Kat- September 24, 1774

Vanna is happy.
Jacob is home.
We were sitting in the parlor a few days ago, and Grandfather led in a strange looking boy with brown dirt smeared on his left temple right down to his chapped lips.  "This young man requested to be with you, ladies."  Grandfather looked dubious and he walked out.  The boy just stood there and suddenly Vanna jumped up and screamed "JACOB!"
I had started to have hope that Vanna could back off of her boyishly immature ways, I even told her, but her and Claire just glared at me and Claire rebuked me saying, "She's not immature just because her closest friend is a boy."  "She plays pranks!"  I protested, but Claire continued to side with Little Miss Vanna.   She says I'm jealous.  No such thing in my vocabulary!
Which reminds me.  Lately that Tatiana lady has been making Vanna do weird things.  She's been making us carry books on our heads during lessons, but Vanna does it randomly now.  She's changing, right and left.  Except for the pranks part, of course.

Claire ~ August 16, 1774

Dear Diary,

Life lately has entirely changed its course. My sisters and I have adjusted to the finery filled life at our grandparents’ wealthy home here in New York. Now, however events are beginning to alter, and I don’t know when another change shall occur.

Last week, our dear father came to visit us. He reported that he has managed to get back in business, despite the fact that he refuses to sell tea. According to father, the shop is doing very well. With the extra money he has been earning, he bought each of us gifts. He said that in a few more weeks, once the store is really booming once more, he shall take us back home to live with him. I think that he misses his “dear little girls”.

Two days after Father left, a tall, ruddy boy with sandy colored hair was ushered into the front parlor where the whole family was sitting.

“I tried to send him away, but he insisted,” the maid explained.

The boy shifted nervously. “Don’t you know me?” He asked. It was then that Vanna jumped up and threw her arms around the boy’s sun tanned neck

“Jacob!” She cried. Then, we all rushed to him, peppering him with questions and smothering him with our hugs. His ship was stopping in New York City before embarking to the West Indies. He had decided to pay a brief visit.

It was only the night before he was to leave  that I was able to speak with him. I found him alone in the parlor and deep in thought. I seated myself silently in a chair beside him.

He looked up, “Claire,” he said. “What does father think?”

I knew what Jacob meant. “He is very disappointed.” I replied soberly. He sighed, and stared at the ceiling.

“And Vanna?”

Did I dare tell him the truth? Yes, as my motherless brother’s oldest sister, I must.

“She cried, Jacob. She cried, when Father wrote to tell of what you had done. I cried. We are all disappointed in you. I am ashamed of you, Jacob”

Now, his head was in his hands.

“Mother would have been sorry. She wanted her children to be godly servants of Christ. How would she have felt if she had known? You have disobeyed Father by running away. You have joined up with men of bad influence. I can see already you have taken up evil ways. Don’t forsake the Bible! Don’t you love Jesus, Jacob? Don’t go back!”

He looked straight at me. “I was wrong to go.”

“You broke our hearts.” I said softly. There was long silence, unbroken for minutes. I could hear Jacob’s breathing and the sound of my beating heart.

“Will Father forgive me?”

“I am sure of it, as will the rest of us. As will God.”

Silence again.

“Forgive me, Claire. I will not go.”

He rose and left the room.

Vanna and Jacob have returned to their former mischievous ways. I know she is happier than the rest of us.

Vanna- August 7th 1774

Dear Diary,
Oh, do I miss Jacob.  Sure, I miss Robert also, but Jacob so much more.  My best friend is out on the ocean somewhere.  Somewhere on the ocean.  Kat thinks she is funny when she says, "At least he is on the ocean and not in it!", but I do not find that humorous at all.  I miss him all too dearly.
Father came to visit us last week and gave us all gifts.  He is very lonely now, and Claire and I are very worried about him.  He gave us all a new pinner cap, along with a little trinket.  I got a porcelain doll, the length of my arm.  All of our pinner caps have different colored ribbons. Mine has a green one, to match a new dress Grandmother bought me.  A boy down the street name Lawrence Miller told me it goes very well with my eyes.
Lawrence Miller is very funny.  His never-ending pranks and jokes are annoying to some people, but not I.  I think they are entertaining.  He winks at me whenever he gets a chance, and sometimes I wink right back.  Kat told me one day on the way home from a trip to the general store, "That Lawrence Miller has got some interest in you, Evangeline Hillman.  You'd better watch out, or else he might sweep you right off your feet!"  I laughed that right off, because there's no chance.  Not at all!
Back to Father.  I have no idea where he came up with the money for all those nice gifts for my sisters and I.  I didn't dare ask, but I was worried about it.  I overheard him talking to Grandmother and Grandfather late in the night.  He said something about 'the printing office' and a 'newspaper'.  He also said 'it's hard work'.  I have no idea what's going on.  If Father had gotten a new job, wouldn't he tell us?
Remember about our new tutor, Tatiana?  She came back today.  Father got to see her before he left.  He acted kind of funny when Grandfather introduced them.  Kind of the same way Lawrence looks at me.  And Tatiana looked at him the same way, right back!  Later Kat asked Tatiana if she's married.  Her answer was no, but I hope Kat isn't brewing anything in her rotten head!  Father is NOT getting remarried!

Kat~ July 27, 1774

Dear Diary,

  I just cannot express my grief. Jacob- is now a strong, working boy having fun on the sea. I am full of bitter envy. Many times I have tried to escape the house and determine what it is like in the free open. Once, I was so close to ripping off my ball gowns, and I escaped for the city. I went there, but then the day after, (I also slept in the park ground which happened to be the most comfortable place ever), Grandfather and his bloodhound and crew found me eating with a dirty homeless boy. We had found pastries, which the baker gave to us, and I nearly fainted when he caught me. Of course, he did not yell at me because he didn’t want me to learn how to, but he did punish me by locking me in my room for 3 days with a brand new closet full new gowns. Now, I must wear a gown a day for my rebellion. Grandmother says I must learn to be a ‘lady’. Oh, how I envy Robert the soldier and Jacob the sailor. I vow, one day, Grandmother and Grandfather will find my petticoats in the garbage, and I will be in full button-up trousers. Oh, the escape shall be blissful!

Kat

Claire~ June 28, 1774

Dear Diary,

Why? That is the question we all are asking ourselves now. Father writes that Robert is missing. Jacob too. He writes that they ran away. But, I ask myself, why? Father writes they were to come here. But, day after day for more than two weeks we have watched and waited. How can I believe they are coming, when for days they have not appeared? Why? Why would the travel long and far to come here? Where are they?

My heart is overwhelmed. My mind is boggled by questions. I have not been able to write, and even now the script is blurred by my tears. Grandmother is ill. She cannot bear to have her two grandsons- nay, I shan’t write it.  Grandfather seems worried, but he plods on.

Kat is a shadow of her former self. She is pale and thin, and her sunny face no longer smiles upon our house. I know that although she resented Robert’s sternness and teased Jacob persistently, she loved them both like the dear sister she is. Grandfather says I have dark rings beneath my eyes, but how can anyone sleep when their only brothers are missing on this great continent?

Only Vanna has faith in her brothers. She confidently believes they are well and will be alright.  I saw the pain in the look on her face when she heard the news from Grandfather. I had been standing outside in the hall when it was broken to her. Since then, however, she has held up her head and refused to think they are anything other than safe.

We can now only pray to Lord that they are well. Oh! How we all wish th-

Dear Diary,

Earlier I wrote that mournful piece with my heart full of sadness and foreboding. As I did so, a great commotion arose down the stairs. I raced down to find the whole family, even the servants, pouring over a letter from Father. It read:

                                                      June 28, 1774

My dear family,

I am delighted to say that Robert and Jacob have been found. I write this with exultation and displeasure. Yesterday, I found Robert with the Virginia Militia here in Williamsburg. I had a heated conversation with him. He told me that he had run away to join the militia so that he would be prepared to fight for freedom. Of course, I would be proud to have any son of mine fight for our independence, yet Robert is only sixteen. He is too young to be a soldier. I bluntly told him so, yet he refused to leave and said that he had  signed up with the age of eighteen.  I could not get him to leave, so there he stays now. When I asked him where Jacob was he replied, “Jacob longed for sea adventure. I deposited him on a ship bound for Liverpool. He’ll be working as a cabin boy.”  I couldn’t believe my ears. Robert will not come home, and Jacob is somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic! I hope you are all are happy to know that they are safe. I am too, and yet, I am not.

                              Lovingly,

                                    Your Father, or

                                                Robert Hillman

It is late now, and I am weary. Kat is jealous of our daring brothers. Vanna is dismayed, for she knows that Jacob might now be sailor for good.

And I? I am just a jumble of emotions.

Vanna- June 15th 1774

Dear Diary,

Life has been awful since Father, Robert, and Jacob left to go back home.  Since Grandmother and Grandfather are quite wealthy, they hired a tutor to come and teach Claire, Kat, and I.  She came for the first time today, and introduced herself as Tatiana Dewey.  She is a graceful woman with kind manners.  Her blond hair is very long, and she sweeps it up onto her head in tight curls.  She has fair skin, and no freckles at all.  She has blue eyes that resemble Claire's fancy gown.  She is the most beautiful woman I know, and I secretly wish that I could look and act like her, even if just for a day.  Claire has always taught me not to be vain, and I know that if Robert knew I wished to look so pretty (especially because I look just like Father and Jacob), he would surely be upset.
The first lesson Tatiana gave us was in grace.  She piled books on the top of our heads and made us walk around the room in a straight line.  She put us in our fanciest ball gowns and tightest corsets and made us sit up straight in chairs.  She taught us how to hold a teacup and what to do if we did not want any tea.  
After she left, Kat ran upstairs and quickly changed into a more appropriate outfit for climbing trees and such.  She ran straight outside and began mocking Tatiana.  "No, I shall take no TEA!"  She exclaimed as she hopped out of a tall oak tree that rose high above the house.  She says one day she will climb all the way to the top.  She made the mistake of saying that when Robert was still here, and he told her that she would not.
Instead of going outside, Claire changed into a more appropriate outfit for helping cook supper and escaped into the kitchen.  But I sat at the harpsichord bench, still in my ball gown, and plunked on the keys a bit before I started playing a tune.  I played it until Grandfather walked into the room and sat on the bench next to me.  He ruffled my hair and then patted my head.  I looked up at him and smiled.  He smiled back, but soon turned it into a frown.  Before I could ask him what was wrong, he told me.  "Listen, Daffodil,"  he began.  (Daffodil is what he has called me since I was very little.)  "I got a letter from your father a few days ago.  Now, I didn't tell you this sooner because I didn't want you to worry.  Jacob and Robert are . . . missing."  I felt tears pricking at my eyes.  "Missing?"  I could barely say the word, it was so awful.  Grandfather nodded his head and continued, "Your father thinks that they left to come here.  Apparently, he heard the front door close in the middle of the night, then he heard Robert's voice.  'Jacob!'  He was saying, then the door opened and shut again.  He was positive he was halucinating, so he did nothing about it.  But when he got up in the morning and they were gone, he regretting that."  I put my head down and started to walk towards the stairs.  "Wait,"  I turned around.  "Do Kat and Claire know?"  Grandfather smirked, "Somehow, Kat found out.  But Claire, no, she doesn't."  I wonder what Claire will say?

Kat- June 12, 1774

Dear Diary, I lay here in bed not sick but I can't bear to get up. Why? Today was the first day at our new school. It starts in one hour so I felt Vanna tugging on me trying to wake me. She had her Sunday best on and curling rags in her hair. I sai, "Why are you so enthusiastic about the worst day of my life?!" "Yeah, your life, Kat, not mine!" Vanna said. I answered, "I bet that Donald John Herny Kite the third will be there, eh?" "What? Yeah! Wait....no..!!! Huh?" Vanna nervously stuttered." She yanked me out of bed when I saw Claires worried face. JACOB AND ROBERT ARE MISSING FRON THE HOUSE! I must go. -Kat.