Bittersweet Endeavors (27 page)

“Well, my dear, as I explain
ed
, there are two ways we can deal with this.” 

“You
’ll
never
have
me, Mister Frederickson.”
 
His laughter stopped cold
by her
declaration
, and a look of anger reddened his face when she glared at him. 

“Then so be it
,” he said coldly.  “You apparently want to make this more difficult than needed. 
However, I
’ll
tell you
forthwith
, I aim to have you,
Myra,
and have you I shall.”
 
He took a threatening ste
p toward her and she
cried
out.  She
darted behind a granite statue for protection
, and decidedly aimed to pitch it forward at him if deemed
necessary
. 

“Do not
fret
,
my
dearest
, I
’
d
not take you here
whilst
in the Preston home. 
Despite my rakish ways,
I do have
some
limits to my
in
discretion
s
.”
 
His body relaxed
.  His
arms rested at his sides and he
opened
the door. 
“I
shall
be back
on the morrow
.”
  With a thoughtful expression, he smiled.  “We could do well together,
Myra
, and I think if you give
in to the opportunity
, you may even find
some
affection for me
.  We can share much merriment with one another
.”

She
remained
behind the statue and didn
’
t emerge until several minutes after she heard the door close. 
She dropped to her knees and
wept.
H
opelessness swallowed her into a whirlwind of
dread
. 
She f
ear
ed
that
S
eth
may be
lost
forever
,
as well as the
fear of
completely
losing herself.

*                    *                    *

“We must
pray he’
s still alive, Myra.
”  Lucia held her han
ds tight
.

“I’m carrying Seth’s child, Lucia,” she said quietly. 
Myra
put a hand
on
her
belly and caressed it gently.  “How
shall
I
ever survive without him, Lucia?
”
  H
er head
cradled
with
in
her
hands a
nd
she wept
.
 
Lucia
placed her head onto
Myra
’s lap
and they
cried
together
.
 
“
Do you
think it
true, Lucia?
  Could Zachary have
only
said that
so I’d
go with him
?
”
She grasped
at
an
y
excuse
which
help
ed
her believe
that
Seth still live
d
.

“
Aye, he
tells
the truth
,” she said quietly.  “I
over
heard the Prestons
’
speaking about it a while back ago, when they’d not received a mi
ssive from Seth
announcing
he
had
arrived safely.
  I
want
ed
you spared of the news
until they
confirmed it true
.
”

“You believe him dead, don’t you, Lucia?”

Lucia t
ook both her hands into her own.  H
er face
was
full of sorrow.  “Aye, I do,” she said.  “I want to believe he
is still out there
and
in fine condition, truly, but tis been five months past
and
not a word
saying he
has
arrived
safe
ly
.
 
And now that the Prestons’
have
received two missives in confirmation of his disappearance, it appears the worst mayhap has happened. 
He
wouldn’t
let his
parents
, or you,
worry needlessly if he w
as
alive.
”

Myra nodded her head.  “Tis true,
he wouldn’t
hurt
them
.”

“What
shall
you do
now
?”

“I don’t know, Lucia.” 
A long, breathy sigh sounded.  Drops of large tears met the corners of her eyes. 
Again, she’
d
lost someone that she love
d
.  She closed her eyes and said a quick prayer,
and
request
ed
that her parents care
for
Seth
if he’d
made his way into the Heavens
.

Voices resounded off the walls of the kitchen
and startled them both.  The
two men neared the outside door
. 
Myra
stiffened.  “
Tis
Mister Preston and Mister Frederickson!”
Myra’s
voice
hushed
out
as
she
and Lucia
du
cked beneath the table lest the men
entered
the room
.  “
Perhaps he’s
her
e
for my answer.  What
shall
I do, Lucia
?” she asked, frightened
.  The
men remained outside the door
, and
Myra and Lucia
strained to listen
as they conversed
.

“T’was an overwhelming
vote
by the General Assembly
for the
Partus
D
octrine
.  I don’t know
why th
e House
didn’t
resolve
this issue earlier
.”

She
heard a grunt of
apprehensive
approval from
Anvil
.

“I have more than
several mixed race negroes in my employ.
  “
Thus,”
Zachary said warily, “W
e must prepare ourselves for a revolt if there’s
any
objection to the law
.”

“
There is only one who
shall
be affected by it at my household
,
” Anvil
quietly
s
tated
. 

“Hmm,
” Zachary
smiled
. “
So the titter tatter about that girl
,
Lucia
,
is true?”

Anvil’s reply
wasn’t heard
,
and
Myra
was
n’t s
ure if he even offered one,
but she suspected Zachary
already kne
w of Lucia’
s parentage
but hoped he’d
goad Anvil into a confession
to cause
him
discomfort
.

“I’d
be honored if
you and
Myra
join me for my evening meal
tonight,
”
he said
,
and averted
the conversation
,
effectively
p
roviding
Anvil a reprieve
.

“
Surely it’s
not
appropriate under the circumstances
,” Anvil finally said after a brief pause.

“Circumstances?” Zachary asked, but then in afterthought added, “Oh, the situation with your son.”

“Aye,” Mister Preston replied, his tone full of sadness.

“
Certainly t
is
too
early to go into full
bereavement
, Anvil.  You’ve yet to secure his body.  Surely your formal mourning can wait a
t least another sennight
.”

Callous to the core, Myra thought.
  He
was
a heartless beast!

“We shall
dine
tonight,” Anvil replied, but he didn’t sound overly fond of the idea.  “But for the sake of propriety, we shall gather
at
my home.”

Their voices trailed off and
she assumed they were walking away
. 
Myra
released
a breath of relief.
 
“What are they talking about, Lucia?” 
Myra
stood and peeked out the door
,
and made
sure that the men we
re a safe distance away.  When Myra
turned around to face Lucia
,
she saw tears drench down
Lucia’s
cheeks and her chest heaved with panted breaths.

“What, Lucia?” 
Myra
wrapped her arms a
round her and held her
tight
. 
“
Pray tell, Lucia. 
What is
this all about?
  What has
troubled
you so?
”
 

Lucia pulled away and
s
wiped the tears from her eyes, but fresh, silent tears emerged. “
I’m ashamed for you to see me so
selfishly
upset after the word
you’ve received about Seth.

“My pain doesn’t cause your pain to dull any less, Lucia. 
I beseech
you;
tell me what
the matter is
?

“The
Partus Doctrine
they spoke of
…
It
repeal
s
my
freedom.  The new law is about children like me,
those
who have been sired by a white Englishman
and a Negro mother
.”

“
Oh Lucia, you know how bad I am with matters of state.
What
does
it
mean
?”

“
They revoked English law and now I
’
m a slave to the
Preston’s
.
”

“Oh, Lucia, but you are white
! 
You’re w
hite as my very own skin.  Surely they’
d
not force you into
slavery
.”

Lucia lowered her head
and
her voice
was
barely audible.  “I’ll never leave here now,
Myra
, and I’ll never find my mother.”
She tried to stifle her sobs,
but the mor
e
she tried, the harder the tears fell
.

“Do not say that,”
Myra
scorned.  “We’
ll find a way to get you out of this.
You must hold
onto
hope!”

“I know we
shall
,” she answered
,
almost convincingly, but
Myra
knew she felt no
faith in in it be
coming
true
. 
Lucia
s
wiped her tears and
forced a smile. 
“I have to go,
Myra
.  I promised Mrs. Preston I
’d
fetch some things from the mercantile today.  I best be on my way if I intend to be back by nightfall.”  She
rubbed away
the fresh tears and sniffed back the ones that remained from her
inner
torment.
“I
shall
think on what you may
do about Mr. Frederickson
whilst
I walk.”  She hugged
Myra
again
.  “And I
a
m truly sorry
about Seth. 
As you, I’m greatly pained by the news
,
”
she added before walking out the door.