The Fire Within

Chapter 3

Grace stands and looks to the man standing in front of her. He’s not acting much like a commanding officer at the moment. She’s not sure what he’s doing, she’s not used to men behaving like gentlemen. Even the men she knew in the south that tried to court her never behaved this chivalrous.

She smiles shyly at the man before her. Her heart flutters a bit when she realizes that she’s actually being treated like a lady, it’s been so long since someone other than Ezekiel treated her like she’s a woman.

“Well Grace, I insist that you return to camp and get a good meal and a good night’s sleep before you are on your way.”

She nods in agreement, realizing that to argue would be pointless. She is exhausted and she would love nothing more than to have a real meal and a safe night’s sleep before moving on to deliver the correspondence to Mary.

She turns and limps toward Abraxas. When Zachariah sees that she is limping he asks her about it. “Did you get injured?”

“I think I twisted my ankle when Monroe caught up with me at the stream yesterday.”

She turns to mount her steed when from behind her strong hands wrap around her waist and lift her onto her horse. She looks to him with surprise but doesn’t say anything as he effortlessly climbs into the saddle of his own horse.

They begin to ride toward camp in silence. “So you are Mary’s cousin?” Zachariah asks breaking the silence.

“Yes, when she and Ezekiel left the Carolinas she asked me to come along. She knew how unhappy I was on the plantation. It is a difficult life to lead when you hate everything around you. But I couldn’t leave I had to save my friend. She was the daughter of one of the house slaves. I couldn’t go until I helped her and her family to escape.”

“That’s very noble of you. Most people would have simply thought of themselves.”

“She saved me in more ways that I can describe,” Grace says without further explanation.

Grace thinks back to the time four years ago, before the war broke out. Her parents had been entertaining; it was something that they frequently did with the people in the community. They were very generous people when it came to parties and such. But that generosity did not extend to the slaves that provided them with the luxuries that they had. Because of the slaves, they had crops to sell and they didn’t have to work. Their generosity also didn’t extend to their daughter that was too defiant to keep her mouth shut and to do as she was told.

At one specific party a man in his thirties named Frank had asked for her sixteen year old hand in marriage. Her father promptly agreed. He was a wealthy man but he was rude and crude and almost twice her age. When her parents announced that their daughter would be marrying Frank, Grace couldn’t do anything about it. She ran to her room and wept. She didn’t want to be a bride at sixteen, she also didn’t want anyone telling her who she was going to marry.

There came a knock on the door. Thinking it would be her mother or one of the servants, she announced for the visitor to enter. When she looked up she found Frank standing before her. Before she could move or stop him he had her pinned to the bed, her bloomers off, and he was on top of her.

She tried to scream, but he growled into her ear telling her that he would take what was his. She was now his property.

He raped her multiple times. In the middle of one of his bouts, she tried to get away from him by biting him. That earned her a slap to the face and a bloody nose and mouth. But it was enough to allow her to let out a small cry that she hoped someone would hear.

Helen heard her cry and knew something was going on in Grace’s bedroom. But there was nothing she could do. Instead she found Grace’s brothers Alexander and William and told them her of her suspicions. They had also grown up with Helen and they were very close friends. William often felt love toward her, a forbidden love that they would never be able to have because of the politics of the time. Both boys rushed out of the room toward Grace’s room.