CHAPTER 34
Eddy ignored the voice calling after him as he sprinted down the street. It didn’t matter who it was. He didn’t care. It didn’t matter. 
He didn’t stop running until he reached Bank Street. He grabbed his knees and caught his breath. The majestic state building at of Capitol Hill was glowing like a lighthouse [1];. Suddenly, he knew where to go. 
The Stanard’s house was a welcome sight. Eddy slowed as he approached, trying to gather his thoughts yet, but knocked before they were fully realized. All he knew was that he needed to be with someone trusted. He needed Jane now more than ever. 
The butler, Samuel, seemed surprised to find the teenager calling after dark.  
“Mister Edgar, Bobby has long gone to bed sir.”
 “Hello Samuel. I’d like to see Jane—uh, Missus Stanard. Please. It’s important.” 
 “Samuel, who is it?” Jane called out from deep inside the home. 
 “It’s Master Bobby’s tutor, madam. Young Eddy.” 
An instant later she was at the door wearing a low-cut emerald night gown that highlighted de collage; her hair was held in a tussled bun, with ringlets framing her face. To the prudish ladies of Richmond, her attire was highly inappropriate for any guest, let alone a young man. But Jane didn’t seem to care. Eddy went weak. She was more stunning than ever, so much so that he almost forgot why he knocked. 
 “Eddy?” She sounded concerned. “Is everything alright?” 
 “I’m sorry, Miss.” The words began to clog his throat. “I just didn’t know where to go.”
 “Come in. Come in,” she insisted. 
She steadied her young visitor with two hands, guiding him to the love seat in  the parlor. 
“A pot of tea, please, Samuel,” she said. “There, there. You’re alright now. Pray tell, tell me what happened?”
Eddy’s pent-up emotions poured out like a levy broken. Even he was surprised by how easily the words flowed. He told her about Ma’s slow downward spiral, and Pa’s cold and cruel demeanor. And he explained that he had turned his personal heartaches into art, but that even that was being threatened.
“My poems. My stories. They are more than my craft; they are my medicine. I’m more exposed on those pages than I am stripped bare. I’ve woven all of my loss onto those pages, and God knows I have a lot, but now none of that matters. It’s over.”
“What’s over’?”
“Pa promised to help me get published. He met with Headmaster Clarke tonight, but when he got home he just gave me a silent rejection. He wants me to fail so I’ll follow him into business.”
Jane questioned him, “Why would your Pa take a meeting on your behalf only to sabotage you? Are you sure it wasn’t Headmaster Clarke who refused your work?”
“There’s no way. Clarke loves me. No, this is my Pa’s doing. That’s the only logical explanation.” 
Eddy’s heart pounded as he took in her beauty. He fought the instinct to look at her nearly exposed breasts highlighted by a plunging neckline just inches away. As if in a dream, she smiled, and leaned in. Her embrace was soft and warm. He sank into her soft, heaving bosom. They looked into one another’s eyes and fell into a passionate kiss. Soft tongues intwined in a heavenly  exchange. Next, his hands wrapped around her waist as he began to explore her body. Below his belt, a throbbing was born. 
Her ear lobes, her neck, her scent. Eddy was enraptured. A moment later, he was ripping open her bodice to explore her exquisite body. 
“Thank you, Samuel” she said as the tea arrived. Eddy’s fantasy shattered. “That will be all.”
Still sitting a socially acceptable distance away, Jane began to pour a cup. 
“Here,” she handed him the cup and saucer. “This will settle your nerves.” 
“Thank you.” 
Jane continued to listen Eddy’s dreams and fears, but as they talked, he began to notice she would occasionally wince, as though in pain. 
“Are you alright, Jane? Should I get Samuel?”
“No, no. Just a headache,” she replied. “It will subside. Do go on. With my husband away, I quite enjoy your company.”
The two talked until the clock chimed ten, and Eddy returned home to Tobacco Alley. He slipped under the covers and tried to return to fantasies of Jane. But despite his best efforts, that night, the worst of Eddy’s nightmares returned with a vengeance.