Gray Waters by Vanessa Lind

Author:Vanessa Lind [Vanessa Lind]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Running Fox Books
Published: 2022-09-05T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

July 28, 1864

After the party, it seemed to Hattie there were two Belle Montes. One featured the tranquil, ordered luxury that kept the world at a distance. The other was dark and filled with secrets, overseen by a mistress who kept a close eye on Hattie’s every move.

A woman’s first loyalty must be to herself. Along with their spying, Hattie thought Adelicia Acklen and Mollie Pitman must have this in common too.

Hattie would have liked to have left the mansion immediately, but that would have only affirmed Adelicia’s suspicions. Instead, she penned a copy of the bill of sale, then slipped the original back where she’d found it. After that, she went back to sewing Joseph’s wardrobe for military school. Every so often, she’d notice her fingers trembling, but she told herself that was only the pressure of finishing the clothes, not the fear that Adelicia knew what she’d done.

Still, it was a relief to finish the last shirt and pack her satchel. The morning of her departure was oppressively hot, and in the humid air, the edges of the gardens and even the mansion itself seemed to shimmer.

Elise and the children came to see her off. Adelicia was noticeably absent. As a cabriolet from the carriage house pulled up to take her back to Nashville, Hattie found it harder than she’d expected to say goodbye. Little Pauline clung to her skirts and would only let go after Hattie promised to write. Even the boys looked sorry to see her leave.

Tears glistening in her eyes, Elise hugged Hattie hard, then slipped her a paper with a Paris address. “I intend to return to France when the war ends,” she whispered. “Stay in touch. One day, we’ll arrange a visit.”

A lump forming in her throat, Hattie nodded, though she couldn’t fathom traveling across the ocean. “I’ll miss you.”

As the cabriolet rolled down the driveway, Hattie waved goodbye to them all. Already, her time with them seemed like a dream. But in her purse was her copy of the bill of sale she’d taken from the study, proof that the time she’d spent at Belle Monte had been both real and purposeful.

~ ~ ~

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