Becoming Miss Lee

Chapter 29 - The Days of Happiness

Richard and Martha ran out of the house and barreled down the steps when they saw me. I gathered them up in my arms and gave them sloppy kisses all over their faces. Mister Lee and Miss Anne waited on the front porch for me with their smiling faces. I grinned back at them, pleased to have returned after a few weeks away. It was all I needed. Something that Betsy had said had changed my thoughts and I saw everything clearly again. The Bea that had been around prior to the war had come back, and with a toss of her head and a verbal combat session with Thomas had flung the depressed Bea aside and reclaimed her spot. Mister Lee met me before the steps and moved in close as he took my arm, "I have news regarding Jerome. You might desire to come inside and sit down."

I did not know what he meant by news regarding Jerome, for Jerome had vanished after the incident. What could possibly be happening in regards to Jerome? He walked me inside while Miss Anne occupied the children and we sat in the parlor. He shook his head and passed a hand through his long graying hair that was swept elegantly away from his face and chuckled, "What is so amusing?" I asked as I cocked my head to the side in confusion. "Am I missing a joke?"

"Oh, no, not at all, my dear. Every Lee in Virginia was after that boy. All of your friends, too. That Knowles boy and Lighthorse took it upon themselves to go looking the day after you left. The Montgomery boys did, too. The next thing we knew, they found him with his head smashed in lying in a ditch." I could not believe what I was hearing. Jerome was dead? I cannot say I was happy, but I saw the irony in it. "Someone knew and took care of your problem."

"Do we know...?" Mister Lee shook his head. Even if he did know, I don't believe he would have said. "That is a shame. I would want to send them a gift."

Mister Lee chuckled and straightened himself as Pelly and Henriette burst into the room and embraced me happily, "Did you hear about Jerome?" Pelly inquired. "Talk about a bad case of bad luck!"

Henriette nodded in agreement, "Yes ma'am. Bad juju, that one."

Miss Anne herded us all into the dining room. She had made her ham again and I could not wait to sink my teeth into such a succulent looking piece of meat. The children were off in their own room and Ludwell and Hannah joined us at the main table after giving me tender hugs. Thomas had since gone off and was married, so he was no longer with us, and I shall be first to admit that I missed his presence. My other brothers and sisters all chatted eagerly with me after the meal, but my personal favorite, though you must not tell the others, was Francis Lightfoot II, or Frank as I christened him early on. He was darling and adorable, looking very much like Mister Lee, and despite him only being eight at the time he acted well above his age. His older brother Cassius and two older sisters, Henrietta and Sarah, who we all called Harriotte and Sally respectively, quickly became my darlings. My children were all about their ages and they got along wonderfully. Annie and Martha became fast friends and Sally and Harriotte loved to braid her long dark hair. Frank and I would sit and play dominoes while the other children romped about, occasionally smacking into the table or a chair in the parlor, and Miss Anne would scold them and go back to her sewing. Westmoreland would always be my place of happiness; I knew that as long as I had my darling family it would be home. It did not matter to them that I was not bound to them by blood. I was Bea, their big sister, and that was all that mattered.

Those were happy days. At long last, my luck seemed to be looking up. I could relax and be happy with my children without the fear of drunken uncles harming them. I had signed over the farm to George and Henry, who in turn offered me a portion of the money made on the farm as a gesture of good faith from them to me. I accepted their offer and turned my eyes back to my home. I helped out with the children, and Pelly and Henriette helped manage housework, relieving Miss Anne of her stress in those areas. She insisted that we need not work, but I would not let her raise a finger while I was in the house. Mister Lee had finally decided to retire from politics and his presence in the house was a welcomed one. Uncle Francis paid frequent visits as well. The two brothers would sit for hours and talk farming and business, as well as some of the gossip about town. In the evenings, Mister Lee and I would take scenic walks through the grounds. He liked to show me how he had new additions to the grounds buildings and what he would like to do with them next. There was never a dull moment in the Westmoreland Estate. I had to really convince myself to leave and go to Monticello because I had settled in and was so content with my situation. Alas, I had unfinished business with Mister Jefferson and he had not yet returned from New York, so the time was ripe and Sally was unsuspecting.