The Women of Magnolia by Marlene Mitchell

Author:Marlene Mitchell [Mitchell, Marlene]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781505879063
Publisher: Davis Studio Publishing
Published: 2014-09-12T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 39

When the talk of secession and war began to surface, Lola became concerned. She vacillated between staying in Savannah or moving North. It would be difficult to leave, but talks with her clients did not make her feel comfortable staying at Castle Knoll.

The women in the house agreed that they would all stay together, knowing that now was not a time to be on your own. Lola decided she would stay at Castle Knoll as long as possible. She was not anxious to leave, but she became increasingly nervous when news of a battle was received. She had no desire to be trapped inside the boundaries of the war. Lola was worried that the encroachment of the Northern soldiers would not be a healthy situation for them. Even though her clients hated to see her leave, they understood. Most agreed that left alone, the women would be at the mercy of the troops, both North and South.

In February 1862, Fort Pulaski, at the mouth of the Savannah River, was fired upon. The sound of the cannons rumbling across the fields and the black clouds of smoke from the fires was enough to convince Lola it was time to leave. She closed up the house and hired two large carriages to take the women and herself to safer ground. She had sold off most of the furniture and accessories that were too cumbersome to move. Her heart was heavy the day she left Castle Knoll. She had been so proud of her achievement and now it was left to be stripped of all its splendor.

For the next few years the five women traveled through Ohio and Michigan, living a modest life for women who had enjoyed extravagance in the past. They were often forced to stay in rooming houses or hotels that would accommodate them. The women soon learned that the feeling about prostitutes was not as acceptable in the Midwest as they were in the South. Lola refused to live in the red-light districts or slums. Most towns were not receptive to have a bordello in their vicinity and forced the women to leave. The local law enforcement in most of the places wanted much more than they could afford to let them conduct their business. Without their protection, the girls would surely end up in jail quite frequently.

The customers they now served did not care about Southern gentlemen principles and many times the girls, including Lola, were mistreated. Venus suffered several broken fingers and multiple bruises when she refused the advances of a drunken customer.

Polly had become depressed now that she was forced to perform sexual favors just like the other women. She could no longer be selective about the callers she would see. A heated argument between Lola and her convinced Polly she had no other choice. Lola gave her an ultimatum. Either do it all or leave the house. Polly had nowhere to go and she knew that Lola was under a good deal of pressure.

In Savannah, most of the women saw three or four men a day.

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.