A Secret Refuge [02] Sisters of the Confederacy by Lauraine Snelling

Author:Lauraine Snelling
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: 1861-1865—Fiction, Overland journeys to the Pacific—Fiction, Women abolitionists—Fiction, FIC026000, FIC042030, United States—History—Civil War, Historical, Women pioneers—Fiction, Sisters—Fiction, FIC042000
ISBN: 9781556618406
Publisher: Baker Books
Published: 2000-10-01T05:00:00+00:00

She kept Roman at a canter all the way to town, pulling him up at the hitching post in front of the jailhouse. Few people were out on the streets. The general store had yet to open its doors, but she could hear the school bell ringing the children in for class.

She paused in front of the jail door and took a deep breath, then pushed open the door and entered. “Good morning, Sheriff.” Gratitude that the man behind the desk wasn’t the deputy widened her smile.

“Mornin’. Your boy is lookin’ some better. Hope you brought him some clean clothes for the trial. Judge said he’d commence with the proceedings at ten o’clock. The witness has already been notified.”

“What did he say about our substitution idea?”

“Said if he caught any such shenanigans in his court, he’d hang ’em both.”

The flat way he delivered his pronouncement made Jesselynn wonder which side the sheriff was on. Earlier he’d seemed sympathetic to Daniel. Now she wasn’t so sure. But did it matter? “Okay if I see him?”

“Suit yourself. Just leave that firearm here on my desk.”

Jesselynn removed the pistol from her waistband and, laying it on the desk corner, followed the sheriff through the door to the cells. While Daniel still occupied the cell away from the windows, two other men were snoring on the cots in the larger cell with an outside view.

“Hey, boy, you got company,” the sheriff called out.

Daniel dropped his hand from over his eyes and rolled to a sitting position. He shook his head as he stood and crossed to the bars. “Dey gonna hang me, Marse Jesse. I jist knows it.”

“Now, Daniel, don’t talk such a way. They have no proof you were even here.” She spoke low, for his ears alone as soon as she caught his horrified glance at the other cell. “Your face looks much better.”

“Yes, suh.” He rested his forehead against the cold bars.

“Did you have breakfast?”

He nodded. “Marse Jesse, I want to go home.”

She knew what he meant. Back to Twin Oaks, back to a time before the war when the family all lived and laughed and the slaves had been as much family as anyone. “I know. I’m going back to the camp for the others and will bring you clean clothes. You wash up good.”

“I bin prayin’.”

“So have we, Daniel. So have we. Surely God hears and will execute His justice.” Surely He will. Father God, please don’t let us down, not at the cost of this child’s life. She knew she sounded like the preacher from home, but did she really believe they worshiped a God of justice? At least justice in the here and now? Eternal justice was much easier to believe in, but the daily kind? The war and the resulting carnage caused faith to waver, especially newly recovered faith like hers.

“I’m going back to get the others.”

“Who take care of de horses?”

“Benjamin. Ophelia and Jane Ellen will stay in camp with the little ones.” She made that decision as she spoke.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.