Secret of Richmond Manor by Gilbert L. Morris

Author:Gilbert L. Morris [Morris, Gilbert]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-8024-7881-8
Publisher: Moody Publishers
Published: 1995-12-15T05:00:00+00:00

8

Jeff Gets a Shock

For two days Jeff mooned around camp until finally his father demanded, “What’s the matter with you, son? You act like you’re sick. Don’t you feel well?”

“Oh, I feel all right. I just—well, I don’t think I was too nice to Leah when I took her to the party.”

Captain Majors stared at him. He had sharp hazel eyes and a black mustache and the same jet black hair he’d passed on to his sons. “You want to tell me about it? We haven’t had a father-and-son talk in quite a while.”

Jeff looked embarrassed. He examined his boots silently for a while, then nodded. He began to relate the events that had taken place, and when he got to the part that embarrassed him most, his cheeks reddened. He ended by saying, “I know Leah felt pretty bad. She was ashamed of her dress, but that didn’t bother me. What bothers me is I left her alone so much.”

“This girl—the daughter of the house, Lucy—was she pretty?”

Jeff swallowed, then nodded. “Yes, sir, she was.” He cracked his knuckles nervously. “I just made a mess out of it, Pa. After all the Carters have done for me, you’d think I had better sense.”

Nelson Majors put a hand on his son’s shoulder. “When I was your age,” he said gently, “I was in something like this all the time. My pa used to tell me I was studying for the gallows. You know what I think you better do?”

“What’s that?”

“I think you better have another quick leave and go tell that girl how sorry you are. Take her something nice—a present of some kind. I know what—take her some coffee. I managed to get a couple of pounds. Take some of it to her for her uncle. He likes it so much.”

“Yes, sir!” Jeff exclaimed. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. And thanks a lot, sir.”

Jeff managed to catch a ride from the camp out to Richmond Manor. He knew he would probably have to walk back, so he wouldn’t have long to stay.

He walked up onto the porch, knocked loudly, and heard a voice say, “Come in!”

He stepped inside, looking for Leah. He didn’t see her, but then Silas Carter called, “Come on in the living room.”

Jeff proceeded into the front room and saw that the old man was sitting in his rocking chair reading his Bible.

“Why, hello, Jeff! Didn’t expect to see you today.”

Jeff was embarrassed. “Well, I just had a chance to come for a minute. Is Leah around?”

“She’s outside, hunting eggs. You know how it is with guineas, don’t you? We got half a dozen of them from a neighbor. They make good eating, and their eggs are good too, but they hide those things like nothing you ever saw. Keeps Leah busy hunting for them. But you’ll find her out there somewhere.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll go look for her.”

Jeff stood on the porch and scanned the terrain, but he didn’t see her. He circled

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