Authors: Kitty Margo
Then, he walked out of her life.
Chapter Five
Three Years Later
J
oshua leaned over the rail, gazing into the swirling fluorescent water as it lapped against the hull of the
Windjammer
. It was a lazy, slapping sound and one that had lulled him to sleep many restless nights, especially when his head had been filled with thoughts of
a golden-haired French beauty.
Now the sound was bittersweet. For after today there would be no more salty sea breezes, n
o more moon swept nights listening to
the wind fill the billowing sails, and no more late night walks on deck where he would spent countless hours gazing into the constellations and wondering what if. What if Lynna had carried his child? What if he had wed her? Would he now be settled on his family’s plantation bouncing a baby on each knee? What if? Would he have Lynna in his arms each night instead of only imagining her there? What if he hadn
’t been such a completely selfish
jackass and had wed her years ago?
Enough of rehashing the past. H
e had done enough in the last three years to last a lifetime. He was going home. Home. Where instead of being surrounded by a brilliant, sparkling sea and sailing to exciting destinations, his feet would be firmly and permanently anchored on dry land. Realizing
that
it might be years before he felt the deck rolling with the easy swells again, he had left the job of sailing the ship to his first mate.
Now he stood on deck
,
gazing out across the ocean
that
he loved so dearly and feeling
that
the best years of his life were behind him, a part of his carefree, sorely to be missed, past. But his parents needed him, and that was where he belonged. Joshua blinked severa
l times as his eyes misted
at the thought of his beloved parents, Jeremiah and Patricia.
His
boisterous father, tall, robust
,
and the picture of health
,
had
always
enj
oyed life to the fullest. Ever
the jokester, his love for practical jokes w
as
well known throughout the plantation, especially by his wife, the recipient of the majority of his shenanigans. Joshua
could not
have asked for a happ
ier childhood or better parents.
He
had not learned of the tragedy until last Christmas when he had returned home for the holidays after an extended sea voyage. He remembered galloping up the road toward home
,
filled with excitement at seeing his family after almost a year at sea. But something was amiss at Sea Grove. He had sensed i
t even before entering the silent
house. It was too still. Too quiet. No joyful Christmas hymns filled the house. No freshly cut Christmas g
reenery and mistletoe or
scent of cedar drifting through every room. No sounds of th
e children's gay laughter echoing
from the slave quarters. It was as quiet as if the plantation was in mourning. Mourning! Oh dear God! “Mother!” he had shouted, taking the stairs two at a time. “Mother!”
Flossie, his childhood nanny, had met him halfway down the stai
rs with a worried frown puckering
her forehead
.
Giving him
a heartfelt embrace
, she whispered,
“You
sho’
is a
sight fo’ so’
eyes,
Mist’
Jo
shua. We is mighty glad to have you
home.
Yessuh,
mighty gl
ad to have you
back
home
wit’ us
.
”
“What has happened, Flossie?”
“Go on up to
yo’
Pa's room,
Mist’
Joshua,” she whispered, wiping at a torrent of tears. “You
jes’
go on up and see
yo’
Pa.”
A cold sweat had covered his body as he slowly climbed the curving staircase and nervousl
y opened the door to his parent
s
’
room. Even though he had tried to prepare for anything he might find at the top of that long flight of stairs, he had come up short. The sight of his father's stump of a body lying on his bed, deathly pale with his eyes open, but s
eeing nothing, had sent a shock
wave through his body that left him stunned and chilled to the marrow of his bone
s
.
Joshua recalled how his father's laughing eyes would twinkle with mischief when he chased his daughter around the yard with a harmless green snake, or when he was slipping a June bug down his wife’s bodice. He remembered as a youngster when his father would hitch him over his broad shoulders and carry him through the fields
,
explaining the intricacies of growing cotton.
In the past, h
is father had loved to dance at the numerous balls held at Sea Grove, with every family in the county attending. Now he
didn’t
even have legs. There would be no more dancing at Sea Grove. Whether his father was joking with friends, or grabbing
his mother in a hug that
lift
ed
her clear off the ground, Jeremiah always had laughter in his eyes. Now those eyes were dull and lifeless, staring blankly at the ceiling.
His mother had risen from her seat beside the bed, a woman whose appearance had aged several years since he had last seen her. Dark circles lay under her eyes and her shiny brown hair, that had been the envy of many, had almost turned the color of snow. But what disturbed Joshua most was her dramatic weight loss. She was almost skeletal.
“Oh, my darling, I am so glad
you are
home!” she had cried. “Please tell me
you are
home to stay until your father...” She stopped abruptly, and then quietly ushered him into her adjacent room
,
where she proceeded to fill him in on the gory details of the accident.
Joshua cringed as his mother related the story of how Jeremiah and several of the slaves had been cutting the winter
’
s supply of firewood. Having spent the greater part of his youth clearing fields with his father, Jeremiah was an expert at felling trees and knew to stay well clear of their path.
However, w
ith no thought for his own safety, he had rushed into the path of a giant falling oak after spotting a little girl standing paralyzed with fear pre
cisely where the tree would land
. Jeremiah had moved
with a speed that had surprised
even him, but
still
not fast enough.
He had just time to shove the frightened child to safety b
efore a blinding pain struck
as the massive oak splintered around him. One of the limbs, twelve inches in diameter, had knocked him to the ground, landing on his legs and crushing every bone from his knees down. As blessed darkness had washed over him
,
Jeremiah was sure he was going to meet his Maker. Instead he had awakened a fortnight later, with both legs amputated from the kn
ees down, and wishing
that he had.
He did have an occasional good day. When Jeremiah was
awake and lucid, he talked end
lessly of
the little girl and worried about her safety. At night he would wake everyone in the house as he shouted
to
the child
,
“Run!
Get out of the way!” The bewildering
part was that no one else had seen the little girl, only Jeremiah.
No matter how many threats were issued, the slaves adamantly refused to enter the patch of woods where the a
ccident had occurred. Slaves, being a superstitious lot,
swore that the angry spirit of the little girl haunted the woods. They fully believed that not only had the spirit caused Jeremiah’s accident, but that she was still roaming the woods looking for her next unsuspecting victim.
The
sight of his mother that night would be etched in Joshua's mind forever. The dark circles around her eyes contrasted with her too white skin. It was painfully obvious that she rarely saw the sun anymore, as her days and nights were spent in the darkened room
,
sitting quietly beside her beloved husband, praying for a miracle.
Jerem
iah was a proud man and Joshua knew his
mother worried
that
his father
would no longer have the desire or will to live. A small glimmer of hope had shone in her lifeless green eyes when her son walked into the room. A hope that the resp
onsibilities of running a
cotton plantation the size of Sea Grove, with
over
1200 slaves, could be lifted from her weary shoulders, and she could devote her time and energy to making her husband somehow see that life was worth living again. She hadn’t found it necessary to ask for Joshua’s help. He was there when she needed him most.
It had been impossible for Joshua not to return to sea after the Christmas holiday, having several binding commitments that had to be fulfilled. However, he had not departed until he had employed Jake Almond, a man he trusted implicitly, to oversee the plantation until he could return in the spring.
“Land ho!”
The first mate shouted from the crow's nest
,
bringing Joshua back to the present.
He looked out across the graceful, rolling swells to see the barely visible landmarks of Charleston in the early morning fog. He could just make out Saint Michael's steeple towering majestically over the waking city. They would be docking in a few hours
,
and after battening down his ship for a much-needed rest, he would
bid farewell
to
the
Windjammer
,
and
go
home
.
After thanking each man personally for his years of loyalty and faithful service, Joshua strode below deck to his cabin to pack. Memories flooded him as his eyes fell on souvenir pieces from various countries. Finely detailed jade and bone figures stood alongside miniature sculptures of ivory and glass boasting exquisite craftsmanship from China. Ornate gilt figurines and intricately designed pottery reminded him of his many trips to India. Precision and clarity were evident in the hand-cut crystal purchased in England. It was a priceless collection, one he had spent years assembling.
He gently lifted the teakwood box, which contained his most treasured possession
,
Lynna's locket. The locket contained a likeness of her mother that had been lost under his bed during the
ir
one and only night of passion. Looking at it was akin to looking at Lynna herself, since both women possessed the same unique beauty. Joshua held the tiny locket close to his heart, remembering the tiny wisp of a girl who had stolen his heart some three years earlier and still remained in firm possession of it.
No one since, and there had been many in his effort to banish her from his mind forever, had come close to loosing the passion the little lady had stirred in him. He returned the locket carefully to its box and stored it with the other treasures in his sea trunk. Now these pieces would serve as his only link with his past. Forcing his mind to concentrate on the business at hand
,
he quickly completed his packing and left the ship.
Nothing had changed. The Battery was still a noisy beehive of activity, with ships loading and unloading their cargo, peddlers hawking their wares, and drunken sailors returning to their ships after a night on the town. To Joshua's well-traveled eyes
,
Charleston was still the most beautiful city on earth. He had found nothing in his
journeys to rival the
stately mansions, picture
sque homes and colorful gardens.
Charleston's b
eauty and grace was unequaled
.
Joshua steered his horse along the cool shade of Church Street. The towering oaks and magnolias stood alongside stately palmetto trees, their leaves swaying softly in the gentl
e
breeze that blew inland over the Cooper River. Tiny sparks of sunlight filtered through the trees
,
dancing a mottled pattern around him as the rustling leaves blocked the sun
’
s rays for a short time before shooting through in a burst of gold when the leaves again parted. Passing by the house at 59 Church Street, he smiled to himself
,
remembering how his father would frighten him with tales of the haunted house, where a husband had killed his beautiful
wife in a fit of jealous rage.
Laughing out loud, he suddenly realized
he had unconsciously nudged his horse forward, as he had done so many times in his youth. He turned onto Queen Street, known for its excellent cabinetmakers
’
shops, most notably, Thomas Elfe, whose miniature house and workshop brought many curious onlookers to view his work. Joshua picked up the pace
,
eager to reach his destination.
The loud clip clop of horse’s hooves could be heard as he steered the steed down cobblestoned Chalmers Street. The cobblestones had been brought to Charleston as ballasts on English ships and then unloaded and replaced with cargos of indigo, rice or cotton. A wide grin split his rugged features as he thought back over the many memorable evenings spent in this area, in what the more religious sect called the houses of ill repute
,
or Mulatto Alley. He passed by the Pirate's House, a tavern heavily frequented by pirates and other disr
eputable characters. These men
would down their grog before taking the girl of their choice upstairs to help the
m forget the long, lonely night
s to come onboard a ship without
the benefit of
female companionship.
Joshua had no desire to mingle with that motley group of cutthroats, nor pay for the services of the disease
-
ridden unfortunate young women who called the
t
avern home. There was only one person on this street he claimed an association with. Urging his horse to a gallop
,
his green eyes twinkled and his lips curved into a smile of anticipation as he halted in front of one of Charleston's most imposing mansions. With its four
-
columned porticos, elaborate wrought
-
iron balconies and balustrades, it more resembled the home of a wealthy planter than the cherished residence of one of the town’s most famous madams.
An exquisite little maid of undetermined origin opened the door to Joshua's persistent knock, beaming brightly upon first sight of the extraordinarily handsome man before her.
“Good morning.” Joshua stunned her with his most devastating smile, leaving her to stammer a greeting as her eyes remained fixed on his arresting face. Being quite accustomed to this flatte
ring appraisal from the fairer
sex, Joshua leaned ca
su
ally against the doorjamb and eyed the shapely morsel in turn, for the moment completely forgetting the reason for his visit. After covering every square inch of her delightful frame
,
he opened his mouth to ask her name, but was stopped short when he heard his own name shouted from the top of the wide, curving staircase.
“Why Joshua, darling, you have come home at last!”
In short order, t
he voluptuous Resa
,
slightly breathless from her hurried flight down the stairs
,
gently but firmly
nudged the tiny maid asi
de and smiled at her thunderstruck expression
.
“Lorraine, will you send refreshments to my parlor for our guest, please?” Resa instructed, as if anxious to have the delec
table man before her all to her
self.
Hearing her name spoken brought Lorraine out of her trance and she quickly scurried in
to the kitchen to do the madam’s
bidding, shamefaced.
“Perhaps I should forbid you entrance.” Resa teased
Joshua as her arms slid
around his neck. “If you
have the same effect on all
my employees as you had on dear
,
sweet Lorraine, I fear my establishment might fall into decline.”
“Should your establishment fail,” he drawled roguishly, eyeing her bosom
,
which threaten
ed to break loose from the confines of her enticingly
low cut dress at any second, “I would do my utmost toward helping to keep your ladies….ah….gainfully employed.”
“You wretched oaf!” She squealed and then seductively pressed her full alluring cur
ves against his hard, lean body
. “I will take immense pleasure in
scratching out those mesmerizing
eyes should I catch you enjoying the delights of any of the girls in this establishment.”
“Does that include you, my sweet?”
Resa's heart skipped a full beat as his overpowering nearness made her kn
ees go weak. “No, it does not, Joshua. For, in case you haven’t noticed, I am a woman and no longer a girl.
”
Sweeping her
into his arms, he carried her giggling up the stairs
,
past the envious stares of many. “
Then
I should think you wou
ld have better things to do besides
threaten
ing
innocent men.”
“Innocent! Hah! Not since you were but a lad and carried me up a similar flight of stairs.”
Joshua kicked open the third door to the right and crossed through the sitting room, his mind filled with
the
intoxicating memory of the night he was introduced to the erotic ecstasy to be found in a woman's embrace. “Perhaps I
will be a more artful lover than
I was that night.” His lips were demandin
g as he laid her on the bed, while
her eyes greedily devoured every inch of him.
“If you will recall, my darling, I had no complaints that night
,
either.”
“True.” His teeth gently raked across her neck as his practiced fingers moved to the fastenings on her dress.
Resa smiled contentedly. “My occupation sees me undressed by a good number of experienced men, Joshua. But none execute the task with the swiftness that you possess.”
Joshua gazed down at her flushed, naked body eagerly awaiti
ng the mutual satisfaction
they found in each other’s arms. They were lovers, and more important, best friends. Resa Harrington had not
come to Joshua an ingénue, having
already put years of hardship and prostitution behind her when they had chanced to meet. Now, men came and went regularly in her life, but only one could hold claim to a piece of her tattered heart. She could only pray that Joshua would someday acknowledge the presence of her love and return it.
Much later, Joshua watched as Resa slept contentedly in his arms. He recalled the night he and some friends had rode into town, paid what seemed like a small fortune at the time, and were led upstairs to wait in separate rooms. Their young bodies were rigid with desire, fear, or a
n exciting combination of both. W
hen Resa had entered the room with her curvaceous figure clad in a revealing
wisp of lavender silk, J
oshua had no longer felt fear, only an irrepressible urge to experiment. To discover first hand what it was that only a man and woman could share. And what a discovery it had been! The reality had far surpassed his youthful illusions and over the years he had made it a point to pay a visit to Resa shortly after each homecoming.
Hearing her steady, even breathing
,
Joshua slipped from her bed
,
eager to be on his way before she awakened and pleaded with him to stay the night. She was hard to refuse and had ways of making him forget his purpose. Pulling on his trousers
,
he removed several coins from his pocket and deposited them on the table beside her bed. He did it to nettle her, knowing full well she had no need of his money.
Charleston's most famous madam was wealthy in her own right. Having saved for years
,
she finally had enough money, with a little financial assistance from Joshua, to purchase the lucrative establishment where she had prostituted for years.
Resa was well aware that the majori
ty of Charleston's fine citizens
peered down their aristocratic noses at her. But the bulk of Charleston's fine citizenry had never gone for days on end without a bite of food or a soft surface on which to lay their weary heads. She had been determined never to lose the ability to afford herself the basic necessities again.
Joshua knew she would be offended and shout with indignation when she saw the coins, but it would give her something to argue about when he next visited her, and he did so enjoy the process of making up with her.
As he rode through town, a nagging thought struck him as he passed by a milliner
’
s shop and caught sight of a very immodest, viv
id
red satin ball gown on display in the window. He envisioned a slim body draped in that gown, or one very similar to it, but could conjure neither a name, nor face, to go with the body. He dismissed it as trivial. If the lady in question had appealed to him in the slightest, she would not have been so easily dismissed from mind.
Once out of the city
he spurred his horse to a full
gallop
,
eager to be home. Perhaps having his feet planted firmly on the
solid
ground
would not be so bad
. Not if Resa's greeting today was any indicati
on of things to come. He shouldn’
t find it too difficult to invent an excuse for an occasional trip into town.