THE VISITOR
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Part I -1862
By Barbara Cope Svetlick
This is a series on the life of a young girl, Mirisa, whose destiny puts her into the middle of the nation’s war and the men who bring her into the underworld of their lives.
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locals, business establishments or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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Copyright @ 2013 by Barbara Cope Svetlick
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THE CHARACTERS OF BOOK I
The Visitor is a series that takes you through the life of Mirisa Eppes from the age of sixteen until the end of her life. The beginning of the story takes place at the beginning of the Civil War when her father sends her to his birth home of Natchez, Mississippi, as the Eppes family is torn apart by the events of the war.
The story is about a curse placed on the Lanfear family after the slaughter of the Natchez Indian Chief in the 1700s and the spirits that haunt the Lanfear Plantation who are seeking a way to lift the curse by returning the ancestors’ spirits to the sitting Chief completing the circle. The small neck piece woven from the hair of each chief as he passes on is sacred to the people of the tribe.
The Lanfear family and the Eppes family cross paths as the neck piece unknowingly falls into the hands of Dr. Richard Eppes but it is not until Mirisa Eppes sets foot in Dominic Lanfear's home that hope rises to return the necklace to its rightful place.
EPPES FAMILY
Dr. Richard Eppes is a country physician and a Virginia plantation owner. He was born in Natchez and raised by his grandmother, a descendant of the Choctaw nation. After completing medical training, he marries a wealthy young woman who borders on frequent and uncontrollable bouts of mental illness. They settle in Virginia where they have seven sons before the birth of their youngest and only daughter, Mirisa.
Thomas Eppes is the eldest son born with the luxuries afforded by a well to do family; he marries and moves to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania to take over his grandfather’s horse farm. A graduate of Virginia Military Institute he gives his allegiance to the President.
Charlie Eppes is the second son who has a passion for animals and takes up animal husbandry living near his brother Tom and raising a large family. He as well pledges his allegiance to the President.
The three youngest sons, Jed, Jes and Gus, are triplets born a few years before Mirisa. They are still living at home when the war starts and take up arms with their father for the South.
Mirisa Eppes is a young, naive gentle girl who is raised surrounded by brothers and without the companionship of a loving mother. She is blossoming into a beautiful young lady who finds the freedom of living on the Plantation inspiring and life changing as she is courted by the spirits.
LANFEAR FAMILY
Conrad Lanfear was born in the 1700s and lived on the family plantation until he was sixteen when he takes up with a maiden, Algonquin, from the Natchez tribe. He is a hired gun who rides with Algonquin's brother, Sequasi. After the unfortunate death of his parents and all but one brother, he seeks a way to lift the curse and restore the ancestors of the Natchez. He has been waiting for Mirisa to step across the threshold of the Lanfear Plantation for many years.
Jake Lanfear is Conrad's youngest brother and after the death of their entire family he continues running the plantation. He marries Sara and they raise a family including Conrad's first son. Sara haunts the house seeking peace that has always been so elusive. Her constant companion, Simone', is a large cat who travels between worlds.
Dominic Lanfear is a descendant of the Lanfear family and has inherited the Natchez plantation and continues to grow and trade indigo, tobacco and cotton. The family has been beset with tragedy after tragedy since the raid by his ancestors on the local natives. His mother died at his birth, leaving him to be raised by a grieving and angry father who ruled with beatings and heavy drinking. When he was old enough, he left home and enrolled at VMI and began a military career that kept him away from home until the war began. His father died while he was gone leaving all his holdings to his youngest son. Like Conrad, Dominic's life is one of a mercenary with a cold hearted belief that killing is a necessary part of life.
Suzanna Lanfear is the niece of Dominic and raised in New Orleans with everything money can offer.
DOMINIC LANFEAR’S CLOSEST FRIENDS
Garnett Alexander is a lawyer who attended VMI then served with Dominic in the army. He was raised in Vicksburg, Mississippi and practices up and down the Mississippi River. Despite having a normal upbringing, he is beset with demons that struggle with his constant attempts to find happiness in his life.
James Alcorn is a banker and investor who served with Dominic and Garnett in the army. He was born in New York but raised in Natchez and spent most of his childhood as a close friend to Dominic. Intelligent and compassionate, his ability to kill is more instinctual then desirable.
Alexander Meeks is an independently wealthy entrepreneur who graduated in the same class of VMI with Garnett and James and served in the army with Dominic, Garnett and James. He was born in New York City but took up with the other three at VMI forming a lifelong friendship.
HOUSE EMPLOYEES:
Mrs. Chauvin is the housekeeper at the Lanfear Plantation. She is a powerful root woman and guide to the other world and her working at the plantation was not by accident.
Jasmine is a personal maid who like Mrs. Chauvin is at the Plantation for the sole purpose of protecting Mirisa as she is taken into the other world by Conrad.
Miss Minnie is the head cook who was raised in the bayou by her grandmother and works with the many concoctions and herbs to heal. She works in the darkest of magic known by the mystical people of the bayou.
Simone', the large house cat, is the protector of the spirits who haunt the plantation.
Dedication
To my husband, Lewis C. Wilson, who has given me the love and inspiration to become a better artist and writer.
PRELUDE
Dr. Richard Eppes stood on the veranda looking out over the snow covered grounds resolved to walk away from all he had built knowing that returning was not guaranteed. When war was declared by President Lincoln, he knew that sooner or later he would have to make difficult decisions but he was unwilling to accept that the problems would not be resolved in short order.
His home state of Mississippi was one of the first states to sign the succession resolution. Everyone knew that life was going to become difficult even though Virginia still had not made a move to declare sides. His farm was located along the Chesapeake above Fredericksburg and close enough to Washington that he would need to decide whether to take an allegiance to the President or side with his heritage and way of life. He methodically started moving his assets and interests from the South to holdings in New York. His crops died in the fields after the slaves disappeared and the town became a ghost town in fear of Washington’s push to end the conflict at all costs. Had the President underestimated the resolve of the south?
The brutal winter had provided him with time in which to get his plans in place. His youngest sons were determined to join the Confederacy while his oldest sons had decided to support the Union. Charlie had been decline
d by the Army due to a sever limp from a childhood accident but Thomas, a graduate from VMI, was made a Captain and put in charge of training the thousands of volunteers that would pass through Pennsylvania heading to war. The mental instability of his wife had taken her into tailspin where her maladies became almost unmanageable so he resorted to lacing her tea with a heavy opiate. His last trip was to a small roadhouse near Fredericksburg to secure safe passage for his only daughter, Mirisa.
In early January, he had finally received a visit from a high ranking Captain with directives that the Army would be seizing his farm and all buildings for the duration of the war. They had already emptied his storage houses of any food and most of the livestock. The Army had plans to turn his largest stables into a hospital for the wounded and those who needed rehabilitation as well as a staging for troops. He told them that he first needed to move his family to the north for safe keeping and would need a few weeks to get his affairs in order. They left assured of his compliance and said if the weather allowed they would be returning in February to begin setting up operations.
He took a long draw on his cigar and let his muscles relax for the first time in days. His wife had been taken by carriage to Philadelphia where she would be well cared for and his youngest sons were packing the horses for the short trip to Richmond. His daughter was hopefully in Natchez where she would continue to lead a quiet and sheltered life. The last thing he had placed in the overland carriage before she climbed in was a small leather case that contained the journals and memorabilia of his grandmother. He thought about the journals and the story of his mother as he closed the carriage door questioning his decision but not having the luxury of time.
“Sir.”
Dr. Eppes turned to his butler Edward and nodded. “Edward, I am leaving my home in your care but if you feel that you must take your family north then I encourage you to do so tonight.” He handed his butler a small leather pouch which contained the papers freeing the last of his slaves and enough money for them to survive.
“Thank you sir.”
Dr. Eppes headed down the stairs, picked up his valise and medical bag. As he walked down the steps to his horse, he turned to Edward and the rest of the household help and tipped his hat. He knew as hard as it was to leave it was nothing compared to what lay ahead.
JANUARY 31, 1862
THE DAMPNESS came off the river and moved up over the lowland in a light misty fog making it impossible to tell where the river began and the land ended. Never had a welcome been so less inviting or a night less intimidating.
The men were weary from the long journey. When the woman answered the door holding a lantern in one hand and a gun in the other, they merely nodded. The young woman who now stood at the bottom of the steps was no more than a slip of a girl, the hood of her cape covering most of her face as the light rain began to fall harder. She motioned them in and addressed a house girl who lit the candle on the foyer table before leading Mirisa up two flights of stairs to a large bed chambers. She immediately lit the lanterns then a fire in the large fireplace before pulling back the comforter. The sound of the grandfather clock struck two as the men climbed back into the carriage taking it around the house down the path to the stable where they had been instructed to leave it. Dominic spoke to them briefly then returned to the house. This assignment had interfered with another mission but Dominic felt it was too important to let his men handle it alone.
Mirisa curled up on the window seat, unable to sleep and trying hard not to give into the sheer exhaustion of the long trip. The countryside, as the carriage hurried along the narrow dusty roads, offered nothing to ease her mind. Though she thought she had cried herself of any tears, the desolation crept into every pore of her body. She ran her fingers through her braids unwinding her hair as the tears overtook her in small rattling sobs.
Having never travelled far from home, she would have found the trip to be exciting but her father had instructed them to travel without stopping except to sleep and only if the accommodations were secure which they had not been since leaving Virginia. When they did stop it was always in the country hidden from view or when they were changing the security. She had no idea who the men were or how her father knew them but their existence scared her. She finally slid off the window seat and walked slowly to the large poster bed, pulled the soft sheets around her shoulders and out of exhaustion and sadness instantly fell asleep.
Mirisa did not hear the door creak nor did she know that he was standing in the doorway watching her. Dominic found her beauty to be breathtaking in the soft glow of the firelight. Slowly he closed the door and descended the stairs to his library, picked up the letter from her father, rereading it before dropping it into the fire. It was going to be a long war even along the bayous of Mississippi.
Sara’s breathing became labored and panic began to take hold as the smoke of the fire filled her nose and permeated her lungs. Stopping in an effort to get her bearings, she turned in all directions but the smoke was dense and seemed to be coming at her from every direction as the heat licked at her cheeks. She tore off part of her dressing gown holding it against her face as she called out to Jake.
Running through the dried corn stalks, Sara could feel the sharp cuts on her arms and feet but she knew if she stopped the fire would surely consume her as it was consuming the cornfield. Sara changed directions hoping to find an opening which would allow her to escape certain death. Tears welled in her eyes as she realized that her home and everything she loved was in flames. She stopped, gasping for air, as a pain encircled her stomach causing her to bend over.
“God, no it is too early.” Holding herself tightly with the belief that she could protect their baby, she willed her body to run as the next pain overtook her and she crumpled to the ground. “No, please no.”
Breathing became almost impossible as she began choking on the smoke while the searing heat filled her lungs. Sara knew if she could make it to the edge of the cornfield that she would be able to lower herself into the river and hide. The sound of the fire seemed to echo in her ears as she stumbled through the stalks until she broke through near the river bank north of the Plantation. She fell to her knees in excruciating pain and rocked back and forth praying for her husband. She tried to stand and fell as her body cried out. Struggling to her knees again, she pulled herself over to a large tree that would shield her from sight. The pains started coming with urgency and she wanted to cry out but her throat would not allow any sound while her lungs refused to take in any more air.
Jake ran through the fields with his men a few steps behind calling her name over and over, his voice strong but panicked. “Sara, Sara.” They spread out trying to avoid the hot spots along the rows of cornstalks and when they reached the edge they found part of her dress covered in soot. Jake bent down and picked it up. The thought of losing her racked his body with as much pain as she had experienced when she dropped the cloth. One of the men called out from the edge of the river and Jake ran toward the tree.
Sara was curled up between the large roots of the old oak, her face black from the smoke and blood covering her clothing. Her eyes were closed but when he touched her she was still warm. Jake held his breath and felt for her pulse. It was weak. He went to pick her up when he realized she was holding something up against herself. He lifted the bundle out from her hold and the baby moved slightly. The men watched but didn’t move to help. He handed the baby to his brother as he reached down and gently lifted her up.
“I want them found and I want them killed. I don’t care how many men it takes. Hunt them down.” Jake walked as fast as he could cradling her as he mounted his horse and broke into a full gallop in the direction of the doctor’s plantation up river. Conrad watched his brother ride away then looked down at the tiny creature in his arms. He took his finger and wiped away the soot from the little face as she latched onto him and began to suckle. He knew she was too little to be birthed and it broke his heart though he doubted if his brother cared at the m
oment.
Conrad handed the baby to one of the men mounted his horse and reached down to cradle the baby in his left arm as he turned to follow his brother’s path. “Hang in there angel.”
Mirisa woke up with her heart pounding in her chest and her breathing labored. She instinctively reached for her stomach as the dream impacted every part of her body. Slowly she took in the surroundings, the room felt so familiar the way your favorite shawl felt familiar as you draped it around your shoulders. Mirisa lay back down but couldn’t shake the dream even though she instantly fell back to sleep.
Sunlight streamed through the large window running across the floor toward the bed as Mirisa rolled over. Disoriented, she sat up and held the covers up against her chest as she looked around. The bed chambers was extremely large with a small library and big overstuffed chairs in front of the fire. She spotted the big yellow cat sitting at the end of the bed quietly watching her. She didn’t move for a moment then she called to him quietly. He walked up to her knees and sniffed around before stepping over her legs. He was an extremely large cat, in fact, he was absolutely fat. She reached out to pet him as he pounced on her stomach making her scream.
The door banged against the wall as a young girl entered the room balancing a big silver tray and a startled look. She set it down next to the bed, mopping up the tea that spilled when the scream startled her. “Simone’ you must not bother our guest.” She shooed him off the bed. “It is his room when no one is visiting.” She put the tray on the little table then started to pick up Mirisa’s clothing.
“What is your name?”
The Visitor 1862 Page 1
