Columns of Cottonwood

by Sandra Robbins

  Mamie glanced up at Saul and then toward Dante. “But it just ain’t right. Me and Saul think Miss ’Vanna ought to be here.”

  Saul grabbed his wife’s arm. “Hush up, Mamie. This ain’t none a’ our business.”

  She shook her arm free. “Then whose business is it? We done saved that girl’s life the night the big house burn, and we promised her we’d stay here and take care of things till she came back.”

  Saul shook his head. “That all changed when Mistuh Dante bought this here place.”

  Mamie propped her hands on her hips and frowned. “You men can’t see nothin’. The day Mistuh Dante come here, I see the Lawd makin’ a way for Miss ’Vanna to come home.”

  “What are you talking about, Mamie?” Dante asked.

  Saul’s eyes grew big, and he tried to steer his wife toward the door. “Don’t matter. We goin’ to our cabin.” He glanced down at Mamie. “We can’t go tellin’ no white man what he ought to do. You forgettin’ your place.”

  Dante stepped in front of them. “I thought you realized we are all equal here, Saul. If Mamie has something to say, I want to hear what it is.”

  Mamie straightened to her full height and sniffed. “I jest see the way you look ev’ry time you talk ’bout Miss ’Vanna. It not hard to figure out you done got struck on that girl. If you are, then you got no business lettin’ her go downriver. You got to stop her and bring her home to Cottonwood.”

  Dante spread his hands in amazement. “And how do I do that?”

  Mamie smiled. “You a smart man. You kin figure it out.” She turned to Saul. “Now I ’spects we can go. Mistuh Dante gots lots of thinkin’ to do.”

  Before he could stop them, the pair disappeared out the door, leaving him to wonder what Mamie had been insinuating. She’d said he was struck on Savannah. Struck was hardly the word for what he felt. He loved her with all his heart.

  What could he do to bring her back to Cottonwood? She would never agree to accept his charity and live on his land. She wanted the land to belong to her again, but she had no money to purchase it. She also wanted it to pass on to her heirs. How could that be? The land would pass to his heirs.

  Understanding flashed into his mind, and he sank down in the chair at the table. The only way she could have the land would be if they shared it. And it could only pass to her heirs if they shared them also.

  Marriage? To him?

  He shook his head and bolted to his feet. She would never agree to that. She despised him. She considered him her enemy, a person who’d stolen what she thought was rightfully hers.

  Yet a marriage between the two of them made sense. Sharing Cottonwood was a small price to pay for having the woman he loved as his wife. And having a child to pass the land to would be the fulfillment of a dream he’d had for years. He would go to her tomorrow and ask her.

  He covered his face with his hands and groaned. What could he say that would make her accept him as a husband?

  Dante dropped to his knees beside his chair and closed his eyes. “Dear God, You know my heart. I pray You’ll give me the right words as I talk with Savannah. Be with me, and give me strength as I face this crucial point in my life. Amen.”

  Dante rose. Almost immediately he knew what he would say to her. He’d propose a business deal. She needed a home, and she wanted Cottonwood back. He needed a wife who was respected by the community and could help him become accepted by the residents in the closed society of Willow Bend. If they married, their children would inherit the land that had been in her family for years. They both stood to gain a lot from the proposition.

  Dante clapped his hands and laughed. Maybe she would say yes. He could hardly wait to find out.

  Seven

  Savannah swallowed the last bite of her noon meal and glanced around the sparsely furnished dining room. Aunt Jane’s survival since the war had depended on the money she’d received from the sale of her house and on selling off her possessions one at a time. However, there were still many items, including furniture and personal belongings, that had to go.

  Savannah touched the linen tablecloth that had been one of Aunt Jane’s favorites. Even when their money had dwindled to a dangerous low, it was something Aunt Jane hadn’t been able to bring herself to sell. It had belonged to Savannah’s grandmother, and Aunt Jane had wanted Savannah to have it when she married.

  It didn’t look as if that would ever happen. Her life seemed set. She would probably serve a family as governess until their children no longer needed her, then she would go to another. And so her life would be until one day she was so old that no one wanted her. Then where would she end up?

  The thought sent a chill through her, and she buried her face in her hands. She had to quit thinking like this. God would take care of her. She knew that, but sometimes it was so hard to trust when the future seemed so bleak.

  Sighing, she stood and walked toward the kitchen. Jasper turned from stoking the fire in the iron cookstove as she entered. A frown pulled at his face. “Miss ’Vanna, what we gwine do with all this here stuff?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know, Jasper. Maybe Mr. Perkins at the store will take some of it against our account there. The eggs and butter we’ve sold haven’t paid all of it in months.”

  He nodded. “Yas’m. And that reminds me. What we gwine do ’bout them chickens and the cow?”

  A feeling of helplessness washed over her, and she closed her eyes. Her head hurt from all the questions that had run through her mind in the last weeks. Now she only had a few days before the Montgomery Belle would be back. She had to find an answer to all her problems, but she had no idea what it was.

  God, she prayed, what am I to do?

  Her eyes widened as the answer came to her, and she smiled. “I think I know what we might do with the chickens and the cow.” She turned and started from the room but called over her shoulder. “Jasper, hitch the horse to the buggy. I’m going to Cottonwood. Maybe Saul and Mamie can use them since they’re going to have some land of their own.”

  She rushed to the stairs and hurried up to her bedroom. Once in the room, she threw open the door of the big armoire that had also belonged to her grandmother. She reached for the shawl that hung on a peg but stopped.

  Running her hands down the front of her simple day dress, she spied a smudge from taking out the ashes earlier in the day. She’d have to change clothes just in case she ran into the new owner of Cottonwood.

  Savannah shook her head. Why was she worrying about making a good impression on Dante Rinaldi? He’d be in the fields today, and she wouldn’t even see him.

  Just in case, though, she reached for the blue dress with its draped skirt and ruffled jacket. They’d had to sell a lot of eggs and butter to pay for the material, but Aunt Jane had insisted that Savannah needed one fashionable dress.

  Savannah pulled the dress from the armoire and crushed it against her. She’d worn this garment to Aunt Jane’s funeral. Now she was going to Cottonwood in hopes of giving away some of Aunt Jane’s property. If only she were going home!

  She squared her shoulders and held the dress in front of her. “Quit bawling, Savannah Carmichael. God’s going to take care of you. Now act like you believe it.”

  New resolve flowed through her. There were many things to settle before she could leave Willow Bend. One of the hardest would be to leave her parents’ graves behind. Before she could say good-bye to Saul and Mamie, she had to bid her parents farewell.

  Her hands tightened on the dress she held, and she buried her face in the soft material. She hoped she wouldn’t see Dante Rinaldi today. Her heart told her saying good-bye to him was going to be more difficult than she’d realized.

  ❧

  Dante trudged along the path that led from the large cane-brake to the river. He’d gone alone today to that field and sent the men in other directions. He needed time alone to think and pray, although he’d done that nearly all last night. Sleep had refused to come, and he’d sat in front of the fi
replace and pondered how he’d present his plan to Savannah Carmichael.

  Dante ran his hand through his hair. Whatever made him come up with such an idea? All she was going to do was laugh at him and make him feel foolish. A sinking feeling hit him in the pit of his stomach. He could see his father and mother, so in love after years of marriage. That’s what he’d always wanted, but he wouldn’t have that even if Savannah accepted his proposal.

  He clenched his fists at his side and shook his head. He was crazy to ever think he could ask her to marry him. The best thing for him to do was turn around and go back to the canebrake. Labor in that jungle of cane would drive any thoughts of the beautiful woman from his mind.

  He turned to retrace his steps, but he couldn’t move. It was as if some invisible hand gripped his shoulder and spun him around then nudged him forward. He remembered something else his father had once told him. “When you think something is impossible, try it anyway.”

  Dante took a deep breath. He had to try the impossible even if he regretted it later. Letting Savannah go without at least asking her would be the biggest mistake of his life.

  With a new determination, he strode forward and rounded the corner to the path that led by the small cemetery. His eyes grew wide, and he came to a halt. He couldn’t believe what he saw. Savannah’s buggy sat in front of the cemetery gate.

  Swallowing, he eased forward until he could see her. She knelt between her parents’ graves, her head bowed and her lips moving in silent conversation.

  His glance traveled over her. She had on the dress she’d worn to her aunt’s funeral. The vision of how she’d looked in it had haunted him.

  Dante stopped at the fence but didn’t enter. He waited until she stood before he spoke. “Good afternoon, Miss Carmichael.”

  Her body stiffened, and she turned to face him. “Mr. Rinaldi. I didn’t hear you approach.”

  “I’ve been in the canebrake and was on my way back home.”

  She walked forward and stopped inside the fence. “I came to Cottonwood to say good-bye to my parents and take care of some more business.”

  His eyebrows arched. “Some business? Is it anything I can help you with?”

  She shook her head. “No. I’m trying to dispose of Aunt Jane’s property before I leave. I thought Saul and Mamie might like to have our cow and chickens.”

  “That’s very kind of you to think of them.”

  Her gaze didn’t waver from his face. “Saul and Mamie are like my family. I’ve known them all my life.” She looked up into the sky. “It’s getting late. I’d better go see Mamie.”

  He opened the gate. “Then allow me to drive you.”

  “Thank you.”

  Dante reached out and took her arm as he assisted her into the buggy. Then he untied the reins, walked around, and climbed in beside her. Without speaking, he turned the horse and guided it back along the river.

  When they approached the charred rubble of the big house, Savannah touched his arm. “Would you please stop? I want to look at it for the last time.”

  His heart thudded as her gaze raked the burned piles of ashes that had once been a grand house. “I saw the house the first time from a riverboat. There was a young girl on the balcony of the second floor. She waved as we passed.”

  Savannah smiled. “It had to be me. I used to stand out there and watch the riverboats. I knew them all.” She glanced at him. “I can still tell their whistles apart.”

  He tightened his hands on the reins. “I’m sorry the house burned. That must have been very difficult for you.”

  She nodded. “I still don’t know what woke me that night. I remember sitting up in bed and seeing what appeared to be slivers of moonlight dancing across my bedroom floor. But there was a glow I didn’t understand. I jumped out of bed and stood in the middle of the room, trying to figure out what had awakened me.”

  “You must have heard the fire crackling.”

  “I suppose so.” She hesitated a moment and then continued. “Then I felt the heat and saw the smoke. It looked like giant, licking tongues creeping underneath my bedroom door and crawling toward me. The floor was so hot that my feet burned, and I ran onto the balcony.”

  “What about your parents?”

  Tears glimmered in her eyes. “I called them over and over, but there was no answer. The orange flames leaped from their bedroom window, and I knew I had to escape. I climbed onto the iron balustrade and screamed at the searing pain on the bottoms of my feet. I grabbed one of the hot columns and shinnied down. Saul and Mamie, along with a few former slaves who were still living in the cabins, waited at the base and helped me to the ground.”

  His throat constricted at the pain in her face. “But you survived.”

  She nodded. “Saul picked me up and carried me to their cabin, where Mamie tended my burns. The fire was so bright that it was seen all up and down the river. Some of the neighbors arrived and tried to save some part of the big house, but it was no use. In the morning, all that was left were the eight columns that still stood facing the river. Then Aunt Jane and Jasper arrived, and I left Cottonwood and all its memories behind.” She glanced at him. “Do you mind if I walk around a bit for the last time?”

  “Of course not,” he croaked.

  He climbed from the buggy and helped her down. She walked across the lawn and stopped between two of the still-standing columns. Gently she laid her hand against one of the smoke-stained pillars. Her head drooped, and his heart constricted at the horror she had faced the night of the fire.

  A voice in his head whispered that this was the time for him to tell her what he’d been thinking. He tried to follow her, but his feet felt rooted to the ground.

  She straightened and stared into the ruins for a moment. “After the fire, the few slaves who’d stayed on left, too, but Saul and Mamie wouldn’t go. Not even after I left.” She turned to him, and a tear trickled down her cheek. “Promise me that someday a house will stand on this spot.”

  Unable to stand seeing her in pain any longer, he forced his feet to move. He stopped behind her. “I promise.” He took a deep breath. “Miss Carmichael, there’s something I’d like to talk to you about.”

  She wiped at her eyes. “What is it?”

  A declaration of how much he loved her hovered on the tip of his tongue, but he knew to utter it would be a terrible mistake. He had to make his proposition appeal to her, and love from an Italian that she equated with a carpetbagger wouldn’t do.

  He cleared his throat. “I know a way you can stay in Willow Bend.”

  She shook her head. “No, Mr. Rinaldi. I have nothing in Willow Bend to keep me there.”

  Perspiration popped out on his head. “I didn’t make myself clear. I’m not talking about the town of Willow Bend. I’m talking about Cottonwood.”

  Her eyebrows drew down into a frown. “I don’t understand.”

  He ignored the trickle of sweat that ran down his cheek. “I know you love Cottonwood and you blame me for taking it away from you. But let me ask you this: How far would you go to get Cottonwood back?”

  Her eyes narrowed. “That’s a question that has no answer, because I don’t have any money, and I would do nothing illegal to regain my home.”

  He raked his hand through his hair. He was saying this all wrong. “I don’t mean anything against the law. Would you be willing to enter into a business proposition if you could regain Cottonwood?”

  Savannah sighed. “Get to the point, Mr. Rinaldi. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “All right, I will. But please hear me out before you answer. I’ve been thinking about your predicament. Your life has taken a sad turn since the war ended. Your father let Cottonwood fail, and you were unable to stop the tax collectors. Now you’re going off to work as a governess.” He stepped closer. “You aren’t the kind of woman who works for another family. You belong here on the land your family farmed.”

  “And how do I do that?”

  He took a deep
breath. “By marrying me.”

  Her mouth gaped open, and her eyes grew wide. She staggered back a step from him. “Marry you? Have you lost your mind?”

  He shook his head. “I told you to hear me out. If you became my wife, the land would in essence be yours again. You could run our home and help manage the tenant farmers and whatever else you wanted to do. I would never refer to it again as my land.”

  A look of disbelief covered her face. “I can’t believe you’re serious.”

  “I assure you I am.”

  She turned away for a moment and then faced him. “And just what do you get out of this business deal?”

  “I find I’m an outsider in the community. I want to be accepted by other families, and by marrying you, I figure I have a way of making that happen. Besides, I need a wife because I want Cottonwood to pass to my children, too.”

  “This is insane,” she whispered. “We don’t love each other.”

  Her words sliced his heart like a knife. “You may not love me, but you love the land. Why not marry me to get it back?”

  She studied him for a moment. “That’s a good point, Mr. Rinaldi. There is one more thing, though. What about Jasper?”

  Dante shrugged. “Jasper can come to Cottonwood, too, if he wants. There’s always room for one more. And if you agree to marry me, I’ll have Saul and the other tenant farmers help me move everything from your aunt’s house here. We can store her things until I get a better house built for you.”

  Tears puddled in her eyes. “I wouldn’t have to sell Aunt Jane’s possessions, Jasper can come to Cottonwood, and I’ll have my land back. You’ll do all that just to be accepted by a community of snobs who are still fighting the war?”

  He longed to tell her that he would do it all and more just for her. “Yes, and who knows. We may come to love each other, but even if you never love me, I hope you can respect me as a person.”

  She turned, took a few steps, and stood unmoving. After a moment, her tense body relaxed, and she faced him. “This is all so sudden. I—I don’t know what to say.”