| Subject: The New World - Part #24 |
Author:
Wanda
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Date Posted: 20:34:23 06/11/03 Wed
PART #24
Joshua went to his room after dropping off Catherine’s luggage in her room. He carried the wooden box containing the Monet inside the room. Setting it down on a table, he walked over and closed the door. Lifting the painting out of the wooden box, he examined it carefully. He wondered if Catherine had removed the wrapping from the painting, and looked at it. He would not have thought that of her, but something had happened to cause the change in her demeanor. She had even mentioned the Monet that was stolen from the ship.
He chided himself for bringing along a woman who was knowledgable about art. He had seen that when she was at the plantation. Hadn’t she told him her father had collected paintings? How could he have been so stupid? He was usually very careful about these things. He mumbled to himself, “You were so wrapped up in getting Bowregard’s girl for a wife, you forgot about what was really important.”
Joshua looked at the wrapped painting, and could not detect if it had been opened. If Catherine had seen the painting, she was very careful in rewrapping it exactly as he had originally wrapped it. So, he had no proof she had actually seen it. When they reached Jennings, he would have to be extremely careful that Catherine not see and meet the buyer. It wouldn’t do at all for Catherine to strike up a conversation with the buyer. He had to come up with something that would keep her occupied while he did business with the man.
Joshua went down to the dining room; and ordered something to eat, then decided to take a walk. After his walk he went back to Collins’ Station, and asked for a bath to be drawn. When he had finished his bath, he went to bed. He lay there retracing the day’s events, and wondering how he was going to get Catherine to agree to marry him. She was a feisty little woman, but he had enough experience with women to know how to tame them. He had no doubt he could handle this woman.
Catherine had gone to bed, yet found she could not sleep. She was overly tired, and terribly frustrated with the whole situation. If this was an example of American men, she had not been overly impressed. The one was a pirate with unlimited charm, and could kiss in such a way as to make your toes curl. Regardless of the way he could kiss, he was a criminal. Then, there was Joshua who had been nothing but sweet, and gentle with her. He had the decency to ask her to marry him. Yet, it seemed he was pushing her, and that frustrated her. What was his hurry? Was he trying to hurry things along so she wouldn’t get to know who he really was before they were married? Why was she so uneasy about him? As she lay there she thought, “I know why I am so uneasy. He out and out lied to me.” Catherine knew she could not abide lying. She always figured if a person could lie to you once, he would surely do it again. There must be something in all this that she was overlooking. If she were right in that Bowregard and his cousin, Joshua were in business together, that would mean they had to have a place to store stolen objects until they were sold. Undoubtedly that would have to be at the plantation.
Finally Catherine drifted off to sleep. As she slept she dreamed of a man on a black horse riding fast, and shouting, “Catherine, be careful. There is danger ahead.” She could hear the horses’ hooves pounding the earth, getting closer and closer to her. She heard the hard breathing of the horse, saw the sweat all over his body, and heard the rider moaning, “Catherine, I love you, beware of the danger.” The horse raced by her, going as fast as the wind, and the rider looking back was begging her with his eyes. She thought, “I know those eyes; they belong to Bowregard.”
She sat upright in her bed shaking all over. She kept telling herself, “Catherine, it is only a dream.” But it had all seemed so real. She struck a match and lighted a lamp. As she looked around the room, the dim light of the lamp cast eerie shadows in the corners of the room. She thought, “Catherine, you had better pull yourself together; you’ve got several days of traveling with Joshua ahead of you.” Why had she agreed to come on this trip? She wished she had remained in Lake Charles.
To be continued...
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