Lily (Suitors of Seattle)

October, 1883

Lily Sullivan sat perched in a branch in the tallest tree in the backyard of her parents’ home.  Lily was almost thirteen, and loved her family, but wished she was allowed to dress however she liked.  She scowled down at the pretty skirt she was forced to wear.  Why couldn’t they just let her dress like she enjoyed for church?  It was silly to have to wear skirts and impractical shoes when she was so much more comfortable in her boys’ pants and boots.
  She didn’t care what people thought of her, so why should they?

She heard the door open and peeked through the branches to see who was coming.  Oh bother!  It was her older sister Rose and one of her beaux.  Rose had so many boys buzzing around her, Lily never got any peace.  Her mother thought she should wear a dress anytime there was “company” at the house, and with the way Rose fluttered her lashes at the boys there was
always
“company” at the house.  Most nights there were three or four extra men at dinner, which meant a skirt all evening.  She hated skirts!

As she watched Rose with the boy, she immediately recognized him.  He went to school with them, but was
three years ahead of Rose.  It was Daniel Olafsen.  He was okay.  He didn’t make fun of Lily the way most boys did, and he was happy to pick her for his baseball team every time.  Some of the boys wouldn’t let her be on their team just because she was a girl, even though she could hit better and run faster than most of them.  Why did it matter that she was a girl when they wanted to
win
?

She was swinging her legs in the tree because, well, she always did.  It was fun to sit up in the tree and wa
tch what everyone did below her.  She couldn’t quite make out the conversation between Daniel and Rose, so she strained her ears to hear them.  What were they saying?

Rose was looking up at Daniel with one of her sweet smiles that made Lily want to punch her in the face.  “Oh, Daniel.  Thank you for bringing me roses.  Would you believe that rotten Tommy Jones brought me lilies last week?  Does he think I’m my sister
, or what?”  Rose’s voice was sweet and soft.  It made Lily want to vomit.

Lily rolled her eyes.  Rose believed in the power of her name far too much.  She thought because she was named after a flower, that particular flower belonged to her.  It was crazy!

They were coming closer and she could make out Daniel’s words.  “I would never bring you any flower but the most beautiful.  Roses suit you.”

Rose
’s tinkling laughter made Lily sick to her stomach, and that’s when she came up with her plan.  She would “accidentally” drop her shoe on Rose’s head so Daniel could see what a shrew her older sister really was.  No one wanted to court a woman who screamed like an idiot.  And Daniel was just too good for Rose.  She didn’t know why he couldn’t see that!

It wasn’t that she wanted Daniel for herself, but he was a decent boy.  One of the few decent boys in school, and he just shouldn’t have to be stuck with a girl like Rose.  No one should.

Lily reached down and carefully removed her slipper.  It wasn’t hard enough to hurt anyone, so it would be a perfect missile.  And they would think it had just fallen off her foot.  Of course, Daniel would then know she was sitting in a tree, but he didn’t mind when she played baseball, so she was sure he would expect her to climb trees.  Daniel was one of the good guys.

She held her shoe and at the exact moment Rose and Daniel walked below her, Lily let it fly.  She threw it right at Rose’s head, but the couple shifted at the last moment, and she ended up hitting Daniel square in the forehead.  Lily put her hand to her mouth
, mortified.  She didn’t mean to hit Daniel with it! 

She leaned forward to see if she’d hurt him just as Daniel looked up to see where the slipper had come from.  As she leaned forward, she lost her precarious balance in the tree and fell, landing with a swirl of skirts right on top of Daniel
Olafsen.  She was so embarrassed.

She looked down into his amused face and watched as the corners o
f his mouth crinkled up, like they always did when he was about to laugh.  Looking into his eyes in that moment, Lily thought he was the most perfect boy to ever walk the face of the earth.  Well, except for his feelings for Rose, of course.

Lily jumped to her feet, blushing profusely.  She held her hand down to help him up.  “Are you okay?”

Daniel took her hand and allowed her to help him to his feet while he laughed.

“Of course he’s not okay, you simpleton!  What were you thinking?  Sitting in a tree and spying on me with one of my beaux?  Mother is going to be furious with you for this, Lily Sullivan!”  Rose’s voice, loud and shrill, rang out through the backyard.  Lily was certain she could be heard three streets over at the park.  Wonderful.

“I’m so sorry, Daniel.  I meant to throw the slipper at Rose’s head, and when I missed and hit you…” She trailed off, embarrassed.  She hadn’t meant to admit that she’d thrown the slipper deliberately.  She closed her eyes, waiting for the explosion from Rose.

When she heard the slamming of a door, she opened her eyes briefly.  Rose had run into the house, obviously to get her in trouble.  And she would be in trouble.  A lot of trouble.

Daniel shook his head a big grin lighting up his whole face.  “I’m fine.  Just amused!”  His blue eyes sparkled as he laughed, and that’s when Lily knew.  She’d never had any tender feelings for a boy and had really thought herself immune to them.  Daniel, though?  Daniel was worth having feelings for.

Lily shook her head.  “I really wasn’t trying to hit you with
it.  You guys moved at the last second…”

Daniel laughed, the sound traveling.  “I know if you were aiming, then we must have moved.  You never miss your target.”
 

Lily stared up at Daniel.  At sixteen he was only four years her senior, but at her age, that seemed a lifetime.  Would he wait to marry her someday?  Or would he marry Rose?  She wished she could ask him to wait, but that wouldn’t be polite.  She knew right then that she would never love another man, though.  Someday, somehow, she’d convince him that she was meant to be his wife.  Even if he did love her silly sister.

Chapter One

December, 1888

Lily Sullivan took a deep breath of the winter air.  She was wearing one of her long pretty dresses, but underneath she had a pair of men’s pants.  She couldn’t figure out why women would voluntarily be cold under their skirts when pants were so much more practical.  She wished it was appropriate for her to wear men’s clothes all the time, but she knew it wasn’t.  Her mother was scandalized by how much she still did it around the house.  She could just hear her now.  “Lily, you’re almost eighteen years old.  You’re a young lady.  You should be dressing carefully to capture boys’ attention.  Not dressing like a hoyden!”

Lily surveyed the park.  It was sunny out, but the temperatures were still too cold for most people.  She didn’t mind.  She actually loved winter.  It was her favorite time of year.  Now that she was finished with school, she loved it even more.  Christmas was coming and people were scurrying about trying to come up with the best gift they could for their loved ones.  In her family there was a tradition
of each girl making a special gift for each one of her sisters.  She loved it.  All of her sisters liked pretty girl things, so she would hunt as many rabbits as she could, and use their fur for hats and gloves.  Besides she loved rabbit stew, and the cook at home made a wonderful rabbit stew every time she shot a few.

In her perusal of the people in the park,
she spotted him.  Daniel.  Daniel Olafsen.  She’d been in love with Daniel since The Incident when she was twelve.  She tried not to think of it as The Incident in capital letters, because it was a strange way to think, but she couldn’t help herself.  Her eyes drank in the sight of him sitting there with one of his workmates.  She wished he still came to her house all the time, but that had stopped when Rose was sixteen.  Ever since, she’d been thrilled to see him in the park or just pass by him in town.  He never failed to kiss her hand and treat her like she was the lady of his dreams, even when Rose was with her.  He was a good man.  The
only
man for her.

She wished she was eighteen and could just march over to him and tell him she wanted him to court her.  She thought for a moment.  How could she be so bold without truly being bold?  Her birthday was two weeks away, so she could tell him she was available to be courted in two weeks
, couldn’t she?  No, too forward.

Then it came to her, and her eyes lit up.  She was supposed to give a list of potential suitors to her Aunt Harriett.  There were boys who had indicated interest in her, but she didn’t care.  She only wanted Daniel.  She could run and give Harriett her list now, with only one name on it.  It wasn’t like Harriett could do anything about it.  She could have Higgins investigate just Daniel, and then maybe he would
agree to court her. 

Lily turned toward her aunt’s house instead of approaching Daniel like she’d thought to do.  She needed to have her aunt play matchmaker for her.  It was the only solution!

Lily waited until she was out of the park, before she hitched her skirts up and ran the rest of the way to her aunt’s house.  She’d never been able to figure out why women walked so slowly.  Sure it was ladylike, but they never got anywhere!  Lily hated wasting her time, and when Daniel wasn’t looking, she rarely did.

She was out of breath by the time she got to Max and Harriett’s house, but she knocked loudly, leaning forward to rest her hands on her knees.  When the maid came to the door, Lily smiled at her.  “Is my Aunt Harriett in?”
she asked, out of breath.

The maid smiled and nodded.  “She’s in her parlor with your sister, Rose.  Would you like me to bring extra tea?  Will you stay that long?”
  The maid had known her for years and knew she rarely stayed in a social situation long enough for refreshments.

Lily shook her head.  “No, but could I use a piece of paper and pencil before I see her?”  She hated having tea and cookies with Aunt Harriett, because her aunt always tried to help her with her manners.  She did it in a nice sweet way, but Lily knew how to eat right.  She just chose not to most of the time!

When she had the paper in hand, she quickly wrote something across it, and then rushed to the small parlor at the back of the house where she knew her aunt would be entertaining Rose.  A slight smile crossed her face as she thought about her sister Rose.  Ever since she’d married her husband, Dr. Shawn Henry, she’d become much more humble.  Lily actually found herself liking her older sister, which had been a shock to her.  Rose had helped her find some dresses that flattered her and taught her how to fix her hair in something other than braids.  Although, she did miss her braids.  They were easy.