Chapters

  Amie Bernstein; Chapter 19 © 2022 by Amber Wright VALENTINE'S DAY! Date : Winter 1902 Place : London, England Friday dawned crisp and cool, without a trace of rain. Valentine’s Day, 1902. School was let out for the day since it was a holiday in the Bernstein household, and Amie thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it. There were no endless lessons. She got to help decorate the sugar cookies with pink and red icing, make the parlor alive with fresh flowers from the greenhouse and neatly stack the pink-and-red-wrapped gifts on the small tables lining the windows. It all simply looked perfect. “I vote we,” Amie grinned with a dramatic pause, “etch this fantastic day into a stone vase! It’s so beautiful.” “And it will be even more beautiful when the food arrives!” Kitt grabbed at his flat stomach. “I’m starving, doing all this work. What time is it?” “Eleven thirty. Oh my!” Mamma exclaimed, glancing down at her wristwatch. “We must get changed and ready ...

Amie Bernstein; Chapter 18 © 2022 by Amber Wright PIANO MADNESS Date : Winter 1902 Place : London, England Thursday it rained. Thankfully, the sun popped out just as Amie was dumping the last of her school books onto her bedroom desk which was a folding, varnished wooden roll-top. The light from the sun glittered into the room between the pulled-back, royal blue drapes. Her favorite color— Royal blue. She was, after all, distantly related to His Royal Highness. Amie smiled. Maybe that’s why I like him so much. We’re kin! Somewhere up the line… A rapping on the door jarred her into the present. Kitt and she were going with her oncle Gad and Annie Montgomery to the Royal Marines’ Hospital to play and sing for the wounded soldiers. Amie fished into her closet for her boots, coat, scarf, wool stockings and plaid tam. After tying her laces, she smoothed her tam and made sure her red plaid dress looked neat before shrugging into her coat. She did one twirl befor...

  Amie Bernstein; Chapter 17 © 2022 by Amber Wright THE VISITOR Date : Winter 1902 Place : London, England Amie walked into the dining room with a proper air, having slid down the banister without being seen. Now, her eyes searched the table for a new face. A visitor, as Annie had called the person. Well, it could be— Her thoughts were cut short when her eyes locked onto the person sitting next to Oncle Aaron. “Are you a ghost?” Amie rushed over to the thin-faced young man with the wide Bernstein eyes rimmed in black eyelashes. “Shad!” “Not that I know of.” Shad’s smile replaced his vacant stare as he stood and reached out to hug her. “Hello, Amie!” “ Bonjour , Shad!” Amie planked a kiss on each cheek, then sang out chirpily. “Well, I’m a ghost. I just died a few minutes ago. It was so heroic too! I saved Sherlock Holmes’ life.” “Reading, hmm?” Gad chuckled. “ Oui !” Amie’s face lit up even more. “And did you know that—?” “How about we pray...

Amie Bernstein; Chapter 16 © 2022 by Amber Wright DRIPPY, DRIPPY RAIN! Date : Winter 1902 Place : London, England “We'll tak' a cup o' kindness yet for auld lang syne...” Edia, Danielle and Amaris slowly sang the old New Year’s melody Auld Lang Syne . Gad was at the piano and Oncle Aaron was playing his wheezy accordion. The music blended together into one breezy, haunting tune. Amie listened, entranced. She loved music, especially when it included a wheezy accordion and Gad’s angelic piano playing. It was simply...beautiful. As the evening wore on the snow slowly melted outside, drip by drip. The temperatures rose into just-above-freezing. Outside broke into a wet, slippery black night with only a few stars twinkling down softly in a misty-like glow. A large hazy ring circled the moon as Amie sat on the parlor window-seat, watching the snowy outdoors turn into the drippy outdoors. Amie’s eyes started to droop…until Gad’s piano turned into a ...