Havana, Cuba
September 30th, 1855
Talbot disembarked on the shores of Cuba once again. Along with many passengers. They were going sightseeing. He had other plans. He was on a mission. Straight to meet a man that was waiting for him. Arrangements had been made. Deals had been struck. There were plans to be made. He would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. He would have to pay and pay dearly for his decision.
So be it.
He hired a horse and buggy to take him to a certain address. He found the building and entered. Climbed several flights of stairs. There in a dusty and dark office sitting behind the desk was Señor Sombra.
Señor Sombra was a sinister looking man. True gangster type. Cigar smoke billowed out of his nose and mouth as he spoke. He motioned impatiently for Talbot to take a chair in front of the desk as smoke continued to billowed from his mouth he offered Talbot the highest quality cigar money could buy. After all they were in the capital of cigar making in the world at that time.
Señor Sombra offered Talbot one of his prize cigars.
Talbot raised his hand, "No, but thank you very much. I am not a smoker."
"Señor Tal-bought I have considered your offer for a few days now and I think that we can come to some sort of agreement." Señor Sombra smiled wickedly through the fog.
Talbot knew that he was going to have to pay a great deal more than normal for his request. Nevertheless what had to be done had to be done. He wanted what he wanted. Therefore he must pay the consequences.
"All right then, let's get started." Talbot agreed.
Hannah was grieving. He had left her for good. She could not believe her eyes. Fully trusting him with her life, her heart and then this. Just a letter. Why did he trap her into marriage and then leave her? This was not going to help her at all.
Perhaps because they did not consummate the marriage she could go and have an annulment. But.......... how would that look? She had been a fool. She invited all those men to flaunt Talbot in front of them all and then a few weeks later, what? Cancel the marriage? Her husband leaves her? What an embarrassment to her?
She paced around the room wringing her hands again and again. Then she would get on the bed again and read his letter for the one-hundredth time. Perhaps she was mistaken. Perhaps she was misreading something. Should she read between the lines? How could this be? She was so sure. Was this some kind of game on his part?
Imagine her having to go back to Mr. Perlmutter to tell him that she wanted her marriage annulled. She would have to move away. She would become the laughing stock of the entire state of Louisiana and then some.
She had no choice but to leave.... forever.
She read the letter again for the one-hundred and first time.
September 2nd, 1855
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Dearest Hannah,
I am so sorry to inform you that I had to take my leave on this our first day of marriage. The news will strike you badly I know but, it could not be helped. Much would be lost if I did not attend to some business immediately. What else can I say but that I made a promise to someone and have to fulfill it. What would you think of me if I broke my vow to this person?
I do not know when I will be able to see you again. I do not want to make a promise of my return and then disappoint. I am sorry if at present you do not understand my decision but it was beyond my control. I did receive urgent news that I was needed elsewhere immediately. Perhaps I am repeating myself now and therefore I should close and take my leave of you. Please do not judge me too harshly. Try your best to think well of me as my intentions were purely honorable.
I remain,
Your humble servant,
Talbot
"Purely honorable?" Hannah spit out the words. "Humph! What does he know about honor when he leaves his wife - practically at the altar?" She was fuming. "I just do not understand what was so urgent that he had to leave me and our marriage bed."
"BETZY!"
"Your humble servant?" She spat again. "What do you know about being a humble servant?"
"Mammy I hear Miss Cham- I mean Miss Talbot shouting. Dis is gonna be a baaaad day." Betzy said to Mammy with pleading eyes.
"Yo goes up dare and fine out wat she be wantin'." Mammy said with empathy.
All the servants knew it was not good.
While Hannah slept Talbot spun around the house barking orders, in a whisper, to the servants as soon as a messenger had arrived on horse back to deliver an urgent envelope to Talbot.
"Henry, have the stableboy hitch up a horse and buggy as quickly as he can. Go!" Then an afterthought. "Oh Henry tell him to wait for me by the stables, I will go out through the back road." He thought of that at the last minute as Hannah's room faced the front of the house and she might have awoken and heard the horse and buggy. He needed to get away from her undetected. Face to face explanation would have been insufferable for both of them.
"Manny can you pack some food for me, please?"
"Betzy, collect some clothes together and pack them in my satchel, quickly go, I must leave immediately!"
All the servants were running around to accommodate him.
"Please do it as quietly as you can I don't want to wake Mrs. Talbot."
Then he went to the library and sat at the big desk by the window and searched for some stationery. With plume in hand he stopped and stared into space thinking of what to say. What could he say? She would never forgive him for this. He made his decision so he was going to stick to it.
He finished writing the letter and asked Betzy to quietly take the envelope to her room and place it on her vanity propped up against the mirror after he left. She would find it when she woke up. He would be long gone by then. Time was of the essence. Not a minute to spare.
Henry arrived at the office door. "Everything is prepared Mr. Talbot, Sir."
"Good man, thank you so much, Henry, much appreciated." Talbot said as he stood up and checked to see if he needed anything on the desk and came around and patted Henry on the arm in a thank you gesture.
"Any word to leave for Mrs. Talbot?" Henry asked only as a matter of courtesy.
Talbot stopped, thought, hesitated, started to say something, then said, "No my good man, I think not."
He thought the better of it. Any word a miss and things could be misconstrued. Best left alone. Best the servants not know anything. Better that Hannah find the letter and enough said.
He hurried out of the back of the house and headed quickly to the stables where the stableboy was waiting holding the bridle to steady the horse so that Talbot could get into the buggy.
As he cracked the reins to jolt the horse he said to the stableboy. "Fetch the buggy at the port later this afternoon."
"Yes, Sir, Mr. Talbot." He shouted over the crunch of hooves and wheels.
