Page 21 of Master of Paradise

Brandon showed up the next day and was astounded to find Nicholas out on his land clearing the withered stalks from the cotton crop. Also seedling pines and blackberry brambles had to be constantly cleared out before they encroached everywhere. Things grew so quickly, it was a continuing battle to keep ahead of the honeysuckle tangled with vines and smilax.

"Nick, 'fore God, I don't know what you do for pleasure."

He dismounted and handed the reins of his hunter to Jim, his body servant.

Nick grinned.

"Where are you off to?"

"I can't believe you've forgotten the horse racin' at the Vickers. Hellfire man, they have it every year on the same day."

"I did forget, Bran. I intended to go."

He wiped the perspiration from his neck.

"Bettin' be high-- make yourself a pile of money,"

Brandon tempted.

"I wanted to hear what the talk was regarding secession."

Nick reached for his shirt.

"You should have come to the corn roast last night. All the talk was of this fellow Lincoln that's campaignin' for President. Doc Caldwell thinks he's gonna win the election, but the rest of the men think the Democrats have it sewn up."

Nicholas shook his head.

"There's one hell of a time coming if Lincoln gets in. If you can wait while I bathe and change, we'll come with you to the races. I expect the girls would enjoy it."

"I can wait,"

Brandon said with a laugh, but my sisters are another matter entirely."

"Leave it to me. You have to be masterful with women,"

he said with a wink.

"Brute, take over here. Make sure you do two more fields before you let them quit. Ben,"

he called across the clearing.

"go wash up, I want you to drive the carriage over to the Vickers place."

"Lord God, Nick, you let a field hand drive our ladies? It's a wonder Jennifer doesn't refuse to go. Field hands stink musky!"

Nick grinned and drawled.

"You might stink yourself if you ever did a lick of work. And they aren't your ladies, they're mine. Ben knows damn well he'd better wash until he doesn't stink when he drives my carriage."

At the house, Samuel went to prepare his master's bath and lay out fresh clothes.

"Lou, tell Miss Jennifer and Miss Amanda if they can be ready in half-an-hour, I'll take them to the races. Assure them I won't wait longer."

When his sisters came down the curved staircase eager for the outing, Brandon couldn't believe his eyes. He looked from one to the other, comparing them openly, and Amanda came off the clear winner. The girl who always looked as if she'd been running wild with the gypsies was elegantly ruffled in exquisite lavender. She wore a straw leghorn, the first time he'd ever seen her in a hat, and she carried the most eye-catching parasol.

Beside her, Jennifer's pale features looked washed out, almost drab today. Brandon looked at Nicholas as he descended, and his eyebrows went up in surprised amusement at the change in his younger sister.

"By God, Mandy, you grew up overnight."

She replied loftily.

"Marriage does that for you."

Brandon slapped his leg and laughed outright.

"You'd better not say things like that if you don't want to get old Nick into trouble."

When Nicholas got into the carriage, Brandon protested.

"Aren't you going to race Sunblood? He'd beat anything those crazy Vickers boys will be racing."

"I know he could, Bran, but Sunblood is my pride and joy. I wouldn't race him in this heat. He's not for racing; I'm going to use him for stud. Far more profitable in the end."

"I wish I had some way of making money,"

Jennifer said with passion.

"Men don't know how lucky they are. Whenever I need anything I have to ask Daddy."

Nicholas gave each girl a ten dollar gold piece, and Mandy teased.

"Thank you, Daddy."

His physical response was instant and quite visible he was sure, as he shifted to ease the tight cloth of his breeches. He gave her a warning look and the dimples peeped out.

For once Nicholas was happy to join the groups of men who invariably gathered together at these affairs, while their ladies were expected to amuse each other. Today the talk was all about politics. As election day drew closer the men assured themselves that that damned Lincoln with his cockeyed abolitionist sentiments didn't stand a snowball's chance in hell, and if by some remote possibility, he did become President of the United States and try to abolish slavery, the very foundation the South was built upon, then they would secede.

Nicholas spoke against secession each time the subject was brought up, but Southern pride and arrogance were at work, and it almost appeared cowardly not to totally oppose the Northern point of view. It was being realized and openly discussed for the first time that if slavery were abolished and all the black people manumitted, Southern planters stood to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars. The plantations were slave rich and top dollar had been laid out for prime field hands and well-trained house slaves. Manumission would wipe out fortunes overnight.

Jennifer spent the afternoon with Beau Hampden and her other friends. His talk was all fire and pride. He was ready to fight the damn Yankees. Of course, everyone knew they didn't have the courageous spirit to fight back if challenged. The North was filled with shopkeepers and immigrants just off the boats.

By the end of the afternoon, however, Jennifer was alarmed. The only thing she owned in the whole world that had any value were a half-dozen slaves. Soon perhaps, my slaves will be worthless to me! There's only one way to prevent that happening.

Nicholas noted with amusement mixed slightly with annoyance that Amanda was surrounded by young admirers all afternoon. She was emerging from the bud, just becoming aware of her beauty and desirability, and at the same time the young men of the county were becoming aware of her allure. They placed her wagers, collected her winnings, covered her loses, and escorted her about the huge buffet tables. The females gave her speculative looks and whispered about her.

By the time the purple twilight deepened to indigo they had lost track of Brandon. On the carriage ride back to Paradise, Jennifer begged Nicholas to invest some money for her, if she could manage to get some together. She placed her hands on his arm, tugging his sleeve, begging like a supplicant.

Amanda watched her sister touching her husband so openly, and was wistful that she could not do the same, at least in public. When we are alone tonight, I will touch him, and not just his arm either. She resolved to touch his hair, as her fingers had ached to, and if she could summon the courage, she'd touch his chest-- that lovely broad expanse where she longed to lay her cheek and let her fingers caress.

She blushed and quickly looked away from him. Amanda's thoughts were filled with anticipation of the touch and scent of him, and she only heard the tail end of Nicholas's words to her sister. They had come to some agreement, but about exactly what, Mandy was in ignorance.

As soon as they arrived home, Samuel handed Nicholas a letter. It was from Bernard Jackson in reply to the one he had written.

My Dear Nicholas:

Let me set your mind at rest about secession. The South is made up of many old and stable regimes, and in spite of a few hot-headed South-Carolinians, cooler heads will prevail. States like Louisiana and Mississippi will not easily be swayed.

Representation has shifted to the cotton states of Alabama, Georgia, and Carolina, and with this parity comes congressional power. The State of Virginia will oppose secession forever, even if every other state cries out for it. All you need do is recall how quickly John Brown, the abolitionist bastard was crushed last year by Federal troops under Colonel Robert E. Lee for attempting a slave uprising.

Since I have no time these days to think about the plantation, I am most thankful that I have you to depend upon. I would appreciate it if you would keep an eye on Brandon and drop me a note regarding any problems that arise with the estate. Give my love to my girls.

Bernard Jackson, Richmond, Virginia.

Nicholas put the letter down and rubbed the side of his nose, deep in thought. If Bernard had written his true feelings, they contrasted sharply with his own. I too want to deny that anything is wrong, but deep down I have a gut feeling that this issue is about to erupt like a volcano, and it will be such an upheaval, it will destroy everything in its path.

Nicholas knew what it was to lose all you held dear, have it swept from under your feet by forces that you could not control, and he fiercely resented the thought of it happening all over again after he had worked so hard for so many years to build a dynasty with nothing but his bare hands.

Then he mocked himself for a fool. The only moment that's important is this moment. Live for it! Enjoy it! he told himself fiercely. He had worked four long years toward tomorrow. He would take his tomorrow and enjoy it tonight!

He went upstairs and poured himself a glass of champagne. He bathed and changed his shirt, and on impulse picked up the bottle and glass and took it with him to the summer house. He unbuttoned his shirt and lay back in the hammock, schooling his mind to patience.

As he swung to and fro, the fragrances of the hot night seduced his senses with their exotic perfumes. It seemed an eternity before she came. He let out a long breath when he saw her approaching the hammock in the deep purple shadows. Nicholas stretched out his arms to her.

"Love, let me hold you."

She came to him shyly, yet willing. As he enfolded her, the hammock swung wildly, then settled into an undulating rhythm that moved her body softly against his. Her thigh brushed the tip of his shaft each time the hammock swung. The feeling was exquisite; he didn't want it to stop.

Amanda's cheek rested against his chest and she could feel the strong, heavy thud of his heartbeat.

"Paradise is much lovelier than the Vicker's Plantation,"

she murmured dreamily.

"Too beautiful,"

he said softly.

She raised her head to gaze at him in the darkness.

His strong hands held her body immobile against his to keep it in the pleasurable position that was arousing him to the point where he could think of little else.

She sensed his slight melancholy.

"What's wrong tonight?"

He groaned and his arms tightened about her.

"It's just that I've waited so long for you. I fear something will snatch you and Paradise away before I've enjoyed you to the full."

"Hush. Don't put the thought in the air."

She laid her cheek once more against his hard torso.

"I want to see Paradise filled with guests. When your six months mourning period is over, we'll entertain the whole county."

His enthusiasm grew apace with his words.

"We'll fill the house with flowers and musicians and light up the gardens. We'll give a ball and send out two hundred invitations. We'll serve champagne and caviar, and when it's over, I'll carry you upstairs to my bed."

He lifted her on top of him and sought her mouth above his.

"We can't,"

she said against his lips.

"I'll only be seventeen on my next birthday, not eighteen."

"I cannot... will not wait so long, Amanda love. The thing I am denied becomes the one thing I must have, at any cost. I am becoming obsessed with you. It's like spreading a feast before a starving man, and denying him even a taste."

"Nicholas, you are tasting me,"

she told him as his mouth possessed hers, and his tongue played with hers.

His hands stroked her back, then cupped her buttocks and pressed her body down onto his.

Amanda felt him hot and throbbing through the thin material of her gown, and the first fragile sensations of desire stirred deep within her.

It was all new and different from anything she'd experienced before, and though it had a forbidden quality, the sense of utter security she found in Nicholas's embrace made her willing to risk anything with him.

She slid down beside him again, and he tenderly tucked his arm about her, and kissed the tendrils at her temples.

He knew it was a rare privilege granted few men to initiate a beloved into the mysteries of sexuality.

To awaken her, teach her, would be a delicate thing to be cherished and savored.

It also carried a responsibility to provoke her sensuality so that she received and gave pleasure in equal measure.

He vowed to take the time for total delicious foreplay, show her what he liked, and teach her to respond.

He worshipped her and wanted to love her with a healthy measure of lust and laughter and hot passion.

"Darling, have some champagne."

He sat up and reached for the glass and bottle.

A small murmur of protest broke from her lips as he broke their embrace. He held the bubbling wine to her lips and she laughed as its effervescence tickled her skin. He sipped from the same spot on the rim of the glass her lips had touched. They drained the loving cup, and a second, then left the remainder of the bottle in the gazebo.

"Let's go to the lake."

He slipped his arm about her and held her close as they walked.

When his fingers found the swell of her breast through the delicate fabric, he heard her quick indrawn breath at the thrill of his touch.

As they passed a hedge of yellow roses, he plucked a bloom and nestled it in the high curve between her breasts.

His fingers left a fiery trail on her skin whenever they touched her and she felt faint with a longing she could not name.

When they came to the edge of the ornamental lake, their feet sank into the lush deep grass beneath the weeping willows.

Nicholas unbutton his shirt and removed it.

She placed both hands on his chest.

"Nicholas, please don't swim in the dark. Remember the snakebite. If anything happened to you I would want to die."

"Little innocent. I had no thought to swim. I was disrobing for the pleasure of being naked."

He gathered her to him, then dipped his head to find her lips.

His whipcord arms tightened and she entwined hers about his neck and let her fingers tangle in his crisp, dark hair.

His lips left hers and moved down her throat.

He met no resistance as he pressed fevered kisses to the swelling curve of her breasts, then with a quick movement, he had her gown undone and a ripe, rosy-tipped breast rested in the palm of his strong, brown hand.

She cried out as the shock of his burning mouth close over the hardened peak, and her hands moved down to caress the slabs of muscle in his broad back.

She was trembling helplessly now as he pulled the top of her gown away from her body and the cool air touched her naked skin.

Then she was wrapped in his arms and the heat of his body flooded over hers until she thought they would melt with love.

He played with her breasts until they ached with a fullness that was at once both pain and pleasure.

With encouragement from him, she began to touch his body as she had longed to.

She started with one finger against his lips, then traced down the heavily corded throat to the massive shoulders.

She threaded her fingers through the thick pelt of hair that matted his chest, and on a daring impulse kissed his nipples and touched the tip of her tongue to first one and then the other.

As they hardened and budded, every inch of him responded to the tantalizing sensation she aroused.

Her hand moved to his flat belly and she traced tiny circles about his navel.

A few large drops of rain warned of a coming downpour.

He bit off a curse and hurriedly helped her to replace and fasten the top of her gown.

"How can I bear to let you go?"

But he knew it was best this way, at least for her, he told himself sternly.

He stepped from under the trees and let the rain wash over his body in hope that it would cool the raging heat of his blood as it throbbed along his veins.

When Brandon arrived to pick up Jennifer for the overnight trip to Blackville, he drove his own carriage.

What she hadn't let on to anybody was the fact that they were picking up Beau Hampden before traveling up there.

As Jenny waved goodbye from the well-sprung carriage, she thought smugly that though Nicholas had forbidden her to go with Beau, she had managed to do so in spite of her brother-in-law's strictures.

When they stopped for Beau, he gestured to his body servant to climb onto the footpad behind the carriage.

Jenny tossed her head.

"He can't come.

I'm doing without a maid, so you can leave your body servant at home."

Beau whispered in her ear.

"I'll leave him home if you'll shave me and do for me, Jen."

She slapped him playfully.

"Now you behave, Beau Hampden, or I swear I'll never speak to you again."

It took most of the day to drive up to Blackville, and by late afternoon the novelty had worn off for Jennifer.

Her bantering mood had long ago disappeared, as she longed for a cool bath.

Even the effort of holding her parasol to protect her face from the hot sun had become an arduous task for her aching arms.

Jennifer had turned peevish, and all attempts at chatter had ceased miles back.

At last they reached the property where the farm was located, and curiosity chased away weariness.

They expected to see some sort of harvested crops in the fields surrounding the farm, but all they saw were long, low buildings, surrounded by barbed wire compounds.

Altogether there were five such buildings, not counting the house.

The house was a disappointment in itself.

It was made from logs like the other buildings, but it was on the small side and had a neglected air about it.

For one thing it badly needed a fresh coat of paint.

By contrast, the other buildings were clay-daubed against rats and weasels, and were freshly whitewashed.

The blue twilight shadowed the compounds, but as they got closer they saw dozens of young blacks.

They were segregated by age and by sex.

In one compound all the females were really still children, while in another, all the wenches were obviously with child.

Brandon's eyes opened wide in astonished realization.

"Lord God Almighty, it's a breedin' farm!"

"No wonder Daddy didn't want us to come up here,"

Jennifer said avidly.

"By God, Jenny, you shouldn't be here. One thing's certain-- Mother didn't know about this. She must be turnin' in her grave."

When Brandon stopped the carriage, a man with a burly chest and thick neck approached. He had a gun slung on his hip in an open holster that was strapped to his leg.

"Y'all got bidness here?"

Brandon got down from the carriage.

"I'm Brandon Jackson. I suppose you could call me the owner."

The factor went a dull red.

"Sorry, Mist' Jackson. I'm used to dealin' with your pa. Name's Jeb... Jeb Sloan. Come to the house an' make yourselves to home. Nothin' fancy, no fit place for a lady,"

he apologized.

"Yes, that is a problem, Sloan. This is my sister and I guess we are going to have to keep it between ourselves that she ever came here."

"No problem, no problem,"

he assured them.

Beau helped Jennifer from the carriage, and Jeb summoned a white youth and gave him instructions.

"See to the horse and then fetch Topaz from the sheds."

He handed him a bunch of keys and turned back to the visitors.

"Traveling parches the throat. Come in an' wash the dust away, genlemen."

The house was furnished plainly with serviceable furniture.

Jennifer, whose eyes missed nothing, noticed with surprise that most of the furnishings had come from the Jackson Plantation.

Whenever Mother refurnished, the old pieces somehow found their way up here.

The place was tidy, but certainly not up to the immaculate standards that Jennifer was used to.

Under normal circumstances she would have put her dainty nose in the air and refused to stay, but at the moment she was busy calculating the worth of the cash crop they had just discovered.

Before the men were finished their corn liquor, a young black woman came in.

She was perhaps six months pregnant, at the stage where her condition was obvious, but she was not yet large enough to be awkward and clumsy.

"Topaz, I want you t'look after Miz Jackson here. Get them young gals in the kitchen to heat up water for a bath, and I bet she could sure use some lemonade."

Jeb looked at the men.

"We got us a real good cook here. Yore daddy allus says good vitals makes good breedin' slaves. Topaz, you get the best bedroom ready for Miz Jackson, and when supper's ready, you brang her a tray."

"Yassir, Masta Jeb."

The black girl was eager to be of help.

Jennifer resented the fact that the men wanted her out of the way, but she knew she would be able to ply Topaz with her questions, so she allowed herself to be escorted upstairs.

Once the restraint of Jennifer was removed, the three men sat down at the table to do some serious drinking and talk 'bidness'. Brandon took off his jacket and cravat and said.

"Now, begin at the beginning and tell me how the whole operation works."

Jeb pushed his hat to the back of his head.

"Well, sir, it's simple enough, if you know the bidness inside out like I do."

He went into detail, explaining all the whys and wherefores of the breeding farm.

When he was done, Brandon asked.

"It's a profitable operation, I gather?"

Jeb grinned.

"Brings in double what your daddy makes on cotton every year."

Brandon and Beau both whistled their appreciation.

"Got a pair of twins, Candy an' Sugar, could pleasure you gentlemen tonight."

Brandon exchanged a glance with his friend.

"That would be right hospitable, Jeb."

Upstairs, Jennifer found herself in a small room with hand-hewn furniture and a rag rug on the floor.

It was a rustic novelty for her.

Topaz carted in a big tin bathtub and two girls from the kitchens were kept hopping up and down the backstairs until it was filled with warm water.

Jennifer slipped in thankfully and sank down up to her shoulders. She pretended a personal interest in the girl.

"I see you are going to have a baby. Is it your first?"

"Oh no, ma'am. Dis here's ma third."

"Good gracious, you don't look old enough to have three children."

Topaz assured her that she was.

"Ah's fifteen."

"Good Lord, how old were you when you were married?"

Jennifer was shocked.

"Married?"

Topaz asked, not understanding.

"Don't you have a husband? The man who fathered your children?"

"Oh, I bin bred by three different bucks."

"I see,"

Jennifer said faintly and changed the subject.

"I'm starving. Could you see if dinner is about

ready?"

She dined from a tray, and decided to retire early.

She was fatigued from the journey and wanted to be up at dawn to do a head count and calculate the worth of this crop, before the tedious drive home.

Jennifer climbed into bed and lay listening to the tree frogs making their night music, when she became aware of voices.

She realized Brandon must be in the bedroom next to hers, as she heard the resonant tones of his voice.

Then she heard giggling, and she realized with a guilty thrill that he had a wench with him.

She slipped from the bed and put her ear against the wall.

Lord, whatever are they doing in there? There was such a rustling and scuffling, accompanied by Bran's laughter and the girl's giggles, she could have sworn they were rolling about the floor.

Then she heard the bed-springs and Bran's voice murmuring things too low for her to catch.

A long silence followed by Brandon's low moans of pleasure made Jennifer long for a bed partner of her own.

An overpowering vision of Nicholas Peacock came to her and she closed her eyes to savor the forbidden fantasy of her brother-in-law.

Her body remembered what it felt like to be in his arms, and she had known the exciting taste of him, but that was as far as it had gone, unfortunately.

Perhaps I can find a way to change all that if I'm patient.

Why is it everybody else gets what I want? What a wicked waste that Mandy has Nicholas, with Paradise thrown in free.

My God, the injustice of it!

She was most resentful that now Brandon had gotten this place dropped into his hands.

If Lincoln gets in and frees the slaves, a fortune will melt away like snow in hell.

Tomorrow I'll urge Brandon to sell off some of this crop for cash, and see if I can get my hands on some of it for myself.

As she lay in the darkness she became aware of a low moaning.

She knew it did not come from Brandon's bedroom, it was too far off.

The moans were replaced by sobbing.

She wondered if the sounds could possibly be coming from Beau's room, but she dismissed the thought as ridiculous.

She shuddered and knew she would be glad to leave this place.

Even Jennifer sensed evil when she came into contact with it.

When Jennifer Joy joined the men for breakfast, she was careful not to let on what she had heard in the night.

She tucked the information away carefully, knowing it would come in handy one day, as most information did.

When she made her intentions of touring the sheds known, Brandon protested vigorously, while Beau simply looked amused.

"Of course I shall go through the quarters, Brandon.

You wouldn't want me writing to Daddy and telling him that y'all brought me to this place would you?"

Brandon knew enough to withdraw his protests and the tour began right after breakfast.

When they were finished, Jennifer managed to get Brandon alone.

"Do you realize if they start freeing and manumitting, this place will be worthless overnight?"

On the ride home, Jennifer carefully avoided any discussion of the breeding farm, until they had dropped Beau at his own plantation.

Then she learned that Brandon had asked Jeb to pick out a dozen slaves and send them up to the Jackson Plantation.

"When they arrive, I'll summon the slave buyer from Charleston,"

he told her.

Jennifer fell silent as plans of her own began to percolate slowly but surely.