Tomorrow the Glory by Heather Graham

Author:Heather Graham [Graham, Heather]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2017-10-08T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

“You mark my words, Kendall,” Harold Armstrong said, securing a clump of dirt around a freshly transplanted bougainvillea, “the day will come when this place will be busier than Richmond!”

He sat back on his heels and dusted the dirt from his hands as he smiled at Kendall. “You’ll find plants here that are native to South America—and North America! You see the trade winds carried pollen. The Glades are unique, young lady. Wild. And when they’re bordered by this glorious stretch of beach . . .” He sighed, a man completely replete with bounty for life.

Kendall laughed. “Yes, Harry, your place is very beautiful.” The smile faded from her features. “And of course, I saw the beauty of the Everglades when I was with Red Fox . . . but I don’t know if I have enough of the pioneer spirit to live there! It’s also lonely. And beauty can harbor quicksand and snakes and—”

She stopped short as Harry chortled out a gleeful laugh. “You’re gonna tell me, girl, that you haven’t got the pioneer spirit! You sailed all that distance in a little dinghy? You’re pioneer enough for me, girl.”

Kendall shook her head with a sigh. “I dream of home all the time, Harry.” When she wasn’t worrying about Brent and Travis and Red Fox and everything that could be happening while she waited, she added silently. “I dream that the war will end. That the Yankees will at last grow tired of trying to subdue us and leave us to live as we please. And one day I will go back to Charleston. I’ll find a way to defeat my stepfather, and I’ll restore Cresthaven to its former grandeur. Oh, Harry! Pa built his plantation with so much grace! The grand staircase appears to stretch forever, and when we had a party, the house was filled with women in beautiful gowns and rustling crinolines and men in the most handsome attire! Pa was considered to be quite a theologian; the debates that filled the drawing room were wonderfully exciting!”

Harry smiled vaguely, wondering why it hurt so to hear her speak about her home. Plants were his love, now that his children were dead. He had made his move to Florida with contented purpose in his heart. But although the slavery question had meant little to him and Amy in their wilderness retreat, he was a born South Carolinian, and when his state seceded—and then his adopted land followed suit—he’d known he would have to become involved in the conflict, at least in some small way.

And when Kendall spoke, he could see things through her beautiful blue eyes. Days of grace. Of easy, dignified living. A code of behavior so dignified and gallant and held dear to every heart with no rules on a piece of paper to make them so.

But that was over. He didn’t know why he felt it was gone; the South appeared to be winning the war. Except that New Orleans was already under Yankee rule, and he knew full well that the South was suffering severe shortages.

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