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Chapter 15
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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Love Misunderstood Chapter 16
Paulette lay outstretched on the grass wrapped in euphoria from of the visions that swirled in her head. She heard whispers from others in her social circle about mistresses bedding their stud darky, but she never really considered it a possibility for herself. Now, here she was contemplating that very thing!She shook her head to clear it. What was she thinking? Obviously, the combination of the shock and disappointment of Stephen’s disappearance, the theft of his letter by that wicked devil woman, and traveling in this intense heat in unfamiliar territory took hold of her senses. She pushed at Manley’s chest to create some space between them and rolled her back to him. He did not move. Why was he not moving? She could feel the heat of his breath on the back of her neck. It was sending soft shivers up and down her spine. This just was not fitting. She needed to stop before things went too far. Unfortunately, her body had other ideas and was responding to his near
Love Misunderstood Chapter 17
Stephen stood in the missionary office and watched Padre Rodriguez through the window. The black man, who looked to be the leader of the small band of Indians that stood a short distance behind him, hung his head low as he listened to the padre’s words and responded. The two were obviously deep in conversation.Stephen was pretty confident he knew the topic of discussion. After learning that he was in a mission just north of St. Augustine, he quickly explained himself and his circumstances to Padre Rodriguez and requested aid in returning to his plantation. It was his original intention to purchase a new frigate to make his way up coast, but his poor brother-by-law was not yet ready to brave the water. In a way, he could not blame the young lad. Instead, he requested the assistance of the good padre to help him find a guide and transport over land. It would take longer, but it was a small concession after what his brave companion suffered.At the sight of the pad
Love Misunderstood Chapter 18
Arthur’s search took him near the town of New Inverness with no sign of his runaways. As nightfall closed in around them and they found themselves still miles from town, he gave the order for his weary men to make camp in a clearing just off the main road. The fast flowing stream that was only a few yards away from the spot they selected for their camp provided fresh water for cooking and drinking, as well as a cool bath for those so inclined.Although he kept a steady hand with his slaves, Arthur was not as strict about segregation with his darkies as most of his fellow slave owners. He walked a fine line between their distinct opinion that a darky was born to work hard and would not be able to survive as a free man and his friend Stephen’s viewpoint of them being on the unfortunate side of a difficult lifestyle structure.He attributed his thinking to the many conversations with his father, who owned slaves out of necessity, but did not necessarily suppor
Love Misunderstood Chapter 19
The blistering sun was positioned in the sky high enough to cook an egg on a flat stone if someone so desired, but not high enough to indicate midday. Paulette was grateful for the cool water she stood ankle deep in and would occasionally dampen the cloth around her neck in as well. She hurt from her head to her toes. The pampered existence she led over the nineteen years of her life never once hinted of the trials she was enduring now. She questioned if even her strongest slave would possess the strength and stamina that these barbarians expected of her.Upon the thought of her slaves, she craned her head over the tall grass to see if she could locate Manley. Both edges of the river were filled with bobbing heads as the workers bent down, cut the reed at its root base with a sharp piece of bone, and then stood up to place it in piles to be bundled. They were gathering reeds for basket weaving. Some would be used by the village and others taken to trade for other supplies tha
Love Misunderstood Chapter 20
Elizabeth sat on the edge of her bed and watched the wet nurse bathe her newborn son with a damp cloth. Since her arrival at the Caldwell’s’ plantation, she experienced the treatment due a woman of her stature. It felt wonderful. Although she had always held a kind regard towards the servants of her uncle’s estate, her treatment of them was even kinder now.The workers of the Caldwell’s’ plantation were free and could walk away whenever they desired to do so. This was not the case for the majority of the darkies who resided in colonial America. Some were brought over the waters to become slaves and others were born as slaves, but slaves they were and slaves they would remain.Elizabeth thought about the freedom granted the Indians by King George when he passed a law making it illegal to hold Indians in slavery and wondered if such a law would ever come about for the darkies as well. She remembered the slaves she left behind with that horri
Love Misunderstood Chapter 21
Stephen’s back screeched in agony with every step his gelding took. Their trip proved difficult as he and Herald came to the realization their bodies were not quite healed enough to withstand the grueling trip through the Georgia wilderness.Stephen’s primary land travel was over the countryside nearing Savannah which was rapidly developing and Herald had only read of the wilderness in his school books. Theirs was not a journey for the weak of constitution. Although they were well cared for at the mission, they suffered greatly at the hands of the ocean’s raging waters and their constitution was not yet returned to normalcy. Therefore, a trip that should have taken no more than two to three days was well into its fourth day with at least one more day’s ride ahead of them, possibly more.Their escort turned back two nights before, leaving them to forge their way as best they could. True to his word, the padre provided a detailed map that they put
Love Misunderstood Chagter 22
Paulette lay on the corn husk mat that was covered with an enormous bear skin as she watched Manley move about the hut. They were locked in together for three days with an occasional visit from Adahy or one of the other male leaders of the village. From Elsa’s whisperings through the cracks in the walls, they would remain together until it was certain that she was with child.Their first coupling proved to be a horrendous ordeal. Although accustomed to being used for stud service, never had Manley been asked to plant his seed in a mistress of society. His fear of the repercussions he would encounter from the plantation owners, should he ever break free from the Indian’s captivity, far outweighed his fear of what Adahy and his friends might do to him. He blatantly refused to perform.When the village’s old women examined Paulette the following morning and discovered her virginity was still intact, Adahy went wild with rage. One did
Love Misunderstood Chapter 23
The tracker Stephen hired in the nearby village proved his worth. Within hours Stephen was caught up with Arthur and his posse. Shocked, surprised, and happy that Stephen was not dead, Arthur greeted him with the enthusiasm of a true friend who was relieved to discover he had not lost their friendship.Although it was in the back of his mind, Stephen refrained from mentioning the fact that he knew Arthur intended to marry his wife. He also did not broach the subject of the newborn baby. He had not had time to do the math where the infant was concerned, but since Elizabeth’s waiting maid was relatively certain he had not impregnated her before she ran away, he could only assume that Arthur did the deed immediately upon purchasing her. The dis-appearance of Paulette proved devastating for his friend and he felt the timing for such a discussion not correct. There would be time to sort out these matters once Paulette was found; hopefully unharmed.Arthur sent a
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