The Dangerous Thaw of Etta Capstone by Karen J. Hasley

Author:Karen J. Hasley [Hasley, Karen J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2013-02-13T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

July 1, 1877

Compassion, Texas

Dear Mr. Clearwater,

It is another fine, clear day here in Compassion, a town which cannot compare to New Orleans, though it possesses a colloquial charm all its own, as I am sure your friend Mrs. Rally shared with you. She seemed to have a lively curiosity about Compassion and its citizens on her recent visit and asked any number of questions about us. It may have been my imagination, but it seemed she was particularly interested in me and my history. I did my best to answer her as fully as I was able. She was such a gracious lady, and I admit I found her attention flattering.

Since my last letter, I have given serious thought about how best to dispense the knowledge about our mutual acquaintance with Mr. Delaney. I believe it is something people should know for its historical importance and the information would surely hold the attention of your family, business, and political connections. I have determined that it would be selfish of me to keep the information to myself, but I cannot make up my mind how best to proceed. Through the years you have gained considerable political and commercial power, and because of that, there must be a multitude of influential people who would find the story of your rise to power and riches an absorbing and quite possibly shocking tale. I myself find it remarkable that a man of such contradictory origins and unfortunate early connections should have reached the prestigious heights which you now occupy. Only in the United States of America, so they say. Sadly, as I am sure you are aware, history shows that those who climb the highest often fall the farthest.

I have resolved my dilemma by writing letters to several acquaintances able to advise me of the best way to disseminate the true story of Archibald Clearwater. In some cases, the letters have quite a distance to travel, to a college professor in Ohio, a Boston lawyer, and to the United States Congress in Washington. Truthfully, however, I felt that men of my own state of Texas would have the most insight, so I have written personal letters to Governor Hubbard—who was excessively complimentary when he last visited my restaurant— and to Major John Jones of the Texas Rangers, a man of unimpeachable integrity and respect for the law who has maintained an interest in my well-being through the years. No doubt there will be others whose advice I may request, as well. The letters are ready to be mailed, but because I hesitate to do so without hearing your opinion, I have distributed the sealed letters to several friends and acquaintances and asked them to hold the letters for me until I am certain of their propriety. My only instruction was that in the event of my untimely demise, the letters should be mailed immediately to ensure that the knowledge I possessed would not be lost to posterity.

I imagine you must be one of the busiest men in New Orleans and your time precious indeed.

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.