Tanner shook his head, laid his hand tenderly upon Temperance’s cheek, kissed her closed eyelid and then stood slowly, “Wilma, do you know where my brother went?”
“No…” Wilma shook her head. “He just left her for dead, child, I don’t know where he is now.”
Tanner picked the discarded rifle up from the floor and growled. “Take care of her, Wilma. I’ve got some killing to go take care of.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Tanner stepped back into the early morning sunlight and his eyes instantly went to the plantation house.
He had been prepared to hunt down the bastards responsible for Temperance’s suffering but standing there on the porch and watching him with surprised expressions were the remaining two guards and him….
Trevor.
The man who Tanner should have dealt with the moment he’d ridden onto the plantation after the war and had seen the condition of the workers. The man who had controlled him as children, sent him off to die and had him declared dead instead of attempting to find him.
The man who had taken something beautiful and light and had beaten it, violated it and sent it to the brink of death with absolutely no remorse.
Trevor would die today.
Not for what he had done to the slaves. Not for what he had done to Tanner. He would die for Temperance. He would die for what he had taken from her.
“You looked surprised to see me,” Tanner stated as he stopped thirty feet from the porch.
“Of course not.” Trevor countered with a shake of his head. “I am surprised to see you bleeding. What happened, Tanner? Were you injured in the fire?”
“I’m sure you are surprised to see me bleeding and breathing. This is the second time I’ve come back from the dead on you, isn’t it?” Tanner tossed down the rifle. “I think you should know that Temperance isn’t dead either. She’s stronger than you give her credit for.”
Trevor dropped his false facade then. His blue eyes flashed with anger and his lips pulled back in a sneer. “Even if she survives and by some miracle you don’t die today, that whore will never be the same again. You’ll never get to enjoy her body any more than you already have.”
Tanner shook his head. “Not all men are as off in the head as you, little brother. And if you think what you’ve done today could ever make me walk away from that woman then you’re wrong.”
“Is that right?” Trevor clicked his tongue. “I’m tired of this. I have allowed you to live only because we share a mother, but this is getting ridiculous.” Trevor snapped his fingers. “Kill the bastard,” he ordered the two men beside him.
The men appeared hesitant so Tanner beat them to it. He wasn’t the least bit hesitant to end their lives. He pulled his revolver and when they realized he was going to shoot them they attempted to pull theirs as well.
Two gunshots blasted in the morning air and the men fell dead.
“That was quite anticlimactic,” Trevor muttered.
“What’s going on here?!” A man bellowed from behind them. “I am U.S. Marshall Gunthrey and I’m here with three of my deputies. You will drop your weapon and you will drop to your knees and keep your hands up!”
Tanner shook his head, but didn’t look back. “I can’t do that, Marshall.”
“You will do it!” the Marshall ordered again.
Tanner kept his gaze on his brother. He holstered his weapon. “Pull your gun, Trevor. You’ve been wanting me dead for years. Here’s your chance. Kill me.”
Trevor just shook his head. “It’s over, Tanner. You’re going down for murder and I’ll get a slap on the wrist for abuse. You’ve lost at your own game.”
Tanner felt his blood boil when Trevor turned his back on him and headed toward the door. “Trevor! Damn you! You nearly killed that woman! Are you a coward who can only fight with someone weaker than he is? Face me like a damned man!”
Trevor continued walking away.
Tanner snapped in that moment. As Trevor’s laughter danced through the air and reached Tanner’s ears, he lost all sense of right and wrong. All sense of fighting fair. He didn’t care if this man had come from the same blood line that he did. Trevor was going to die whether it was face to face or shot in the back.
Tanner’s gun slid from the holster like silk and he cocked that hammer and pulled that trigger in one fluid motion.
Trevor’s body stiffened as the bullet tore through is back. He turned slowly, blood already dripping from between his lips. The bullet had come through his heart and ripped back out his chest. Tanner was glad his shot had been true. Trevor had deserved more suffering but at least now Temperance would be safe from him.
“Drop that damn gun!” U.S. Marshall Gunthrey bellowed.
Tanner did. He had no more reason to hold onto it. He dropped to his knees, put his hands on his head, and watched as the deputies ran forward and checked the three men lying in bloody pools upon the porch.
“Tanner Montgomery, you’re under arrest for the murder of three men. Damn you. Why didn’t you wait for me?” U.S. Marshall Gunthrey demanded with regret as he put cuffs on Tanner’s wrists and helped pull him to his feet.
Tanner shook his head and met the Marshall’s eyes. He didn’t feel anything inside other than relief that he had ended Temperance’s nightmare. “You just didn’t get here in time, Marshall. I tried to wait.”
“Yeah well, I’ll do what I can to keep you from going swinging at the gallows, Tanner, but I can’t make any promises. You shot your own damn brother in the back right in front of me. No matter what kind of man he is, that’s not something you can do!”
“I ain’t afraid to die, Marshall. And trust me when I say that bastard deserved much worse than he got.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Temperance stepped gingerly out into the sunlight. It was bright and hot, and felt good against her skin, though her eyes squinted at the sudden onslaught.
Nearly three weeks she had been laying on her stomach with very little movement as the wounds on her back had worked on scabbing over. Several had to be stitched because they had been so severe and Temperance was grateful that Wilma was educated in such things.
Temperance looked up at the bright sun and the peaceful blue sky full of blue clouds and marveled at just how mocking it all seemed.
Today was not a happy day. Today was the day that the verdict of Tanner’s trial would be announced and he would be sentenced. Temperance had been unable to testify in person on his behalf, but she had sent in a written testimony that Patrick Starr had come out and picked up.
Felix had been in the courtroom during it all and had said that things weren’t looking very well for Tanner. The guilt Temperance felt inside was nearly crippling. Tanner had done what he had done because of her… If she hadn’t put that rifle down, if she hadn’t opened that door, if she had never gone to him with her problems in the first place, then Tanner would not be facing a noose.
“Are ya sure ya can handle a trip to town, Temperance?” Wilma asked gently.
Temperance nodded. “I have no choice,” she replied. “I have to be there for Tanner.”
“I understand,” Wilma laid a gentle hand on Temperance’s shoulder and Temperance tensed and moved away from the touch. Human contact caused her heart to race and breathing to become difficult--even from Wilma whom she trusted.
Wilma sighed and walked past her. “I’ll have Felix ready a cart with plenty of soft blankets. You’re probably going to be in a lot of pain, Temperance.”
Temperance simply sighed. “Pain is nothing new to me.”
The ride to town was painful and it took much longer than normal as Felix kept the pace slow and attempted to pick the least rutted routes possible. It left Temperance with plenty of time to think about herself and her life.
Trevor was gone. She was a free woman. Free to leave the plantation and have a life anywhere she chose and yet… She couldn’t think of anywhere else that she would go.
The only people in the worl
d that she knew, lived here. True, most of the old slaves had chosen to leave after Trevor’s death and Tanner’s arrest, but there were still ten here. Five men that Temperance had never spoken to other than in passing, Felix, Wilma, and three young girls, twelve, thirteen, and sixteen who had been too young to simply go off on their own.
If Tanner was found innocent he would be back as well. Temperance couldn’t think of anywhere else she could possibly live. She only hoped that Tanner would be allowed to live and that he would still want her here. He had been forced to shoot his brother in the back because of her… maybe that would cause him to want her gone.
Getting out of the wagon at the courthouse in town proved to be a spectacle. Cries had arisen when people had realized that she was Trevor’s battered widow. She was the woman who, in the eyes of the town, had caused the brothers to feud and had led to one murdering the other in a cold-blooded jealous rage.
Wilma led Temperance inside with Felix attempting to fight back the crowd. Temperance was forced to stand, she could have sat in one of the rows of seats, but negros were not permitted to sit and she would not sit without her friends.
Temperance was nervous in the crowd. She stiffened whenever anyone bumped against her. Her heart beat violently against her ribs when a man made eye contact. She wanted to run and yet she had to stay--she had to hear what was going to become of Tanner.
The courtroom became hushed as Tanner was led inside. Temperance felt her heart constrict at the sight of him. He was pale, he seemed to have lost whatever weight he had gained and his face was gaunt and covered in a beard. His blue/gray eyes met hers and for a moment they sparked with life. Temperance raised her hand in acknowledgment and he did the same though she realized that his hands were shackled together.
A pin could have been heard dropping and striking against the wooden planks of the floor when the judge asked the jury to release their verdict.
Guilty.
The word hang heavy in the air and seemed to suck every ounce of the precious oxygen away from her. Temperance was gasping in lung full after lung full, but it didn’t seem to be enough.
Fighting hard to remain focused she turned her attention to the judge. “The circumstances surrounding this case are simply terrible,” he admitted after a lengthy pause. “We’ve heard several testimonies and accounts of the victims cruelty, and his unjust and wicked actions that led to the defendants decision to end his life. Tanner Montgomery, because of the details of the case and the extenuating circumstances I am not going to sentence you to death by hanging. Instead, you will serve a term of no less than twenty-five years in Stiton Prison in the state of Virginia.”
Temperance’s world stopped spinning. Twenty-five years? Tanner would be an old man before he ever saw freedom again.
All because of her.
Tanner turned in his seat and his eyes met hers. Temperance felt the tears on her cheeks and saw the concern in his gaze. When his lips curved in the tiniest of smiles, Temperance broke down.
Felix attempted to hug her and she let out a scream, though she wasn’t conscious of doing so, and pulled away from him. She tripped and struck her back against the support post for the balcony.
Pain radiated through her battered body. She gagged, paled, and nearly fell to the ground.
Suddenly, a pair of strong hands steadied her even as guards yelled out for their prisoner to come back.
Temperance looked up into Tanner’s eyes. “Don’t you blame yourself for this, Temp. I did what needed to be done and I’d do it again a million times. You are stronger than you give yourself credit for. You’re gonna be just fine.”
Temperance couldn’t respond to him. She couldn’t seem to form words. Between the pain in her back and the pain in her heart she was left paralyzed.
The guards jerked Tanner away and led him from the building.
Temperance was ushered back to the wagon as reporters attempted to ask her questions but their inquiries fell upon deaf ears. Only one thing kept echoing in Temperance’s mind.
Twenty-five years….
***
Temperance stood upon the porch and watched Felix riding in. It had been a month since the trial had ended and Tanner had been shipped off to Virginia. Life had been at a virtual standstill for Temperance in that month.
She barely ate, barely slept, and barely spoke. She couldn’t remember the last time she had smiled or felt any joy at all, she was dead inside. The only feeling she ever did feel was sadness and despair.
Trevor might be dead, but the damage to Temperance was already done.
Tanner had left her in charge of the plantation and had the deed notarized in her name until he could return one day, but Temperance took no part in the day to day operations. She left that to the workers who were left and she remained locked either in her room all-day or sitting here on this porch.
Nothing in life meant anything any longer. And she was hiding a secret… a secret that plagued her mind and took what little peace she had had left in her soul.
“Hello, Miss Temperance,” Felix smiled as he dismounted. Temperance felt that usual nervousness creep in when she realized they were alone at the porch.
She knew it was foolish. She knew that Felix would never hurt her and yet a part of her mind was left unconvinced, skittish and prone to attacks of anxiety whenever she found herself alone with any man.
“Hello, Felix,” Temperance replied quietly.
“I have a letter for ya.” Felix pulled an envelope from the inside of his vest. “Might put a smile on your face,” he added hopefully.
Temperance took the envelope and without a word she went back inside. She locked herself in her bedroom, sat down upon the bed, and stared down at the envelope Felix had handed her.
It was from Tanner.
Felix had gone to visit the man and take him a care package that Temperance and the others had put together. Apparently, Tanner had sent something in return.
With trembling hands and more than a bit of apprehension, Temperance opened the envelope and unfolded the letter.
Dearest Temperance,
As I sit here and write this, I am first eager to let you know that it isn’t as bad here as I had feared it would be. The food is good and the guards are much nicer than those in the prison camps I called home for so long. So, please don’t worry about me. I will be just fine.
I worry about you.
The light was gone from your eyes in the courthouse that day. Please don’t do that. Don’t let my brother win.
You are a beautiful light for this earth, Temperance, and to deprive the world of seeing your glow and your smile would be a disservice that no one deserves. I have yet to truly see that smile for myself but I know it’s there and I know it is breathtaking.
I am going to be honest in my words to you because I feel I can be, I trust you just as you once said, you trusted me. I love you, Temperance. I know it isn’t fair of me to say since it will be a lifetime before I can return to you, but I love you. I was locked in prisons and saw only darkness and such horrible sights that you would not believe for so very long… I thought I was dead inside, Temperance, but the sight of you, the sound of your voice, the kinship I saw in your eyes--it brought me back from the brink.
I’m not asking you to wait on me should you meet someone else that brings you to life, but please know that not all men are Trevor’s or Yancy’s. Not all men are bad. I would never hurt you, never force you, and never cause you to feel anything less than perfect.
With those words I’ll end this letter. I’m not sure why I have told you the truth that’s in my heart. I’m sorry if you find it a burden to be loved by a man locked away from you.
Find happiness, Temp. Let your light shine and don’t you dare hide away in fear.
Always and Forever Yours
Tanner
Sobs wracked Temperance’s thin frame as she clutched the letter to her breast.
He loved her.
How desperately she wanted
to tell him she would wait for him. She wasn’t sure that she loved him--wasn’t sure that she even knew what that was. She couldn’t give him what other women could--couldn’t even think about those types of duties without nearly vomiting and growing short of breath--but she wanted to be near Tanner. He was the only person in so very long to cause her to feel safe…
But she couldn’t tell him that.
She couldn’t write him back.
She couldn’t be as honest about what was in her heart as he had been about what was in his.
She laid her hand over her stomach and stared out the French doors. How did you tell a man that you wanted him to be yours when you knew the truth. How could you ask him to be with you when you knew you were carrying the child of the man he had murdered, the man who had raped you, in your womb?
Chapter Twenty-Nine
As badly as Temperance would have wanted to, she was unable to hide her condition from Wilma and the others forever. After four more months, the belly she was developing could no longer be disguised beneath big skirts and loose blouses.
Pity had been the general emotion. Temperance hated it. She hated being pitied.
She had contemplated ending the life growing inside of her. Wilma knew of ways to do so, the slave women had to learn because they were so often raped and yet if pregnant, they were seen as weak and unproductive, which could lead to death.
Temperance had been planning on taking the poison that would kill the babe, but leave her generally unharmed on a Monday morning, but the night before she was to do the deed she had felt the child move inside of her. It had been the smallest of flutterings, but she had realized in that moment that she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t take this life.
Her babe did not ever need to know who had fathered it. Temperance had no idea what she would tell him or her when they got old enough to ask, but she knew that she would never admit to them what their father had truly been.
Against Her Will Page 13
