The Prodigal’s Welcome ©2001 by Kristin Billerbeck
My Beloved Waits ©2002 by Peggy Darty
Print ISBN 978-1-68322-269-9
eBook Editions:
Adobe Digital Edition (.epub) 978-1-68322-271-2
Kindle and MobiPocket Edition (.prc) 978-1-68322-270-5
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted for commercial purposes, except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without written permission of the publisher.
All scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, and/or events is purely coincidental.
Published by Barbour Books, an imprint of Barbour Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 719, Uhrichsville, Ohio 44683, www.barbourbooks.com
Our mission is to publish and distribute inspirational products offering exceptional value and biblical encouragement to the masses.
Printed in the United States of America.
Table of Contents
The Prodigal’s Welcome
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
My Beloved Waits
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 1
Natchez, Mississippi, 1866
You’ve come back.” Eleanor blinked back tears but couldn’t rein in the emotion that caused her to tremble. The ghost of her past stood before her, as real as any Confederate soldier.
“California was not the land of riches I thought it would be.” Nathaniel’s sheepish grin confirmed her worst fears. He had squandered everything.
“Things are not as you left them, but I’m sure you’ve realized that would be the case with the war.”
Eleanor hadn’t meant to sound cold, but how could Nathaniel expect to pick up where he’d left off? Except for his more manly frame from hard labor, he looked the same. The familiar hazel eyes with flecks of gold stared at her; the warm smile, the knowing look all took her back six years when she had loved this man with her heart and soul.
“My father has welcomed me home, Eleanor. With his blessings.”
Eleanor awoke from her memories. Did he expect her to do the same? “I’m sure your brother has other thoughts on the matter. Did you know Andrew became a captain in the war?” She waited for his reaction and watched him flinch. “Did you know he lost an arm?” Oh Nathaniel, did you know he asked me to marry him?
Nathaniel’s gaze dropped to the rich earth. “I did.”
“I hope your dreams were realized in California, Nathaniel.” For ours died a long time ago, when Yankees invaded. Eleanor picked up her skirt and walked toward Rosamond, her once-stately home. The sight of it forced her to face him again. “Your brother, and men like him, are the reason our homes are standing today.” Her firm stance meant nothing against his apologetic gaze.
“Eleanor, please. I was a fool.” He touched her shoulder, and she shivered at his touch. Turning to look into his eyes, she felt her heart throbbing under his gaze. Unwittingly, she fell into his open arms, and her body racked with tears at the comfort she found in his embrace. Without thought, she drew closer to his chest.
“I am so glad you’ve come home, Nathaniel. I’m glad you are safe.” His familiar scent filled all of her senses, reminding her of what was, what might have been. No matter what her head told her, her heart still loved this man, still ached to have him near her. But his being home was enough. It would have to be.
“I’ve come home to stay. I’m done with foolishness.”
“Are you, Nathaniel?” She forced herself away, straightening her gown. “But I’ll not hold it against you, Nathaniel. Welcome home. I pray you’ll make the most of your new life.”
Eleanor tilted her chin, summoned her remaining shreds of courage, and turned. If it weren’t for the war, she might have stayed in his arms forever—forgiving him and his childish ways—but she was stronger now. She had changed since the war. Everyone had. Everyone except Nathaniel, who remained unscathed by battles and Yankees.
“Eleanor, will you have me?” He opened his hands, willing her to come back to him. “I know I do not deserve you.”
Eleanor’s breath abandoned her, and she fought the urge to run to him. “You don’t know?” she whispered.
“I know you are angry. You have every right, but I’ve changed, Eleanor. I’m not the boy who left—”
She interrupted him. “I’m engaged to your brother, Nathaniel. I thought your father would have told you.” She softened at his wounded expression, and, for once, she felt like the traitor.
“Eleanor.” The hollow sound of her name sent a sickening swirl through her stomach. “My brother? Andrew?”
“Your brother has been here, Nathaniel.” She needed to justify herself. How dare he look at her as if she had been to blame? “He fought for me, and my family’s home, our heritage. While you ran to seek your fortune in the wilderness, Andrew was steadfast and true. The war has been hard on everyone. I need something to hold firm, to be solid; and that is Andrew.” Eleanor stood a little straighter.
“Slaves were not your heritage, Eleanor. You always told me you would fight to see them free. You’ve been listening to your father for too long.”
“Who else was I to listen to, Nathaniel? The idealistic man I thought shared my visions left, without so much as a handshake.”
The accusations were flowing freely now. “You were my fiancée! You would marry my own brother?” Nathaniel’s voice carried so the house servants looked on with interest.
“Keep your voice down. We needn’t share our business with everyone.” Eleanor waved the attention off and focused on Nathaniel again, clenching her teeth in annoyance. “I assumed our engagement was nullified when you left me a note telling me of your future in California. Why ever would you expect me to be free six years later? Do you find me that unpalatable?”
“Of course not, but I didn’t expect you to marry my brother either.”
Nathaniel crossed his arms, as though he had a right to be upset. Irritation plunged through Eleanor’s veins.
“In case you haven’t noticed, there’s a shortage of marriageable men since the war, but even if there weren’t I would be engaged to your brother. He has proven himself to be a hero, and so much more.”
“But do you love him?”
Eleanor gulped noticeably. “Of course I love him.”
Nathaniel stepped closer, and she felt his proximity to her feet. She curled her toes in her boots, needing to let off her restless energy. His familiar scent felt too intimate.
“Ellie,” he whispered.
“Don’t call me that. You have no right to call me that. Think of your brother, Nathaniel,” she begged him
. “Think of me.” She pressed a hand to her chest.
Nathaniel retreated, and she breathed an audible sigh of relief.
“It’s not over, Ellie. I came back for you, and I’ll make my brother understand. I’ll make you understand. God has changed my heart. He has redeemed me from the pit, and I want to share it with you. I want to—”
“It doesn’t always matter what one wants, Nathaniel. Think of your brother. Think of all he has been through, all he has endured while you spent your inheritance on what suited your whims and squandered your heritage. The Nathaniel I loved would never have knowingly hurt his family.”
The descending sun caught the gold flecks in his eyes, and Eleanor was transported to another time and place. The horses whinnied in the background, while Nathaniel held her hand in the green spring grass. He had looked at her with a man’s eyes then, and she remembered how the sun had caught the gold that afternoon as well.
“God has granted me forgiveness, Ellie. Won’t you?”
Eleanor was startled from the images of a happier, carefree time. “I forgive you, Nathaniel, but I will still marry your brother in one month. You should wish us every happiness. It is the least you can do.”
“Miss Eleanor! Miss Eleanor, your father is asking for you.” The shrill voice of Mrs. Patterson, their family housekeeper, called her.
“I must go, Nathaniel. Take care of yourself.” Eleanor turned toward her great house, now scorched with remnants of the war and badly in need of whitewash. She willed herself not to turn back and nearly choked on the tears she held at bay. By combining her plantation with Andrew’s, she hoped to keep them both alive with the freed slaves who remained. The workers were indeed few. Everything seemed so easy minutes ago, but Nathaniel’s return had changed everything.
Nathaniel ambled back toward Woodacre, his family plantation. “I should have known.” He shook his head in anger, his teeth still clenched. His brother’s triumphant smile at Nathaniel’s return suddenly made sense. Andrew’s admiration of Ellie had never been a secret. He had always been jealous over the connection Nathaniel and she shared. And now Andrew had managed to end the special bond, once and for all. Nathaniel chastised himself. He had no one to blame but himself.
“Where have you been, big brother?” Andrew’s victorious tone caught Nathaniel’s attention. “As if I didn’t know. You’ve been to see my fiancée? I could have saved you the trip, dear brother.” Andrew smirked.
He still wore his Confederate uniform, his left armhole stitched closed to hide the war wound. Nathaniel felt Andrew’s entire appearance was merely a costume meant to taunt him for his past sins, as if he were saying, Here I am—the righteous brother, the one who did as he was told and earned Father’s favor.
“Why did you keep your engagement a secret?” Nathaniel watched his brother’s smile disappear. “I should think you’d announce it to the world. This is quite a victory for you. You’ll own Rosamond, too, I suppose.”
“I thought it best you hear it from Ellie. I feared you might not believe me. I can see by your face you believe it now. Ellie deserves to be cared for.”
The use of her childhood nickname sent chills through Nathaniel’s spine. No one but he and her mother had ever called her that until now.
“There are so many women, Andrew. Why Ellie?” Nathaniel couldn’t keep the anguish from his voice.
“Eleanor has wasted six years of her life, Nathaniel. She’s been pining for you, swearing you’d return to her. But I knew differently. I knew you’d come back destitute and probably married with a few children as well. You surprised me there. She finally agreed to marry a man who truly loves her, not just with words, but in action. Something you’ve failed to do, dear brother.” Andrew patted Nathaniel’s shoulder.
There was a bit of warmth in the act, and Nathaniel reminded himself it was he who had left. Wouldn’t he want Ellie to be happy? Wouldn’t he have wanted her to be a mother and share in all that life had to offer her? He was still so selfish. His conversion hadn’t changed his desires.
“Will you love her, Andrew? Or just the land she can bring you?”
“I shall not dignify that with an answer.”
Nathaniel lowered himself to the rich earth under his feet. Every part of his will had disappeared. Six years in California, and he had come home with nothing. Not the wealth he’d promised himself or the new faith he’d claimed. Or so it seemed. He thought loving this Jesus, this new God, who was more than a weekly visit in the family pew, would change everything, but it hadn’t appeared to change anything.
I’ll prove my worth, Lord. You did not redeem me for nothing, and I’ll show them all out of love for You. I ask for nothing. Nothing, but the chance to be on Woodacre again and see that my brother cares for Ellie. My precious Ellie.
“Eleanor, who was that you were speaking with?” Mrs. Patterson lowered a brow. “It’s not proper for young ladies to be conversing with a gentleman alone. Especially an engaged woman.”
Eleanor laughed. “Mrs. Patterson, after the war there’s hardly anything that isn’t proper anymore. Just this afternoon I spent overseeing the tilling of the soil. That’s hardly worthy of any belle.”
“Well, you shouldn’t be out there anyway. You know how your father feels on such matters.”
“I also know his overseer wouldn’t dare lay a hand on the men when I’m around. So I stay close by. The Bible says we are to submit to those in authority, and President Andrew Johnson is our president. I submit, but that scoundrel taking the overseer’s place doesn’t seem to.”
“Johnson is no president of mine, the traitor.”
“The Bible says—”
“Do not try to dissuade my thoughts, Eleanor. You’re still your father’s daughter, and you’re not a married woman yet. Here on Rosamond we still keep up appearances, no matter what the Yankees tried to do to us. If we give up our discretion, why, we’re no better than the likes of them.”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Now who was that man you were speaking with?”
“Nathaniel Pemberton, ma’am. He has returned from California.”
Mrs. Patterson mumbled something Ellie was surely better off not hearing, but she spoke the end of her thoughts clearly. “You stay away from that fitful coward, Eleanor. He’s not worthy to walk on Rosamond soil.”
“His father has forgiven him. He’s been welcomed home with open arms.”
The older woman pursed her lips. “Well, he’s not welcome here. What Mr. Pemberton feels led to do is between him and the Almighty, but as far as I’m concerned, Nathaniel Pemberton isn’t worth the rags I saw on his back.”
“In case you’ve forgotten, he’s to be my brother in a month’s time. I suggest you forgive him for all our sakes. If our plantations are to thrive, we’ve got to work together in our new situation. The war hasn’t helped any of us.”
“Nathaniel did his family more harm than the Union gunboats did to our fair city. Your father will not take kindly to Mr. Pemberton’s welcoming back such a turncoat. I can tell you he will not be invited to the nuptials.”
Eleanor sighed. She knew what her father would have to say about Nathaniel’s return, and it probably wasn’t fit for a lady’s ears. But she had already forgiven Nathaniel. She couldn’t help herself. Nathaniel didn’t have a cruel bone in his body. He’d been misguided and wistful about his once-future plans, but who could blame a man for following his dream? It would have been different if he’d come back a wealthy man, successful in his pursuits. All would have been forgiven, but Nathaniel was being punished for his failure. Of that, she had no doubt.
“You needn’t worry about him. He’ll be Under-the-Hill soon enough.” Mrs. Patterson said, referring to the town’s seedier part of town. “Coward,” she added.
Cowardice had nothing to do with Nathaniel Pemberton. If anything, cowardice had personified the town of Natchez. If it hadn’t fallen so early, none of the many buildings would be standing. As it was, Natchez wasn’t much worse
for the wear, except for the slave situation, a few gunboat marks, and the looting. The money and privilege the town enjoyed were far more important to its inhabitants than fighting a war. They planned to run their town their way regardless of the outcome of any violence.
“Eleanor.” Her father’s gruff voice halted her thoughts.
“Yes, Father.”
“I’ve had word from Woodacre that Nathaniel has returned.” Her father’s darkened brow said it all. He was worried she’d run away with the man she once loved.
“Yes sir.” Eleanor tried to act unaffected.
“You’ll not speak with him. The Lord only knows what terrible ideas he’s brought from that forsaken California. Not to mention the diseases known to be out West.”
“Father, Nathaniel doesn’t mean any harm. He—” He coughed abruptly, and Eleanor corrected herself. “Master Pemberton.”
“Eleanor, I know your mother fancied Master Pemberton for you at one time, but that all changed when he showed himself to be a milksop. His brother is far better suited to you, and I’m only sorry we didn’t see it earlier.”
“Father, Nathaniel—Master Pemberton—couldn’t have known there was to be a war. He went before—”
“Everyone knew there was to be a war, Eleanor!” her father bellowed. “When the government tried to exert its will on the states, it was only a matter of time. South Carolina did what we all had to do, and Nathaniel had to see the fire coming. It’s probably why he left so quickly.”
“Reconstruction has begun, Father. We must move forward.” Why was she defending Nathaniel? Hadn’t she said the same things to him? But, somehow, hearing someone else speak of her beloved that way was far more difficult than she’d have imagined. She chastised herself for thinking of him as her beloved. Andrew was her beloved. No, Lord, he is my fiancé, and there is such a chasm between the two. Help me think properly of Andrew, Lord. Please.
“I don’t care what their law says—no one’s going to tell me how to run my plantation. We’ll set up black codes as all our neighbors have.”
Eleanor cringed. Black codes were plantation speak for the continuation of slavery. They would make former slaves sign away their rights for the privilege of working, with severe punishments for anyone who dared not complete a contract.
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