by Londyn Skye
“My God,” William whispered. He had not heeded Preston’s warning to sit down and his knees nearly buckled when he read the assumed name Lily was living under. He had not forgotten that beautiful name, nor the peculiar name of Atticus Atkins. It stood out like a sore thumb on his list of politicians in Galveston. Reading the name now immediately sparked the memory of his contentious interaction with Evelyn Atkins and her vehement denial of Lily’s presence on her property. It was all too clear now why she had rudely tossed Lily’s picture back at him and threatened to notify the authorities for trespassing. He and Griff had calmly walked away unaware that they would be leaving Lily behind to rot … for four years. Evelyn’s rudeness was not too different from the way others had treated William as he and Griff searched, so he thought nothing of it at the time. But now, unbearable guilt leveled William like an unexpected blow to his stomach. The force stole his breath and caused tears to gush from his eyes. They careened in streams down his cheeks and blurred the ink on the letter that he held in his shaking hand.
William did not bother replying to Preston with a letter. He used that time to take a series of nonstop trains to Texas. Within forty-eight hours, he was banging on the luxury double doors of an extremely crooked politician. With Preston, Austin, Griff, and his sons by his side, William stood on the porch staring down Galveston’s most infamous socialite.
Evelyn’s hospitality was just as “warm” as the last time. “I thought I told you and your oddball friend not to trespass on my property! Now leave immediately before I summon the authorities!” she spouted.
“Well, I’m afraid you’ll have to do just that, because I’m not leaving here unless you forcibly remove me,” William boldly replied.
“What the hell do you want that’s possibly that important?!”
“The same thing I wanted the last time I came here! You have a woman living here by the name of Bella. I need to speak to her urgently! I’m certain that she knows the whereabouts of the woman I came here looking for four years ago,” William said, handing Evelyn the picture of Lily again.
Evelyn tossed the picture back at William. “Like I told you last time, I don’t know who this woman is!”
“Maybe you don’t, but I’m positive that Bella does!”
“Bella no longer resides here! Now get off my property!” Evelyn tried to slam the door, but Griff stopped it.
“He said we ain’t leavin’ here ’til we speak to Bella,” Griff snarled, his eyelids lowered as he glared coldly at Evelyn.
Petrified by Griff’s dark presence, Evelyn suddenly screamed for her husband.
“Is there a problem here gentlemen?” Atticus asked when he showed up at the door.
“There will be if you don’t get Bella to this door in the next two minutes,” Griff barked.
“Who the hell’re you?” Atticus demanded.
“We’re looking for this woman,” William explained, handing him the photo of Lily.
Evelyn’s husband snatched it and tossed it back at William. “I’ve neva’ seen this woman before!”
Preston Mills suddenly stepped into view. “Still care to make that claim, Mr. Atkins?” he challenged, glaring coldly at Atticus.
Furious, Atticus glared back at Preston, his face beet red. His lips were pursed so tight another lie would not have been able to escape his lips if he tried.
“Now it is I who will be reporting you to the authorities, about the illegal purchase of this so-called Bella, if you don’t let me retrieve her at once,” William threatened. “In the midst of their investigation, I’m quite certain they’ll uncover just how many other illegally purchased slaves a prominent member of their community has residing here.” William slightly tilted his head. “Should do wonders for your future political aspirations, don’t you think?” he asked sarcastically.
“You’re not going to threaten me!” Atticus fired back.
“I just did.”
Atticus put his finger in William’s face. “You’re not takin’ Bella any-”
Griff smacked Atticus’s hand out of William’s face. “Her name is Lily! And we ain’t leavin’ without ’er!” he barked.
“How dare you lay your hands on me!” Atticus bit back.
“Shut up and let ’em in!” Evelyn intervened, her public image now at the forefront of her mind.
Atticus whipped his head around and looked at his wife in disbelief. “What?!”
“I said, let them in!” Evelyn squinted her eyes at her husband, quickly glanced down at his crotch, and then met his eyes again. “Let … them … in,” she reiterated through tightly pursed lips.
With great reluctance, Atticus stepped aside to allow them in. He then looked at his wife with disgust and angrily stormed off.
Evelyn stood there quietly as everyone walked into the foyer. William glanced up to find Ryla and two other slaves standing at the top of the dual staircase. They had stopped cleaning to come and see what the ruckus was all about.
“Ryla!” Evelyn said. “Show these …” She looked Griff up and down with disgust in her eyes, “gentlemen … to the library.”
“Yessum,” Ryla replied, descending the stairs.
Evelyn then trained her devilish eyes back on William. “Retrieve your property and get outta my house! And don’t you dare set foot on this estate eva’ again!”
William paid her no mind. He knew that Evelyn just needed to feel some sense of power before ultimately letting him have his way. He simply turned his attention to Ryla after Evelyn sauntered away.
“Right this way, gentlemen,” Ryla said as she began guiding them through the corridors of the massive mansion.
With every step, William’s heart picked up speed. It was racing at a gallop pace by the time they reached the double doors of the library. After arriving, Ryla stepped aside, knowing full well that it was unnecessary to point out who they were looking for. The woman William had traveled over sixteen-hundred miles to see was standing in the far corner of the library with her back to everyone, dusting a grand piano of all things. With his entourage standing behind him, William stepped just inside the library and froze, now mere yards away from her. When he glanced across the room, he pushed his spectacles up higher to be sure his old eyes were not deceiving him. After his eyes focused, he just gazed at the lovely young lady before him, as if she was a magnificent sunset. “I’d much prefer to hear you play that piano … not watch you dust it,” he finally said, after absorbing the stunning view.
That familiar British accent caused every muscle in Lily’s body to immediately cease functioning. With the feather duster still in her hand, she stood there as stiff as ice, unable to turn around. The only active part of her body seemed to be her tear ducts; they suddenly began flooding her eyes with moisture.
After summoning the strength to wrangle his emotions, William walked toward the woman who had tears stirring in his eyes as well. “Lily,” he said softly when he was just feet away from her.
Still, she could not bring herself to turn around.
“Lily,” William said softly again.
Now certain that she was not hearing delusional voices, she began trembling uncontrollably. Still, though, she could not manage to turn around.
With his own hand now trembling, William gently took hold of her shoulder and turned her toward him. The sight of her beautiful face immediately confirmed the words in the astounding letter that he had received. “My dear, Lily, it is you,” he whispered, as tears suddenly spilled from his eyes.
Lily dropped her feather duster, lowered her face into her hands, and wept with body-shaking intensity as William carefully embraced her.
“It’s okay, Lily. It’ll be alright,” William comforted, holding her tightly.
“I don’t know who Lily is anymore. I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know,” she sobbed, unleashing years of pent up mental anguish. “I d-don’t know who she is. I-I can’t f-find her … I can’t f-find h-her.”
“We’ll find her,” William
assured her. “Together … I promise, we’ll find her again,” he whispered, as she continued weeping in his embrace.
It seemed to take an eternity for Lily to gather the strength to raise her head from William’s shoulder. When she looked up and saw Griff, the twins, and her dear friend Austin, her tears ignited again.
All the other female slaves in the house began entering the library, passing by Atticus, who stood just outside the door with a scowl on his fire-red face. Their intrigue left all the ladies oblivious to the anger in his body language as they filed in and stood next to Ryla. They watched with curious eyes as everyone took a turn hugging Lily, each man on the verge of tears as they embraced her. Their raw emotion made it very clear how precious Lily was to them. Even as hardened as she was to life, Ryla found a hint of raw emotion stirring in her as well. She struggled hardest to hold back her tears seeing how reluctant Austin was to let go of Lily with the one good arm he had left.
Lily, too, was reluctant to pull back from Austin’s embrace. When she finally did, she cautiously looked around for the one man who had kept the ember of hope burning inside of her while she was imprisoned there. She felt her heart plummet when she did not see him. “James?” she whispered, fear preventing her from even forming a complete question. She lowered her head and braced her heart for an answer.
“Look at me, Lily.” Austin gently raised her head when she seemed unable. “I have Lieutenant James Adams to thank for why I only lost an arm … and not my life. On the train ride home, I’m gonna flood your ears with all our epic tales.” Austin gently caressed Lily’s face. “It’ll leave you with no doubt that your husband still loves and misses you more than anything in this entire world.”
Lily erupted in tears again and fell back into Austin’s embrace.
When Lily finally got her grateful tears to subside, she stepped over to Preston. “I know I h-have you to thank f-for this, Mr. Mills,” she sniffled. “You h-have my s-sincerest gratitude.”
“No thanks necessary. I truly feel honored to help reunite you with your family and friends. Trust me when I tell you, they’ve missed you an awful lot,” Preston sincerely replied. “In fact, I think William may have had me murdered if I left this town without you,” he joked.
“Certainly right about that,” William replied sarcastically.
“And he wouldn’t’ve had to pay me a penny to do the goddamn murderin’!” Griff added, not so sarcastically.
Everyone erupted in much needed laughter.
After Lily’s laughter subsided, Ryla suddenly caught her attention. She had never once seen a twinge of sadness in Ryla’s face until now. After so many years, Lily was overjoyed to finally see all the men in her life, who were like her family. But she suddenly felt the same bittersweet sadness that she could sense Ryla was feeling. Wanting to comfort her friend, Lily wandered over to her.
“So, it really is Lily, huh?” Ryla said, still trying to be her usual hard self.
Lily nodded sheepishly.
“I knew you had a story to tell. By what I’ve seen here today, it must truly be epic.”
“And you’ve added to my story, Ryla … in the greatest of ways.”
Ryla nodded in appreciation. “Just as you have mine.” She suddenly felt something foreign rolling down her cheek. “Tears are for weak bitches,” she murmured as she quickly wiped away the escaping tear.
“Or for those who’re gonna miss their cherished friends,” Lily replied, wiping away fresh tears of her own.
Ryla nodded. “I’m damn sho’ gonna miss you. But you go shine bright again, ya’ hear?” She turned to look at William. “Somethin’ tells me this man here will stop at nothin’ to be sure you’re twinklin’ like a star.”
“You truly read people well,” Lily said, smiling at William. She then turned back to Ryla. “I’ll be back for you soon.” She turned to look at all the girls. “For all of you.”
“No, you won’t,” William interjected.
Ryla and Lily both looked at him confused.
“Because you’re all welcome to come now, if you’d like,” William explained. “I don’t want to force any of you to do something you don’t want.” He turned and sneered at Atticus. “Seems your captor has spent far too many years doing that already!” He turned back to all the ladies. “So, you’re all free to decide if you’d like to join us and leave today.”
Furious, Atticus finally stepped inside the library. “You will not be…”
“Oh, shut up, you blathering old fool!” William interrupted. “Don’t bother objecting, unless you look forward to answering lots of questions in court as to the acquisition of your slaves! Questions that I’m certain a politician like yourself wouldn’t want as public knowledge!”
To further encourage Atticus to keep his mouth shut, Griff walked over and just stared at him without saying a word. Atticus nervously swallowed, suddenly ingesting every word he was about to spew.
As Atticus silently accepted his fate, the ladies were excitedly chatting amongst each other to determine theirs. Everyone quickly decided to depart along with Lily … except for Lola. She stood in a corner alone, a look of shame dragging down her facial features. Lily walked over to her. “You don’t have to stay, Lola.”
“Don’t much think I deserve to go.”
“Yes, you do. Everyone makes mistakes … and I forgive you for yours.”
Lola looked at Lily with tears in her eyes. “Thank you,” she replied sincerely.
Lily nodded. “You’re more than welcome to come.”
Lola swallowed hard and glanced at Atticus. “I-I still think I’ll stay,” she said, her pride preventing her from any other decision.
Lily nodded and left her alone to live with her decision … and with Atticus.
Lily wandered over to the other ladies, who were now cheerfully congregating in the hallway. With all the men trailing behind them, they then headed for the front door. One by one, they all filed out of the Atkins estate, breezing past Atticus and Evelyn, who stood there silently emitting their vexation over the entire matter. Lily was the last of the ladies to step outside. When she did, she closed her eyes, and tilted her head back in the sun. To her, the rays of sunlight felt far more glorious on her face when she was free.
When Lily opened her eyes, she smiled at the awestruck look on Griff’s face while he gazed at Ryla. Ryla saw his expression too and could not help but entice him further. “How you doin’, cowboy,” she said as she sashayed by him with a sweep of her bedroom eyes.
Lily never thought Griff, the consummate storyteller, could ever be rendered speechless, but Ryla quickly proved her wrong. Griff could not get his mouth to form words to reply to her, but his delighted wide eyes and giddy grin spoke volumes.
Lily wandered up to her favorite security bandit and put her arm around him. “Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, Griff. But I doubt you have the strength or the stamina to tame all that,” she whispered in his ear.
Griff put his arm around Lily in return. “That may be true little flowa’ … but that damn sure ain’t gonna stop me from tryin’,” he whispered back, without ever taking his eyes off Ryla.
Lily let out a laugh. “Well, much luck to ya’!”
“Thanks. I’m gonna need it … and coffee! Lots and lots ‘a coffee!”
The way Griff had Lily laughing, made her feel like she was already home.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Sunday
February 26, 1865
The man whose humor had made Lily feel at home was now truly guiding her there. Griff sat proudly at the top of Lily’s carriage after church, guiding her and James through the steel gates embossed with the famous Werthington name. Today, her ride with James was far different from the first time they entered Werthington Estate together back in 1859. This time, Lily was not riddled with the fear of being turned into a breeding animal. William was no longer an unknown man for whom she harbored a premature hatred. James was no longer an enigma. It was not a strange unfamili
ar place that evoked terror for Lily; it was a warm inviting place that changed her life forever.
In stark contrast to their initial journey to Werthington Estate, there was now no coldness or question about James and Lily’s feelings for one another. This time, their silence was intentional. For now, they did not want to question any more of the when’s, why’s, and how’s of their long separation. They now knew instinctively to just absorb each other’s healing energy. They wanted to feed off the love they emitted in order to once again become an unbreakable united front. They knew they would need that level of strength, if ever they were going to tackle the trauma they had each endured during their years apart. For that reason, James had Lily gathered in his arms with his head resting on top of hers, not saying a word as he gently caressed her back. His eyes were closed, but his tears still managed to escape and soak Lily’s hair. He was completely lost in the essence of her, her scent arousing every memory of the times he had held her this close. Lily had melted into James’s chest, lying there in absolute silence as well. She did nothing but weep and appreciate his warmth. Her continuous flow of joyous tears had now soaked his decorated military jacket. There was simply not an inch of measurable space between the couple as they entered the place where their love for one another was reignited, a place they both considered home.
William had been under the weather for the last several days and was not up to going to church with Lily. Isabel had stayed behind to take care of him, Emerson, and Wilson. After receiving a certified letter about her brother’s death, she was not up much for leaving the house anyway. Wanting some fresh air, Isabel had helped William make his way onto the porch. Ryla, Emerson, and Wilson had joined them as well. They all sat chatting and drinking lemonade as Griff guided the carriage toward them. He halted the horses just in front of William’s porch and climbed down to open the door. Lily reluctantly pulled herself away from her husband’s embrace, took Griff by the hand, and let him help her down.
When William saw how swollen and red Lily’s tear-filled eyes were, he abruptly ceased his conversation with Isabel. “What’s wrong m’lady?” he asked her.
