by Ali Vali
"No notions, Henri. The man was simply true to his word."
Another week went by with Henri returning to work and Jackson recovering from her wounds. Sally reported Jackson’s progress to Bell every morning after Henri left to oversee the slaves in the fields. Bell thought she would go mad without seeing the tall pirate when a perfect excuse to do so came in the form of another rider. The man reported to Henri that the robber was seen in the area again and the posse was reforming to kill him once and for all. Playing the role of the dutiful wife, Bell listened from behind Henri wondering who this new rider was since Jackson was still on the cot on their property.
"A group of young bucks saw the bastard not two days ago Henri. Said there was a small cut on his arm and he was riding a new horse, but it was him for sure. A group of us are going to ride out for about a week to try and track him and wanted you to join us."
"Give me an hour and I’ll be ready to ride out," Henri told him, already heading into the house. The man tipped his hat to Bell and took the seat she pointed out on the porch. Her next trip was into the kitchen to see Sally.
"Wasn’t it helpful of those boys from the Destrehan Plantation to help the law like that Miss Bell?" asked Sally when she saw Bell enter the kitchen. The other women working on the evening meal wondered what was going on when Bell threw herself at Sally and wrapped the old woman in a hug. With that one question Sally had posed, Bell knew why the slaves had given their masters the false lead.
"How are you feeling love?" Bell asked Jackson later that night. Bell had waited until the house was quiet before slipping out in a dark cloak headed for the shack Jackson was in. Tonight they were not going to be separated, since the pirate was all she had thought about after Henri’s return.
Jackson was standing in the middle of the room in a loose homespun looking shirt that Sally had provided, looking like her strength was returning. For the first time the couple was able to embrace without fear of anyone seeing them. The dark thoughts that Jackson was trying to sort out disappeared from her head when she felt Bell press her body to hers.
"Much better now cheri. Thank you for coming back. I wanted to see you before I ride out again," said Jackson. There was no missing the sad look in Bell’s eyes at that news and Jackson quickly explained why she had to go. "I am getting better Bell, and it is too dangerous for you for me to be here. If Henri ever finds out you have helped me, I fear for you my love, but don’t worry I am going to find a way for us to be together."
"I can’t go on without you now Jackson. Please don’t leave me here with Henri, I couldn’t bare it." Jackson dipped her head down to kiss Bell wanting to show her how much she loved her. The action that was meant to convey her affection soon turned passionate and needy.
"Touch me love," said Bell. She wanted her first time to be with this woman who had won her heart. The actions that had made Bell shiver from fear when she imagined Henri doing them, now made her shiver in anticipation when Jackson initiated them. The large hands removed her clothes slowly while the soft lips peppered her skin with small kisses. The more Jackson touched, the closer Bell wanted to be to her, and when she felt Jackson settle on top of her, Bell’s world spun out of control.
Jackson was moving slowly, trying to put Bell at ease figuring the girl didn’t have much experience. It was becoming increasingly difficult as she watched the nipples on Bell’s full breasts become painfully hard. When Jackson sucked one into her mouth Bell almost came off of the cot. "Please Jackson," pleaded Bell. She didn’t know what she was asking for, but she needed more from the woman above her.
Jackson moved her hand down Bell’s body and poised her fingers at the young woman’s opening, looking up to the green eyes that she loved. When Bell nodded her head Jackson slipped in only a little, finding something she didn’t expect. Bell looked like she was going to cry when Jackson removed her hand and brought it to the young woman’s face.
"Please love, I want it to be you," said Bell. The tears welled up in the green eyes were making Jackson hesitant.
"But you’ve been married to Henri for months now."
"He doesn’t want me like that Jackson. Henri comes out here for that and I don’t question it because I don’t love him nor want him in my bed. I want you love, and I want my first time to be with you. I love you Jackson," said Bell pulling Jackson back down on her.
The tall pirate didn’t need any more words and forgetting her surroundings set out to make Bell’s experience memorable. Jackson ran her fingers up and won the wet heat getting Bell’s breathing to become almost labored, and preparing her for the next step. The small hands on her shoulders tightened their hold as Jackson broke through the small barrier claiming Bell as her own. After the initial pain, Bell reached a pinnacle that was like finding the secrets to life in that one blissful moment. Jackson’s touch and her whispered words of love in Bell’s ear brought tears to the young woman’s eyes from the intensity of it all.
When they were done, Bell laid on Jackson’s side listening to the beat of her heart and reveling in the feel of the woman’s skin on hers. The voice below her was so soft that Bell almost missed what Jackson was saying.
"My mother died in this room soon after I was born."
"What?" asked Bell. How would Jackson’s mother come to be at Twelve Oaks?
"Sally finally told me the whole story just the other day. You drive me to such distraction cheri that I find myself telling you things about myself long after I should. You have a right to know who it is you love and after I am done you may find Henri a more acceptable choice," said Jackson. She ran her hands up and down Bell’s back to soothe herself as well as Bell.
"Never my love," answered Bell. The sun was coming up by the time Jackson finished her story. Sally had promised Jewel to raise Jackson as a male child, knowing it would be the only way to save her from Henri’s bed. Had the master figured out Jewel and Sally’s secret, Jackson’s life would have been even more miserable than the last months of her mother’s. Jackson thought her heart would stop when Bell moved away from her when she stopped talking. Relief came when it was only to look at the brand on her back so that she could put a kiss on it.
"I am so sorry that happened to you Jackson, but that won’t change the way that I feel. It doesn’t matter now how we exist as long as we exist for one another. I want to be with you more than I want to live without you."
"I will find a way cheri, I promise you," vowed Jackson.
By the time Henri returned, Jackson was gone. After their third night together she felt strong enough to travel back into the city. Jackson planned to stick to the same route that had allowed her to escape from Twelve Oaks before and if everything went according to plan she would return for Bell within the month.
From the minute Henri dismounted he noticed something different about Bell, like there was some new sexuality about her that brought out her beauty even more. It was in that look that Henri decided it was time to sample what he had bought in the form of a wife that night.
He walked into the house without a word and Bell never looked at him once. Her attention was trained on the tree-lined path leading to the house as if waiting for someone else to ride up. The plantation mistress had been able to think of nothing else but the touch of Jackson Lafitte for the two days since the woman had left. Bell could swear that Jackson had some magic in her fingers that set fire to her blood with only a simple touch.
At dinner Henri sat down looking across the table to the empty chair of his wife. She had been sitting on the porch all day as much in a fog than the one that was now covering the property. After he finished his meal it would be time for Bell to become his wife in every way that was expected of her.
Stepping out of the house smoking a cigar, Henri paused to look at her again in profile. Her eyes had not moved in all the hours she had been sitting there, and he wondered if she had even blinked. The searching look disappeared instantly and was replaced by a look of total anguish as Bell brought her hands to her
mouth. The tears confused Henri until he looked down the path as well and saw Jackson Lafitte staggering up. There was blood pouring out of the man’s chest and from the look of his wife, it hurt Bell more than the wounded man.
"Oh god, my love," screamed Bell not caring what Henri’s reaction would be. When she flew off the porch to Jackson, Henri retreated back to the house. Sally watched the tableau play out as if molasses had slowed the hands of time.
The gunshot wound that had hit Jackson was to be a fatal wound, and by sheer determination she had made it back to see Bell one last time thinking that Henri was still with the posse that had chased her across the woods. Bell had her back to the front door when Henri stepped out with his hunting rifle cradled in his arms. Without warning he brought it up to his shoulder and fired a single shot into his wife’s back.
"I love you Jackson," were the last words she uttered before slipping into death. Her spirit waited for the moment it needed to not go on alone. Bell’s last words were the ones Jackson had just told her before wrapping her up in her arms.
The ‘no’ that Jackson screamed when she felt the hot blood seep across the green silk of Bell’s dress sounded like the cry of a tortured animal. It was the last sound Henri heard before the pistol shot pierced the center of his forehead. He was dead before hitting the ground.
With the last of her strength Jackson cradled Bell in her arms and walked back toward the river. Sally watched as the mist seemed to swallow them whole and they were never seen again.
************************************************************************
"You made me listen to this whole story and they both die in the end?" asked an outraged Desi. Before Harry could explain Desi turned her ire to Mona. "And you. What in the world kind of story is that to tell small children before they go to bed? That would have given me nightmares."
"Baby, calm down a minute. It’s a Halloween story in actuality. And if you let me tell you the end you would understand. Sally never saw them again and the bodies were never found, fueling rumors that the lovers had escaped to live out their days up north. The only problem with that theory was that Sally had witnessed Henri kill Bella," said Harry. She got a poke in the ribs from Desi when she stopped to take a drink of water.
"And?"
"Jeez, you’re impatient. The legend of Jackson and Bell is that on certain nights when the moon is full and the foggy mist off the Mississippi is just right you can see them walking the banks of the river hand in hand. They died for the forbidden love they shared, but their eternal reward was to be able to spend it together in the place the love was born. Till this day they haunt the house and grounds of Twelve Oaks Plantation. Only those people standing on the top veranda with their soul mates have been able to see the legendary Land Pirate and the woman that stole her heart."
"And this is where we’re going tomorrow for this party?" asked Desi.
"Yep, and the couple that host it play it up to the hilt. You have to park about a mile away and ride carriages to onto the grounds. They turn off all the electricity and do everything like they would have back then except for ice. Molly figures people would revolt if she didn’t have that," explained Tony. When Harry had told him who she and Desi were going as, the decorator decided he and Kenneth would go as Jean and Jewel. He had even made Kenneth grow a thick mustache for the occasion to look more the part of the even more infamous pirate of the gulf.
At three the next afternoon Harry’s pager went off and with a lot of protests from Desi left for the hospital with a promise to keep it short. At seven Kenneth, and a very lovely Tony, arrived to pick up a miffed Desi having agreed to meet Harry at the party. Kenneth had dropped by earlier to pick up Harry’s costume and hung it in her locker for when Harry got out of surgery.
"That dress looks divine on you sweetie," said Tony. The period piece that Harry had picked out for her partner was a dark green colored silk dress that accentuated the color of Desi’s eyes. With her hair pulled up it made the line of her neck look longer because of the low neckline.
They parked in the designated lot and boarded the only covered coach the LeFleur family had hired hoping that Harry would be at the other end to meet them. Ten minutes into the two-mile trip the coach came to a stop as the three riders heard someone say "Whoa, driver."
Tony leaned out of the window to see why they had stopped when his eyes filled with tears at the newfound sentimentality of his old friend. "I think that we are being held up," was all he said as he sat back to wait.
Desi heard the clopping of another horse as it drew near to the back windows, looking up to a living replica of Jackson Lafitte. From the hat and mask down to the black shiny boots, the rider was a draw back to a lost era. The rider held a pistol in each gloved hand as she looked into the back of the carriage. As she drew the huge black horse closer to the window she holstered one weapon as she pulled one of the gloves off with a tug of her teeth. The other pistol she aimed at the driver and with a smile started making demands.
"Driver, your gold." Grabbing the small velvet bag of Godiva chocolate coins out of the air in her bare hand the rider turned her attention back to the passengers. "I see that I have found two treasures tonight," she said leaning into the back. Long fingers cupped Desi’s cheek and the small blonde sunk into the kiss. Her bad mood had vanished when she saw Harry sitting on that horse. This would be the story she told their children before bedtime. The original legends could wait until they were older.
"Such beauty and generosity should be rewarded my dear," Harry said in a voice lower than normal. Before riding off, a small pouch was pressed into Desi’s hand. The emerald necklace spilled out into her hand along with a small note. Desi read it through her tears as Tony put the choker around her neck.
On a night made for fantasies I realize that you are mine, have always been, and always will be.
Happy Halloween my love,
H
Harry was waiting for them at the end of their short trip, her smile flashing below the mask at seeing Desi wearing the necklace. Desi stepped off the coach into a welcoming hug and deep kiss that left her feet dangling for a few minutes. Without a word, Harry led her partner to the second floor for a moment of privacy.
The two lovers shared a waltz on the second floor veranda alone, stopping momentarily when a small blonde woman appeared at the top of the levee across from them. Even from this distance they could see her smiling at them. From the fog a larger body joined her. The tall dark pirate tipped her hat before taking her lover’s hand and gave them a smile as well. Together they vanished into the mist unseen by the two now sharing a kiss on the veranda.
The End
Happy Halloween
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