Page 1 of Cloaked in Beauty

Prologue

HOUSTON, TEXAS

1881

Nightmares were supposed to stop once little girls woke up, but when five-year-old Scarlett Radcliffe opened her eyes, things only got worse.

“Letty, we’ve got to get you up, sweetheart.” Mama yanked back the covers and leaned close. “Hurry now.”

Mama’s red hair fell over her shoulder as she helped Scarlett sit up. Scarlett’s tummy twisted like tangled shoelaces. Mama never walked around the house with her hair down. It wasn’t proper lady behavior.

The air stung Scarlett’s eyes, so she balled one hand and tried to rub away the prickle as Mama lifted her from the bed and into her arms.

“What’s wrong, Mama?”

Scarlett grabbed hold of her mother’s neck as they hurried over to the chair where Daddy used to set her on his lap and read her stories. She missed Daddy. He went to heaven last winter. He hadn’t meant to leave, but the carriage accident left him too broken to stay. Mama said that as soon as Daddy got to heaven, God fixed all his broken places and made him good as new. Scarlett was glad he didn’t hurt anymore, but she wished he could come back to fight whatever monster had Mama so scared.

“We need to get out of the house, sweetie.” Mama slid Scarlett off her hip and set her in the soft story chair. Then she dropped to the rug and started stuffing Scarlett’s feet into socks and shoes.

“Mrs. Radcliffe! Mrs. Radcliffe!”

Mama didn’t look up from the shoes. “In the nursery.”

Never had Scarlett heard her mother boom her voice across the house. Ladies weren’t supposed to boom their voices. At least that’s what Scarlett’s nanny said. And Nanny Potts was an expert in all things ladyish.

Miss Emily, Mama’s maid, burst through the door, her mobcap crooked and her chest heaving. “Mrs. Radcliffe,” she gasped. “The house . . .”

“I know. The day we feared is upon us. Thank God that most of the staff are away, enjoying their night off.” She finished buttoning Scarlett’s second boot and pushed to her feet. “Rouse Mr. Fellows and Mrs. Krouse. Fellows can summon the fire wagon, and Mrs. Krouse can alert the neighbors.”

Fire wagon? Scarlett sniffed the air and crinkled her nose. Smoke. Her gaze swung to her hearth, but it was dark behind the screen, just like it had been when she’d gone to sleep. Where was the smoky smell coming from?

Scarlett’s lower lip quivered. “Mama?”

Her mother didn’t answer. She was too busy instructing Miss Emily. “Take the pillowcase from Scarlett’s bed. Fill it with anything of value that can be easily carried. Just like we discussed.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Miss Emily shook Scarlett’s pillow free of its casing, then hurried from the room.

Scarlett looked at the hearth again, then gave the air another sniff. Fires were only allowed in hearths and stoves. Nanny Potts said so. The knots in her tummy tightened, and she began to fidget in her chair. Dragons sometimes breathed fire in the stories Daddy used to tell her. Was that why everyone was so scared? Because there was a dragon in the house? Scarlett’s heart stuttered. “Mama?”

Mama must not have heard her, for she gave no answer. Instead, she ran to the wardrobe to fetch the sling bag Scarlett carried her toys in whenever she went on an outing with Nanny Potts. Her favorite storybook about the wolf and the girl in a hood waited inside, along with Mary Ellen, the doll Grandmother Flora had made her, using red and brown yarn for the hair so it would match hers.

Unable to stay in the chair by herself another minute when there might be a dragon prowling about, searching for a little girl to eat, Scarlett bounded from the story chair and ran to her mother and clutched her around the waist.

“I’m scared!”

Scarlett buried her face in Mama’s belly, grabbing hold of her skirt. What if the dragon got Mama? Would she go to heaven to be with Daddy and leave Scarlett all alone? A sob coughed out of her.

No, God, please, don’t take Mama away, too.

“Here now.” Mama tugged Scarlett away from her skirt and set her in front of her. Wiping her cheeks, she smiled down at her daughter as if nothing were amiss. “Everything’s going to be fine, Letty. I promise. I just need you to be brave for a few more minutes, all right?”

Mama slipped the cloth strap of the bag over Scarlett’s head, then reached for the hooded cloak hanging inside the wardrobe. The cloak Daddy had given her for when they played Little Red and the wolf. The cloak that tasted so bad, the wolf decided not to eat Little Red but became her friend instead. Maybe it worked on dragons, too.

As Mama tied the string beneath her chin, Scarlett’s tummy relaxed a little. And when Mama lifted the hood up to settle atop her head, Scarlett fisted her hands. No dragon was gonna gobble them up. Not tonight.

“There’s my brave girl.” Mama cupped her cheek and another knot loosened in Scarlett’s tummy. “Time to go.”

Mama took Scarlett’s hand and led her out into the hall. A strange crackling noise echoed from somewhere downstairs, and snakelike shadows crawled on the walls. Scarlett held tightly to Mama’s hand as they dashed past the main staircase. The smoke thickened, scratching Scarlett’s throat and stinging her eyes. Flames waved at her from the floor below.