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Chapter 12
Arthur paced the floor of his study while he waited for Paulette to enter. He opened the letter in his hand and folded it again with nervous agitation. When his sister finally did arrive, he tossed it into the fireplace, only to rescue it before the flames could do more than singe its edges.
“Good heavens Arthur, whatever is amiss?” Paulette asked as she glided across the floor to stand next to him.
“Two letters were delivered to this house this morning.” Arthur sighed.
“And?” Paulette asked impatiently.
Arthur reached in his pocket and handed a letter addressed to Paulette. It was the letter Stephen posted just before he set sail. Its seal was unbroken.
“’Tis from Stephen!” Paulette squealed as she snatched the letter from her brother’s outstretched hand and held it to her chest.
Closing his eyes, as if by doing so he could change the scene that was about to occur, he held ou
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Arthur returned saddened, defeated, and without his good friend. Finding his search produced no results, Paulette’s devastation caused her to be even more vicious than normal to those subservient to her.Fearing for the safety of her child, Elizabeth begged an audience with the plantation’s forlorn master. She could respect his sadness and need for mourning time, but this was a situation that could not wait. Paulette had already struck her and knocked her down several times in his absence. The last time caused her to fall against the railing of the second floor. She narrowly escaped tumbling down the steep flight of stairs. The old cook practically kept her hidden in the pantry the days following to protect her until the master returned.Being summoned strictly for his personal pleasures, speaking freely was a luxury Elizabeth did not enjoy while in Arthur’s bed. Although he agreed to allow her an audience and the opportunity to tell her story,
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Arthur did not call for Elizabeth’s pleasures after hearing her tale of how she came to be in his household. Instead, he spent the night pondering its validity. Her story was so preposterous that it just might be truth. The fact that she knew so much about Stephen Carlson and his family was remarkable. His mind wrestled with the amount of information she had been able to provide without a moment’s hesitation or slip of the tongue. Could she have discovered this from Paulette? He thought not. It poured forth like truth. Yet, he did not want it to be true. He did not want to believe it. He did not want her to be the wife of his best friend.His night of contemplation brought to light the fact that he had fallen in love with her. He held himself back from his true emotions by the fact that she was a slave, but now...Although crushed to discover that the one woman whose beauty confounded him almost instantly was not available, he was happy and delighted to hav
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