“Uh-huh. I’ve also written down some of the stories I’ve heard about my family. I never knew any of them, you know, except Shain. But somehow writing down what I do know makes me feel more a part of them.”
Netta knocked briefly at the door and came through with a tray. As soon as she saw Alaynia, she smiled. “Didn’t think y’all would be here this mornin’, Mistress. I be right back with you some coffee.”
Alaynia thanked her and turned back to Jeannie as Netta left. “There’s a Bible with the St. Clair family history in it that I found in the Camellia Room. And some letters written between your grandfather and grandmother. Have you ever seen them?”
“No,” Jeannie said with a trace of awe. “Can we go look at them after a bit?”
“Of course. Now, what else do you have planned for today? I thought I’d go over to Jake’s, and you can come if you like. Of course, Shain insisted we take someone with us. And then I’d like to go visit Tana, so we can go there from Jake’s.”
“Tana? Oh, Alaynia, you’ll never get anyone from Chenaie to escort us to her house. Unless Shain can spare Cole.”
“That’s ridiculous. Why not?”
Jeannie twisted a linen napkin and stared at the tabletop. “Well ... uh ... she lives way back in the woods. She and Little Jim. In a small cabin, like those our sharecropper families have.”
“So?” Alaynia asked with a shrug of irritation. “For goodness sakes, Jeannie, you don’t think because Tana doesn’t have a big, beautiful manor house like Chenaie that it’s beneath you to visit her, do you? And who’s Little Jim?”
Jeannie concentrated on the napkin. “Alaynia, it’s not Tana’s house. Why, I care for Tana almost like a mother. She and Zeke took care of me after my mother died. Tana escaped and hid Little Jim in a hollow log while she ran over to Chenaie to warn Zeke and my mother that the Yankees were rampaging and on their way here. I ... I wrote down the story Zeke told me, but I really don’t believe it. And Little Jim is Tana’s son. He’s ... well, a little backward.”
“But why wouldn’t one of your employees do as you asked and take you there? You haven’t explained that to me. Are they afraid of Tana’s son?”
Netta pushed open the door and carried another tray over to the table. “Why, Missy Jeannie,” she said. “Your chocolate be gettin’ cold. Look. It’s already got a scum on it. Want I should take it back and warm it again?”
“No, Netta,” Jeannie murmured. “It’s fine.” She picked up a spoon and stirred the chocolate, then took a sip. “It’s still warm. But thank you.”
Netta set the silver coffee urn and a china cup in front of Alaynia. After she poured the cup full, she dug in her apron pocket and handed Alaynia a folded piece of paper. “Boy brought this here to the kitchen door, Mistress. Says I was to give it to you.”
“Thank you,” Alaynia replied. As Netta left the room, she opened the note and scanned it. “Jeannie, this is from Tana. She’s inviting me to lunch today.”
“She always knows,” Jeannie murmured. Alaynia lifted a quizzical eyebrow, and Jeannie sighed. “She somehow knew you wanted to see her. Alaynia, Tana’s a healer. But you know that part of it, since she took care of you when your horse threw you. But ...”
Jeannie chewed the side of her cheek, and Alaynia silently waited. She could have prodded her, demanded Jeannie answer the questions rambling through her mind from the tidbits of information she had dropped, but she loved Jeannie too much to be brusque with her.
After a long moment, Jeannie spoke. “Some stupid people call Tana a voodoo priestess, Alaynia.” Alaynia smothered a gasp, and Jeannie faced her directly as she continued, “Tana’s not. She uses the healing remedies of plants that her mother and grandmother and even great-grandmother passed down to her. But she does have a strange power that she admits to. All the females in her lineage have had it.”
“Her vision of me,” Alaynia murmured without thinking.
“Did she predict your arrival?” Jeannie exclaimed. “I haven’t talked to her alone since you came.”
Realizing she was treading on very dangerous ground, Alaynia sipped her coffee. Shain would blow a gasket if he found out she and Jeannie had been discussing the things he had adamantly informed her to keep private. He was loosening his reins on his baby sister ever so slightly, but he considered protecting her a top priority in his life. Besides, she and Shain hadn’t worked everything out themselves yet.
He had more or less gone along with her insistence that she had to keep investigating all the strange happenings in her life until she had conclusive answers. But she had promised to keep him informed and not take any unnecessary chances. Bringing Jeannie into this was definitely a bad idea, even though his sister seemed to be a lot more aware than Shain imagined her to be.
From the corner of her eye, Alaynia caught a movement on Jeannie’s bed and swung her head around. The comforter rippled and shivered, and suddenly Tiny poked his head out. Brown eyes gleaming and snout wrinkling, he oinked and scrambled to his feet, shaking the comforter from his back.
Jeannie giggled gaily. When Alaynia shook her head and glanced at her, Jeannie’s blue eyes sparkled with laughter. “He wants his chocolate, too,” Jeannie explained.
Glad of the distraction, Alaynia rose from her chair. “Well, we better give it to him, don’t you think? Good heavens, Jeannie. Look how much he’s grown in just a few short days.”
Alaynia picked up Tiny, and the piglet snuffled his nose against her neck before she could grasp his head. She laughed and quickly shifted her hold on him. Grabbing a napkin, she wiped it across the dampness left by the piglet’s nose.
“Bring him over here, Alaynia.”
She turned to see Jeannie pouring the remainder of her chocolate into Tiny’s feeding bowl. Carrying Tiny over, she sat him in front of the bowl, where he immediately slurped at the chocolate. A second later, he sat on his haunches, staring up at Jeannie and oinking. She shook a finger at him.
“No more until after breakfast. And remember, I told you we’d go for a walk today. In fact, maybe you can come to Jake’s with us.”
She glanced at Alaynia, and Alaynia smiled at her eager face. “I don’t see why not. You’ve been leash-training him, and Shain’s aware he’s in the house now. But does he sleep in your bed every night, Jeannie?”
“No,” Jeannie admitted with a chuckle. “He stays in his own bed at night, but he usually wakes up before me in the mornings. So he comes over and climbs my step stool up to my bed. Then he’ll go back to sleep for a while.”
Shaking her head, Alaynia walked over to the table and gathered the dishes onto the tray, while Jeannie put Tiny in his harness and attached the leash. The first morning she had carried the dishes down to the kitchen house, Netta had been very apologetic, wringing her hands and insisting she would have come and retrieved them if she or Jeannie had just pulled the bell rope. Now, she only gave Alaynia a grateful glance each morning, since it meant one less trip up that steep stairwell in her busy day.
Very obediently, Tiny pranced ahead of them down the hallway, and even climbed down the back stairwell on his own. Jeannie led him on out into the yard while Alaynia carried the tray to the kitchen house. She left the tray on a table inside the door, but picked up the note from Tana and slipped it into a pocket on her skirt. When she walked back outside, Shain sat on his huge, black horse, smiling indulgently at Jeannie, who was leading Tiny around the yard.
Shain immediately swung his gaze to her. “Morning once more, darling.”
“Hi,” she replied. “Aren’t you back a little early for your breakfast?”
“Cole and Carrington ran me off again. Said being back out there in the fields when I should be spending time with you would look like I didn’t love my wife. Have to admit, I didn’t fight them too hard.” He dismounted and led his horse toward her.
“Shain, I understand that you’ve got things you need to take care of ...”
He dropped the horse’s reins and climbed the two s
teps to her. Sweeping her into his arms, he kissed her senseless. When she finally drew back, he cupped her face with a callused palm and rubbed his thumb across her cheekbone. “I want no doubt in anyone’s mind that I love you,” he murmured. “Or in your mind, for that matter.”
“Shain, I’m completely certain of your love. How could I not be, after the nights we’ve shared?”
She felt his response against her thigh and the heat of the blush flushed her cheeks. Digging her fingers into his back, she muffled a whimper of desire, her eyelids drifting shut. Oh, lord, what this man did to her—how alive and feminine he made her feel.
“Honey,” Shain murmured close to her ear. “We’ve got an audience.”
With a gasp, she drew back and whirled to face the kitchen door. The cook and Netta quickly ducked out of sight, but she could hear their muffled giggles. All at once, Netta stuck her head through the door and winked at Alaynia, then nodded her head quickly at Shain and disappeared.
“I do believe our servants approve of us,” Shain said, turning her to face him. “Now, what shall today’s plans be? Our plans, I should say.”
Alaynia tilted her head and moued her mouth. Giving a nod as brief as Netta’s, she replied, “I’m very glad to hear you asking me to be a part of our planning. As it so happens, I really feel I should at least briefly check on the workers at Jake’s. I need the Camellia Room changes made, so I can work in there, also.”
“Just leave instructions for Netta. She can have the stable hands do anything heavy, and the attic is full of furniture.”
“Great. Oh, and I received this a while ago.”
She pulled Tana’s note from her pocket and handed it to him, carefully watching his face as Shain read it. To her relief, he nodded an acquiescence.
“There’s a couple things I’d like to talk to Tana about myself,” he said. “We’ll have plenty of time to check over at Jake’s, then ride out to Tana’s. Was Jeannie planning to go along?”
“I’d like to go to Jake’s,” Jeannie said from behind Shain.
Alaynia glanced over Shain’s shoulder at her, then down at her feet. Jeannie quickly flipped her skirt hem to cover her bare toes, sneaking a conspiratorial smile at Alaynia. So that’s why she hadn’t heard the young girl approach, though she would have thought Tiny’s feet incapable of a silent advance. Then she saw the piglet out in the yard, touching noses with Shain’s horse.
“You don’t want to go to Tana’s?” Shain asked.
“Uh ... well, the invitation only came to Alaynia,” Jeannie explained. “Although I’m sure Tana knows someone from Chenaie will accompany her. And I’d much rather stay here and read the Bible and letters.”
“The ones Alaynia found in the Camellia Room?” A scowl began on Shain’s face.
Suddenly the black horse snorted and the piglet squealed, and Alaynia smothered a giggle at the tableau in the yard. The horse stood with its neck stretched out, and the piglet with its head twisted over its shoulder, staring back at the horse from a few feet away. Tiny slowly reversed himself and cautiously sneaked toward the horse.
They touched noses again, and Tiny oinked. The horse snuffled some sort of reply, then lifted its head, and Tiny walked between the horse’s front legs. He circled once, then plopped down between those deadly hooves and closed his eyes.
“God in Heaven,” Shain said with a groan. “That’s all I need—for those two to get attached to each other. We had a horse once that raised cain in its stall unless a certain hen was allowed to sleep in there with it at night. The hen even hatched a batch of eggs in the feed trough, and that gelding never stepped on a one of those chicks.”
“I remember him,” Jeannie said with a gay laugh. “Dusty, that dun gelding. Once the cook made the mistake of chasing Dusty’s hen with the hatchet, wanting a chicken for her stew pot. The poor hen was cackling and running to beat the band, and Dusty jumped the corral fence. The hen flew onto his back, and Dusty stalked the cook all the way back to the kitchen house.” She glanced at Alaynia with twinkling blue eyes. “You can bet your boots the cook never went after that hen again.”
Alaynia joined in Jeannie’s laughter, and Shain shook his head at them before he started toward his horse. Jeannie quickly followed and grabbed Tiny’s leash, leading him back to the manor house as Shain headed for the stable. The black horse kept glancing back at the piglet, and Jeannie had to tug Tiny along, finally lifting him to carry.
Chapter 23
“Boo!”
Alaynia’s mare half-reared, and Shain’s stallion skittered sideways. Alaynia quickly controlled her mount and glared at the giant who had jumped into their path. The huge black man immediately hung his head and shuffled a toe in the dirt.
“I sorry, Mister Shain,” he murmured.
Shain leaned on his saddle horn. “Little Jim, that was not a nice thing to do. I know you have better manners than that.”
The giant lifted his shoulders around his neck, and his bottom lip protruded. “I sorry,” he said again, glancing at Shain with tears pooled in his brown eyes.
“We accept your apology,” Shain said, and Alaynia noticed him hide a smile. “Now, would you like to come over here and meet my new wife?”
Little Jim’s face brightened and he straightened, nodding his head up and down. He slowly shuffled toward the horses as Shain introduced the two of them. “Little Jim, this is my wife, Alaynia.”
“Miss ‘Laynia,” Little Jim said, holding out a huge hand. “It ... uh ...” He frowned, then smiled in remembrance. “It be nice to meet you, Miss ‘Laynia.”
“And I’m pleased to meet you, Little Jim.” Alaynia tentatively clasped the massive hand, but Little Jim very carefully closed his hand around hers and gave it a small shake.
“You very pretty, Miss ‘Laynia.”
“Why, thank you, Little Jim,” Alaynia replied as he dropped his hand, stepping back and glancing at Shain for approval.
“Very good, Little Jim,” Shain said. “Now, I’ll bet you could lead us back to your house. I wouldn’t want to get lost along the way.”
“I can!” Little Jim said excitedly. “I know the way, I do. I won’t let you get lost. Mama’s fixin’ gumbo. Um, um, um. Mama makes the best gumbo.”
“I agree,” Shain said. “So lead the way. We don’t want the gumbo to get cold.”
Little Jim nodded eagerly and turned. His steps shuffled, but he waddled back and forth, hurrying along the path. Alaynia nudged her horse forward, and Shain fell in beside her again.
“He seems pleasant,” Alaynia said. “Jeannie told me about him this morning—that he was mentally challenged.”
“Haven’t heard it called that, but yes, he’s frozen in his mind at around five years old,” Shain replied. “But he’s never harmed another person or animal. He loves to catch fish, but Tana has to send him off on an errand or something in order to clean them. She said once she baked a coon and forgot to cut it up before she served it, so Jim wouldn’t know what it was. He cried for two days and wouldn’t eat any sort of meat from then on unless she cooked it in a stew, so he couldn’t recognize it.”
“A ... coon? Tana doesn’t by any chance put coon in her gumbo, does she?”
Shain glanced tolerantly at her. “No, it’s probably got fish or crabs in it—maybe sausage. But you don’t know what you’re missing. A coon baked with bell peppers and apples is a mighty tasty dish.”
“I believe I’ll pass on that, thank you,” Alaynia said with a grimace.
A moment later, they emerged into a clearing. A small log cabin sat amid hundreds of different plants, all blooming in riotous colors. White rocks lined the neat flower beds, and a crushed-shell-covered path led up to the porch. Beneath some of the huge trees, pink-blossomed moss grew in profusion. Baskets of plants hung from the porch eaves, and boxes filled with herbs were beneath sparkling windows. Off to the left was a small shed with a fence around it. A spotted cow stood placidly chewing its cud inside the enclosure.
A rabb
it hopped over by another fence, which surrounded a neat garden patch. Instead of scurrying off, it sat up, ears alert and nose wiggling. Beyond the garden, a doe with a half-grown fawn watched them, and birds flitted from tree to tree, their songs a perfect music to accompany the peaceful scene.
“It’s a beautiful place,” Alaynia said. “And the animals seem to think the same thing.”
“Yep,” Shain agreed. “Little Jim likes to garden, so he helps Tana with the plants. And sometimes I think he can talk to the animals. They never seem afraid of him.”
Little Jim hastened his pace and hurried up the steps. “Mama! Mama, our company’s here!”
He opened the screen door and moved back. Tana emerged, her regal presence a contradiction to Little Jim’s excitement. She walked to the edge of the porch and waited as they rode over to the hitching rail to dismount.
Alaynia allowed Shain to help her down. While he tied the horses, she approached Tana. “I got your invitation. I’ve been looking forward all morning to seeing you again.”
Tana wore a gown of various hues, which rivaled the beauty of the flowers surrounding the cabin. Her green turban complemented one of the shades in the dress, and today she had several golden bracelets on her arms, which jangled when she reached out a hand to welcome Alaynia.
“I have heard of your marriage, and I wish you and Shain happiness,” she said. “You are right for each other.”
Dropping all pretense, Alaynia clasped Tana’s extended hand and said fervently, “I hope so. I want so much to be his wife forever. But I have to have some answers before I can be totally at peace with this situation.”
“We will talk,” Tana agreed. “But first, I will welcome you to my home. Come.”
Shain joined them, and after nodding her head in greeting, Tana turned to open the screen door again. Little Jim shyly stepped forward and held out his arm. Realizing he wanted to escort her inside, Alaynia smiled and slipped her hand into the crook of his arm, leaving Shain to follow.
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