Southern Legacy: Completed Version Page 31

  “If you must go now, take Saul also. He is a sure aim,” Wade offered. “I will follow as soon as I can.”

  Cullen watched Wade depart and head straight toward the house. He comprehended Wade’s course of action as well as he understood his own. He turned to Heyward. “Prepare. There is no time to waste.”

  * * * *

  Restless, Josephine rose and strolled over to the window. She had already stuck herself three times with the needle while trying to embroider. Miss Hazel suggested it to keep her mind busy, but it was useless to try to divert her attention. What she needed was to get away from Miss Hazel’s accusing eyes.

  Her mammy had not left her side since she arrived two days ago for more reasons than one. She had not allowed Jo to be alone with Cullen, much less talk with him. Well, I will just ignore her. I refuse to be bullied. And if she says one more word commending Wade’s virtues I will scream!

  Outside, there was a scuttle of activity…activities that put her in a state of nerves. She could not very well overlook the seriousness of her circumstance, not with armed men patrolling the lawn. Oh, she wanted to ignore them all except Cullen, but it was an impossibility!

  Even her conscience aggravated her, gnawing at her soul. Why…why could she not dismiss her papa’s wishes? Had she not tried to fulfill his request? It was not her fault that Andrew had betrayed her. Should that not relieve her of her obligation?

  Her heart ached. Her life had become a hopelessly tangled mess. She wanted Cullen, needed him as much as she needed the air to breathe. But then if she truly loved him how could she ask him risk everything for her…to turn his back upon his family? Irrational in her thoughts, she wanted him to; she wanted to return with him to Philadelphia. She wanted a miracle and time, precious time, was running out.

  Sounds of hard footsteps pounded along the marble corridor disturbed her peace. Turning, she saw her guard, Amos, stand in the doorway, then step aside. Wade stormed into the room and immediately, his eyes fixed on her. Serious and intense, he wore no smile.

  She read his intent and wanted nothing to do with it. Lowering her gaze, she walked slowly back over to the sofa and perched herself in a ladylike poise. Prepared to do battle, she returned his glare.

  “You have something on your mind?”

  “What in the devil is wrong with you?” His eyebrow raised; he pressed, “What else has to happen before you understand the magnitude of your refusal? How many will die?”

  “Die? Surely you jest!”

  “Die!” he cried. “Cullen told me to stand back. Let you decide, but you haven’t made a move. Make no mistake—your hesitation will cost lives. What do you think is happening outside? Everyone we know has been called upon to defend you…to keep you out of the clutches of Harry Lee. It could be so easily solved.”

  “What? Marry you? You forget yourself,” she said curtly. “You asked before, then married another. Then I was forced into an engagement to your brother. I held up my end of the arrangement. I am not the one who didn’t hold to the commitment. I was set up to be humiliated and scorned. I didn’t ask for this! I don’t want this upon me!”

  “No, but it is yours to own,” he knelt down and faced her. “Josephine, don’t look away. You know as well as I what you will do. Delaying will only cost lives. Why is it so hard? I thought at one time you wanted to be my wife.”

  “Do you have to ask? Do you want me to say the words?”

  “No.” His voice softened. He took her shaking hands into his. “You need to realize something has happened.”

  “Happened?” she murmured. She saw something in his eyes. Frightened, she swallowed back her tears. “I want to talk to Cullen.”

  “He is gone.”

  A crashing silence ensued. Suddenly, Jo realized they had been joined in the room. She glanced around. All eyes lay upon her. Miss Hazel. Amos. Clayton Montgomery. Men she didn’t know, uniformed men. Why was everyone in here? Her emotional dam collapsed. She could stand it no longer. She had to get away from their stares.

  She tried to rise, but Wade halted her.

  “It is bad, Jo. Harry Lee kidnaped Heyward and Gillie when they tried to escape Philadelphia and brought them back to Charleston. He released Heyward to send us a message. He wanted you to exchange yourself for Gillie.”

  “I have to go. I have to save Gillie!”

  “You are not going anywhere,” Wade stated firmly. “Cullen and Heyward are attempting to rescue Gillie as we speak. Not only will the law consider Cullen a fugitive if he attempts this as it stands now, he is walking into a trap. I know it. He knows it. Blood will be spilled.”

  “Help him, Wade. Oh, God, help him,” she pleaded.

  “I intend to, Josephine. There is a militia unit waiting.”

  “Waiting?”

  “There is no more time to debate the issue. The will needs to be upheld.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Harry Lee had Gillie held up at the Davis farm, consisting mainly of an old abandoned house. Two miles beyond Goose Creek. A dangerous place to strike for the small group for several reasons. It sat on a small, cleared hill, giving it clear visibility to any uninvited visitors.

  Cullen had been well aware of what the penalty would be for his attempt to free Gillie if caught when he rode off with Heyward and the others. The law would not be on his side.

  Arming slaves and allowing them to attack white man would lead only to one conclusion, unless Cullen considered Gillie property. Then the southern law changed. That, though, would not be a consideration, not given the fight for Wright’s estate, despite the fact that Gillie had been freed. Cullen allowed his conscience to rule his decision, much as he supposed his father had becoming a part of the Underground Railroad.

  As well as he could figure, Heyward reckoned Harry Lee had ten to twelve armed cohorts. The farm itself sat straddle to The Groves, which held the threat of reinforcements. There would be no element of surprise. More or less a suicide mission for the four men.

  Cullen had no doubt of the heart of the men he rode beside. It was their ability to fight which he held misgivings. Heyward was a man possessed by hatred that in itself posed a problem. Cullen needed Heyward to focus on the task.

  At Moure’s Corner, Cullen reined in his mount. It was as far as they would ride. Overhead, the sun bore down on him. Sweat from the tension as much as the heat poured from his being.

  He figured it had to be one or a little after. There would be no cover of darkness or the time to wait for it.

  Iggy tapped his shoulder. Glancing to his right, Cullen saw what had drawn attention. Behind the tree line, a man sat hat down over his face, legs propped up. The lookout had fallen asleep. Thankful for a small stroke of luck, Cullen crept up quietly behind the man.

  It did not take long to subdue the man without calling attention to their actions. Gagging the guard, they left him tied up to a tree.

  The house sat half a mile up the road. He could see it from his view on the edge of the bend. It did little for his confidence. They could go no further without some semblance of a plan.

  Staring at the farm house, it wasn’t large. Three…four rooms at the most with a barn a hundred yards to the right. The house had an unobstructed view.

  Placing his hand up, he couldn’t permit Heyward to react haphazardly. “Just a minute,” he said. “Heyward, you need to understand that our odds aren’t good. We are outnumbered and outgunned. I see only one plan that might work.”

  “Tell me, Mr. Cullen. I’ll do it.”

  A loud excruciating scream resounded a female screech. A wild expression crossed Heyward’s face. He prepared to rush toward the house. Cullen pushed him back.

  “I swear I will tie you up, and you can keep that fellow down the road company,” Cullen threatened. “You will certainly get yourself and Gillie killed if you run in blindly.”

  “I can’t stand here…”

  “You’re not. We are going to get her. Trust me.”

  The big black man’s e
yes watered. Cullen reached over and clasped Heyward’s shoulder. “I will make him pay.”

  Cullen glanced around. Damn, he saw no dust on the road behind him, no riders coming to help in the rescue. Wade hadn’t changed his mind, steadfastly refusing to make a move until he could legally.

  It was too late to consider he had reacted irrationally in this attempt. Cullen motioned for the other men to huddle.

  “I see no other choice but to cause a diversion. We will get only one chance.”

  An hour had passed. Piercing screams ripped through Cullen. He was sickened by the sounds and drunken laughter.

  He checked his guns one last time. Taking a deep breath, he waited for the signal. Where were they? They had enough time to circle around and come in from the back of the house.

  It came. A billowing smoke emerged behind the house. The moment had come. He kneed his mount and rode toward the front porch with his revolver over his head and fired.

  At the sound of the shot, Cullen heard a commotion within the house. Men rushed out, including Buck followed by Harry Lee. All eyes and guns trained on Cullen.

  “Well, well, well, what have we here?” Harry Lee shoveled his way forward. His grin widened. “Where is your cousin?”

  “Just me,” Cullen replied stiffly. “I want you to release Gillie.”

  “And why would I do that?”

  “You want me to recite the law to you,” Cullen taunted. “She is a free woman.”

  “Not according to our law here, Yank,” Harry Lee scoffed. “She’s mine now. Wright’s dead. Grandpa Henry gave her to me being that all that is Josephine’s is ours. If Jo wants her free, she needs to come here herself and tell me. I’ll listen to her.”

  “How stupid do you think we are, Harry Lee? How stupid do you suppose Wright was? After all he did, he would make the mistake of giving Buchanan Jo’s guardianship.”

  “Its you that ain’t that bright,” Harry Lee replied and nodded to two men to his side. “Bring him in. McCoy can explain to him how that last will won’t be upheld…”

  A shot rang out.

  From the back, Heyward and his friends attacked. The plan had been set in motion. Carrying torches and revolvers, Iggy and Woody would move in first while Heyward went for Gillie and Saul covered their escape. If everything held to the plan, in and out swiftly.

  “Fucking nigger!” “Get ‘um.” Another shot and another. “Shoot the nigger, damn it!”

  Cullen watched as the house was torched. Ablaze, panic set in. Shots whizzed by his head. He slid off his roan and fired backed, fired until he had no more bullets. His horse bellowed and stumbled backward, hit numerous times, and fell dead pinning him down.

  Looking up, a gun pointed straight to his head.

  “You want me to finish him off, Harry Lee.”

  Somewhere in the midst of smoke and confusion, he heard Harry Lee growled, “I have something better planned for him.”

  He felt arms pulled him from under his horse and instantly felt something hard hit him from behind into darkness.

  * * * *

  Jo had read Shakespeare’s tragedies. For the life of her, she never comprehended how everything ended in heartbreak. She reasoned that it could have been avoided. If only Hamlet had reacted quickly and decisively; if only Romeo and Juliet had been more patient…if… if only… Today she understood.

  She concluded that everyone has a tragic flaw—a force that drives one’s life. Within their life, a choice, a decision would be made; a life changing decision where there would be no turning back. She had made her decision. She loved Cullen; nothing else mattered except that he lived.

  Standing now in the middle of the drawing room, the Reverend Stanley Ripley recited the wedding vows. She repeated them in a low, firm voice. It all seemed so surreal.

  There would be no reception; no flowers; no friends and family. The couple stood in the middle of witnesses. Some Jo loved; others she hadn’t the foggiest idea who they were.

  Clayton Montgomery sat with an expression of satisfaction. He had expected the outcome. Had he not brought the good reverend with him when he rode out to the plantation the night before? Everything had been set for the wedding; given only the façade that she had a choice.

  “You are now husband and wife.”

  After the pronouncement, Wade leaned over and kissed her cheek.

  She whispered, “Save them.”

  “I will.”

  She caught his hand. “I’m going with you.”

  “Don’t be a fool. It’s not safe…”

  “You got your way, Wade,” she said, maintaining her composure with great effort. “I’m going whether I go with you now or behind you after you depart.”

  A compromise of sorts had been made according to Wade as he dragged her toward the stairs. He would go; she would stay. She cried out; he picked her up like a sack of potatoes and carried her into the bedroom. She hit his back over and over with her fist until he put her down within the bedroom.

  “Wade, don’t do this!”

  He gave her no answer but locked the door upon his exit.

  “Amos, stay in front of this door. Do not move!” His voice carried soundly through the wooden entrance. “I swear it will be your hide if you let her leave this room.”

  Jo tore over to the window. She watched Wade mount up. True to their word, the unit of South Carolina’s finest Calvary Division followed behind him.

  Her vision blurred. A frightened feeling overwhelmed her. Thoughts rambled quickly through her mind. Will I ever see Cullen again…Gillie? I didn’t even get to say goodbye to Cullen! Will Wade get there in time?

  Watching until they faded from view, she collapsed onto the floor and prayed.

  * * * *

  Startled, Cullen woke on the ground drenched in water. Another bucket of water thrown choked him as he swallowed half of it. Pushing upward in a daze, a form emerged in his view. Harry Lee.

  A humorless smile looked down on him; behind the culprit, flames engulfed the house. Smoke billowed around him; panicky voices resonated. From the chaos ensuing and Harry Lee’s expression, Cullen surmised Heyward had been successful.

  “Wake up, you fucking Yankee!” Harry Lee kicked him. “Get up. I want you to know you’re going to die.”

  “What’s wrong? Things not going like you planned,” Cullen sneered. “Let a few Negros get the best of you.”

  Harry Lee kicked him again. “Shut up, you smart ass Yank. You won’t be saying much soon enough!”

  “It’s funny. Ain’t it, Harry Lee. He thinks he saved that bitch,” Buck uttered a wicked laugh. “He wouldn’t think that if he saw what we did to her.”

  “Get him up and let’s be done with it. I don’t want to see any more of them Montgomerys riding in on this mess.”

  “Just do your damn job, McCoy,” Harry Lee barked. “Get him strung up. We’ll leave him dangling to greet ‘em if they make an appearance. If they don’t, let the birds peck his eyes out.”

  Cullen felt hands gripped his shoulders and dragged him to his feet. Looking around, he stared down at Lucas McCoy. He jerked back away from him, only to be restrained from behind by two more of Harry Lee’s men.

  “In a hurry?” Cullen taunted. “Scared yellow-belly!”

  A punch into his stomach doubled over Cullen. He gasped for breath. “Killing me not going do you any good. Grandfather got a court order to uphold Wright’s last will. It’s over. You lost!”

  McCoy stepped in-between Harry Lee and Cullen. “What do you mean?”

  “Exactly what I said. Grandfather got the governor to have a special hearing called. It is done. Whitney is Josephine’s guardian. You Buchanans were cut off,” Cullen expunged his knowledge. “You say this is all legal, but you will have to answer for this. You’re stupider than a wild hog tying your coattail to this crazy bastard.”

  Harry Lee rushed him again. This time Cullen pivoted, taking his guards by surprise. Breaking their hold, he leaped out of the way as Harry Lee
crashed into the bungling idiots. Stumbling back, he felt the heat of the smoldering building; saw his roan lay where it fell.

  Buck pulled out his pistol from his waist and fired straight at him. Cursing, he dove behind his dead horse. He was surrounded and unarmed. He hadn’t a shot out of hell of getting out of this alive. I’ll be damn if I go down without a fight.

  He glanced over the belly of his mount. Harry Lee grunted and straightened himself out to full height. Pushing his brother to the left, he gestured for the others to go right.

  Driven by the instinct to survive, he leaped over the legs of the dead animal and lunged toward Harry Lee. He caught Harry Lee by the arm, spun him around in a choke hold, using him as a shield. Suddenly, behind his head, Cullen heard the distinct click of a cocked gun.

  “Let him go, Smythe.”

  “String him up!” Harry Lee squeezed out the words through Cullen’s chokehold. “Hang the son of a bitch!”

  McCoy sidestepped over in front of Cullen, keeping a steady aim. It was then Cullen saw the makeshift gallows. Hanging from one of the higher limbs of the Virginia Live Oak, a noose dangled in front of him.

  Cullen eyed McCoy with a raging fury. He had to act quickly. With a firm, strong thrust, Cullen slung Harry Lee directly at McCoy and gripped McCoy’s arm. Wrestling for the gun, it fell, loose, on the ground.

  A shot rang out hitting the ground beside the revolver, then another.

  “God Damn it, Buck, don’t shot blindly you’ll hit me.”

  “Ain’t me. They’re here. The militia!”

  With great reluctance but understanding he had no choice, McCoy recoiled back. Harry Lee’s men took off, running for the barn and the horses.

  McCoy shook his head at Cullen. “Not going to make any difference. They’ll let Harry Lee have his quick justice for what you’ve done…”

  Another shot fired at McCoy’s foot. Cullen glanced over to see Wade ease his revolver down. It answered McCoy’s question.

  Not for Harry Lee, he snarled, “This ain’t over, Yank.”

  Stumbling back, Harry Lee reached behind his back and withdrew a Bowie knife from its sheath. Slashing wildly, he surged at Cullen.