“Good morning, Father.”
Master Senton walked toward the French doors with purpose, hands clasped tightly behind his back. “My sister and my niece tell me they are leaving before the wedding. When I ask them what such nonsense is about, they tell me I must speak to you. Do you have something you wish to speak to me about, Eleanor? Why are our relations leaving?”
Eleanor looked to Hattie and sucked in a deep breath. “Father, I don’t wish to be married to Andrew, and Mary knows it.”
Her father rubbed his gray beard and pursed his lips. “Is there a reason for such a decision the day before the wedding?”
“I didn’t know you were going to move the wedding date up, and when you did, I realized how much I do not want to spend the rest of my days married to Master Andrew.” Eleanor breathed deeply, trying to keep the emotion at bay. One crack in her consternation and her father would turn away from her hysterics.
“What would you wish to do with your days? Would you like to begin college? Or maybe you’d like to take over as the new overseer on Rosamond? Tell me, Eleanor—what is it you wish for?”
Eleanor cringed at her father’s sarcasm. She did wish for an education and also the chance to see to the workers’ needs to ensure a future under the Federal, republican government. But she was a woman, and, as such, she would ask for what was possible.
“I wish to marry Nathaniel.” Eleanor tilted her chin high toward the delicately inlaid ceiling. “I wish to marry him and see him run Rosamond.”
Her father burst into laughter. “Would you like to sleep on a star, my dear Ellie? Perhaps I can arrange for your mattress to be taken by sky train.” But his laughter ceased upon her tears.
“I love Nathaniel, Father.” Eleanor wiped her eyes with a handkerchief, angry with herself for her tears. The monogrammed letter “P” on the cloth sent a flurry of courage to her sickened heart. “Nothing will ever change that. Do you wish for me to marry the brother of the man I truly love? I tell you I cannot do it. I won’t do it.”
“I wish to do what’s best for you, my dear. Young women are put under their father’s care for a reason. Men are much more logical and more scholarly on such matters, while women tend to be of a softer nature, as God intended. Your mother’s father ensured that I was a proper selection many years ago, and I shall do the same for you.” Her father came close to her and patted her cheek. “I know it feels bleak, but you have had all the finest possessions in life. You have lived on Rosamond your entire life. Nathaniel became a different person when he lived as a nomad. Your troubles together would be endless. With Andrew, your life will change very little.”
“Is that how one decides upon a spouse? By who will effect the least change in one’s life? Hasn’t the war changed me as well, Father?”
“I want you to apologize to your aunt and cousin. Mary is very distraught, and you shall never forgive yourself if she is not there to stand by you at your wedding.”
“Mary will not come to my wedding, Father. Of that I am certain, and there will not be a wedding. You cannot force me to accept my vows. The words will not come, Father. I know they won’t.”
“You will do what you must to make sure Mary is there, standing beside the bride. A wedding on Rosamond without my sister and her daughter, our only living relations, would cause scandal and ruin. Now run along and apologize.”
Eleanor took one final stand. “I love Nathaniel, Father. Andrew does not want me. He wants Rosamond.”
“And who better to have it than a man who succeeded in the midst of a battle? While gunboats and cannons raged, Woodacre stood and prospered. The same shall be said for Rosamond. Together they shall be invincible.”
Eleanor opened her mouth to speak but snapped it shut at her father’s silent reprimand. Her arguments would only trouble her escape. Turning toward the door, she left her father with one last memory. “I love you, Father.”
Eleanor prayed for the words to speak to her cousin. Making her way down the hallway, she stopped at a miniature of the grand portrait on the landing of her mother. There was a light in her mother’s eyes that seemed to shine even in death. A knowledge and well of strength that went beyond the physical. It was as though her mother’s image calmed, humbled, and prepared her to meet Mary again.
Mary loved Andrew. How was her cousin any different from Eleanor? It wasn’t wise to love Nathaniel, and yet every bone in Eleanor’s body yearned to go to him and leave her comforts behind. Did Mary feel the same for Andrew?
Eleanor tapped gently on her cousin’s door and listened to the excited chatter that followed. The door crept open, and Mary stood in the tiny crevice between the doorjamb and the door. “I have nothing to say to you.”
Eleanor stopped the door with her hand. “Mary, wait! I’m sorry. Please hear me out.”
“What is it?”
“I apologize for my harsh words and bitter accusations against Andrew. I had no right.”
“He loves you, Ellie. How can you be so cruel to a man who gave up everything to fight for you?”
“I am a selfish creature, Mary. It is not right that I marry Andrew, not when I don’t love him as you do.”
“You think I love him?” Mary tried to laugh.
“Don’t you?”
Mary’s cheeks blushed, and she paused before answering, “Yes, I believe I do. As sinful as I know it to be when he is betrothed to my very own cousin. And it is not the way I loved Morgan,” she added quickly. “It is different somehow. I feel a kinship with Andrew because of all we’ve lost. You and Nathaniel have prospered over your misery, but Andrew and I have suffered greatly. It is not merely his arm that’s wounded, but his heart most of all. Can’t you appreciate that, Ellie?”
“I do appreciate Andrew, as I appreciate all Confederates, who so gallantly fought for the South and our way of life. I am not a Yankee, as you suppose—only a woman who sees both sides. I suppose that is strange for a woman of my little education.”
“It is not strange—only proof that you did not suffer during the war. Your great love has come back to you because he fled. How I wish Morgan had done the same. But since he did not, I cannot help but feel Andrew’s pain.”
“You know I cannot marry him, Mary. It will be a life of misery for both of us.”
“I do not see as you have any choice, and I do hope you’ll learn to appreciate his sadness and take pity on him.”
Eleanor pushed her way into Mary’s room and motioned for the servants to leave. “Do you really hate the slaves, Mary? Do you blame them for Morgan’s death?”
“Why shouldn’t I?”
“Because they were pawns in the Federals’ game, and we cannot spend our remaining days punishing them for it. It is not Christian.”
“Why do you care what I think about the slaves?”
“Because when you marry Andrew, I want your promise you will not support him in the codes.”
“Marry Andrew? Ellie, I think your fall from that horse did far more damage than we first suspected.”
A pounding on the door interrupted them. “Miss Eleanor, Miss Mary, come here at once.”
The two women looked at one another and hurried to the door. Mrs. Patterson’s red cheeks popped in and out in the old woman’s fatigue.
“What is it?” Eleanor asked.
“There’s been an accident on the road. A young woman was thrown from her open carriage. She is not complaining, they say, but she is in and out of consciousness. Miss Mary, I’m going to move your things to Miss Ellie’s rooms, and you girls shall share while this poor miss recovers. Your father has sent for the doctor.” Mary looked at Ellie, then at Mrs. Patterson. “Is there a reason she cannot stay downstairs for her infirmary? Why must she be brought up to the family quarters on the eve of a family wedding?”
“They say she is quite the beauty, Miss Mary. We are trying to protect her from male callers. She has an audience around her now, and I’m quite sure she will appreciate the privacy while she recovers. She appea
rs quite distraught over the attentions.”
“Well, how long will it be?” Mary asked.
“I cannot say, Miss Mary. They are being very careful in moving her. She may have broken her back.”
“What about the wedding?”
“Why, it will go on as planned, Miss Mary. We shall just have to rearrange plans for our guests. Miss Ellie, I’d appreciate it if you’d help Miss Mary with her things. Hattie and I are preparing bedding for our patient.”
“Of course, Mrs. Patterson.” Eleanor bit her lip. How on earth will I escape my quarters with Mary sleeping beside me? Only one day remains until my fate is sealed. Will a wounded stranger stand in the way of my future?
Chapter 17
Sarah Jenkins grimaced in pain as her strong cousin lifted her up the stairs. She said nothing, but her expression said it all for her. Her blond hair, which extended to her ankles, fell loose and hit each stair as the two young people climbed up. Silence draped the foyer with shared melancholy.
“Doctor Hayes is coming up the drive now!” Mrs. Patterson exclaimed. “Miss Eleanor, you go meet him, and I’ll see to the young lady’s needs.”
Eleanor ran across the summer porch, taking the steps two at a time, and met Doctor Hayes, taking his horse’s reins. “She’s upstairs. Mrs. Patterson will help you.”
Doctor Hayes only nodded, then sprinted toward the house while Eleanor tied his horse to a low-hanging magnolia branch. She watched as the inhabitants of the entryway huddled around the doctor. Innocently, she took one step backward and then another, until she turned and broke into a hastened run. A run that led her to the stables and the freedom Tiche could provide her while everyone was busy. Eleanor’s crimson merino hardly warranted riding clothes, but she placed a sidesaddle on her mare, coughing at the dust from the huge animal, and shimmied out of her hoop. She left it lying scandalously on the basin of Tiche’s stall.
She mounted her horse and stole away quietly from the house for one last, leisurely ride along the magnolias before her possible elopement. Workers stared at her, but she avoided eye contact, not wanting to give herself away. A pleasant morning ride, her smile told them, while her deep red gown belied another occasion: one more in tune with a morning breakfast on the veranda as a bride-to-be. The invalid had served a special purpose for Eleanor. It allowed her to avoid living the lie of preparing for a wedding, which she had no intention of seeing through to its conclusion.
Galloping to the end of Rosamond’s long drive, Eleanor saw the crowd still lingering about the overturned black carriage. Its wheels spun in the air, and the sight reminded her how badly hurt the young woman must be. She involuntarily shivered thinking about the poor woman. Not far from the sight, a pink silk ribbon fluttered in the wind. Its length could only mean it must have been used as a garter. Eleanor jumped from her horse, placing the ribbon in the small pocket within the folds of her dress. She would return it to the young woman quietly.
Eleanor’s movement caused the mingling men to turn around and stare at her. She nodded in acknowledgement, stepped on a tree stump, and mounted her horse once again. Making her way toward the path along the river, her arm began to ache, and she stopped to rest under a large oak tree at the top of the levee.
She rubbed the still-purple limb until the gallop of a single horse disturbed her quiet. Eleanor turned to see Andrew riding his buckskin mare, and her heart beat rapidly. She hoped he wouldn’t question her. Hadn’t Hattie said she was the worst liar in Mississippi? He wore his uniform as usual and a slight, cockeyed smile. Mary’s recriminations haunted Eleanor, and she forced herself to take pity on Andrew.
“Good morning, Andrew.”
“Good morning, Eleanor. Out for a morning jaunt?”
“Yes. And you?”
“I came to inspect the overturned carriage and what might be done to right it. Why aren’t you at the house with the invalid as everyone else is?”
“There was so much confusion, and I feared I wouldn’t get another chance to ride Tiche—before my wedding of course.”
“Of course. How sad you will be to leave your childhood home, but how remarkable that you should live but a stone’s throw from the great house.”
Eleanor picked at the grass, looking wistfully at her childhood home. “Do you really think the plantations should be combined, Andrew?”
“They shall be after tomorrow, regardless of my thoughts.” His crooked smile broadened.
“I don’t think they should be. Paperwork could be drawn up to prevent it. I think the Federals may seize the properties and break them apart, leaving them smaller than they are now.”
“You’ve been listening to too much gossip if you think that could happen.”
“The taxes will go up, possibly to the point we cannot pay them. That’s what happened to the Landers place. I read—”
“Eleanor, why would you worry your head over such things? Those are a man’s worries.”
“I am just the supplier of the inheritance, is that it?” Eleanor shielded her eyes from the sun.
Andrew raised his arm, and Eleanor flinched as though he might strike her. Upon sensing her fear, he grazed her cheek roughly with his hand. “Of course not, my darling.”
Feeling as though he might press one of those painful kisses to her lips, she backed away.
She put her hands on her hips. “The black codes will ruin Rosamond. Our people will flee. They have been treated far too well to go to such inhumanity now.”
“Was it humane for that slave to try to murder me in broad daylight? They are savages, Eleanor. They don’t duel or fight as a proper man. They attack in the night like stray soldiers without enough to eat. The codes will ensure our safety.”
“I won’t let Rosamond go to the black codes, Andrew.” Eleanor steeled herself against the tree. “I’d die before I let that happen. My mother fought her entire life to ensure our plantation treated its slaves with dignity.”
“Your mother was a fool, and she died for her ignorance.” Andrew’s eyes widened. “Eleanor, I’m sorry. I was repeating Nathaniel’s words. I should have known better.”
Eleanor looked directly at Andrew. It was the first time she’d really looked into his coal black eyes and tried to find what Mary pitied about him. She couldn’t see it. His eyes were dark, not just in color, but in emotion. They were as lifeless as the men in makeshift graves along the roadway.
“Nathaniel loved my mother, Andrew. He would never speak ill of her. Your own mother—well, never mind. It is wicked to say anything against the dead.”
Mrs. Pemberton, their mother, was a callous woman who crouched over Andrew at every sniffle but denied Nathaniel’s basic needs. Had it not been for favoritism by his father, Nathaniel might not have grown to a man at all. To hear her own mother spoken of as insane was blasphemy in light of his own mother’s sins.
“Perhaps it’s best we not discuss this now. On the eve of our wedding, we should be speaking of much happier things, such as the wedding trip I’ve planned. Would you like to hear of it?”
“No. Surprise me.” Eleanor turned away from his empty eyes, torn between saving the slaves of Rosamond and saving herself from a life of misery. She hated that she was such a selfish creature and wouldn’t give a moment’s hesitation to the choice.
“Eleanor, I know we’ve had our differences, but it’s time they came to an end. I shall run the plantations as I see fit. As for you, you may buy your furniture and turn Woodacre back into the showplace it once was. You may hire as many servants as you like and throw as many balls as our fair house can stand, but you really must leave the business to me.”
“Andrew, I am asking you one final time to reconsider our marriage. What if you were to marry another and continue to build up Woodacre as you hope to? Two plantations will only be a headache to you.”
“Your father will have no part in such a plan. Eleanor, you are just nervous. I know it has been difficult for you having my brother return before our wedding. I know that you
fancy you once loved him, but I can assure you his appearance means nothing. I am offering you the future that any Southern woman would cherish. Do not miss the opportunity over a foolish dream.”
“I only meant—”
“Enough. Eleanor, you will be at the wedding tomorrow as scheduled, or my brother will pay with his life.”
He looked directly at her with his cold, empty eyes, and she had no doubt he would follow through on such threats if they gave him the opportunity. But they wouldn’t. She and Nathaniel would run into the dark night before Andrew ever got the chance.
Eleanor shook her head. “Is that a threat, Andrew? Do you threaten me?”
“Do not misunderstand me. I mean you no harm. But I have worked long and hard to make a success of Woodacre, and I shall do the same for your family plantation. But I will not stand for this infatuation with my brother. It must come to an end. And it shall, one way or another.”
“Andrew, you don’t mean such vicious words. Take them back.”
“Neither my father nor you has ever understood Nathaniel for who he really is. Now he comes back six years later, a walking ghost spouting his preacher babble so my father will forgive him. It’s really inconceivable how he’s found a way to break through my father’s shell and be written into the will again. I do pray you’re not falling for his excuses, Ellie. He wants Woodacre, and if he had his way, he’d have you, too, so that he might combine them as I plan to. Thank heavens, your father sees though him. Everything Nathaniel touches turns to poison. The ground will wither and die under his care.”
“No, he doesn’t want the plantations. He’s leaving it all behind, Andrew. He told me so. He will preach.” With me at his side, she added silently.
“He will not leave Woodacre, Eleanor. He will play on my father’s sympathies and remain with us forever. He will live in our house and eat of our table until we put an end to it. But, as I said, it’s not your worry. You’d best get back to the house and see to your invalid.” He mounted his golden mare and clicked his tongue.
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