Freedom's Price by Christine Johnson

Author:Christine Johnson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Historical Romance;Man-woman relationships—Fiction;Family secrets—Fiction;Historical fiction;Christian fiction;Love stories;FIC042030;FIC042040;FIC027050
ISBN: 9781493407149
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2017-03-31T04:00:00+00:00

14

In Tom’s arms Catherine felt secure, something she hadn’t experienced in a long time. His story unsettled her, though. If DeMornay was capable of stranding a man for his own gain, what would he do if he found her looking through the ledgers? He’d seemed open enough when he showed her the accounts, but he hadn’t let her peruse them. Had he carefully selected which pages to show her?

Tom left after breakfast with a great show. He begged her to join him for the voyage back to Key West. Even though she knew the plea was made up for DeMornay’s benefit, her heart yearned to do just that.

A sleepless night had not improved her perception of the plantation. The servants—few as they were—moved silently through the house. No laughter or chatter anywhere. The yard was empty save for the girl, Angel, who’d hidden in the sugarcane yesterday. Today she carried a pail of milk to the cookhouse, trailing after her mother. Aurelia unnerved Catherine, perhaps because of her wild eyes and fearful manner.

Catherine idly sipped tea and stared at Tom’s empty chair.

“There is no need to regret Mr. Worthington’s departure,” DeMornay said. “You are home now.”

Then why didn’t it feel like home? Perhaps because she had nothing to do. She took another sip. Perhaps it was time to make a purpose for herself, regardless of Mr. DeMornay’s feelings.

“Where are the harvesters working today?” she asked. “Can we see them from the loggia?”

“Doubtful.” He stood. “There’s no need to trouble yourself with such matters. The sun is shining too brightly here. You should go indoors so your complexion isn’t ruined.”

Catherine hated the way he and her cousin Roger treated her, as if she was fragile or addlebrained.

She made no move to leave. “Since my cousin isn’t here, I will take charge of seeing that the family lands are properly maintained.”

DeMornay’s lips thinned. “Your cousin might disagree. He has placed full trust in me. I suggest you do that also.” The ingratiating smile returned. “If you wish to discuss this with him, there is still time for you to reach the ferry landing. I can have the carriage readied.”

He wished her gone also. Perhaps Tom was right, and DeMornay had something to hide.

She did her best to appear as naive as he thought her to be. “That won’t be necessary. I shall occupy myself with embroidery and reading until the midday meal—unless I can be of service managing the household.”

“Aurelia has been in charge of the house for ten years. She can manage quite well.” He swept a hand toward the interior. “The house is at your disposal.”

But not the study, as she learned later when attempting to enter the room. The door was locked and the shutters latched from the inside. DeMornay did not trust her. She would have to think up another way to see the accounts. In the meantime, her only avenue of exploration was to search for items on Tom’s list. The list included serial numbers, but where did one find such a number on a stove? She had never used a stove.

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.