The Widow of Rose Hill (The Women of Rose Hill Book 2)
a wife for two years before George went off to war, their marriage had left much to be desired. George had shown himself more like his father with each passing day, especially when she was not with child soon after the wedding. In his impatience to produce an heir, his approach to her in the bedroom grew callous. She shuddered, remembering one terrible night in particular. He’d had too much to drink and demanded to know why she wasn’t pregnant, bragging that he’d fathered several children in the quarter, the latest being the infant girl his sister Adella stole the night she and the overseer ran off. The child’s mother had been killed during the escape, yet George laughed, declaring his sister had done him a favor when she took the brat with her. While Natalie reeled with the knowledge that her sister-in-law was raising George’s illegitimate child, he’d grabbed her and pinned her to the bed, ordering her to give him a legitimate heir.Samuel was conceived soon after.
Annoyed with herself for allowing her thoughts to stray to such unpleasantness, she didn’t wait for Carolina and began unbuttoning her gown with impatient fingers. The fact that the handsome Union colonel had her mind dredging up memories she had no desire to visit made one truth very clear as she tugged off the dress she’d purposefully worn today.
The sooner the Yankee left her land, the better.
CHAPTER SIX
The message arrived shortly before noon the following day. Levi read the brief note twice, making sure he understood General Granger’s orders. His frown deepened with each word.
“Bad news?”
Levi glanced up to find Corporal Banks standing in the doorway to the sitting room. “General Granger has ordered us to remain here, but he wants us to find a way to compensate Mrs. Ellis for use of her plantation. Preferably using the least amount of Union funds as possible.”
“I’m guessing a box of oranges isn’t enough?”
Levi sent the young man a look of warning. “He has left it up to Mrs. Ellis’ discretion, of all things. I can’t imagine what that woman might demand.”
Corporal Banks remained silent, which was probably for the best.
“We’ll ride over to deliver the news in an hour. Please have the horses ready.”
After Banks exited, Levi heaved a sigh. He wasn’t sure why the general’s vague orders left him so surly. Natalie Ellis deserved compensation while the Union Army occupied her property. He could understand her unhappiness with the arrangement, but he also couldn’t let go of the fact that she was in the position of plantation owner because slaves had worked the land up until two days ago. Why should she receive payment when it was the slaves who deserved reimbursement for all their years of labor?
He leaned back in the chair, surveying the small room. It wasn’t decorated as grandly as the front parlor, but the furnishings were comfortable and well made. Since the war began, Levi had seen plenty of southern plantation owners lose everything, often at the hands of angry Union soldiers ready to set fire to homes and outbuildings for the fun of it. Although Levi didn’t participate in the unruly behavior, nor did he allow his men to, he couldn’t blame those soldiers for wanting to inflict hardship on the people whose unyielding ownership of Negroes forced a nation into war. Justice, the soldiers had called it, and he agreed.
Now the Union Army would compensate a plantation owner for use of her property, leaving it to said owner to determine how it should be handled. After all the years slaves had lived in bondage on Langford land, it seemed a slap in their faces to reward their former owner. Granted, Natalie only came into ownership a few years ago when her parents passed, but she had benefited from slave labor all her life. A little hardship, it seemed to Levi, would do her some good.
A knock at the door drew his attention. First Lieutenant Ridley stood in the entry. He’d ridden in with the private who’d delivered the general’s message earlier.
“Colonel. The general asked me to brief you regarding some trouble that has come to his attention.”
“Trouble?” Levi stood, glad for a diversion. He hoped there hadn’t been more freedmen murdered. When Union troops first landed in Galveston and began spreading the message of freedom, some white slave owners hadn’t received it well and took matters into their own hands.
“Yes, sir. It appears someone has been stealing cattle and horses throughout the region.”
Levi’s brow rose. “The general is concerned about a horse thief?” After four years of devastating war where thousands of men died, and with thousands of slaves still in bondage in Texas, surely a horse thief was the least of their worries.
“The numbers are significant, sir.”
“How significant?”
“At least five thousand head of cattle. Maybe more. The number of horses is also considerable, although many of them were unbranded Mustangs.”
Five thousand missing cows? Levi couldn’t imagine a cattle-stealing ring big enough to take that many animals without being caught. He waved toward the sofa, which Lieutenant Ridley settled on. Levi returned to his seat. “When did the general learn of this?”
“Reports of missing cattle and horses have been coming in steadily since we set up the Austin command post.” The lanky officer shrugged. “At first, we thought people were simply trying to take advantage of the Army, hoping for some sort of reimbursement for their missing animals.”
“Could the freed slaves be responsible?” Levi had been witness to hundreds of free men and women walking away from plantations and farms. It would not be a stretch to imagine them stealing in retaliation as well as for survival.
Lieutenant Ridley shook his head again. “We don’t think so. The owners of the missing animals, mostly women left in charge of property, state this has been going on for well over a year. But without the manpower to investigate, there was little anyone could do.”
A picture of the crime began to form