Southern Legacy: Completed Version

by Jerri Hines

  Upon getting no response, Buck leaned down and picked up the biggest rock he could find. He threw it through the window. Glass shattered and screams emerged.

  Instinctively, Jo covered Percival with her body. Ignoring Buck’s taunts, she inspected her son closely. She could find no marks on him. Picking him up swiftly, she handed him to Mother Montgomery. The men had already stepped outside.

  “Take him upstairs,” she ordered hurriedly. Not waiting for an answer, Jo rushed out the door and ignored the cries of the women to stop.

  She couldn’t.

  Buck had come for her…she had to get rid of the menace.

  “What brings you here?” Jo demanded. Ignoring Andrew’s attempt to push her back into the house, she moved forward. “You aren’t welcome here. Leave and take your friend with you.”

  “Paying a call long overdue, dear cousin. I came to see you,” Buck slurred and staggered up the steps. Tripping, he grasped hold of his buddy for support.

  Jo recognized Buck’s companion. One of the boys who hung out with Harry Lee—old man Harrison’s boy, Gus. No-good varmint from all accounts, which explained his presence with Buck.

  Buck reeked of liquor. His cheeks were reddened. He pointed a filthy finger at Jo. “We have business to discuss. Ain’t going until you hear me out.”

  “I owe you nothing and I can assure you I don’t want to hear a thing you have to say.”

  His head tilted back, his eyebrows rose. He pressed his lips together firmly and shook his head. “Now…now why did I think you would say that?” Holding up his finger for a moment, he reached behind his back and pulled out a pistol. He aimed it straight at Jo. “Now, like I said. Let’s talk.”

  “Put that gun away, for God’s sakes, man,” Andrew demanded. “There are women and children here.”

  “Shut up.” Buck turned and pointed at him. “Or I will make you shut up.”

  Derek raised the rifle he had grabbed before he rushed out of the door.

  “Put that down, mister,” Gus countered, holding his gun straight at the group. “Don’t make me use this.”

  “What is wrong with you, Buck? Have you done gone and lost all your good sense?” Jo rushed forward.

  “Ain’t me, it’s you. Want to know why I’m here…because I got no home. No home because of you! Grandpa Henry passed away last week and you know what I got. Nothing! Nothing…. ’cause it all went to you and all these Montgomerys.”

  “I didn’t even know Grandpa Henry died.”

  “Don’t care neither, by the looks of things. What do you have going on here? A party? And didn’t even invite me!” Buck waved the pistol around. “Wonder what your family would say if they knew the truth about ya. Didn’t think I would figure it out. Thought you were too smart for me…for all of us.”

  “Too smart for you? What on earth do you mean?”

  “That you are a Yankee sympathizer. Yeah, it all fell into place. You sitting here pretty as you please. I know this is the place that Yankee spy came. Can’t fool me. You, Josephine Buchanan Wright Montgomery, are no better than Yankee scum. You have betrayed everyone and I’m gonna make sure everyone knows!”

  “You lie! You drunken fool! I would never betray the South…my home…my family.”

  “I’m done listening to you. It’s time for all you to listen to me. Right now it’s just me and Gus, but I’m going into Charleston and fetch McCoy. He’ll see to things…right after I take what’s mine. I need a home and this one will suit me just fine.”

  “Don’t, Buck,” Jo pleaded. “Don’t do this. Go away. Sober up.”

  “Nah.” Buck shook his head. “Want to show Harry Lee I am man enough. I’ll show him when he gets home that I handled things just fine. You should be happy, Jo, ’cause I’m not gonna make you suffer like Harry Lee would. It will be short and quick…”

  From the corner of her eye, Jo saw Amos come out of nowhere. He lunged at Gus, sending him sprawling on the ground in one direction, his pistol in the other. A gun blasted and Amos fell.

  Clambering down the steps, Jo fell down beside the big man. “You shot him!”

  “Ain’t nothin’ but a God damn nigger. Now get up, Jo! Ya gonna rue the day you took us on. Ain’t got Wade to protect ya no more.”

  “Okay…okay, Buck. There’s no need to get upset. You want a room for the night…food. Come on in. We’ll take care of you,” Andrew said in a soft, calming voice. He edged closer to Buck. “We were about to have dinner.”

  “I told ya to shut up,” Buck snorted, raising the barrel up.

  Then, suddenly, Buck paused. To Jo’s horror, she saw the reason.

  Percival ran out the door. Frantically looking around, he saw her. With outstretched arms, he bolted for her.

  Too late, she cried, “Don’t. Stay there!”

  Buck grabbed hold of Percival by his shirt collar and lifted him off the ground. “Looky what I have here. Who’s your daddy, boy?”

  “Major Wade…Montgomery,” Percival stuttered, confusion and fright riddled in his voice. He called out, “Momma!”

  “Don’t look at ya momma, boy! She ain’t gonna help you now…not now…not ever!”

  Buck’s eyes grew dark as his hand encircled Percival’s neck. Andrew lunged and slammed Buck back. Immediately, Derek snatched up Percival and headed toward the door. Tumbling down the steps, Buck and Andrew landed on the driveway.

  Staggering up, Buck gripped tight his pistol. Enraged, he slurred, “Yeah, come on. Let’s see what you can do, n—”

  A shot rang out. Buck stepped once, then twice and fell face first on the ground. The entire back of his shirt oozed blood left by the shot that killed him.

  Smoke curled slowly in the air. Jo lowered the gun. She couldn’t breathe, but felt everyone’s eyes upon her. Behind her, she heard a horse race down the lane. For a timeless moment, she stood there, unable to move.

  Andrew crawled over to the motionless body and confirmed, “He’s dead.”

  Befuddled, her mind painstakingly comprehended her actions. She had done the only thing she could to protect her son. She had killed a man…snatched up the fallen gun off the ground and fired at Buck…shot him in the back.

  “Jo, let go. Percival is safe.” Andrew untangled her fingers from the handle. “Rosa, come over and take Miss Josephine up to her room.”

  Somewhere in the distance, she heard Percival scream for her. The girls’ voices…shrill, frightened voices…resonated around her.

  Walking into the foyer, she saw her son crying against his grandmother. Hurried steps ran to her. Her eyes once more shone with a flash of clarity. She bent down and took her son in her arms.

  She squeezed Percival tightly. When she glanced back through the open door, revulsion filled her as rage and fright melted away. Dazed, she felt Rosa’s hand on her shoulder and followed Rosa up the stairs.

  * * * *

  It was a ghastly night. Percival cried and clung to her like a small frightened animal. He clutched her tightly and buried his head into her bosom. She spent the night rocking him and soothing his fears as her own grew.

  Her small, brave little man. She tried to lay him down, but the moment his head touched the pillow, his eyes opened and his arms reached out for her. So, she held him throughout the night.

  At every movement, every sound, her body was on alert. There was no rest for any. Mother Montgomery cared for Madeline and came in several times to check in on Josephine.

  Rosa sat with her, unmoving on the chair in the back corner. She said nothing, but her presence calmed Jo.

  At one point, Andrew came into the room. “Are either you or Percival harmed?”

  She shook her head. “Amos?”

  “He’s resting. The bullet went through his shoulder. I believe he will recover. Derek and I are going out. We will be back in the morning.”

  Jo understood. They were disposing of Buck’s body. Oh, whatever am I going to do! This was an awful mess! The lies Buck told last night disturbed her mightily, bu
t the greater concern lay with Buck’s drunken friend.

  Gus had scrambled back to his horse and galloped away the moment Buck fell dead on the ground. He could be anywhere by now. What if he told the authorities she had shot Buck in the back? Would she be arrested for murder?

  Six o’clock. The grandfather clock chimed and announced morning had arrived. Finally, she had been able to lay her sleeping son in her bed and change into her mourning black clothes. Straightening out her skirt, she watched Rosa ease back within the room.

  “Miss Jo,” Rosa whispered. “Dr. Andrew wants to see you in the garden. Don’t ca worry. I won’t leave Master Percival.”

  With the greatest reluctance, Jo stepped toward the door. Glancing back, she saw Rosa drag the hardback chair to the bedside. She took a deep breath in and looked around the room.

  As it rose over the horizon, the morning sun gave light to the darkness. Through the window, Magnolia Bluff was awakening. The dew on the grass reflected off the sunbeams, illuminating peace and calm.

  How beautiful and untouched it all seemed. Her hand held to the handle for a moment more before she exited the room she had shared with Wade…had loved…had given birth. So many memories.

  She walked out.

  Andrew waited at the foot of the stairs. Covered in mud and dirt, he looked exhausted. He handed her a cloak. “Come,” he said. “Let’s walk.”

  She made no protest and followed him out into the garden.

  The path Andrew took led down to the dock and through a line of large live Virginia oaks. Jo noticed his limp seemed more prominent. What seemed forever, they walked. Finally, he paused.

  Jo swore she saw tears well in his eyes, but he quickly rubbed his tired eyes and suppressed the emotion. As he looked back up at her, fear gripped her. Something was wrong…bad wrong.

  He sighed heavily. “I wanted to talk so no one would hear us. There is so much I want to say…have to say.”

  “I’m sorry, Andrew. I know the predicament I have placed the family in with my actions. I couldn’t…I couldn’t let him…”

  Andrew shook his head and reached over, gently taking her hand in his. “There is no need, Jo. I wish only it had been from my hand. You did what you had to do to protect your son. Make no mistake, Buck would have killed Percival, you, and any other who got in his way.”

  Releasing her hand, he stepped back and stared at her with a faraway, melancholy look. “I never told you about the day Wade called for me to treat Gillie. It was…” He paused, struggling to control his composure. “Horrific. Never have I seen someone who had been tortured so. The things...it is not necessary for you to know what happened, but that they did. Such a beautiful life. To have endured the pain…the humiliation. It solidified my stance on slavery.”

  “I have always known you have been sympathetic to the slaves’ plight. It is why our slaves...”

  “No, Jo!” he said, violently. “You don’t. You don’t know me at all. I have hated slavery and everything it stood for long before the war. It ate at my conscience. Oh, I listened to all the propaganda. But unlike Wade, who despite his misgivings, followed the call his state made upon him, I could not. Wade, like those who remain now, do so only by their sense of honor, not wanting to disgrace our country or family. He gave his life for all he believed in and none of that was slavery. Despite his heroic actions, his toil and suffering has been for naught.”

  His words scared her. Confused, her mind ran rampant, for it seemed he was confessing the sins of his soul to her. Her nerves shaken, she asked, “What are you saying, Andrew?”

  Above her, birds twittered; the wind rustled through the leaves. Andrew stood deadly still.

  “For what I am about to utter, you will hate me.” His voice carried clearly and articulate. “I’m not asking for forgiveness, only understanding—one day. I told you when this whole dreadful business started that I lived only to redeem myself. I had much to atone for, Josephine, so much. Know, I love my family and all I have done I’ve done for them.”

  Jo trembled. Comprehension began to sink into her. For a long moment, she could only stare in disbelief and then abruptly recoiled. Her hand clamped over her mouth, her eyes widened in disbelief. “You…you have been helping the Yankees!”

  “I have done what I’ve had to do to protect the family. I’m a doctor who has pledged to uphold life and it is that pledge I have kept for everyone, Jo. Both sides.” He lowered his gaze and looked down at his hands. “Believe me or not, I love my home and my family above all else. Grandfather called me a coward…said I had no backbone and had disgraced the family, but I believe with my actions, I have saved Magnolia Bluff and the family.”

  Jo slapped him, hard, and uttered in complete disgust, “You betrayed Wade and all he stood for.”

  His hand went to his cheek. “No, Jo,” he snapped. “I’ve protected you and the children. They have become as my own. I did what I must to protect those I love, but it was not I who set this network up. Do you not know that Cullen wanted Percival out of here at the beginning of the conflict? Who do you think stood between him? Even now, I was prepared to stand again against them.”

  Color drained from her face at the mention of Cullen. Her heart faltered. “Why? What is going on?”

  “An order came down to remove Percival. No matter anymore of my stance or whether or not you were willing to go with him.”

  “Dear God,” she whispered. Her knees began to quiver. “No…no.”

  He rushed to her and took her hands in his once more. “Listen, quickly. I had to send word to Beaufort last night. I tell you all this because you have to go. All of you. After last night, I realized that there are things I can’t protect you from. Harry Lee…what happens if Harry Lee returns?”

  Her chest heaved; she couldn’t breathe. All the words he was saying. Her body went cold.

  “Jo, there is no other way. I wish it had been me who shot the bastard, but what if McCoy gets wind of what has happened? He would like nothing better than to throw you in jail, no matter if Buck deserved it or not. Too many people saw—the slaves, his friend.”

  “I would hang?”

  “He would have difficulty proving murder without a body. We can always say that he left on his own accord…cast doubt on the way he died. Fell in the river, drunk. But they will never prove you shot him. Derek and I made certain Buck’s body would never be found. Already, there is animosity growing around us, for we are faring better than most. You can’t tell the Yankees the real reason I’m sending you at this time. Even they can’t know what has occurred. It is better to have all be buried with Buck.”

  “Sending me? Oh, Good Lord, what have you done?”

  “They are here and are waiting. You won’t be going back to Magnolia Bluff. I told them you discovered our scheme. They can’t afford to keep you here.”

  “No.” Her voice shook. Glancing around frantically for a way out, she saw shadows in the trees walk out toward them. “I won’t go. I won’t leave. I’ll never leave my home. I won’t betray Wade.”

  Andrew gestured and the two came forward. Jo rushed at Andrew and gripped tightly to his coat. “Don’t do this. I will hate you forever for your betrayal.”

  His eyes broke from hers. “One day,” he said. “One day you will understand. I do this to protect you and the children. After all this madness, you can return. You will have a home to return to and we will be here waiting.”

  “My children…my children!”

  “They are going with you. Rosa has already taken them down to the appointed place.”

  It was the last she heard. She felt strong hands grip her arms. Her vision blurred through her tears. Someone said, “If you scream or make any noise, we will bind your mouth. If you fight us, we will tie you up and carry you.”

  She obeyed.

  She had no choice…no choice at all.

  Jo’s only hope was the promise that her children would be with her.

  Chapter Seven

  “Momma…Momm
a,” Percival cried. “We’re on a ship…on the water!” Excitement rang in his small voice.

  Jo felt none of it…she was petrified. The moment she stepped aboard the vessel, she realized it was a warship. Mortified by the stares of the sailors…their snickers…she followed her escort in silence. Poor Madeline clung to her as if her little life depended upon it, while Percival thought it a grand adventure.

  Percival rambled on about each thing that caught his eye. Jo nodded in an effort to pacify him while she tried to comfort his crying sister, whose tiny fingers had dug into Jo’s arm. All the strange faces and noises frightened Madeline.

  Two weeks had passed…two long weeks. She had been taken down to Beaufort. As promised, the children were at her side. Never had she traveled in such discomfort.

  First they were literally pushed into a closed carriage that provided a jarring ride along a bumpy road. At dark, they were transferred to a boat that sent them to the Union occupied town.

  She had no answers to their fate, no news about Magnolia Bluff, no communication from Andrew. Nothing. A Captain Claiborne met with her, but he dismissed her readily enough when she refused to talk.

  Isolated from town, the days passed in an overseer’s house on one of the abandoned plantations. Their welfare and comfort had been seen to with Rosa packing a wicker valise for each of them. The children were allowed to play outside and along the shoreline. The only restriction was that they were not allowed to interact with the inhabitants of the town. It had been a quiet existence until soldiers came in the wee hours of the morning.

  In an unusual chilly December wind, Josephine and the children were transported to a waiting ship. Once aboard, she was escorted to a small cabin, where she sat in wait.

  The weather had cooled considerably. Assuming they were traveling north, she worried. She had no coats, gloves, or boots for the children. Suddenly, panic consumed her when Jo realized she had nothing except the clothes on her back.

  A knock on the door startled her. As she moved to open it, Percival pushed a chair over to pull himself up to look out the porthole. Madeline screamed, afraid her mother was about to put her down.