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Chapter 10
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2021-09-02 21:40:19Stephen folded the letter he just finished reading and placed it in the pocket he asked his tailor to sew on the inside of his satin lined waist coat. His brows knit together as he pondered its contents.
Life was becoming far more taxing and complicated than he could have ever imagined.
He was forced to abandon his search for his new bride upon hearing of the death of his father and return to England. There were unexpected affairs of the estate he inherited that required his immediate attention. These took time to deal with. Time he could have used searching for Elizabeth.
Now, a few months after his return, he received the most unusual letter from his neighbor and sister of his good friend, Miss Paulette Moore. Her letter informed him of the distressing happenings on their plantation since he took his leave. Arthur purchased a mulatto woman at the slave auction in Charles Town as an intended addition to her dowry. Instead, the woman bewitched him in
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Herald sailed several times in his short life, but never on such a long journey as this. Although he was concerned about Elizabeth’s wellbeing, he could not help feeling excited about the opportunity for a new adventure. Not many young men of his age and station could boast such an experience. It certainly would help rank him higher within his circle of friends once he returned to relay the details of the journey to them. He spent his first day at sea quizzing Captain Sims as much as the old sea dog would allow. He was filled with curiosity about the ship and its navigational instruments. The grizzly old captain had never encountered a young man of such intelligence and, although he was not by nature the most hospitable of men, for the most part he enjoyed Herald’s youthful enthusiasm and eagerness to learn.They were deep in the high seas when Herald overheard a conversation between Stephen and the captain that set him on his heels. In order to reduce their trave
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Arthur paced the floor of his study while he waited for Paulette to enter. He opened the letter in his hand and folded it again with nervous agitation. When his sister finally did arrive, he tossed it into the fireplace, only to rescue it before the flames could do more than singe its edges.“Good heavens Arthur, whatever is amiss?” Paulette asked as she glided across the floor to stand next to him.“Two letters were delivered to this house this morning.” Arthur sighed.“And?” Paulette asked impatiently.Arthur reached in his pocket and handed a letter addressed to Paulette. It was the letter Stephen posted just before he set sail. Its seal was unbroken.“’Tis from Stephen!” Paulette squealed as she snatched the letter from her brother’s outstretched hand and held it to her chest.Closing his eyes, as if by doing so he could change the scene that was about to occur, he held ou
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Every muscle in his body hurt. What happened? Herald rolled over onto his side and looked around. He did not recognize his surroundings, nor could he identify its strangeness.His attempt to sit up was thwarted by a piercing pain in his skull. Raising his hand slowly, he felt the bandage covering the gash over his right eye. As he gradually grew more alert, he felt for more bandages. He found one on his right thigh. As he eyes slowly focused, he was able to look at his leg to see that it had not fared well.Herald struggled to recall the chain of events that led to his being trussed up like a mummy in what looked like a hospital bed, although he could not fathom what hospital it might be. As hard as he tried, he could recall nothing beyond the card game he was winning in Stephen’s cabin on board the Duke.The gentle rustling of skirts nearby caught his attention. His attempt to speak produced something that resembled a cross between a laugh and a moa
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Arthur returned saddened, defeated, and without his good friend. Finding his search produced no results, Paulette’s devastation caused her to be even more vicious than normal to those subservient to her.Fearing for the safety of her child, Elizabeth begged an audience with the plantation’s forlorn master. She could respect his sadness and need for mourning time, but this was a situation that could not wait. Paulette had already struck her and knocked her down several times in his absence. The last time caused her to fall against the railing of the second floor. She narrowly escaped tumbling down the steep flight of stairs. The old cook practically kept her hidden in the pantry the days following to protect her until the master returned.Being summoned strictly for his personal pleasures, speaking freely was a luxury Elizabeth did not enjoy while in Arthur’s bed. Although he agreed to allow her an audience and the opportunity to tell her story,
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Arthur did not call for Elizabeth’s pleasures after hearing her tale of how she came to be in his household. Instead, he spent the night pondering its validity. Her story was so preposterous that it just might be truth. The fact that she knew so much about Stephen Carlson and his family was remarkable. His mind wrestled with the amount of information she had been able to provide without a moment’s hesitation or slip of the tongue. Could she have discovered this from Paulette? He thought not. It poured forth like truth. Yet, he did not want it to be true. He did not want to believe it. He did not want her to be the wife of his best friend.His night of contemplation brought to light the fact that he had fallen in love with her. He held himself back from his true emotions by the fact that she was a slave, but now...Although crushed to discover that the one woman whose beauty confounded him almost instantly was not available, he was happy and delighted to hav
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Paulette lay outstretched on the grass wrapped in euphoria from of the visions that swirled in her head. She heard whispers from others in her social circle about mistresses bedding their stud darky, but she never really considered it a possibility for herself. Now, here she was contemplating that very thing!She shook her head to clear it. What was she thinking? Obviously, the combination of the shock and disappointment of Stephen’s disappearance, the theft of his letter by that wicked devil woman, and traveling in this intense heat in unfamiliar territory took hold of her senses. She pushed at Manley’s chest to create some space between them and rolled her back to him. He did not move. Why was he not moving? She could feel the heat of his breath on the back of her neck. It was sending soft shivers up and down her spine. This just was not fitting. She needed to stop before things went too far. Unfortunately, her body had other ideas and was responding to his near
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Stephen stood in the missionary office and watched Padre Rodriguez through the window. The black man, who looked to be the leader of the small band of Indians that stood a short distance behind him, hung his head low as he listened to the padre’s words and responded. The two were obviously deep in conversation.Stephen was pretty confident he knew the topic of discussion. After learning that he was in a mission just north of St. Augustine, he quickly explained himself and his circumstances to Padre Rodriguez and requested aid in returning to his plantation. It was his original intention to purchase a new frigate to make his way up coast, but his poor brother-by-law was not yet ready to brave the water. In a way, he could not blame the young lad. Instead, he requested the assistance of the good padre to help him find a guide and transport over land. It would take longer, but it was a small concession after what his brave companion suffered.At the sight of the pad
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Arthur’s search took him near the town of New Inverness with no sign of his runaways. As nightfall closed in around them and they found themselves still miles from town, he gave the order for his weary men to make camp in a clearing just off the main road. The fast flowing stream that was only a few yards away from the spot they selected for their camp provided fresh water for cooking and drinking, as well as a cool bath for those so inclined.Although he kept a steady hand with his slaves, Arthur was not as strict about segregation with his darkies as most of his fellow slave owners. He walked a fine line between their distinct opinion that a darky was born to work hard and would not be able to survive as a free man and his friend Stephen’s viewpoint of them being on the unfortunate side of a difficult lifestyle structure.He attributed his thinking to the many conversations with his father, who owned slaves out of necessity, but did not necessarily suppor
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The church bells echoed across the plantation grounds as they announced the happy reunion of Elizabeth and Stephen. Elizabeth somehow found it in her heart to spend time with Paulette and form some semblance of a friendship with the much changed socialite. This was something that pleased both Stephen and Arthur greatly.Paulette recovered from her injuries enough to attend the wedding. Although still sore and subdued, she managed to carry herself as efficiently as any lady of Savannah society might in her condition while she held Arthur’s arm on her left and her mother’s arm on her right.Arthur and Margaret managed to work out a truce as well as an arrangement for her funds to continue to be sent to her trust from his new plantation in Jamaica. She had no desire to visit such a barbaric island, which suited him just fine.Now that his sister was settled in her rightful place at her husband’s side, Herald was ready to brave the formidable
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Feeling the need for some fresh air, Stephen excused himself and started toward the rear exit. Thinking better of it, he turned and asked Elizabeth to join him. Smiling timidly, she accepted his arm and allowed him to guide her down the cool, dimly lit corridor toward the back of the house.“I much prefer this part of the house,” Stephen said quietly.“Might I ask why?” Elizabeth responded, hoping her nervousness did not show in her voice.“‘Tis quiet and unpretentious,” Stephen replied.“You find the main part of the house pretentious?” Elizabeth asked with mild surprise.“Nay, not at all, I just prefer this. I fear I am a simple man who lives amongst splendor,” Stephen said.He cursed himself for his fumbling words. Why was it that he became such a bumbling oaf whenever he was in her company?Elizabeth smiled sweetly and moved closer as he guided her through the doorw
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Margaret Moore stepped out of the carriage in front of the Caldwell plantation house and gaped in awe at its magnificent beauty. She heard whispers of the wealth the Caldwells possessed through conversations at one of the many social parties she attended, but she had not pictured it to be as such. She was told that Sir Caldwell’s wealth was surpassed by few. He was even able to work free darkies on his plantation; something that was rare indeed amongst the plantation owners of Georgia who petitioned fervently to have slavery reinstated during its temporary abolishment because their plantations would not survive without it. Sir Caldwell was one of the very few in political societies who did not support such reinstatement.She heard their mansion was equal to that of a king, sporting thirteen guest rooms and marble flooring adorned with plush carpet with unique designs woven into it. Both were ordered from India. The marble lion’s heads on either side of the grand s
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Elizabeth and Arthur’s gay conversation could be heard long before Stephen reached the doorway of the atrium. He stopped and listened, uncertain whether he should enter or simply return to his room.He took much longer than even the doctor expected him to take to recover from his intense state of exhaustion. Herald sat in the room near the window watching him and then watching the world out the window for the majority of the days he lay abed. He was joined by Elizabeth for whatever time her greedy fiancé would allow her away from him.Elizabeth expressed her concern about Arthur’s monopolizing her time during one of her long conversations with her brother. She was torn over who she should be spending her time with. He was awake and alert and requesting her company, but Stephen was weak and still in need of constant watch; not to mention the fact that it was Stephen who had her heart. There were times when her visits with Arthur proved tortuous as she
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Bringing Paulette to the safety of the Caldwell plantation was not as easy as Stephen hoped. Since he worked his horse as much as he dared and she still did not regained consciousness, he settled her in front of one of the other men on her own horse and then later on with another whose horse suffered the stress of their journey favorably and was still strong enough to carry them both in the intense heat of the day. It was shortly after this last transition that she awoke and went into a frightful screaming fit. This caused the horse to rear and for her to fall off.As if her disorientation was not bad enough, Paulette landed on her arm and it snapped like a dry twig. Stephen seized a flask containing their emergency brandy and took a long drink to steady his nerves. The stress and challenges he endured over the last few months was building within him to such a height he was certain his frustrations would cause him to burst from the inside out.It took the considerable
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Bishoff got Arthur safely to the Caldwell plantation in record time. The sun was just resting on the horizon when he went ahead of the small group of men and knocked on the front door of the main house.After giving him a quick reprimand for coming to the front instead of the back, the butler hurried to seek out Sir Caldwell. The house came alive as some rushed to help bring Arthur into the house, some rushed to ready a room for him, some went for the doctor, and some sought out Lady Elizabeth to inform her of the grievous news.Elizabeth rushed to the top of the stair landing just in time to see Arthur being carried into the small parlor toward the far side of the concourse. Although he was grumbling profusely about the pain he was in, he was coherent and that was a good sign.She slowly descended the stairs, stopping on each step to prolong her arrival. It had been a few days since Sir Caldwell laid down the decision that Stephen must be given an opportunity t
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Stephen looked over his shoulder as he watched half of Arthur’s posse disappear in the direction from which he came. They pressed hard since early that morning after stumbling upon a tradesman who rode Paulette’s mare. When questioned, the man told them that although he purchased the mare at auction up the river he had it from the best authority that the mare was brought to the auction by Cherokees from a nearby village.Giving the man a fair price for the return of the steed, they rode with him to a nearby town where he could replace his mount and provide them with a map of the area to assist them in locating the Cherokee village more swiftly. When the man learned that they intended to enter the village to save Paulette, he did his best to dissuade them. The Indians of that village were hostile toward white people and only interacted when necessary. He was positive that, by now, they either killed or sold Paulette and impressed upon them the fact that walking int
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Elsa shifted her position as she sat on the natural stoop the low lying branches and tree stumps created for the asi that imprisoned Paulette and Manley. She had been there since the night before and her body was going numb. She would have to get up and walk around soon or she feared she might lose the use of her legs completely. Her mind was racing. Atul would be wed soon and she would be left to the mercy of the village, or even worse –Adahy. It was no secret Adahy despised the white man and the only reason he had not killed Paulette was because of the potential wealth to be had from breeding her to the virile dark warrior. She also knew that if Paulette proved baron she would die immediately. Since Elsa was the property of Atul as well as produced several strapping children, she was protected from Adahy and his evil thoughts about white people as long as Atul was around. That protection would be gone soon.Elsa’s moon time had come and gone, which meant her cou
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Elizabeth’s hands ached from her nervously ringing them while she paced the sitting area of her suite while watching out the window for Sara to return from her trip to town. Things were a mess and she needed a woman to confide in. Since her relationship with Sara grew stronger with every day she remained in their care and she felt no woman alive could match the good woman’s clear head and sense of right and wrong, she felt privileged to have Lady Sara Caldwell available at such a time.Herald sat in the corner of the room and watched his sister through lowered lids. To the onlooker who did not know him well, one would have assumed the young man had closed himself off to his sister’s obvious despair and decided to take a nap. Elizabeth knew better. Her brother was an astute young man who developed the uncanny skill of not missing a thing that went on around him. This was true even if his eyelids were all but closed. It proved handy on more than one occa
