Infidelity: Manor (Kindle Worlds Novella) by Ted Persinger

Author:Ted Persinger [Persinger, Ted]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kindle Worlds
Published: 2017-03-20T16:00:00+00:00

1864 – Loss and Love

“No, no, no,” Sallie said, gripping my hand tight. “I can’t leave you, Sarah. You’re my only friend. You’re like my sister.”

“Sallie, you know what’s going to happen. The Union army is going to do to Savannah what it did to Atlanta. Everything is going to be destroyed.”

“And this farm too…you’re going to need me…”

“Sallie, you know what our neighbors are like. They’re going to fix blame, and that blame is not just going to be for someone like me, but for anybody with dark skin.” She looked down to our hands, clasped together. “You also know that none of these white folks are going to raise a finger to repair anything that is burned or broken. They’re going to treat any slave as property to be used, abused, and worked until there’s nothing left of them.”

“But, Sarah, what will you do when we all leave? You can’t manage this farm by yourself. We have a thousand acres of cotton and tobacco…one small woman can’t manage that by herself.” Both of us had tears running off our cheeks. Mine were hot in my eyes.

“I know, Sallie, I know…this way of life is over. The war is going bad for the Confederacy. I don’t see how they can do anything but lose at this point. Look at how long Sherman has been here in the heart of the South and not a single Confederate soldier has come to help. The Colonel might as well be on the moon for all the help he is giving us, while a Union general lives in our house.”

“But what will you do?”

“I’ll find a way—don’t worry about me. In the spring the cotton will grow and I’ll find a way to make some money with that.”

“Sarah, let me stay with you. You know I can help. You know I have a good sense for business…”

“Yes, and that’s why I need you to lead everybody else. Most of our workers don’t know how to sell cotton or the ship. They’ve worked hard their whole lives but won’t have anything to stand on when they get to New York. I need you to lead them there, sell the ship, sell the cotton…help them get settled in their new homes. It’ll be tough, I have no doubt. It’ll be cold when you all arrive. I fear that, left alone, none of them would last the winter.”

She knew I was right, but our love was so strong she didn’t want to admit it.

“Perhaps after I get everybody settled, I can come back?” She smiled at me, and I knew she understood.

“Wait until I can send you word…I think the damage from this invasion is going to get very ugly. But maybe when the war is over…you know I could never say no to you.”

Downstairs, I could hear the soldiers coming in and out. There were two market wagons sitting in the front of the house. General Bradley was at the port, waiting for these carriages to arrive with their passengers.

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