Whispers of War by Naomi Finley

Author:Naomi Finley [Finley, Naomi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: The Livingston Legacy. Book Three
Publisher: Huntson Press
Published: 2020-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

WHITNEY AND I BALANCED ON ladders, plucking apples from the orchard’s weighted canopy. A gentle fall breeze rustled the branches, scattering leaves and sending the odd fruit bouncing on the ground. Beneath us on a bed of fallen leaves, Evie and Sailor played, and the innocence of their happy chatter placed a smile on my face.

“When we grow up, we’re gonna git married.” Evie propped her doll against a rock.

“Married? Lak Missus Willow and Masa Bowden?” Sailor said.

“Yes, and we gwine to live in a big house jus’ lak dem.”

“I don’t want no w-wife.”

She scowled. “Why not?”

“’Cause I lak fishing, and Jimmy says a wife jus’ gwine stop you from doing what you lak.”

Whitney and I exchanged a smirk.

“So young and they have it all figured out. Marriage is a snare.” She placed an apple in the basket hanging from her forearm.

“It is not,” I said.

“Is too.”

I placed the last apple that would fit in my basket and started my descent. “Knox is a good man,” I called up to her.

“No one is disputing that,” she shouted back.

“Do you not love Knox?” I asked as she joined me on the ground.

“I do, but not the same as you do Bowden.” Her gaze rested on the children. “Knox has been good to us, and I know he loves me, but sometimes I think I’m incapable of love.”

“That isn’t true. I’ve seen what you sacrificed for Kimie and Jack. If that isn’t love, what is it?”

“That’s a different kind of love. I’m referring to the love between a man and a woman. I find I’m the most at peace when Knox is in the fields or off with Bowden. I rather enjoy being alone.”

I couldn’t comprehend her desire for solitude. Although I relished the quiet of the morning before the house and ground folks rose, I loved it when the house was alive with the movement and voices of the house staff, the squealing of children at play, and the melodies of the quarter folks. Whereas Whitney claimed contentment in solitude, I yearned for people and family to occupy my days. Fear of abandonment and loss of those I loved had shadowed most of my life.

“Sometimes, I feel as though I cheated Knox.” She regarded me with watery eyes.

“What do you mean?”

“I feel I’ve been selfish. I married him because I was exhausted from caring for the twins and myself. I grew tired of responsibility. In the end, marrying him only added to the burdens forced on me before my time. Since I can remember, I’ve been taking care of people—nursing a sick mother, worrying if there would be enough food, or if Father would return home drunk and hurt her or me. Then Father came back, and I found out I had a brother and a sister. I wanted to save them from Father’s cruelty. But, on reflection, how could I save them when I was incapable of saving myself?” Her voice shook.

I touched her arm, tears gathering in my throat. “Whitney…”

She continued.

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