by Kitty Margo
“I will remember that,” she murmured as a shiver tingled down her spine.
Later in the day they stopped to stretch their legs and walk along the powdery white sand of the beach. After finding a perfectly swirled shell, Lynna had removed her kid slippers and was holding up the skirt of her traveling dress to walk in the surf. “Come join me,” she called to Sean, laughing merrily as she unsuccessfully tried to dodge an incoming wave. Sean had been conversing with the driver and was about to do just that, when suddenly Lynna dropped her skirt in the water and clutched her head, moaning in agony. “My head… is killing… me! Make it… stop! Please, Sean… make… it stop!” Screaming with unbearable pain, she dropped to her knees.
Sean reached her as she fell in the water, falling with her. He held her close as she retched into the surf, sobbing with pain as soon as the spell of intense vomiting ended. As the waves crashed over them, Sean put both hands on each side of her face, tenderly massaging her temples for several minutes, until her cries changed to occasional sobs and she relaxed against him. He held her for several more minutes, until the incoming tide began to lap around their waists. “Can you stand, Lynna? We need to get you out of the water.”
She didn’t move, afraid if she opened her eyes the blinding sun would bring on another headache. “I can’t take any more, Sean,” she whimpered. “There has to be a way to stop the headaches. I would rather be dead than go on living like this.”
“Hopefully, there is a way, Lynna.” He told her about his visit to Doc Buzzard. “He assures me that it will work. Mister Juarez seems to have absolutely faith in his ability as well.”
“Do you think it will work?”
“Yes, I do.” It had to. “We only have to wait one more week, until the moon is full. Then, after we perform the spell, I pray that your headaches will end.” A few months ago Sean would have found it highly amusing if anyone had suggested he would be performing a voodoo spell and, better still, expecting it to work.
It was obvious that Lynna was too weak to pick up her feet. Sean lifted her easily in his arms and carried her back to the carriage. She was too tired to issue a complaint.
“Perhaps we have tried to do too much in one day, little one.”
Lynna sighed against his chest, closing her eyes. The headaches robbed her of energy for hours.
After changing into dry clothes, Sean placed her gently in the carriage and pulled her into his arms to rest her aching head on his broad shoulder.
Toward dusk Sean glanced out the carriage window and saw the lights of numerous buildings springing up in the distance. “We are nearing Port of Spain, Lynna. Are you ready for a hot bath and a good meal?
“I have never been more ready,” she replied softly. “Why didn’t you wake me, Sean?”
“I enjoy watching you sleep.” He bent to place a tender kiss on her forehead. “There always seems to be a worried frown tugging at your lovely brow when you are awake. Yet you are at total peace when you’re sleeping. Every part of your body relaxes and becomes pliant and I can take you in my arms and hold you to my hearts content without any fuss.”
As the carriage pulled up to their hotel, Lynna was caught up in the hustle and bustle of the busy port city and leaned against Sean as he led her into the hotel.
She felt refreshed after a hot bath, and after having emptying the contents of her stomach earlier, starved. At the hotel they dined on curry crab and dumplings, which were melt in your mouth delicious. Then the waiter brought out a dish called accra, which was seasoned salt fish pounded, shaped into small cakes, and fried. Delectable side dishes were cabbage and onion, and melongene (eggplant). Coconut ice cream was served for dessert.
Although it wasn’t exactly how he had planned to spend their first night in the hotel, Sean took pity on Lynna, leading her slowly up the stairs and to their room. Lynna plopped down on the edge of the bed, looking as though she lacked the necessary energy to undress herself. As it stood, Sean was only too happy to assist in the endeavor.
Tugging her to her feet, he unbuttoned her dress and helped her step out of the voluminous folds of emerald green material. Holding her with one arm to keep her steady on her feet, he pulled the night rail over her head with the other. Depositing a tender kiss on her forehead, all the while yearning for more, so much more, he gently eased her back on the bed where she was sound asleep almost as soon as her head touched the pillow.
Tucking the covers snugly around her, Sean pulled up a chair and watched her sleep. He shook his head and chuckled softly, realizing he would be content just watching her sleep for the remainder of the night. He had so many warring emotions scrambling around in his head. Why did he feel so protective of this girl?
Of a certainty, he had never had feelings this powerful for a female, any female, before. Sure, he had felt lust. Friendship. Desire. Infatuation even, for a short while. But nothing like this. At a loss to explain these new emotions, he went downstairs to drown his thoughts in a bottle of grog and a voluptuous serving wench.
Chapter 24
Joshua sat at his desk across from his father and Nathan Rhodes in his office at Sea Grove. If only he could turn back time. He rubbed the scar on his chest absently, flexing his hands into fists.
Gazing out the window he saw Malinda and Clara sitting on a blanket with Beau crawling from one lap to the other. He heard his son’s sweet laughter when one of them tickled his ribs or held him down to blow sloppy kisses on his belly. The child was loved and doted on by each member of the family, but he needed his mother. And Joshua needed her. Desperately.
“What did your men find out about Lynna’s abduction, Nathan?” Joshua took small sips from a glass of port. Spirits still went straight to his head now and left it spinning furiously on his shoulders, but he had to have something to calm nerves that were teetering on the very edge of their breaking point. “We won’t even discuss the preposterous rumor that she left on her own.”
“I agree.” Nathan lifted a glass of whiskey to his lips and drained it. His eyes were bloodshot and puffy from too much whiskey and not enough sleep. Worry for his daughter had taken a definite toll on him. “My men had come up with a steady supply of dead ends, until just a few minutes ago. I believe we may have finally found the missing piece to the puzzle.”
Joshua leaned forward on his elbows, waiting for Lynna’s father to continue. His hands were steepled beneath his chin, sending up a silent prayer that what he was about to hear would not turn out to be another false lead. “What is it, Nathan?”
“My men were in the quarters earlier, questioning the slaves, and one of the females relayed an interesting piece of gossip she had heard months ago.”
Joshua watched and waited.
“It seems that a couple of your slaves were having a midnight rendezvous under the weeping willow trees on the front lawn the night my daughter disappeared.” Nathan drew a deep breath before continuing. “Luckily for us, they paused what they were doing long enough to see Suzanne help Lynna into a waiting carriage.”
“Suzanne! That bitch! I will murder her with my bare hands!” Joshua stormed. A vein throbbed in his temple as he crashed his fists into the desk. “How could I have been so blind? I should have figured it out myself!” He jumped up from his seat to pace the room, unable to sit still. “She tried to kill me and then she went after Lynna. Of course, it all makes sense now!” He moved to the mantle, leaning his head against the cool wood. “I should have killed her the night I caught her with the stable boy. I had the perfect alibi.” But Lynna couldn’t be dead. He wouldn’t even allow his mind to consider the possibility. “Where is Suzanne now?” The look in his eyes promised a world of hurt to anyone foolish enough to stand in his way.
“Back home at Magnolia House from what I can gather,” Nathan said.
“I will leave for Georgia within the hour.” Finally Joshua had a purpose. The waiting was torture. “If Suzanne values her useless life she will not hesitate to tell me where Lynna is.” After he had bea
ten the truth out of her, he might still kill her just for pleasure of watching her die.
Riding straight through the night he arrived around noon the following day.
Joshua was admitted into the foyer of Magnolia House and paused to study the curving staircase with its rich, mahogany banisters that wound to the second floor past the wedding cake chandelier with its hundreds of candles. To the right were twin parlors of gold and rose that he remembered so well. To the left was the dining room where he had been forced to share too many meals with Suzanne. He was escorted into the gold parlor to wait.
Silas and Mary greeted him shortly with equal amounts of shock and disbelief. “Why, Joshua, I can’t believe it’s you. We thought you were dead!”
“I almost was, Mary.” He hated to wipe the smile from Mary’s lips and break her heart in the process, but she needed to know the truth about her daughter. “In fact, I came too close for my own comfort.”
“Where on earth have you been all this time? Your poor family was going insane with worry.” Mary’s hand fluttered to her chest. “And what about Lynna? Have you had any news as to what happened to her? We heard that she had disappeared without a trace.”
“Yes, Mary. I’m afraid I know exactly what happened to my wife.” He glanced toward the settee. “Would you like to be seated? Some of what I am about to tell you may come as a shock.”
“Yes, I think perhaps I should.” Mary sat wringing her hands in her lap nervously. Joshua’s grim face did not bode well for what he was about to tell them.
“Where is Suzanne, by the way?” Joshua asked, peering around the parlor. His eyes landed on a full length portrait of Suzanne hanging above the mantle. Wearing the pink satin ball gown, of course, she was smiling saucily for the artist. Joshua determined then and there that once Lynna was safely by his side, he would bribe one of Suzanne’s chambermaids into bringing him that gown. He would take great pleasure in ripping it to shreds and watching it burn, being done with the hideous garment once and for all.
“Where she always is nowadays,” Silas answered. “In the slave quarters doing whatever it is she does down there.”
It was now or never. Joshua realized that he had to be honest if he intended to ask for their help. “I wish there was an easier way to say this. But time is of the essence, so I must be blunt.”
“What is it, Joshua?” Silas questioned warily.
“Your daughter is practicing the ancient art of voodoo, Silas. It is my understanding that she is in training to be a voodoo priestess of sorts.”
Mary’s startled gasp echoed around the room as she stood up from her seat, incensed. “What nonsense is this, Joshua! Why, that is the most ridiculously absurd thing I have ever heard in my entire life. I can assure you that Suzanne would not know a thing about voodoo if it jumped up and bit her on the nose.”
“She has been studying.” He turned to Silas for help in making Mary understand. “Silas, I don’t buy into the voodoo foolishness either, but your daughter does. I paid a visit to Amari, the old conjure woman at Cedar Hill. According to her, Suzanne had a wasting spell put on Lynna shortly after Beau’s birth.”
“A wasting spell!” Mary cried, falling back down on the settee as every ounce of blood seemed to drain from her pale face. “This has to be a horrible, horrible mistake. Suzanne would never…”
Joshua shot a look of sympathy toward Mary. “Now she is working feverishly to cast a resurrection spell that can bring me back to life. After that, Amari warned me that Suzanne has something terrible planned for my son.”
“I can’t believe it!” Mary cried. “Why would you come into our home and tell such outrageous lies against our daughter?”
As badly as Joshua hated to be the bearer of bad tidings he didn’t have time to sugarcoat the truth. “Believe this, Mary. Your daughter had me shot and left for dead. She stood over me as I lay bleeding to death and actually laughed in my face. Then her hired goons took me upstate and dumped my supposed corpse into a ravine. Fortunately a young girl found me and she and her grandmother nursed me back to health. If your daughter had her way I would be dead now.”
Silas and Mary listened in complete silence, and even though it was a bitter pill to swallow, they finally admitted the truth to themselves. Suzanne was entirely capable of the atrocities Joshua had described. They had both lost countless hours of sleep worrying about how to convince their daughter to release the irrational hatred she felt for Lynna and move on with her life. Holding hands and leaning toward each other for comfort, they were quiet save for Mary’s soft whimpers.
“Then the night Lynna went missing she was seen getting into a carriage with Suzanne.” Joshua felt great sympathy for the couple that looked as though their entire world was crumbling around them, but it couldn’t be helped. Nothing was more important than finding his wife. “Suzanne is the only one who knows what happened to Lynna and I am going to find out the truth.” He looked from one to the other. “No matter what I have to do to get it.”
“Don’t hurt her!” Mary shrieked, standing to rush to his side and grab Joshua’s arm urgently. “Take her into town and turn her over to the sheriff if you must, Joshua. Do whatever you need to do. But I beg of you, do not hurt my daughter!”
“I will do as you ask, Mary. You have my word,” Joshua replied stonily. “On one condition.”
“What is it?” Mary whispered.
“That you agree with my plan to convince Suzanne to tell me where Lynna is. Tonight.”
“Of course, we will help you, Joshua.” Mary’s eyes filled with tears. “Suzanne has… changed. She’s not the sweet, caring person she used to be.”
Sweet? Caring? Joshua chewed on his bottom lip, swallowing the vocabulary he longed to use concerning their precious daughter.
Mary dried her eyes and blew her nose before continuing. “I don’t know what has happened to her, but she almost seems evil now. Perhaps some time spent behind bars would make her look at life differently. Make her realize all that she stands to gain one day.” Mary’s arms spread wide to encompass the vast acreage of Magnolia House. “And she must find a way to forget about you, Joshua, instead of brooding about what might have been morning noon and night.”
Joshua didn’t care if Suzanne spent the remainder of her life being horribly mistreated or worked to death in a labor camp. “I don’t want to just confront Suzanne with what I have discovered, she will only deny having me shot and left for dead.” He searched Mary’s eyes, praying for understanding. “I have to find my wife.”
They all glanced up upon hearing Suzanne’s shrill voice as she came through the back door shouting, “Does anyone ever cook around here? All they have to eat in the quarters is boiled potatoes and fatback and I’m sick to death of it! Jasmine!” she bellowed, “bring your big black butt in here and warm me up some lunch!”
“Suzanne Fletcher!” Mary cried as Joshua slipped out the front door with Silas close behind. “Don’t you dare talk to Jasmine that way! Apologize this instant.”
“How many times do I have to tell you, my name is Suzanne Jordan!” she shrieked. “And I will do no such thing, Mother. Please dispense with your hypocrisy. Jasmine’s behind is three times that of an average female and it is black. So why apologize for merely speaking the truth?” She leveled a malevolent glare on her mother. “And if she doesn’t warm my dinner soon I am going to take a strap to her back. That should make her move her broad backside a little quicker.”
“Whut you wants fo’ me to fix, Miz Suzanne?” Jasmine asked coming up behind her.
“Don’t ever sneak up on me like that again you old hag or I will have your hide, you hear me?” Suzanne snarled. “You have been petted and coddled as long as I can remember. It’s time you were taught who is master and who is slave around here.”
“Yassum,” Jasmine mumbled.
“Excuse me?” Suzanne sneered. “I didn’t hear you.”
“I said yassum, Miz Suzanne.”
“Fix me a plate of whatever
cobbler you have and a glass of milk.” Suzanne slumped down in a chair, dog tired. She hadn’t slept in weeks. The voodoo priestess at Magnolia House, Pearlie, wasn’t nearly as skilled as Amari, but they were making progress. She devoured the cobbler and gulped down the milk without even tasting it. “Now, I’m going upstairs for a long nap before supper. See to it that I am not disturbed.”
Suzanne made her way up the back stairs with Jasmine’s steely eyes boring into her back and a broad smile playing across the old woman’s dark features. She had stood behind the door and heard every word Joshua told Silas and Mary. Hopefully, Suzanne would be behind bars before morning and someone would be giving her orders for a change. Jasmine could only pray that it wouldn’t be too late to save Lynna.
After a late supper, Suzanne made her way to the slave quarters as she always did. Pearlie had sent word that she finally intended to try the resurrection spell tonight and Suzanne had in her hands the clothes Joshua had worn on the most magnificent day of her life, their wedding day. He hadn’t even bothered to take them when he had left her for his slut. It was a good thing though. They would certainly come in handy tonight.
“Now, Miz Suzanne, I gots to warns you. Dis is a ‘stremely pow’ful spell you axkin’ fo.” Pearlie said. “You has ta have five strong womens ta cas’ dis spell. It rejoin de body an’ soul, brangin’ de dead back ta life.” She looked at Suzanne, giving her the option to change her mind.
“I’m ready to do the spell,” Suzanne assured her without so much as a single thought for the consequences.
Pearlie nodded to each of the five women surrounding the bundle of Joshua’s clothes on the ground in the circle drawn before them. There were many others gathering around to witness the spectacle of the resurrection. “Did you make a great sacrifice or do a heroic deed ta balance de resurrection like I done tol’ you to?”