Daily Book Excerpt: YA/Children’s books:
At the Altar
I think this might be my favorite TYPE of Lucy Maud romance: involving two maybe middle-aged people … not too romantic … but either good companions … or … who knows. I like when she writes about people past the first flush of youth, having romances. She always gets so much of it right (in my opinion). Like the wonderful story ‘The Hurrying of Ludovic’. It’s what happnes when people can no longer afford to be all romantic and dreamy-creamy, moonlight and roses … it’s what happens when that stuff fades … and yet still you find yourself in love. And this story, ‘The Gossip of Valley View’, is very funny – true Lucy Maud:
A rumor starts in a small town – that Young Thomas Everett and Adelia Williams are going to be married. Now … the two are not even courting … Young Thomas Everett, a confirmed old bachelor who lives out on a farm with a grumpy housekeeper, hears the news about himself at the blacksmith one day and bursts into laughter. Adelia Williams? Nice little lady … but he has no intention of getting married. But because of the laugh – and because neither of them out and out deny it – the gossip spreads. And spreads. I love how Lucy Maud describes this. The growing belief in the story … people stopping Thomas on the street to congratulate him. He thinks it’s all rather silly – he barely knows Adelia – but when the minister and his wife stop by Thomas’ house and mention his engagement – Young Thomas gets a bit perturbed. This is getting far too serious. It’s no longer a rumor – everyone believes it. Meanwhile, in the story – there has been NO contact with this Adelia Williams. He glances over at her in church during this whole thing – and she’s glancing at him too. They both look away. So she obviously has heard the rumors too. Thomas does have the presence of mind to admire her rosy cheeks, and to think: She doesn’t look like an old maid at all. But still: he has no idea who she is. All he knows about her is that she has the reputation of being a fantastic home-maker and house-keeper and cook and all that. That’s it. The rumor keeps growing. People start just making shit up. Young Thomas hears whispered rumors about Adelia’s trousseau – what color her hat will be – it’s starting to not be funny. It’s starting to be downright annoying. Finally, Young Thomas has had enough. His brother Charlie – who lives in – Manitoba? Winnipeg? Somewhere far from PEI, I’ll tell you that – writes him a letter congratulating him on his upcoming engagement, and says, “Give Adelia a kiss for me!”
Young Thomas (who has also been having problems with his grumpy housekeeper) has now had enough. Enough of the rumors. And enough of the messy house. What they hey … He goes over to see Adelia. This is the excerpt below. It’s the end of the story.
This is our first time meeting Adelia. And I just LOVE her reaction. It makes me laugh – makes me feel like we could be friends. Also: it’s just typical Lucy Maud.
Excerpt from At the Altar
Young Thomas shaved and put on his Sunday suit. As soon as it was safely dark, he hied him away to Adelia Williams. He felt very doubtful about his reception, but the remembrance of the twinkle in Adelia’s brown eyes comforted him. She looked like a woman who had a sense of humour; she might not take him, but she would not feel offended or insulted because he asked her.
“Dang it all, though, I hope she will take me,” said Young Thomas. “I’m in for getting married now and no mistake. And I can’t get Adelia out of my head. I’ve been thinking of her steady ever since that confounded gossip began.”
When he knocked at Adelia’s door he discovered that his face was wet with perspiration. Adelia opened the door and started when she saw him, then she turned very red and stiffly asked him in. Young Thomas went in and sat down, wondering if all men felt so horribly uncomfortable when they were courting.
Adelia stooped low over the woodbox to put a stick of wood in the stove, for the May evening was chilly. Her shoulders were shaking; the shaking grew worse; suddenly Adelia laughed hysterically and, sitting down on the woodbox, continued to laugh. Young Thomas eyed her with a friendly grin.
“Oh, do excuse me,” gasped poor Adelia, wiping tears from her eyes. “This is – dreadful – I didn’t mean to laugh – I don’t know why I’m laughing – but – I – can’t help it.”
She laughed helplessly again. Young Thomas laughed too. His embarrassment vanished in the mellowness of that laughter. Presently Adelia composed herself and removed from the woodbox to a chair, but there was still a suspicious twitching about the corners of her mouth.
“I suppose,” said Young Thomas, determined to have it over with before the ice could form again, “I suppose, Adelia, you’ve heard the story that’s been going about you and me of late?”
Adelia nodded. “I’ve been persecuted to the verge of insanity with it,” she said. “Every soul I’ve seen has tormented me about it, and people have written me about it. I’ve denied it till I was black in the face, but nobody believed me. I can’t find out how it started. I hope you believe, Mr. Everett, that it couldn’t possibly have arisen from anything I said. I’ve felt dreadfully worried for fear you might think it did. I heard that my cousin, Lucilla Barrett, said I told her, but Lucilla vowed to me that she never said such a thing or even dreamed of it. I’ve felt dreadful bad over the whole affair. I even gave up the idea of making a quilt after a lovely new pattern I’ve got, because they made such a talk about my brown dress.”
“I’ve been kind of supposing that you must be going to marry somebody, and folks just guessed it was me,” said Young Thomas – he said it anxiously.
“No, I’m not going to be married to anybody,” said Adelia with a laugh, taking up her knitting.
“I’m glad of that,” said Young Thomas gravely. “I mean,” he hastened to add, seeing the look of astonishment on Adelia’s face, “that I’m glad there isn’t any other man – because – because I want you myself, Adelia.”
Adelia laid down her knitting and blushed crimson. But she looked at Young Thomas squarely and reproachfully.
“You needn’t think you are bound to say that because of the gossip, Mr. Everett,” she saidq uietly.
“Oh, I don’t,” said Young Thomas earnestly. “But the truth is, the story set me to thinking about you, and from that I got to wishing it was true – honest, I did – I couldn’t get you out of my head, and at last I didn’t want to. It just seemed to me that you were the very woman for me if you’d only take me. Will you, Adelia? I’ve got a good farm and house, and I’ll try to make you happy.”
It was not a very romantic wooing, perhaps. But Adelia was forty and had never been a romantic little body even in the heyday of her youth. She was a practical woman, and Young Thomas was a fine looking man of his age with abundance of worldly goods. Besides, she liked him, and the gossip had made her think a good deal about him of late. Indeed, in a moment of candour she had owned to herself the very last Sunday in church that she wouldn’t mind if the story were true.
“I’ll – I’ll think of it,” she said.
This was practically an acceptance, and Young Thomas so understood it. Without loss of time he crossed the kitchen, sat down beside Adelia, and put his arms about her plump waist.
“Here’s a kiss Charlie sent me to give you,” he said, giving it.
