is enough to buy a train ticket home,” Maggie mused.
    Next, she pulled out a piece of writing paper and jotted a note to her best friend, Lillie Johnston. She tried to explain what was happening and that, somehow, she’d be back. She sealed the envelope and left it in the middle of her desk, knowing her grandmother would find it and have it delivered.
    Quickly, Maggie pulled off her gingham day dress and took out a green linen traveling suit. The day was too hot for such an outfit, but Maggie knew it would be expected by the matrons of society.
    Maggie herself often scoffed at the rules and regulations that the women of Potwin Place had made for themselves. But they were rules that were followed by the genteel of society everywhere, not just those in this upper-class neighborhood.
    Maggie pulled on her petticoat, then eyed herself in the mirror. She was only seventeen, not even an adult. Still, many of her friends were already married. Some even had children. She was woman enough she decided, but for what?
    She labored with her shirtwaist and the faux lace collar that tied at her neck. Securing the collar with a velvet green ribbon, Maggie turned her attention to the skirt.
    Within twenty