| Subject: The New World - Part #18 |
Author:
Wanda
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Date Posted: 06:38:32 06/05/03 Thu
PART #18
Bowregard rode into town, and stopped in front of the hotel. He had been thinking about how he was going to handle giving the note to Catherine. What if she was not at the hotel? What would he do? He walked to the desk, and asked Philip if Miss Catherine was in her room. Philip told him he thought she was there, but could not be sure.
Bowregard reached inside his jacket, and pulled out the note. He asked if he would have a bellboy take it to her room, and ask for a reply to be sent back so the messenger could return it to the plantation. He had decided it would be best for him to wait in the lobby. The bellboy took the note; and was gone for a short period of time, then returned with a fresh note that had been placed in an envelope and sealed. Bowregard breathed a sigh of relief. He would not have to see her after all. He walked out of the hotel holding the note; and knowing he had to open the note, and make sure she was going to go with Joshua to Jennings.
The note read, “Joshua, I would be delighted to leave with you tomorrow to go to Jennings. I will be packed, and ready to go at 9:00 A.M. I am looking forward to the trip. Thank you for asking me.” Sincerely, Catherine
So Catherine was going to go with Joshua. That should give him and his men plenty of time to get the money from the wall safe. When Joshua returned, he would come home to a surprise. Bowregard had decided he would have to come up with something that would cause the servants to vacate the house. Perhaps he could arrange a fire. He would have to be careful to not cause a lot of damage. The fire would need to be set close to the main house where the servants could see it, and rush outside to put it out. While they were out, he would sneak his men into the house the back way. They would be limited on time, but he felt the task at hand could be accomplished.
Things were coming together after all, but the biggest hurdle would be how to get the money back to Catherine. She must not know he had stolen it back from Joshua, for she was convinced he was the guilty one. If he went marching up to her room; and handed her the money, she would always believe he was the one who had stolen it. Somehow he had to get that money back in her portmanteau without her knowing about it.
He believed she would feel compelled to tell Joshua about the money being returned, so he certainly did not want her to say, “Bowregard brought my money back to me.” Joshua would know, for sure, he had been the one to steal the money. This whole thing had to be orchestrated perfectly. As he thought about his plan, it gave him a sense of satisfaction to see things coming together.
Bowregard rode over to the ship; and told his men he would come to the ship the next afternoon; and they were to be ready to ride with him. He said he would tell them tomorrow where they would be going. He wasn’t about to tell the men the location of the place now for he was fearful they would go to the plantation, and steal the money for themselves. Bowregard looked forward to the time he would not have to be dealing with these men. He was never sure what they would do in any given situation. They were dangerous criminal sorts, and they were not above double crossing him if they thought they could get away with it. He always had to be alert to stay one step ahead of them.
Bowregard rode back to the plantation and packed some of his things; then told Joshua he would be leaving in the morning to return to the ship. He said, “I have some work I want to finish up before we set sail once again. I think it would be best if I stayed on the ship to make sure the work is done correctly.” Bowregard wanted to establish where he would be prior to Joshua leaving the plantation.
Later Bowregard heard Joshua giving instructions for food to be packed for the trip. He could see he was making every effort to make this a trip that Catherine would never forget. Bowregard had a difficult time with the whole matter, but he kept telling himself, “Bow, this is the way it has to be for Catherine to get her money back.”
He casually asked Joshua if he had hired a driver for the carriage. Joshua assured him that had been done. He smiled with a wicked glint in his eyes; and said, “I will be too busy to be bothered with driving, my friend.” Bowregard could tell that Joshua was watching him closely for any re-action on his part. Bowregard did not flinch or grit his teeth. He simply smiled back at Joshua; and said, “I see.”
Bowregard went to bed that night, but found it difficult to sleep. The one time he did drift off, he awoke from a dream and swore he heard Catherine screaming, “Stay away from me.” He sat upright in the bed, and realized he was soaked in perspiration. How could he have set this up? He got up and walked over to the window to get some fresh air. He thought, “If Joshua does anything to hurt her, I will tear him from limb to limb.” Finally Bowregard got up, dressed, and went outside to walk. He knew there was no chance of him sleeping that night. He wished a hundred times there had been another way to work out the matter of Catherine’s money.
To be continued...
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