“The South is no more because we had more pride than gunpowder, Mary.”
“Traitor!”
“And just for your information, Mary, Ceviche was not sold. Nathaniel rescued her and her husband who was supposedly shot before your very eyes. The family, including their precious son, moved North to freedom this week.” Eleanor squared her shoulders. “If I cannot be free, I shall do all I can to ensure others can.”
Mary’s eyes thinned in rage. “I shall tell Andrew everything.”
“Go ahead, Mary. You shall be gone when we return from our wedding trip, and it would be quite inappropriate for you to have an audience with a married man.”
“You will stand before him and God, vowing to love him?”
“Have you left me any choice in the matter? When you think back on this day and how Andrew has been saddled with a great beast of a wife, I ask you to remember who put me there.” Eleanor lifted her skirt defiantly, grabbing her bouquet from Hattie. “If you’ll excuse me, I have a wedding to attend.”
Chapter 21
Eleanor had no intention of being a “great beast of a wife,” but she could not resist the temptation to show Mary how meddling in another person’s affairs would lead only to trouble. The guests milled about the lawns, and music filled the air. Eleanor’s heartbeat intensified as the reality of her wedding finally took hold.
Looking out the second-story window, she saw Andrew shaking hands and meeting with guests. She had never seen him appear more social, and he had a smile for everyone. “Is that smile for me, Andrew? For capturing me, or because you have finally captured Rosamond?”
“It won’t do you any good to be talking to yourself now, Miss Ellie.” Hattie closed the shutters and whirled Eleanor around to check final appearances.
“I prayed diligently this morning, Hattie. God’s will be done.” Squaring her shoulders, she willed herself to believe the words.
“Everyone is getting into their places. Are you ready?” Hattie had tears in her eyes, but Eleanor forced herself not to fret.
She felt her thundering heart and drew in a thorough, cleansing breath. “I am as ready as I’ll ever be.”
The wedding march began, and Eleanor met her father at the stair landing. “You look lovely, Eleanor. So much like your mother on her wedding day. She was queen of the court. I have never seen another bride that held a candle to her. Until today.”
Eleanor smiled and squeezed her father’s hand. “I am sorry I’ve been so defiant, Father. About Nathaniel and the rest.”
“Never mind. It is all finished now. A woman’s heart gives itself so rarely. I just have to remember how young you were when he charmed you. But Andrew shall make a good husband, Ellie, and a good owner for Rosamond.”
Eleanor nodded, unable to speak, for she still thought Andrew would make a terrible overseer of Rosamond. Perhaps her father was right though. What did a woman know of such matters? Eleanor’s heart was always swayed by the plight of the slaves, just as her mother’s heart had been. Yet her mother still loved and respected her father, and she would learn to do the same for Andrew.
The wedding march began again, and Eleanor descended the final stair, turning toward her father. “I wish Mother were here.”
“If she hadn’t nursed those slaves with the fever, she would be.” Her father must have realized his harshness, for he squeezed her hand and looked into her eyes. “Your mother’s soft nature got the best of her, Ellie. That is why I wish for you to marry Andrew. I know he will not let your kindly nature kill you. If only I’d put my foot down,” Master Senton said, lowering his head, “she would be here with us now, watching her daughter get married. My weakness killed your mother.”
Eleanor shook her head. “Oh no, Father. Mother died the way she lived, loving others. Andrew,” she couldn’t help herself; she spat his name, “Andrew, may well remember her as a fool for her kindness, but I shall always know her as one who gave herself up for others. There is no higher calling than that, Father. Mother would not wish it any other way.” Finally, Eleanor understood why her father was so adamant about Andrew as a husband.
As the wedding march trickled into their conversation, Eleanor wrapped her arms around her father, and his tight, answering hug gave her the strength she would need to follow through with this wedding mockery.
Starting down the makeshift aisle between garden seats, she saw Andrew standing at the end of the altar beside Preacher Cummings, dressed in black. Eleanor wished her own dress might match her mood. Andrew smiled his crooked smile, as if to tell her he had won. She needed no reminder. Reaching her place before the preacher, she could not look at her groom. His gloating was too much for her wearied heart.
The roar of horses overpowered the preacher’s introductions, and Eleanor looked up to see several Federal officers in full dress. A colonel jumped from his horse, and the others followed. They approached the young couple with resolute steps.
“Master Andrew Pemberton?”
Stepping back in fear, Eleanor answered for him. “This is Master Pemberton.”
“You are under arrest for impersonating an officer.”
Eleanor’s knees were suddenly weak, and she giggled nervously, catching her inappropriate action and covering her mouth. “Under arrest?” She bit her lip to force back the relief that bubbled within her. “Is there some mistake?” How she hoped there was not. Her heart beat faster with hope, and she turned to see Andrew’s face blanched with his shock.
“No mistake, miss. We are sorry to have selected such an inopportune time, but it has come to our attention that your groom has been impersonating a Confederate captain. He has signed federal documents regarding your marriage with a false title. He is under arrest for impersonating a captain and submitting false documents to the federal government.”
Mary shrieked and nearly swooned but was caught by her mother who fanned her daughter, pulling her back to a standing position. As Andrew was being escorted away, Mary grasped at his arm, and he returned her look.
“Nathaniel is behind this!” Andrew exclaimed, before turning on his heel and running from his captors.
“Andrew, no!” Mary screamed.
“Halt!” The Union officer readied his gun while a collective gasp went up in the gathering. But Andrew was far too much of a coward to be shot, and he stopped immediately, holding up his head proudly as the Federals reached him.
Andrew looked at his jilted bride. “I shall return when this is sorted out, and I shall have you as my wife. You, and Rosamond.”
“I shall wait for you, Andrew!” Mary called, waving her lace handkerchief.
Eleanor stepped to Andrew’s side and whispered in his ear: “I shan’t wait for you. A criminal and a coward will never own Rosamond!” A wash of betrayal came over her, as she recalled how Andrew had accused Nathaniel of such evil, while portraying the perfect brother and son. The sense of release nearly made her giddy. Free. She was free of his suffocating determination.
Andrew’s eyes thinned in his loathing of her, challenging her that all was not lost, that he would be back. She turned away, certain her father would never trust him again. Eleanor’s heart warmed to memories of Nathaniel. While he may have left, his legacy lingered. He had saved her from a perilous life. For that and so much more, she would always love him. No other man would ever have her, save the man who had turned his own brother over to the law, rather than risk her married to a man who despised her.
She threw off her veil and faced her friends, trying to feign disappointment and humiliation. “There shall be no wedding today. I’m dreadfully sorry you have witnessed my fiancé on his way to jail.”
“May you rot for this, Eleanor!” Mary nearly jumped on her but was held back by her mother’s lumbering frame.
“Mary! Control yourself this instant!”
Eleanor stepped to her father’s side. “I’m sorry I have let you down, Father.”
He stared at the rich earth. “You have not let me down, Eleanor. I can
not believe Andrew did not earn the rank of captain.”
“He is unscrupulous, Father. He fooled us all.”
The sound of hooves alerted them to another rider’s arrival, and Eleanor saw at once that it was Nathaniel. She felt her breathing stop. She closed her eyes and pinched herself. Opening them several times, she finally convinced herself he was no apparition. She ran toward him without thought to propriety or her bouncing hoop, only her trail of satin and lace. His full smile reached her, and she called out his name as she drew near. Jumping from his horse, he took her into his arms and embraced her with such strength she thought he might never let her go. His heart pounded against her ear, and she returned his embrace with all her might.
“What is the meaning of this?” Her father came beside them, looking back to the awestruck audience. “I demand you remove your hands from my daughter this instant! She shall have nothing to do with a Pemberton from here on out.”
“I’m afraid she has little choice.” Nathaniel took out a piece of paper from his pocket and shook it out, handing it to her father. “I have obtained a marriage license in our names, and I am sorry, sir, but I shall not release her. She shall be my bride or nobody’s.”
“This is blackmail.” Master Senton’s eyes narrowed. “Didn’t your father raise a proper Southern gentleman? You shall not own Rosamond, if that’s what you are thinking.”
“I shan’t care. It is not Rosamond I want.”
Nathaniel looked down upon her, his gold-flecked eyes sparkling above his smile. Although her father was standing beside them, they were never more alone, for his intimate gaze spoke only to her.
“I should never have doubted you, Nathaniel.”
“I lost you once, Ellie. I am not shallow enough to do it twice.”
“They’ll not hang him, will they?”
“No. If he had impersonated a Federal officer, they would have. But as it is, they are more concerned about his taking out a government marriage license, which would have caused them to falsify documents. He made them out to be fools, and the Union is far too concerned about reconstruction to let that happen.”
“That was quite clever,” her father interjected, his eyes still narrowed. “But tell me why you would go through such trouble if it is not Rosamond you want?”
Nathaniel gazed upon Ellie before turning to Master Senton. “How can you possibly question me, sir? Which is more valuable to you, Rosamond or Ellie? To what lengths would you go?”
Her father dropped his head into his hands. “The ends of the earth, Nathaniel. The ends of the earth.”
“As will I, sir. I love your daughter. I know I am not what you would dream of for a son, but is my brother? His true image was cast behind smoke, and he never truly valued your family or Ellie. I shall value her with my whole being with the Lord’s help.”
Her father still did not appear convinced. “Andrew valued the South and tradition. He would not allow Ellie’s emotions to get the better of her.”
“She would have no emotions if she married him. They would all fail her to avoid the misery he would have placed her in. Is that what you wish for her?”
Her father looked at her with a tear glistening in his eye. “I thought that’s what I wished for her, but she is so like her mother. I should say that asking Ellie to stop feeling for others is asking her to die.”
“Precisely.”
“Her life is what I tried to protect.”
“I shall protect it. With all that is in me. Leave Rosamond to whomever you deem fit—it makes no difference to me, so long as I spend my days with Eleanor. We shall live on the North Sixty my father has willed to me, in a tiny cabin. We shall not be there for long. Ellie deserves to live as a queen, and I will make it so, but it may not be the way you seek. I have spent far too long searching for riches, only to discover the Lord’s grace is worth more than any earthly fortune. I am home now. Home to stay, and I have never been wealthier.” His arm came around Ellie, and he squeezed her tight.
“Do you mean to state you will not release my daughter from this marriage certificate you have unlawfully acquired?” Master Senton frowned, but Eleanor saw the light in his eye.
“I do,” Nathaniel said.
“Then we may as well take advantage of the preacher’s presence,” Master Senton said.
“Daddy, really?” Eleanor looked at her father, who hid his smile. She embraced him, releasing tender kisses all over his face. “You are a romantic, Father. Just as Mother always claimed you to be!”
“You are all I have left of her, Ellie. To think I almost killed my own little girl trying to protect her from her true fate. To see your light extinguished would most certainly mean the death of the true Ellie. Go and marry your prince, but remember me as wanting only the best for you.”
“Another opinion never crossed my mind,” Eleanor said.
He cleared his throat and turned to her groom. “You shall have Rosamond, Nathaniel. You are a true prodigal, worthy of the inheritance.”
Master Senton shook hands with Nathaniel, and Eleanor grasped their handshake, smiling for the world to see.
“We must tell our friends before they all leave, Father.”
“Let them go. They will only talk.”
“Let them talk, but they shall never witness another wedding where the groom loves his bride more,” Nathaniel said.
“It is bad luck to see the bride before the wedding!” Eleanor suddenly exclaimed.
“No, Ellie. I have brought the bad luck upon you, and I shall be certain it ends.” Master Senton kissed the top of her head.
“I must grab my veil. Father, meet me in the foyer, and we shall start this day again!” She sprinted toward the house, picking up her veil on the way. “There is to be a wedding today!”
Her unabashed smile caused a rush of nervous laughter through the small crowd. All except her aunt and Mary, who stood with crossed arms waiting for her father, ready to offer him a piece of their minds. Well, let them complain, she thought. Father shall not listen today.
Joyfully, she skipped to the house.
Chapter 22
Sarah! Sarah!” Eleanor burst through the guest room door to find her friend biting her lip in pain. “Oh dear Sarah, you are miserable today. Aren’t you?”
Sarah shook her head and smiled. “Tell me your happy news. Has he come for you?”
“He has. Andrew has been sent to jail. He was never a Confederate captain.”
“I do not wish to hear of him,” Sarah answered. “Tell me about Nathaniel. Will you marry him?”
“He has obtained a marriage license. According to the government, I belong officially to Nathaniel. The marriage ceremony is a mere formality, but one I shall readily welcome. Will you come down, Sarah? It is to be in a few moments. As soon as they pull the preacher off the floor from his shock,” she said, giggling.
“Ellie, how I would love to, but I fear I cannot sit up in my chair. Doctor Hayes thinks I may have broken my spine. My cousin tried to move me today, and it was not successful. But I shall have him move my bed to the window and watch from here. Would that be all right?”
Eleanor’s shoulders slumped. “I wish you could be there, Sarah. It shall not be the same without you and with my cousin Mary looking over my shoulder.”
“Ellie, don’t say such things. Mary cannot help herself. She has seen so much grief in her short lifetime. Something about Andrew touches her. Who are we to judge?”
“Of course, you are right. As much as I resent it. Nothing shall steal my joy today. Shame on me for allowing it to.”
“The next time I see you it shall be as a married woman. Oh, I do hope you won’t find me here upon your return.”
“I do as well, Sarah—only because I want you to run down our staircase in victory.” Eleanor bent and kissed her beloved new friend. “I shall wave from below.”
“Good-bye, dear Ellie.”
Eleanor bounded down the stairs and greeted her waiting father.
�
�Are we ready?”
“I can hardly wait!”
Looking outdoors, Eleanor spotted Nathaniel. His dark, wavy locks blew in the slight breeze of the unseasonably warm day. He smiled to all around him, shaking hands and nodding his head. The joy in his eyes could not be denied, and Eleanor wondered what she had done to deserve a life with this man.
He had left a mere boy with unrealistic dreams and lofty goals but come back a welcomed prodigal. A spiritually mature man, who finally loved the Lord more than himself. Eleanor watched him with awe. How his leaving had changed him, and how she had prayed he wouldn’t run to California. But if he hadn’t, her handsome prodigal wouldn’t be standing here this moment. Ready to marry her and cherish her always. How unlike the spoiled child who left.
She drew in a deep breath and looked at her father. “This day is better than I possibly imagined it. God takes our dreams and multiplies them.”
Her father kissed her cheek. “I was thinking exactly the same thing. I know if your mother could be here, she would have tears in her eyes watching you walk this aisle. Only a few short moments ago, I was ready to give you away to a man I knew didn’t love you properly but who I felt would take care of you. Now I give you with my blessings, with no reservations, Ellie.”
“I am so glad, Father. Aunt Till still thinks Andrew is the better Pemberton, doesn’t she?” Eleanor wished her aunt and cousin saw Andrew for who he truly was, but she couldn’t let their lack of support steal her joy.
“He will probably still inherit the lion’s share of Woodacre. To your aunt, who lost everything in the war, that means stability.” He squeezed her hand. “Wouldn’t we all wish to stand on solid rock if given a choice?”
“There is only one though.”
“How true, Ellie. I think I forgot that for a while. You have grown to be such a fine young woman.” He brushed her cheek. “Your mother’s efforts, though short, have paid off. You have her beauty and her heart. But it is time I must part with you, for Nathaniel seems to be pacing nervously like a wild cat.”
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