by Kitty Margo
“Patricia rarely comes out of her room anymore and I haven’t seen Jeremiah in days. Malinda has just gone inside to prepare hot chocolate.” She gazed out across the long winding drive already dreading the heartbreaking days ahead. “I don’t like to be inside. I would rather be outside. so I can watch the road in case… in case…” she paused and looked at her father as an idea began to form. “When Mother was kidnapped you said you had every stone in France overturned in your search for her. Will you do the same for me? Will you hire investigators to find Joshua for me? Please, Father?”
“Of course I will, darling,” Nathan was quick to assure her, willing to do anything in his power to ease his daughter’s suffering. “In fact I will ride into Charleston tomorrow and get every available man on it. We will get to the bottom of this. You have my word. For now, let’s move inside by the fire and get you and the babe warmed up.”
As they took seats by a crackling fire, Malinda entered the parlor carrying a tray. “Oh, hello Nathan, Judith. I didn’t realize you had returned. Is Crystal with you?”
“No, we thought it best if she remained in town with Gypsie for a short while,” Judith answered.
Malinda was but a sad caricature of her former effervescent self. It was evident that she had recently dried her eyes as well. Handing Lynna a cup of hot chocolate she murmured, “I will fetch more cups.”
“Thank you, dear,” Judith stood to draw the forlorn girl to her for a reassuring embrace. “It will get better, I promise. You might not believe it now, nor in the months to come, but time eventually heals all wounds.”
As Lynna cradled the warm cup in her hands, irrepressible anger bubbled up in her throat at her aunt’s soothing words. Glancing up at her father and his sister with red-rimmed eyes, she found herself unable to keep up the façade that she was coping with her husband’s disappearance and a heartwrenching moan tore from her lips. “Time will not heal this wound! I cannot go on without Joshua, Aunt Judith! Don’t you understand! How can you possibly believe that in a few days, or weeks, or even a year from now we will just forget Joshua ever even existed and carry on with our lives as if nothing happened! I don’t even wish to consider a life without him.”
Wiping her eyes, Lynna rubbed her growing mound of belly. “Of course, I realize that I must go on for his child. But please, I beg you. Do not say those words to me. Everyone has expressed the same sentiment to me over and over and over until I am sick to death of it. My heart is broken and it will never be whole again until Joshua is returned to me.” Her shoulders slumped as she gave vent to the sobs that convulsed her slender frame. “Please, Aunt Judith, tell me! How do I go on?”
“We are here for you,” Judith cried, taking the cup from Lynna and clutching her distraught niece as she was finally able to release the grief she had kept bottled up inside her. “It won’t be easy, but we will help you get through this. And you will. Please believe me, Lynna. Somehow, you will get through this.”
Helping Lynna upstairs to her room, Judith held her niece until she finally cried herself to sleep.
On Sunday morning Lynna was half-heartedly attempting to embroider a baby blanket, but tears blurred her vision causing her to produce erratic stitches. She had set the blanket aside, deciding to work on it another day, dried her eyes for what had to be the hundredth time, and drew a deep cleansing breath when she heard a carriage approaching. It was only a few moments before Suzanne came bustling into the parlor with a worried frown causing a crease to form on her porcelain skin.
“Lynna, I had to come!” Falling to the floor at Lynna’s feet in a rather dramatic fashion, she clutched her hands. “No matter how disgusting Joshua and his parents were to me, I had to see for myself that you are well. Why, I do declare, I have just about worried myself into a frenzy over you!”
Suzanne nervously peered over her shoulder, expecting Joshua’s parents to toss her out on her ear at any second. “Will you please ask Patricia and Jeremiah to allow me to visit? Surely they will not refuse my offer to bring some cheer into your otherwise dreary day. I feel like I can be a comfort to you during your time of grief, Lynna.”
A slight smile curved Lynna’s lips as she thought back over her husband’s words, “Suzanne, have you ever given thought to joining the theatre?“ What would it hurt for Suzanne to visit occasionally? Perhaps her incessant chatter about fashion and the latest hairstyles from across the pond would take Lynna’s mind off Joshua, if only for a short while. “Yes, I will speak to them. And to answer your question, I have definitely seen better days, Suzanne.”
Lynna’s mind wandered as she gently pressed her stomach where either a tiny foot or an elbow was pushing against her skin. “It’s funny. Some days the pain is almost to the point of being bearable, and on others it feels like it will rip me in half. Like it will tear me apart and leave me in shreds. And there is nothing to do, but wait, and I am so tired of waiting.” Laying her head back on the chair, she closed her weary eyes. “If Joshua is alive why doesn’t he come home? If not, why can’t they find his body? I just need answers. I need someone to tell me why this is happening to me and what I can do to fix it. Not knowing is killing me.”
“Lynna, sugar, I understand how badly you are hurting right now.” I felt the same way when Joshua dumped me at Magnolia House and left immediately in search of you. “I have always heard that time heals all wounds.” It doesn’t! “You might find this hard to believe, but I promise you that everything will work out the way it is meant to.” With Joshua dead and you next!
“Look at me, Lynna,” Suzanne urged. “If Joshua is out there somewhere, he will eventually find his way back home.” Not bloody likely! “Until then you have to be strong for your child. And you are not alone. You have your father, your aunt Judith, Joshua’s family, my family and, of course, me.” And my fondest wish is to see you writhing in agony with your heart busted open, just like Joshua! “We are here to help you in any way we can.”
Lynna had forever been puzzled by Suzanne’s mercurial mood swings and today was no exception. “Suzanne, I thought… ”
“Shush!’ Suzanne placed a gloved finger to Lynna’s lips before she could question her sudden change of heart. “I love you, Lynna. I have loved you since the day you landed on our doorstep.” I despise every single thing about you and wish you were beneath my feet right now so I could stomp the breath out of you! “Joshua and I had a misunderstanding, but I am woman enough to admit that our marriage was a mistake from the beginning and I am able to put that behind me.” That marriage was the best thing that ever happened to me and he is still my husband! “You need me, sugar, to help you find your way out on the other side of this tragedy. You and your child are what’s important now.” Lowering her head, Suzanne squeezed a tear from her eye and then stood and walked to the window.
‘I don’t know how to live without Joshua,” Lynna whispered.
Figure it out the same way I did, you stupid bitch! Suzanne looked across the barren landscape, then gazed toward the heavens pleading for divine intervention as she struggled not to scream at Lynna to cease her relentless sniveling.
It had been her intention to spend a couple of hours with Lynna. At least give the appearance of having some sympathy for the girl’s sorrow. But how long could she be expected to listen to her nonstop whining? She had little doubt she would be unable to keep her hands from choking the life out of the useless twit if she had to hear her sob or blow her nose one more time today. “I will be here with you every step of the way, Lynna. You have my word. Now I must be going so you can rest.” Or before I kick you square in the midsection and give you something to cry about!
“Thank you for visiting, Suzanne.”
“Why, you are more than welcome, darling.” Kissing Lynna tenderly on the cheek she helped her back to her plush chair, holding her hand until she finally lowered her expanding carcass and leaned back with a tortured breath. “Now you just rest and try not to worry overmuch. It isn’t good for the baby.”
> For now I have a visit planned with someone who can help me cause you more pain and suffering than you ever dreamed possible.
Later that night, Suzanne stood outside the voodoo woman’s cabin at Cedar Hill. She knew old Amari presided over ceremonial meetings and ritual dances and earned a considerable amount by selling charms, amulets, and magical powders guaranteed to cure ailments, grant desires, and destroy one’s foes. Suzanne’s arms were loaded with food, blankets, and clothes as payment for Amari’s help in destroying her greatest enemy.
Amari accepted the supplies with a sage nod of her head and took a seat beside the fire motioning for Suzanne to sit. “What can I do for you, Miss Suzanne?”
Suzanne gasped, then gazed at the old woman in surprise. She was one of the darkest Negroes on the plantation, yet her cultured speech was that of one of the more refined citizens of Charleston. “Your speech! Why, you don’t speak like the other darkies at all. I am truly flabbergasted by this revelation, but where on earth did you learn to converse in such a civilized manner?”
Amari chuckled softly to herself, evidently accustomed to this reaction from strangers. “I was raised in New Orleans. My mother was a quadroon ladies maid and I was raised in the big house at her skirt. I was never around… slaves.” Dancing flames reflected the firelight in her eyes as she continued, “Then when the Misses passed, her only son separated mother and me and sold us into slavery.”
Suzanne couldn’t suppress a giggle. “Forgive me. I assure you I am not laughing at your horrible circumstances, but at the fact that I imagine her son lived to rue the day he sold you.”
Amari flinched at some unknown thought. “He did not live to rue another day.”
Suzanne shivered as Amari closed her eyes and judging from her facial expressions seemed to be reliving some particularly intense moments from her past. “I see.” In a determined effort to not dwell on the fate of the son, Suzanne moved on to her needs. “I came here because I need you help.”
“I’m listening.”
“I need you to make someone suffer.” She smiled brilliantly. “Can you do that?”
“That depends on who?” Amari threw something into the fire causing it to roar and burn so brightly for a few seconds that it almost singed Suzanne’s eyebrows. “And just how badly you wish them to suffer.”
Suzanne scooted her chair back a few inches in case the old woman felt the need to show off her skills again. “Lynna Jordan.”
The shock on Amari’s face was hard to conceal as she peered at Suzanne from underneath her lashes. “Master Joshua’s new wife?”
“The one and only.”
Amari knew better than to ask questions, but she was of the opinion that as far as slave owners went Master Joshua was better than most.
“Can you make it happen tonight?” Suzanne clapped her hands gleefully.
“No, that isn’t possible. It takes a few days to gather all the ingredients. These things cannot be rushed. To do so will only result in disaster.” Amari gazed into the fire for several seconds apparently deep in thought before asking, “Are you sure you know what you are asking for?”
“Absolutely.”
“Very well.” Amari eyed the gifts Suzanne had brought covetously. “I will help you.”
Suzanne’s excitement was impossible to subdue as she spun around the room giddily. “Finally! Lynna will get exactly what she deserves!”
“All in good time, Miss Suzanne. All in good time.” Amari patted the chair indicating Suzanne should return to her seat. “First things first. I will need your help with a few things.”
“What can I do?”
“Bring me a cup filled with graveyard dirt, but not just any dirt, mind you. It has to be the dirt from the grave of someone who died badly for the curse to work.”
Suzanne pondered her request for a moment. “I don’t believe I know anyone who died badly.”
Amari laughed and shook her head at the foolishness of white folks. “Every slave owner knows someone who has died badly.” The old conjure woman looked Suzanne dead in the eyes for a long time before continuing. “How bad do you want her to suffer?”
“Horribly. For a long time. I want her to suffer and eventually waste away. I don’t want her to go too quickly though. She needs to know she is going to die for the pain she has caused me.”
“You want a wasting spell,” Amari advised. “That is one of my most powerful curses, but easy enough to cast with the correct ingredients.”
“Just tell me what to do,” Suzanne chirped eagerly.
“When next the moon is full, go down to the slave graveyard. Go to that young buck Samson’s grave, the one that was beaten to death in town when a white man accused him of staring too long at his homely daughter. Do you know the one I speak of?”
“Yes, I know the one. I will send someone to the graveyard to fetch it tonight.” Suzanne brushed her hands on her skirt at the mere thought of digging in the dirt.
“No! You must go yourself,” Amari insisted. “The Negro folks are afraid of the graveyard and will snatch up dirt from the first grave they come to just to get back out quickly. If it isn’t the dirt from a grave of someone who died badly the spell won’t work.”
“Oh, very well. I will go myself,” Suzanne mumbled, feeling entirely put upon. Why should she get her hands dirty when there were several hundred slaves at her beck and call? “Is that all that will be required?”
“No. The main component is the graveyard dirt. Then I will add powdered sulphur, the powder made from the skin that a snake has shed, salt, black pepper, powdered bones from a black cat, powdered snail, sage and anvil dust. I will need you to bring me three strands of your enemy’s hair.”
That shouldn’t be too difficult. “Is that all you will need from me?”
“Yes. I will put the mixture into a bottle with 9 pins, 9 needles, and 9 nails. You will need to bury the bottle under Miss Lynna’s bedroom window as the moon is waning in order to cause her to pine away.”
Chapter 5
Nathan sipped from a cup of strong black coffee and greeted his daughter as she waddled into the dining room, “Good morning, darling. How are you and my grandchild this morning?”
“Begging your pardon, father, but I see nothing good about this morning whatsoever,” was Lynna’s lackluster response. Dark circles lay under eyes that were red and swollen from a night spent crying and it seemed to be a great chore to lift one foot and place it in front of the other. Taking a seat she poured a cup of coffee, the smell immediately causing her stomach to rebel.
“Any morning that we open our eyes is a good morning, my dear.” Nathan did his absolute best to sound cheerful even though the sight of his miserable daughter made him feel anything but. “I waited to have breakfast with you before I depart for Charleston. I feel so guilty leaving you in your condition, but if I am to accomplish anything I may need to be gone for several days.”
“Do not concern yourself with me, father.” Lynna took a small sip of coffee and gasped when the baby seemed to get a foot tangled between her ribs. Holding her breath until he stilled, she prayed he would calm down and take a nap since her sole intention was to return to bed after breakfast and do nothing more than dream of her husband for the remainder of the day. “Surely you have no doubt that I will be well taken care of here.”
“Is something amiss with the baby, darling?” her father asked, puzzled by her reaction.
“No, father, all is well. The baby just seems particularly active this morning.” All of a sudden Lynna was consumed by irrational anger at her father, at her situation, at her life in general. She didn’t want to talk about the baby. “The baby is fine. My husband is missing. Can we please discuss him instead of the baby?”
Nathan was instantly filled with remorse. “Forgive me, darling. I’m sorry if I seemed insensitive.”
Tears filled Lynna’s eyes as she silently berated herself for being short tempered with her dear, sweet father. “No, I am the one who must apolog
ize to you, father. Please forgive me. I haven’t been myself lately.”
“Perfectly understandable, child.”
“Yes, I suppose.” Taking a tiny bite of egg, she washed it down with a sip of coffee. “Father, please stop fretting over me and take as long as you need in Charleston.”
“I will do my best to discover what happened to your husband, dearest.” Nathan knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he had given his absolute best when searching for her mother and it hadn’t been enough. “Now, is it permissible to inquire about my grandchild this morning? How is he, other than being extremely active?”
Lynna placed a protective hand over her stomach. “I don’t know how much longer I can keep the little fellow inside.” She was determined not to deliver Joshua’s baby until he was home to greet him.
“Darling,” Aunt Judith informed her, entering the room with a patient smile, “you don’t have much say in the matter. The babe will arrive in his or her own sweet time and there isn’t much we can do about it.”
“I so hope it’s a girl,” Malinda added, taking a seat and for once deciding to join in the conversation. She seemed to be taking her brother’s disappearance especially hard and rarely ventured out of her room. “Have you chosen any names?”
“Not yet.” Lynna wondered how she could even be expected to think about baby names when her husband was missing. Had the entire whole world gone stark raving mad?
Nathan and Judith exchanged worried glances. Lynna was due to deliver in less than a week and showed none of the excitement a woman in the throes of impending motherhood should exhibit. She wouldn’t accept the fact that her husband was not coming home and adamantly refused to even discuss wearing widow’s weeds. Nathan, Judith, his parents, and his sister realized that if Joshua were alive he would have sent word by now. It had been sixty-one days since he disappeared without a trace. Everyone, with the exception of Lynna, had all but given up hope of ever seeing him alive.