The Bride of Blackbeard (5 page)

“The doctor will be here soon to check on
them, but earlier he stopped by and said your family would make a
full recovery.”

“Yes, I looked at them myself.”

He raised an eyebrow in silent question.

“My father was a physician, and I assisted
him for many years before his death. Also my mother was a midwife
and healer, so I know a bit about it.”

“Mr. Hopkins did choose well then, to have a
dual governess and healer.” He led her down the stairs to the bar
room. “He will well get his money’s worth.”

She thought she detected a note of sarcasm
in his last words, but he didn’t speak again.

What he did next confused her. Lucian placed
a hand on the small of her back and led her through the crowd. As
he did, she felt his hand tremble.

~ * ~

The carriage rattled its way along twisting
dirt roads, leading them away from the ocean’s edge into the
Pamlico Sound area.

Will virtually risked death—his head hung so
far out of the carriage window in a vain attempt to drink in every
piece of scenery.

“Stanzy, look at those bogs!” His voice
barely discernible on the inside of the carriage. “Do you know what
kind of animals they have at the plantation? Do you think it will
be all right if Jack sleeps in my room? How many boys are
there?”

Constanza yelled, doubting he could hear
her, “Will! I have no idea how to answer any of those questions,
except there are two boys I know of—Mr. Hopkins’ boy, Lucas, and
the farm manager’s boy, Benjamin Blackwell.”

“Yes, Mr. Blackwell is
very
easy on
the eyes!” This from Katrina, who was busy wrapping her dark brown
ringlets around her fingers attempting to curl them into
submission. “This air makes my hair straight. I thought once we
were off that floating death trap the air would improve. Only Mr.
Teache made the trip tolerable.”

“Katrina. Katrina, pay attention! I realize
he was attracted to you, but let us try to set our sights higher
than the likes of Mr. Teache.”

“Oh, do be honest. Before things went awry,
I saw you examining his fine male anatomy on a number of
occasions.”

“Well, in a barbaric sort of way, he is
attractive—very tall and muscular, but I am afraid I will need more
than that to hold my interest.”

“Oh, you are so tiresome,” Katrina retorted
and resumed staring out the window.

They were silent when the carriage turned
the corner onto the path to StoneWater and an imposing manor came
into view. It was one of the largest manor’s the three had ever
seen. The estate proper sat on a raised area, evidently by design
in case of flooding, and slave quarters, barns and liveries were
situated about the property.

“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 cheeks 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.