Three Little Girls Dressed in Blue

The Bewitching of Amoretta Ipswich: The spirit of adventure and curiosity that dwelled within her bosom was passionate with excitement! It was obvious there was something wildly interesting inside the gristmill, and Amoretta silently swore to herself she would discover what it was no matter what. She promised herself that nothing short of torture could keep her from seeing what was inside now that her feet were set on the path. "Is it frightening at all?" Calliope asked. "Shh," Blanche kindly scolded. But Winnie whispered, "I suppose it could be considered frightenin'...to some girls." "Is it a ghost?" Calliope asked in a softer whisper. "Oh heavens no!" Sallie giggled. "It's ever so much more wonderful than a ghost!" "Now everyone hush," Prudence whispered as she began to rather creep toward the back outer wall of the mill. "If they hear us...well...we don't want anyone to hear us is all." Slowly Amoretta and Calliope followed the others to a place where a board hung loosely from the rest of the wooden planks of the outer back wall of the gristmill. Blanche put a finger to her lips to remind everyone to be silent. Winnie smiled as she took hold of Amoretta's shoulders. "Just kneel here in the grass," she whispered. Sallie knelt down in the grass and took Calliope's hand to guide her to follow. Amoretta carefully knelt in the cool grass shaded by mill and trees. Once Prudence and Blanche had knelt down with the others, Prudence pointed to the low, loosely hanging board, indicating that Amoretta and Calliope should look through the open space it presented. Amoretta's heart was pounding like the rapids of some raging river! What were they about to witness? Spirits roaming the old mill? Pirates? Outlaws? Her imagination couldn't list possibilities quickly enough. And then, all at once-in the space of a moment and a short gasp-Amoretta Ipswich knew exactly why the young ladies of Meadowlark Lake liked to sneak out to the gristmill and peep through the loose siding board. "Oh my-" Amoretta's exclamation of astonishment was silenced by Winnie's hand quickly covering her mouth."

The Secret Bliss of Calliope Ipswich: "Oh! Do link arms with me, Calliope," Blanche whispered, her brown eyes widening with apprehension. She took Calliope's arm, tightly linking it with her own. "The old Mulholland house still gives me the willies every time I walk past it. I hate to think on what might have gone on inside. It's truly terrifyin'!" "Oh, don't be silly, Blanche," Calliope said, feigning calm. "Poor Prudence's lunacy...it's sad. And besides, her fiendish acts were not committed inside the house. There's nothing wrong with it. It's just...it's just a sad, empty building." Calliope Ipswich felt the hypocrite, however, as an uncomfortable shiver of residual dread and unease shuttered down her spine, More than six months had passed since the All Hollow's Eve when the dangerous state of Prudence Mulholland's fracturing mind had been revealed to the townsfolk of Meadowlark Lake. And now, each time Calliope thought of poor Prudence and her family, not only did her heart ache for their family's unhappy lot but a chill of lingering horror rippled through her being. In truth, at times Calliope wondered if it had all been simply a bad dream-a nightmare. But it hadn't. It really had happened-all of it.

The Romancing of Evangeline Ipswich: Evangeline startled a little as a somewhat quiet bark drew her attention from the autumn vista before her and to a medium-sized brown dog that had suddenly appeared at her side. The dog stood panting happily, as if he'd known her all her life, and it quite warmed Evangeline's heart. "Well, aren't you a friendly little fellow?" she giggled as the dog-who she quickly noticed was missing one hind leg-sat at her feet, wagging its tail and panting in joyous anticipation of attention. Again Evangeline giggled. "Aren't you just a handsome man? Yes, you are," she said to the dog as she hunkered down and scratched behind his ears. She laughed when the dog's one hind leg began to beat the train platform as a signal of delight. "Oh, you are a sweetheart, aren't you? I bet you're quite the Romeo in town too, hmmm?" "Well, well, well. If it isn't Evangeline Ipswich," came a man's voice from behind her. "And I see you've already won over Jones." Evangeline felt goose bumps break over her entire body, for she'd instantly recognized the voice, even for the near six years it had been since she'd last heard it.