Saving Grace (The Grace Series Book 2) (27 page)

As soon as she was finished with the piece, Jessica rose.

“You play well,” the general said.

“I don’t want to disturb you so I think I shall retire for the evening.” Looking at the major was not a good idea. What she wanted to say to him came out in a stuttered bluster. “Thank you for everything. Thank you so much. Everything here is so beautiful. The bedroom is… the bedroom is perfect.” As she fled she called out, “Good night and thank you.”

While lying in her new bed that night, Jessica knew she’d never slept in one so comfortable. Still it took a long time for her to drift away. There was too much to grapple with, too much to comprehend.

To say the day had been surreal would be putting it mildly. She was wealthy beyond her wildest dreams. She was the owner of this incredible property. She had other properties, one in Florida, one in South Carolina, several in Pennsylvania, and many in Washington. She had investments in hospitals, in schools, in colleges, in coal and electric companies, lumber and development companies, and in the stock market.

She thought of the major’s bequest to Sebastian and of the trust fund for the college. The trust agreement was dated several days before the parsonage burned. The will was written this week, which meant Sebastian was definitely still alive. The thought warmed her heart, but at the same time it scared her. How deeply did all the deceptions go?

She thought of the major’s family, his three brothers and his mother. Even though the major hadn’t answered her question about whether they were close, she reflected on his warm words toward them in his will. Another document said his body was to be returned to the Grace family cemetery in South Carolina. Jessica knew the answer to her question.

She imagined all of his brothers as younger versions of him. She imagined his mother to be a fine, graceful and intensely beautiful gentlewoman, and she wondered if she would ever have the opportunity to meet any of them.

Those thoughts brought her back to the one that prevailed and made all of this good fortune seem somehow pointless. The major was so horribly ill. His raspy breathing was frightening, his voice disconcerting, the blood that came from his nose and mouth terrifying. She instinctively knew now why he’d told his family not to come. She wanted to know, but wasn’t sure how or who to ask, how much longer did he have?

In the morning, silently, uncomfortably, Jessica ate breakfast with the general. When she dared to ask about the major, the general replied simply and curtly, “He is still alive.”

-That was the extent of their conversation.

Shortly afterwards the carriage was brought around and Herlin drove her back to her father’s home. Although Trent had filled Luther in a great deal, Jessica took the time to explain all of the options to her father as instructed by Mr. Wainwright. As Trent had suspected, Luther didn’t want to leave the farm. It was the only home he’d ever known.

In keeping with what the general said about the danger of the major’s location being discovered, Jessica told her father if he wanted to visit, she would send a carriage for him, but he would not be allowed to see where the carriage drove. She told him eventually she would be able to show him so he could travel on his own. It was an odd conversation, because Jessica couldn’t bring herself to talk about the major’s pending demise, as if by not speaking of it, it would make it not so.

Once her things were packed and loaded, she kissed her father and Trent goodbye. She told them she loved them and not to worry. Less than an hour later, she stepped out of the carriage and stared at the front of Grace Manor, her new home. It was astounding. Every aspiration she ever had didn’t even come close.

Because she was hungry and it was well past the normal hour for the midday meal, she made her way to the kitchen. Ruth was there, and so were Martha, Willy, Jacob and Chelsea. Ruth and Martha were in the process of preparing lunch. They’d already fed the children, but had nothing yet themselves. While she waited, Jessica held Chelsea on her lap. Willy and Jacob wanted her attention, too, and Jessica was pleased to give it. It was so very good to see them and her heart warmed as she listened to them speak excitedly about their new surroundings.

It wasn’t surprising to hear Willy ask if she would give him more piano lessons, but Jessica wasn’t sure how to answer. She couldn’t take Willy into the parlor, not with the major being there. She was still contemplating how to put him off, when he said, “The cap’n, I mean, the major asked me to play my pieces for him. He said I am almost as good as you.”

“I read to him three times,” Jacob chimed in. “He’s not mean like he used to be.”

“I’m not afraid of him anymore,” Willy said.

Speechless, Jessica could do nothing but stare at them.

Ruth looked over from the stove. “Okay, it’s time for the adults to eat. You all run along and play outside. Take Chelsea with you.”

As the children scampered out the kitchen door, Herlin and Ditter came through it. They had just finished putting up the horses and carriage and were hungry, too. Sitting around the table with the four of them reminded Jessica nostalgically of the times just like it at Bent Oak Manor.

“I have missed the children so much,” she remarked.

“You have always been wonderful with them,” Martha said.

“I love them.” As soon as the words left her mouth, Jessica looked away. Her mind instantly conjured up an image of the major, and she was overcome with shame. She could feel all of them watching her and that only made it worse.

She had to do something to dispel the awkwardness. Forcing a smile, she said, “There are some things the attorney explained to me that I need to talk to you about. Is now a good time?”

“Of course, Miss Jessica,” Herlin nodded.

“I think you already know, the major gave this house to me,” she said. “I hope you will all consider staying here with me.”

“As much as we would like to, Miss Jessica,” Herlin replied, “I have duties in Washington I must get back to. Martha, Willy and I will be returning there…” He paused and frowned. “…soon.”

What he meant was obvious, but no one commented on it.

“Are you in the army, too?” Jessica asked.

He shook his head. “Ditter and I work for lobbyist, Frederick Washington. This operation, to bring the Klan down, was started in Washington. Many government officials were involved in the planning process.”

“Ruth and I will be going back, too,” Ditter said.

“So you knew all along about… the major, what he was doing here, his real name, all of it?”

Sheepishly, Herlin nodded.

“Only the four of us knew,” Ditter explained. “The rest of the people who worked at Bent Oak Manor did not. They all know now, of course, and they are looking forward to continuing their duties here, if you want to hire them.”

“Yes, I do,” Jessica said. “I will need to contact them, but I’m not quite sure how to go about it.”

“I will take care of it for you, Miss Jessica,” Ditter said.

Jessica nodded her thanks, but she couldn’t prevent her throat from growing tight. “I…I feel like such a fool,” she murmured.

Herlin immediately shook his head. “No, ma’am, please don’t say that. We all think very highly of you. We appreciate everything you did for us, for our children, the school you started. You stood up for us when the rest of the world would not. You must understand, Jonny didn’t have a choice. He wanted to tell you. So many times he wanted to, but he couldn’t.”

“He wanted to tell me?”

Herlin sighed. “Yes, ma’am. He was very upset about it, especially… especially when you were with child.”

Jessica took a breath in attempt to relieve the sudden pain in her heart. “Didn’t it bother you when he spoke to you so cruelly?”

Somehow she wasn’t surprised when they all mildly chuckled.

“We knew he had to say those things,” Martha said. “We were prepared well in advance. Even so, he was very funny about it. He always apologized afterwards. We told him no apology was necessary, but he was adamant that it was. Did you ever notice, Miss Jessica, he only ever spoke that way to the four of us? And he only did it when he was in the company of men he suspected or knew were involved with the Klan. He never treated any of the others as badly.”

Jessica contemplated Martha’s comments. “No, he never yelled at the others, but he wasn’t nice to them. They were all afraid of him, afraid to even look at him.”

“It was all part of the ruse, Miss Jessica,” Ruth chimed in. “If they weren’t afraid of him, or if they made a mistake of not showing fear in front of him, it would have destroyed the whole front he had to create in order to be accepted by the Klan. The four of us fueled it, too, warning the others never to look at him or he would yell at them, or even beat them. You must know, Miss Jessica, Jonny hated every minute of it. But mostly, he hated the way he had to treat the children.”

While Ruth’s remarks brought to mind Jessica’s memory of Jon scaring Willy so badly in the parlor, Ditter said, “This whole thing was very difficult for him. When he was attending Klan meetings and had to participate in the murders and other crimes, he was beside himself, always so angry and upset that he wasn’t able to stop it.” Ditter looked away and his voice lowered considerably. “I will never forget how he wept after they killed Bess Bentley.”

Jessica remembered hearing the major speak about Bess Bentley’s horrifying rape and murder at the trail.

“It was better in the beginning,” Herlin added. “Before he became so deeply involved, he was able to warn so many people. In order to be inducted into the Klan he had to lynch a man, but he managed to get away in time to rescue him before he died. There were others, seventeen in all, who he was able to revive before they strangled to death. He prevented Klan raids on sixty-eight different families. He saved so many, many lives, Miss Jessica.”

Knowing the answer before she asked the question, Jessica murmured, “Reverend Nash wasn’t the spook, was he?”

They all shook their heads in unison. Jessica looked down at her hands.

“The reverend was the only other person who knew what Jonny was doing here,” Ditter explained. “He figured it out. Jonny tried to convince the Klan many times that the reverend wasn’t the spook. He felt terribly guilty when they went after him, but there was nothing he could do without giving himself away. The second time the Klan attacked the reverend they left him tied up in the woods. If Jonny hadn’t gone to find him, he would have frozen to death. Jonny took him home and stayed with him for days. Jonny was so sick at the time, he could barely stand himself, but he was determined to care for Reverend Nash. When it became clear he wouldn’t be able to stop the Klan from going after the reverend again, the two of them concocted the plan to fake the reverend’s death, although I do believe it took a lot of convincing on Jonny’s part. At first, the reverend refused to leave town. I don’t know exactly what Jonny said to finally change his mind. But, be assured Reverend Nash is alive and well, living in Washington now, and from what Jonny told us, along with everything else, he’s taken up the fight for public education.”

“General McLean insisted we keep Jonny’s identity hidden until after the trial,” Ruth added. “It was too dangerous to send word to Reverend Nash. As soon as Reverend Amos found out, he notified Reverend Nash. It is our understanding Reverend Nash is on the train on his way here as we speak.”

“Do you remember how he beat me that day, Miss Jessica?” Herlin said. “He wiped his own blood on me so those men would think the whip was cutting me.”

“I know you said that, Herlin. I have been trying, but I can’t figure it out. The lashes on your back looked so real.”

“Do you remember how he stood behind me, pretending to pull my hair and yell at me? Do you remember when I kicked him and he dropped the whip? It was all a ploy. He told me to do that. He took his knife from his boot and slashed his wrist, just under his coat sleeve, so no one would see the cut.” Gesturing to the spot on his own arm, Herlin went on, “I’m not quite sure how he did it, but every time he drew the whip back he must have run it over his wrist to cover it with his blood. When that whip hit me it was his blood coming off. It looked like the whip was cutting me, but it didn’t. Not once. He’s been around horses, training them, using whips his whole life. He knew exactly how to throw that whip to make it look like he was hitting me hard, but he wasn’t. I will admit I was a little sore afterwards for a day or two, but that was from how I was hanging on the fence. Jonny got the worst end of it. He cut himself badly enough to need stitches. He still has a nasty scar.”

“He had us all fooled,” Martha piped in. “I didn’t know Herlin wasn’t hurt until I tried to clean the wounds and discovered there weren’t any. None of us realized where the blood came from, or what Jonny did to himself. We didn’t know until the next day, and then we felt awful for abandoning him. He had to sew the cut on his arm by himself.”

All Jessica could see in her mind was the bright pink tinted water in the bowl in Herlin and Martha’s cabin. She remembered when she fought Jon, when she pushed him into the fence, the pained look on his face, how he cradled his wrist against his chest. “I accused him of… I said such awful things to him…” She couldn’t finish.

“You didn’t know, Miss Jessica,” Ruth said. “No one thinks badly of you. No one. Including Jonny.”

“He admired you for standing up to him,” Herlin said.

Jessica swallowed hard. Then, without a word, she looked at Martha. The silent question was clear.

Martha smiled sadly. “No, Miss Jessica, by saying I was his and he didn’t share, he was preventing any of them from coming after me. What you saw in the cabin was me fixing a tear in his spook’s shirt. Two men died that night because he wasn’t able to get away from the Klan in time to save them. He was upset about it. We were just talking.”

Jessica raised her eyes to Ruth and murmured, “Did he want the baby?”

Ruth reached across the table and took her hand. “When you lost the baby, he was devastated. He was so worried about you. I have never seen a man as broken as he was during the days you were so ill. He wouldn’t leave your side. He wouldn’t allow anyone else to care for you. He barely ate. He didn’t sleep.” She shook her head and remarked dismally, “He blamed himself for what happened.”

Jessica whispered, “He ruined the cradle…”

“He made that cradle himself, Miss Jessica,” Herlin said. “We all teased him about his carpentry skills, hidden talents.” Briefly Herlin smirked at the memory, and then he lowered his voice and said seriously, “He came home late one night after being out with the Klan. He’d had too much to drink. I’ll tell you, his slight of hand is pretty amazing. It may have looked to the Klan boys like he was drinking half the bottle. In reality he spilled most of it away. He plays a mean drunk. He’s so good at it, several times he even had me fooled. But that night… that night he wasn’t pretending. He was in a rage over what the Klan had done. They’d gunned down a young boy. At first he tried to burn the cradle, but it was raining and the fire kept going out. He was ranting on and on, saying such awful things about himself.”

Herlin paused and Jessica had the distinct impression he wanted to say more but changed his mind. When he went on, he said, “Jonny felt like he was failing because he couldn’t save everybody. But no man could be in two places at once. No man would have taken on what he did. You must understand, Miss Jessica, the spook wasn’t part of the plan created in Washington. Jonny created the spook on his own because he refused to stand by and do nothing. The money and the horses he gave were his. The money donated to rebuild Reverend Amos’s church and the money we distributed in Shanty Town came from his own pocket, too. When he realized people wouldn’t leave town without somewhere to go, he negotiated with the mining company in West Virginia so he could direct them to a place where they would be able to find good jobs and homes for their families.”