Southern Legacy: Completed Version Page 10

  “Momma says that people spread a scandal far faster than any truth. It is a shame, she says, for this scandal is based only on unfounded rumors.”

  “Charlotte, my innocent dear, it matters not how the whispers began, but how to still them which leads now to Jo’s dilemma. I believe that Lieutenant Smythe will be a good fit.”

  Jo raised her chin ever so slightly. “It is not fair to expect him to pay for something that was not his fault.”

  “The world is assuming more than the truth…far more,” Grace Ann said directly. “It matters little what happened, but that you were alone with him and everyone knows.”

  “I wasn’t alone with Wade. Gillie was always by my side!”

  “My dear Jo, I say this with love, but you have been compromised.” Charlotte tilted her head to the side. She patted Jo’s hand and went on. “It is unavoidable. Andrew would step up, but since Cullen has so adamantly insisted, Andrew feels it will suffice.”

  “Charlotte, I wish I saw the world as you. Andrew would offer for me only in the most dire of circumstances. We both know it,” Jo said, followed by silence for a long moment. Then she shrugged. “I’m not so confident as either of you of my future.”

  “I believe if I had my choice, it would be Andrew. Cullen does so make me nervous with his looks. I swear they could melt ice,” Charlotte offered. “Moreover, Grandfather and Cullen are constantly at each other, especially about succession. They breathe fire and fury. At least that is what Momma says. Cullen said that it will not bode well for the South if they make the move to break from the Union. Momma almost fell off her chair. Blasphemy, she says!”

  Charlotte cocked her head toward Grace Ann, who nodded in agreement.

  “Pity. I thought him the best of the lot.”

  Jo gave the two a dubious look. They talked to her as if she had a choice…as if she was picking out a dress.

  “Do tell, what do we have here?”

  Jo looked up. Harry Lee entered the parlor and smiled, not sweetly, but tight and hard at her. He appeared quite pleased with himself, which in itself worried her. He turned his attention to Charlotte and sent her a brilliant smile.

  “You look quite lovely this morning, Miss Charlotte. Have you come to visit for a while…I hope.”

  Charlotte glanced at Harry Lee, red as a beet. Adoration and tenderness flickered over her face. The girl was sweet on her cousin! Good Lord! How much worse could it be!

  “Um…” Jo’s sharp eyes noted Harry Lee giving Charlotte a gentle touch on her shoulder.

  Harry Lee smirked at Jo. He sauntered over to the tray of cucumber sandwiches and took one. With one in his hand, he pointed over to Jo. “You amaze me, Josephine. Truly you do.”

  “Pray tell…how exactly have I impressed you, Harry Lee?”

  He chuckled and plopped down on a chair across from her. “Ya done gone and got Grandfather all riled up with Abraham Foster’s demanding your dowry upfront before any formal announcement with his son. Then…” He paused, almost choking to contain his laughter. “Then he begins ranting about it only being twenty-two hundred and to make—”

  “There’s no need to continue, Harry Lee,” Jo interrupted. “It’s not funny. Grandpa Henry has already talked to me.”

  “I do declare, Josephine Buchanan Wright, what have you done now?” Grace Ann asked.

  “Nothing…not much,” Jo stuttered. Flustered under Harry Lee’s watchful eye, she squirmed. “Don’t look at me like that. I only took what was mine.”

  “Your dowry?” Harry Lee asked with a cynical smile. “I have to hand it to you, Jo. You have gall. Tell me how you did it…I mean, withdrawing the money.”

  “Why on earth would you do such a thing?” Grace Ann glanced over at Jo, puzzled.

  “I was going to find Papa.” Jo glared at Harry Lee. “But I changed my mind.”

  “So you still have the money,” Harry Lee pressed.

  “I’ve already told Grandpa Henry.”

  “Hope you have all of it if you want to pull off your marriage to Taz Foster,” Harry Lee said. “Abraham Foster pressed for more, you know.”

  “It is not your concern.”

  “Oh, Jo, you do have it, don’t you?” Charlotte cried. “Oh, Heavens to Betsy!”

  “Calm yourself, Charlotte.” Jo glanced over at Charlotte, and then back at Harry Lee. “I have it. I need only to retrieve it.”

  Harry Lee sat back. “It will be a relief to Foster. Sometimes, Cousin, you outsmart yourself.”

  “Oh, do be quiet!” Jo hissed. Her temper was beginning to rise.

  “You do have it, then,” Charlotte said, relief evident in her tone. “You had my heart fluttering so. I would hate for all the news for you to be so bleak.”

  “News?” Jo questioned. “You have news for me?”

  Charlotte glanced nervously over at Harry Lee and pleaded with her eyes. He grinned, but he shook his head.

  Jo felt her heart race. Something was wrong. She turned to the only one who would tell her the truth. She stared at Harry Lee.

  “What is it that you all know that I do not?”

  “Good Lord, Jo. You live in a little world that you create for yourself. You see only what you want,” Harry Lee began. “You wear your heart on your sleeve and take in every stray thing you encounter…your little entourage. Yet, you are not a fragile thing.”

  “I do not need to be lectured, Harry Lee. I know what you think of me. Tell me. Tell me now!”

  “Do not get high and mighty on me, Miss Wright. You have brought this upon yourself …”

  Somewhere down in her soul, she feared what was going to be said, but she feared more not knowing. “What has happened?”

  “Harry Lee, watch your words. Our Jo has a good heart…that is all,” Grace Ann said and her face was suddenly quiet and somber. “It is only because we know how close you are to your Gillie and Miss Hazel…”

  Charlotte reached over and took Jo’s hand into hers. “Oh, dear Jo, I wish you could understand that Grandfather didn’t have a choice. Clarissa was livid when she discovered that Wade’s man, Heyward, was seeing your Gillie…she went wild, crying that Heyward would want to see Gillie and in turn Wade would be forced to see you…She forced Wade to leave Heyward behind on their trip. Then…then Grandfather sold him.”

  Jo went silent and her heart sank. Oh, Heavens Above! Whatever was she going to do? It was going to break Miss Hazel’s heart…and dear, sweet Gillie. She swallowed. “Who was he sold to?”

  Harry Lee answered, “Holt Miller.”

  * * * *

  Beaufort was the first stop on their wedding trip. Wade had chosen it, remembering the feeling of tranquility the place evoked within him after Percival’s death. Once more a wave of nostalgia overcame him. He wondered at times whether the feeling would ever leave him.

  Wade Montgomery looked over at his wife. Clarissa was beautiful this morning, dressed in a pale pink flowered muslin dress with a delightful matching bonnet and new white gloves. Her blue eyes sparkled as they rode around Beaufort in an open carriage. Everyone in the streets paused to watch the lovely pair from Charleston as they rode along the narrow streets…such a handsome pair.

  The happy newlyweds had arrived at Wade’s Uncle William Martin’s a week ago. His mother’s brother gleefully welcomed Wade and his bride. Uncle William’s home was grand and spacious. Situated along the sea coast, the house offered everything for a young couple to enjoy.

  The grounds of the plantation were magnificent. Large oak trees covered in Spanish moss lined a path down to one of the most eye-pleasing beaches Wade had ever seen. He had already found himself enjoying the fishing it offered. The cove, also, lent to privacy, which Wade planned to use to his full advantage.

  The time away from his immediate family and Magnolia Bluff had been a welcome relief. The issues upon him faded the farther away from his home…the farther away from Grandfather, Cullen, and…Josephine. Though, some concerns he couldn’t distance himself from…the cry for w
ar never faded. Dinners had been filled with the ramblings of secession and rants against the cowardly Yankees. But, somehow, here in Beaufort, war seemed a distant threat.

  He snapped the reins and glanced over at Clarissa, who batted her long black lashes at him and smiled ever so prettily. She sat demurely with her hands folded in her lap, like a proper Charleston belle had been born and bred to do.

  This time together had been good for the both of them. He had not pressured her on consummating their union. He discovered she had a real fear of making love. He was certain it came from listening to her aunt telling her to endure the primal needs of her husband. It was her duty. Never would he forget the look on her face when he kissed her lovely ivory neck as his hand cupped her breast over her nightdress. Shocked. Stunned. Mortified.

  He was on a mission and found himself enjoying his seduction of his wife. He was an accomplished lover and needed only to wait until her fear subsided. He was making progress…he was no longer sleeping on the chair. Moreover, her body ceased to stiffen on his touch when they were alone in their room.

  That she cared for him, he had no doubts. He had seen it in her eyes. He had caught her several times watching him as they sat on the veranda with their mint-garnished drinks. The lazy days…time alone, just the two of them. The time approached when she would welcome his presence. Soon…soon he would have her naked body under his, crying out his name.

  Uncle William and Aunt Lydia had been the most gracious hosts, seeing to their every need. Wade found himself greatly enjoying his time with his uncle. Uncle William was a renowned horseman and bragged he had the finest horses south of Virginia. A fact Wade would not dispute, especially his uncle’s eye for the finest horses. Uncle William had just bought an impressive stallion, a big brute…a winner for certain.

  The ride back to the plantation from Beaufort was no more than half an hour. Wade smiled when Clarissa eased close to his side and squeezed his arm. As they rounded the bend, Wade noticed excitement down by the barn. His uncle stood by the wagon and nodded approvingly.

  “God bless him. Wonder what he’s done gone and bought now.”

  “Oh, goodness! I believe your present is here!” whispered Clarissa excitedly. “Your uncle handled my request so quickly. I hope you are pleased.”

  “I’m certain whatever it is, I will be,” Wade answered her enthusiastically, certain it was a racehorse. “You should not have done so, my dear.”

  “But I did. It is my fault Heyward is no longer with you—”

  Immediately, he reined in the horses and brought the carriage to an abrupt halt. Clarissa caught herself falling forward. He gave her no support. Instead, his eyes bore into her.

  “Heyward has only stayed at Magnolia Bluff while we are traveling because Grandfather requested he do so. Make no mistake about it—Heyward will become a member of our household on our return.”

  Color rose in her cheeks; she shook her head. “Wade…Wade…please do not be mad. It…was only…only…”

  “What do you know that I do not?” he demanded.

  She lowered her head and visibly shook. “Surely, you will not be angry…he is only a slave…”

  He gripped her shoulders and forced her to look up at him. “Tell me now.”

  “Your grandfather sold Heyward. Oh, don’t look at me like that, Wade. You could not expect me to accept Heyward, knowing that…that woman would use him to get at you with her disgusting little maid of hers.”

  “You know that Heyward is attached to Gillie?”

  Her lips pressed together tightly, she said nothing. Her silence answered his question.

  Outraged, Wade released his wife and pushed her away from him. The next few hours were a blur. He remembered distinctly walking down to his uncle, who showed him his new man much like Uncle William had shown him his prize racehorse.

  Wade thanked his uncle for his hospitality, but explained he had been called back to Magnolia Bluff. He packed in the midst of Clarissa’s cries.

  “Don’t leave me, Wade. You can’t. We have only just begun our wedding trip.”

  He wrenched her hands from his arm. “My dear, I had been willing to start a life with you…you. I was willing to forget all the harsh things you said and did before our wedding, the scandal you almost created. I thought you manipulated by circumstances.

  “I have been a fool, for it is you who is manipulating me.” He laughed harshly. “You continue on the trip…by yourself, because I go to rectify your actions.”

  “Please, Wade. I love you so.”

  “Love? Truly? If you loved me, you would not recoil at my touch. You would trust me. I am your husband, Clarissa. No matter what you have been told…no matter what has happened in the past…I married you. Know it is you who is destroying whatever we had begun.”

  “Take me with you. I will change. I will…”

  “I can’t deal with you at the moment, Clarissa. You tell people whatever you will. I don’t care.”

  He left her in tears and rode back to Magnolia Bluff…alone, without Clarissa or his new man.

  * * * *

  Jo stood quietly in the open-way of the barn, trying to think. The stable boy, Boyd, hurriedly saddled up her horse, continually glancing back at her. No doubt nervous to do as she bid. She had never ridden this early in the morning…with only Gillie by her side.

  A rain-driven gust swept through the unlatched barn doors. She shivered; from the rain or her nerves, she didn’t know. She had quite made up her mind the best course of action to take and was fully aware of the danger her plan of action presented. Now she had only to find her courage.

  She looked over at Gillie. Gillie gave her an anxious smile, but it was a smile. The first she had seen since Heyward had been sold, a semblance of hope in a desperate situation. Good Lord! The mess she had made of not only her life, but poor, poor Gillie…her heart was broken, for more reason than an affair of the heart gone astray.

  Never had the chains of slavery bore upon her. They did today…she hated it. She hated that slaves were not thought to have hearts. How could men be so cruel to each other?

  She fought back her distress. She needed her concentration on her journey—first to retrieve her money, next to retrieve Heyward. She had lost her innocence of the world around her. She realized that retrieving Heyward would cost more than money…that was her fear.

  In the midst of the rain, she saw figures emerge and walk into the barn. Oh, for Heaven’s sake! It was Harry Lee and Buck.

  “You could have waited until after the weather broke.”

  “Harry Lee, you are not going to stop me—”

  “It is not my intention. Buck and I are going with you.”

  Startled, Jo could not believe her ears or eyes. Harry Lee took his hat off and slung off the water. He looked up at her and smiled. Then he ran his hand through his hair and placed his hat back on top of his head.

  Buck yawned with an annoyed expression plastered on his face, but said nothing. He tucked his loose shirt into his pants.

  “What are you guys doing?” Jo questioned.

  “Helping you, Josephine,” Harry Lee said, and gestured to the stable boy. “Boyd, saddle up our horses as well.”

  “I’m going—”

  “I know exactly what you have planned. You are as easy to read as a child who wants candy. You want to go save that slave of Wade’s for your precious Gillie.” He turned and gave Gillie a sly grin, and then turned back to Jo. “I told Grandpa Henry I figured you have your money somewhere and knew you would try something. Just had to wait until you did.”

  “Don’t try to stop me. I promise you—”

  He laughed. “I will tell you again, Cousin; we are here to help you. Do you think we would let you go to Miller’s by yourself? We are Buchanans.”

  Harry Lee was never one to waste his time. Jo suspected he had an alternative motive, but at the moment, there was something comforting with his presence. She mounted up and rode into the rain.

  * *
* *

  “It is a hell of a thing. I’m surprised the Buchanans haven’t called you out. Harry Lee is a hothead. I can’t imagine how you have avoided a duel to this point. Thinking on it, it is odd.”

  “It will not come to that.” Wade’s response came after a long pause. The conversation had gone awry…again.

  Cullen’s own mood was foul. Frustrated and exasperated, the answers he had sought in Charleston had not materialized. He had returned to Magnolia Bluff last evening, only to discover Wade’s unexpected presence.

  The time in Charleston was not all wasted. His papers had gone through. It was official. He was no longer in the Navy. He needed only to make one visit in Washington to put this Navy career behind him.

  Cullen realized it was time to leave the Navy, but it was not without reservations. He loved the ocean. He could never explain his comfort on the water. Nothing in his transient life seemed very important when he stood on the deck of his ship. The ocean transformed the world around him, made his troubles minuscule in the galaxy of stars above him and the water below.

  He walked along the beach for hours and contemplated his life. He had always considered himself a logical man, but there was nothing logical about what was going on around him. He had written his father, who responded with a request for him to withdraw himself from the situation.

  It is not yours, Son. There seems to have been a web that has been dropped. Don’t get tangled up in the mess.

  He couldn’t deny the words his father wrote held truth. His father had always been the voice of reason, not prone to emotions that seemed to run rampant within his Southern family.

  The offer for Josephine’s hand had been refused. His obligation paid, he was free to return back to Philadelphia to begin a life out of the Navy and follow his father into his business. Why then could he not bring himself to depart?

  Perhaps she was nothing more than a distraction, a need to grasp hold of meaning in his life. He held to the beliefs that were instilled in him in his youth. It was how he lived his life. Had not his strong sense of duty and loyalty led to the offer?