Thursday Aug 14, 1862
Preparations for my ball commence at once after our visit from Pastor Carson. I can’t help but want to talk about the ball all the time. Just thinking about it sets my heart a-flutter.
“There will be so many suitors that I’ll have to write their names on a dance card and take it in turns to dance with every one!” I gush to Anna as she brushes my hair one morning. “I hope Devlin Murphy is there.”
Devlin Murphy lives with his family on a plantation fifteen miles away. I think they’re almost as rich as we are. The last time I saw him, one year ago, he was taller than I with dark hair, hazel eyes, and a very gentlemanly air. I thought he was the most handsome young man I’d ever seen. He is the third son of his family, so has very little chance of inheriting his father’
