As I wander around our farm, on my 18th birthday I imagine what my life will be like. Will I marry a rich man, will I have many children. I don’t know, and that is the beauty of life, never knowing quite what to expect. King George lll watches us like a shepherd watches his flock, Father Thinks a war is brewing, the Americans, They want independence from England, and they want to be free, why? England created America, father says, we gave them life, tea, who could live without a daily pot of tea, we gave them our cultures and tried to educate them of the ways of our great nation and yet this is how they repay our generosity. Father says it is preposterous. I can imagine his face at the table, his belly full with lamb and potatoes as he sits and lectures us about the history of our Kingdom. I am tired of his antics. I escape to the farmhouse most days.
We have a comfortable life here; Father earns a good living as a banker and mama helps him by looking after family affairs, I have been brought up here, on our farm, my whole life I have never dated or kissed a boy, although many a boy has taken interest in me, mama says it is because I am smart and educated, Elizabeth says it’s because I am the prettiest girl in the town. I blush red when she tells me this; she says that boys can’t take their eyes off me, that the old maids of the town say that they had those looks in their heyday and that I am an English Rose.

I realise the time when I can hear John calling my name, I get up off the rock I was daydreaming and start to walk up the trodden path to the house. I sing quietly to myself as I walk, drifting with the rhythm. I can smell the sweetness of the pie that mama has prepared and it makes me walk faster. I turn the corner at the end of the path and walk head first into a stranger. “Sorry Sir,” I mutter as I look up into his face, he has the most beautiful face, like that of and dark haired angel, I stare up into those deep brown eyes and see right into his soul. I realise that I have my hands firmly on his chest and pull away. I curtsey and run straight up the path and into the house. I slam the door shut and stand behind it, afraid that he will come into the house, I stand breathless at the door wondering why I got so caught up in his looks. I look down and see that my dress is wet and muddy, my hem especially. Mama will not be pleased. I sit at the table and say grace and by the end of the day have forgotten completely about the handsome stranger.
I meet Elizabeth the next day; she helps me rub down the horses and tells me all the gossip.
She tells me that Old Mary has died and that unfortunately her son gets everything, even though he has an older sister. She tells me that John Henderson has been publicly hanged for stealing. As I stand there I can’t help but appreciate how good a friend Beth is, she comes up here, in the pouring rain to keep me company. I smile slightly to myself,
“oh and another thing... a young man kept asking around if they knew anything about the dark haired girl with the sapphire eyes,”
She looked at me as if to say, what’s been going on here then, ehh?
With this simple sentence my heart skips a beat. I ask her calmly what people had told him and she explained that everyone had known straight away he was looking for you and told him your name and everything. I give her a puzzled look and then groan. I tried to tell her how he made me feel, but she wouldn’t listen, said I’d do well to find a man who was wealthy and kind, and who was interested. She’d always said I’d marry well, said I was to perfect to be hanging around here all my life, she was always to kind. We prattled on about less important things and before long she had to leave and I was left again with time to kill. I decided to go for a walk in and about town. I bought some fresh bread and milk and then went to my favourite place in the entire world. When I reached the top of my hill I sat, being careful not to mess up my newly cleaned dress and watched the world go by, I was just beginning to feel comfortable when my name was spoken. Rose. I turned where I was sitting and was absolutely flabbergasted at his presence, how did he find me? Then I knew, Beth. She always thought she knew what I wanted. She was a troublemaker. She was my best friend. He gingerly made his way towards me; the wind I noticed tousled his curly black hair. He sat beside me on the grass. He looked about 21, he was smartly dressed and when he spoke, he spoke like a gentleman. He didn’t say anything at first, we just sat and watched. Not touching, not speaking, eventually he introduced himself as Henry Montgomery. His eyes had not lost their appeal, He asked me my full name and I politely responded that he already knew. He chuckled. I had never been alone with a boy who wasn’t my one of my brothers John or George. I didn’t know what to say or how to behave and my insides were churning with a fire I had never felt before. I asked him why he had come up here, that simple question ignited our friendship.