The Bride of Blackbeard Page 4

  “Will, you must sit still and behave. I have no concept of how staunch the Hopkinses may be in their puritan ideals, so we must not offend them. We have spoken before of the rules and expectations in a puritan house.”

  “Yes, I know. Not too much running about or playing, no yelling or screaming...”

  “Or acting too happy or sad, for that matter,” chimed in Katrina, never removing her eyes from the manor. “Oh, sister, perhaps this long journey will have been worth the risk after all.”

  “Do not be too hasty—we have not even met my employers as yet.”

  The carriage rumbled to a stop in front of the manor and within moments several slaves rushed forward to assist with their meager belongings.

  Lucian appeared and opened the door. His hand rose to grasp hers, steadying her down the stairs. He held it a few seconds too long. As she slid it away, his thumb traced a line down her palm, sending shivers up her spine.

  The door of the manor opened and a man boldly strode across the porch. Stanzy assumed this was her employer, Mr. Hopkins.

  She curtsied and said, “I am—”

  “Yes, you must be Constanza. I’m Mr. Hopkins. I have had many a correspondence with your fine uncle, Channing. He has already written to inquire as to your arrival.”

  “This is my sister, Katrina, and my brother, Will.”

  Constanza noticed Mr. Hopkins’ eyes slid immediately to Kitty’s ample curves, until he heard the slam of a door and averted his gaze.

  “Welcome to StoneWater.” The lady of the manor was very plain—there was no other way to describe her. She made the most of her features, however, and her face virtually shone with a well-scrubbed complexion. To offset her lack of beauty, she dressed in the latest fashion from Paris, which Constanza was sure Kitty had noticed.

  “It is a pleasure to meet each of you. And yes, Lucas will be very glad to have another lad to conspire with,” Hopkins said, rocking back and forth on his heels. The man stole a glance at Katrina whenever it appeared Mrs. Hopkins wasn’t looking. “Blackwell, my good man, could you show Will and Ben where Lucas has got to? I am afraid he has run amok since our last governess departed.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Constanza led him to William’s bags in the back of the carriage. Lucian abruptly grabbed her elbow, and leaned so close she felt his lips graze her earlobe. He whispered, “If you need anything, day or night, while you are here, my cabin is not far from the wing in which you are housed. Just call and I will be there in a moment’s notice.”

  Drawing back to regard him, dark, serious eyes returned her gaze. He gave her a quick nod and headed toward the boys. Chills crept down her spine at his words. Why in the world would I need him?

  Stanzy watched him walk toward the right wing of the manor, flanked by Will and one of the servant’s boys. She couldn’t help but notice his perfectly proportioned body.

  He is beautiful. And he is married. If he is even entertaining the idea of bedding me, then I know full well to run away from him!

  “Constanza?” Mr. Hopkins' voice brought her back to reality. “My name is Ian, and this is my wife, Sarah. The maid will show you to your quarters. We will begin tomorrow with your expected responsibilities regarding the training of our children.”

  As they wound their way up the back servants’ staircase, she physically felt her sister quaking with anticipation. Katrina had always been influenced by wealth and power; this whole experience had to be a paradise for her.

  They entered the three adjoining rooms and the maid departed. Katrina launched herself into the air and bounced on the four poster bed. “Can you believe it? We have never had a room to ourselves. This is going to be wonderful.”

  “Katrina, now would be a good time to discuss how you plan to earn your keep here at the plantation. Having finished your schooling with me, you would make a good teaching assistant. There are at least the three students, and perhaps we might teach some of the slaves’ children as well—”

  “Are you mad? Mr. Hopkins is a gentleman, and will not want his son learning side by side with his servants’ children. Why that is disgraceful!”

  Constanza shook her head slowly and inhaled a deep breath before facing her sister. “You know, you are so much like our father with your class ideals. I believe, and so did Mother, that all people are equal in the eyes of God regardless of color or social status.”

  “Stop with your ideals! You will not change the world.”

  Stanzy sighed and went over to look out the window for Will. This was a frequent old argument that would probably go on forever, if she permitted it. She recalled one of her uncle’s favorite sayings: ‘You cannot argue with an idiot, without looking like one yourself.’

  The rap on the door made them both start as their raw, tightly wound nerves had had enough excitement after battling the Atlantic surf.

  Katrina strode to the door, opened it, and gave Lucian what Stanzy recognized as her most seductive pose. Her hand settled on her hip, her head tilted coquettishly to one side, chest thrust forward—of course.

  “All right, Will?” she asked as her brother pushed in.

  “Yeah, better than all right! I met Ben and Lucas and they are going to teach me about the horses and their tack and...”

  Constanza pulled him to her in a tight hug and said, “Thank you, Mr. Blackwell.”

  “Call me Lucian.”

  Katrina replied, “Thank you, Lucian.” She shut the door with a click.

  ~ * ~

  The windowpanes shook as thunder rumbled close by. Constanza rolled over and smiled into the darkness; Will had stolen into her bed sometime after the storm had begun. Finally he had a room of his own, but old habits die hard.

  The dog was also now at the bottom of her bed. She felt him trembling at her feet, fearful of the thunder and lightning.

  She moved closer to Will and buried her face into the top of his head, breathing deeply his scent, which had almost lost its baby smell. That’s when she heard it. The calm melted away as quickly as it had arrived.

  What was that?

  Birds screaming?

  Bats?

  All was quiet again.

  Then upstairs, straight above her room, she heard it. Full force screams and the sound of a heavy object repeatedly striking the wooden floor directly above her bed.

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  She slipped out of bed and padded over to the window. Across the yard, Lucian ran through the storm, a lantern swinging from his arm. She watched him approach and disappear below her window. He must have entered the service entrance into the kitchen.

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  More screams. Startled, she jumped backward as something hurtled past her window from above and sailed through the night sky to the wet ground below. She peered through the darkness, but was unable to make out the object lying in the rain.

  Heavy booted feet clambered up the stairs and past her room. Running to her door, she cracked it in time to see Lucian hurrying up the stairwell, his clothes dripping water in his path. When he disappeared on the landing above she heard a door right above her head open, then close. Quietly, she pressed her door shut.

  She tiptoed to the rocker and sat, bringing her legs to her chest and straining her ears to hear. The banging and screaming ceased.

  Constanza sat a long time, trying to hear Lucian’s retreat down the stairs, but sleep claimed her and she never heard him leave.

  ~ * ~

  “Stanzy, are you awake?”

  She opened her eyes to Katrina shaking her, pulling her away from a bizarre dream world, where screams and wind all mingled together into a cacophony of sound.

  “What time is it?”

  “It is darn near nine o’clock! And you still in bed!”

  “I must have overslept. Where is Will?”

  “Lucian came to collect him at about 6:30. But who cares about that? I hear visitors downstairs, and I wanted you to help me pin my hair up.”

  Katrina’s ch
eeks glowed and her neck flushed clear down to her low cut gown, where her breasts formed two perfect mounds of flesh. Constanza pushed the covers aside and glanced at her own upper body, which reminded her of an adolescent boy.

  “Who is it?” Stanzy asked, as she climbed from bed and began to dress.

  “I do not know, but I saw several gentlemen arrive in a carriage.”

  ~ * ~

  They made their way down the formal staircase into the foyer. Several men could be seen through the slightly open sitting-room door.

  Stanzy stopped dead in her tracks. Edward Teache. What is he doing here?

  Evidently having heard them approach, Mr. Hopkins turned and strode toward the open door, with Teache following behind.

  “Ah…Mr. Teache, might I present my new governess, Constanza, and her sister, Katrina?” Hopkins said with a most flamboyant bow.

  “I have already made their acquaintance, Ian. After all, it was on my ship they arrived in the Banks. Perhaps you were not aware as it is a new ship called Freedom. Not the one I previously had in my employ.”

  “I see. Well, if you would excuse us ladies, we have business to attend. Constanza, I will meet with you in two hours to discuss plans for my daughter’s education.”

  Stanzy left the men to their business, and she and Katrina entered the servants’ kitchen. Seated at the table were an elderly black man and Lucian. A heavyset woman stirred a pot at the stove. Without turning around, she asked, “Lucian, you need more coffee?”

  He cradled a mug in his hands, steam rising into his face. Dark black circles shadowed his eyes, and he vigorously rubbed a hand over his face.

  “No, Bess, I still have plenty.”

  The silence was awkward, then Lucian and Constanza both fixed their eyes on something floating through the air in the kitchen. It was a ladybug.

  Constanza looked down the table and saw Lucian smiling into his mug. “Did I miss something?”

  He shook his head, still smiling.

  Introductions were made, and before she knew it she was headed for the barn on Lucian’s arm, having accepted his offer to give her a tour of the plantation.

  Why has he wrapped my arm in his? What is he playing at? He smells so good I cannot stand it. I do not think I will hear a word he says to me. I sound like an idiotic school girl!

  Lucian stopped and stared at her. Apparently he’d asked her a question.

  When she merely stared, he spoke again. “The main crop is tobacco, for which I am responsible, besides my job overseeing the slaves. The small quarters behind the manor is a schoolhouse. Would you like to walk over and see it?”

  “Yes, thank you.” She wrestled to keep her words in check, wanting to pummel him with questions about the previous night. If she had Lucian figured right, he was the calculating, silent type, who only spoke after careful consideration. If she wanted answers, she would have to play her cards right.

  When he opened the door she sucked in her breath as she entered a beautifully designed and decorated cottage. Small desks were aligned in front of a larger desk for her use. A few seemingly misplaced items lay about, such as ropes, and of course, the standard switch. But one sight made her look twice—a chain attached to one of the walls.

  She could only surmise that maybe animals were once housed here, before they made it into the schoolhouse.

  “This is wonderful. I am sure I will be able to accomplish much with the children. Lucian, is your boy to attend as well?”

  He nodded. “Yes. I have an arrangement with Mr. Hopkins. Guess you could say he inherited me with the farm. Mrs. Hopkins’ father, Mr. Kirkaldy, used to own it before he passed on. When Sarah married Ian Hopkins, her father gave him several conditions he had to fulfill in order to gain possession of the plantation. My request that Ben be educated was one of them. Mr. Kirkaldy had only daughters, no male heirs.”

  “I see. How old is Ben?”

  “He is nine years out.”

  Here I go. Best to call him on it now.

  She looked him dead in the eye and said, “His mother must be thrilled that he will have an education as well.”

  “His mother is dead. She died of smallpox when Ben was three years old.”

  Constanza felt the blood drain from her face and surmised she was as white as the cotton bobbing outside on the breeze. She reached over and placed her hand on his. “I am so sorry, I had no idea. I lost both my parents and have been caring for my brother and sister since I was sixteen. You have done a wonderful job. Ben seems very happy.”

  “He is a blessing, one of the few I have had.” He turned away from her, checking the sky. “We had better head back to the manor as it is almost time for you to meet with Hopkins.”

  As they walked to the manor, Stanzy kept stealing glances at him from out of the corner of her eye. My word he is dark and beautiful. I cannot believe I am acting this way. I detest silly women who act this way…

  Although she waited into the evening for the summons to see Mr. Hopkins, it never transpired. She also wanted desperately to inquire of the chains in the schoolhouse, but decided to wait for a more opportune time. One thing for certain, she didn’t want to offend her new employer.

  ~ * ~

  Constanza’s eyes popped open from a deep sleep.

  There it was again—screams from upstairs.

  She sat up in bed, and guessed it was about four in the morning.

  Bang! Bang!

  Fully awake, she kicked off her covers and rushed to the window. Sure enough, throwing his overcoat over his bare chest, Lucian bolted through the swirling wind toward the house again. Throwing open the window and thrusting her head out, she craned her neck to see the floor above. The only thing she could see was a flickering light, most likely from a lantern inside the room.

  Constanza padded to the door and with her ear to the wood listened for Lucian's footsteps. It wasn’t a long wait; she heard him as he hurriedly climbed the stairs. He passed her door on the way to the steps to the third floor.

  Enough of this nonsense, she thought. She flung the door open and hastened quickly behind him on the steps. As his forearm raised to knock, she took hold of it, causing him to startle.

  “Lucian, what is going on? Who is making all that noise? Is someone hurt? I told you I have been trained as a healer, let me help.”

  “He did not tell you, did he? The bloody coward. Well, this is not how I would have told you, Constanza, but come. Meet your other pupil.”

  ~ Chapter Three ~

  Lucian's eyes welled with tears. The care-worn expression on his face led her to believe he'd been dealing with whatever was behind the door for a very long time.

  Stanzy's stomach lurched in response to a gruesome sight. In the middle of the room was a tiny girl, probably no more than five. Bright dark eyes met hers and locked. Long brown locks tumbled down her tiny back in waves. However, on closer inspection, large matted clumps interwove throughout the curls. Only the fur of alley cats back in Bristol could compete with these malignant tangles.

  The child’s back extended to extreme as a scream as shrill as any banshee escaped her lips. Thrashing forward, her head gave a sickening crunch on the desk in front of her. When she raised it, an angry red welt rose to a lump on her forehead. Tied onto a chair, the girl stopped flailing momentarily to look at who had entered the room. Ropes restrained her torso to the chair, which now rocked violently, threatening to tip with each flagellation of her tautly wound body.

  Her head rocked purposefully toward Bess, who knelt beside her. Eyes blazed with hatred at her own miscalculation as Bess moved out of the way of the head butting. Walloping her head on the back of the chair, her eyes grew dimmer with each successful blow.

  Whap! Whap!

  “Oh, my.” Constanza rushed to the girl’s side and attempted to restrain the wild child, to no avail. The tiny body gave another great arch as she struck the final blow. Blood poured from the back of her scalp, drowning curls and clumps of hair alike.

 
; Bess emitted a low, keening cry, removed the child’s restraints and held a wet cloth to the back of her head. Gently lifting her from the chair, the girl seemed to disappear in the old woman’s embrace.

  “I will put her to bed, Miss. She will be all right now. You come back tomorrow, and me and you—we have a good talk about this little one.”

  Turning, Constanza locked eyes with Lucian, his hand partially covering his face. She caught sight of the track of a single tear before he wiped it away, “She is very sick, Stanzy.”

  Constanza followed him down the stairs and into the kitchen. She set coffee to boil. Soon the aromatic scent of the fresh brew permeated the kitchen. Constanza filled and handed Lucian a steaming mug, then sat beside him. “Please, Lucian, tell me everything.” The sun would be rising soon and with it all of their responsibilities.

  Lucian dragged a rough hand across his face. He heaved a sigh. “She has been this way since she was about one year out. Sometimes, she is like an animal—biting, kicking, spitting. When that queerness takes her, she will try to hurt you if she gets the chance. When she was almost two, things got even worse. That was when her mother and father quit going upstairs to see her anymore.”

  “They what?”

  “Yeah. They have not seen her in over three years. The Hopkinses are people with little patience for regular folk, let alone sick ones. They have set Bess to care for her, and a long string of governesses, I’m afraid.”

  Constanza nodded, the pieces of the puzzle fitting together in her mind. “No wonder they permitted me to bring my brother and sister; they were desperate.”

  “Yes, I imagine they were. Most folks round here know about her, so I reckon that is why they needed to write to England to find you.”

  “Are you related to her, Lucian? I see you going up there each time she is in a rage.”

  “No, but I cannot bear to think of her alone with only Bess, who God knows loves and cares for her the best she can. But she knows me, and when she has a good day, she has even let me hold her, but it doesn’t last. She cannot talk and she cannot control herself.”