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SOLEIL LAY ON HER BED, staring into the darkness. Her argument with Alex played through her mind on a constant loop. The more she reviewed the events, the more she understood his dilemma. In a perfect world, a man would choose a woman without hesitation or thoughts of the consequences. But this world was far from perfect. Each action and choice had consequences that rippled into the lives of others. She wanted no bitterness to reside between them. The need to apologize to Alex kept her eyes open, despite the late hour.
Heavy footsteps echoed outside her door. Her heart soared, ready for the chance to make amends with Alex. But when the door burst open to reveal Vivian, followed by a large man holding Hope, Soleil’s heart fractured into tiny pieces. Tears spilled down Hope’s face into the rough hand covering her mouth.
Soleil jumped from her bed, staring between Vivian and the large man. "What are you doing with my daughter? Unhand her this instant."
Vivian ignored her statement as if it were a waste of breath to even acknowledge her existence. "That one," she said, pointing to Soleil. The man advanced toward Soleil and plucked her off the bed as if she weighed nothing.
Soleil kicked and clawed at the man, but attacking a brick wall would have been a better use of her energy. He flung her over his shoulder and waited for the next order.
"Calm yourself, wench," Vivian bellowed.
Soleil stilled and looked at her. "Why are you doing this? Alex will..."
Vivian slapped her across the face, cutting off her words.
"Alex will never know. I will tell Alex that after your heated argument, you decided to leave immediately and try to find your own way home. I thought having James take Hope would be enough, but now I see the error of my ways. You can’t just leave—you need to be destroyed. Alex will always hold you in his heart while you are alive. I will not see Alex fall to ruin over a Negress. You are not worthy of being the dirt beneath his boots.”
“Please take me, but leave Hope alone.”
“You can’t possibly think I would do such a thing. Don’t waste your breath begging. I’ve found a lovely home for her in an upscale brothel,” Vivian gloated with a sinister laugh.
“No!” Soleil wailed. She resumed kicking and beating against the man’s strong hold. As before, her efforts had little effect.
"Take her away," Vivian commanded.
~*~
JOSEPH CREPT TO THE edge of Soleil’s door. He had seen when the large man had ridden up, and upon seeing him talking with Vivian, decided to follow them. The conversation reached his ears from the open door. Vivian’s harsh words about destroying Soleil crashed into his heart.
Mr. Cummings would be devastated if anything happened to Soleil, especially under his own roof. Besides that, she was one of the kindest women he knew. She always had an encouraging word or smile for him. She didn’t deserve the fate Miss Vivian had planned for her.
Joseph knew he needed to act soon, but didn’t know what to do. It would be impossible for him to face the large man alone. He needed help. Miss Eliza. She would know what to do.
Joseph crept back to the stairs, careful not to be seen. As soon as he was able to move without fear of detection, he ran out the house and headed toward Miss Eliza's cabin as fast as his young legs could carry him. Once at the cabin, he banged on the door with all his strength.
"What on earth? What’s wrong with you child?" Miss Eliza questioned as she answered the door.
"Soleil and Hope—they need help. Miss Vivian lost her mind. She got some man to come and snatch them up. She trying to make them disappear."
"Oh Lawd. Does Mr. Alex know?" Miss Eliza exclaimed, clutching her hand to her bosom.
"He’s not here. Hurry, we have to help them."
"I'm coming."
Miss Eliza ran back into her house in search of a weapon of some sort. She grabbed her frying pan, and gave Joseph her rolling pin. Armed to the best of their abilities, they ran back toward the main house.
As they rounded the side of the house to the front, several distressing scenarios played out before them. In the distance, Soleil hung over the side of the large man’s horse as he rode away at top speed. Vivian trailed not too far behind on her mare.
In front of them, a man attempted to put a feisty Hope into his wagon. She clawed at every inch of his skin, screaming for her mother.
"That's my girl," Miss Eliza cheered. "Let's go."
Joseph and Miss Eliza ran into the open, yelling and screaming as they descended upon the man. The attack was so unexpected he barely had time to defend himself. As he attempted to reach for his gun he released Hope, who immediately ran toward the house. Joseph saw him reaching and smacked his hand with the rolling pin.
When the man pulled his hand back in pain, Joseph shot his hand out and grabbed the gun from its holster. "Don't you move, mister."
The man raised his hands high above his head and froze in place, seeing the gun mere inches from his face. "Go on, take her. Just don't shoot me," he pleaded.
"You’ve got five seconds to get on you horse and ride away." Voice and aim steady, Joseph brokered no arguments.
Not willing to risk his life over a small child, the man did as he was told and made his escape. Miss Eliza and Joseph stood their ground, watching until the man could no longer be seen.
Once sure of his departure, they sighed with relief and hugged each other.
"Come on let's go check on the baby girl," Miss Eliza said.
"What about Soleil? We have to help her."
"She’s gone, and we don't know where to. We have to wait for Mr. Alex to return. He is the only one who can help her."
Joseph knew Miss Eliza was right, but the need for action continued to plague him. Soleil was gone, and there was nothing they could do about it.
~*~
ALEX COULD SEE THE lights from his house in the distance. It struck him as odd for there to be so many candles lit this time of evening. The house was normally quiet around this time, as most of the staff had already retired to their own residences. Unease settled over him. He picked up the pace of his stride.
As he drew nearer, Alex made out the image of a figure pacing back and forth on the porch. Something wasn’t right. Alex picked up his speed to an all-out run. The figure on the porch turned out to be Joseph, who immediately started running toward Alex as he emerged from the darkness.
“Joseph what happened?”
“Soleil is gone, sir. Miss...”
“What do you mean gone?” Alex bellowed, cutting Joseph off.
“Miss Vivian came and took her. She was going to tell you that Soleil had run away. There was another man that tried to take Hope as well, but Miss Eliza and I fought him off.”
Fear and pain grasped Alex in a death grip, making it difficult to breathe. How could he have left her unprotected? How could Vivian be capable of such animosity, to steal the woman he loved from him? "Where is Hope now?"
"She’s in the nursery with Miss Eliza. I don’t know where Soleil is, but the man who took her was ugly as sin, tall, dirty looking brown hair and had a large scar ‘cross his forehead."
The color drained from Alex's face. He knew of the man Joseph spoke of. He had a reputation of crushing the spirits and bodies of those brought to him. The thought of Soleil in his hands made him want to vomit. He had to hurry and save her. It would be a long ride to the beast's lodge, and so much time had already been wasted.
Alex ran to the stable, and without thought of a saddle mounted his horse. He rode into the night on the dark path, praying the animal would sprout wings.
~*~
SOLEIL SAT QUIETLY on the floor of the dirty cabin where the man had deposited her. Think, she told herself. She had to escape and find Hope.
Her abductor squatted in front of the fireplace, stoking the dying flames’ embers.
The glint of something shining caught Soleil’s attention. A knife rested on the table in the middle of the room. Instinct drove her as she raced to the table to pick up the knife, then lifted it over her head to slice down at the man.
Alerted by the stomping of her feet against the wooden floor, he turned and lifted his arm as she swung, causing her to nick his forearm. Before her hand had even returned to her side, his fist made contact with the side of her face, sending her hurtling toward the floor.
The skin on her cheek tightened as it began to swell. Blood flowed from the cut along her eyebrow. She couldn't move or even lift her head because of the pain slicing through her. Her vision was clouded by black spots as her eyes refused to focus.
Soleil wrapped her arms around her legs and drew them to her chest. Soft whimpers filled the room. “Alex,” she murmured, “please help me.”
She chanted the words over and over in her mind, willing Alex to hear them as she began to drift in and out of consciousness.
~*~
1859
“Alex! Alex, help me!” Soleil called out to her friend as she held the tree branch in a death grip. She chided herself for trying to compete with Alex to see who could climb the highest. Now she hung a good enough distance away from the ground that if she fell she would surely break something.
“Alex, help!”
“Don’t worry, sunshine. I’m coming.” True to his word, a few seconds later Alex descended the tree to sit on her branch. He straddled it and leaned forward, reaching out a hand to Soleil. “Take my hand. I’ve got you.”
“I’m scared. I don’t want to let go.”
“Soleil, the angle of this branch won’t let me lean far enough to get a good enough grip on you. I need you to reach out and take my hand. Don’t worry, I won’t let you fall.”
Soleil reached out a tentative hand toward Alex. Her arms were tired. Fatigue had set in to the muscles of her arms, which had carried her weight for too long. Her fingers strained to keep their grip on the branch. She reached out to Alex, but the distance was a little too far.
“Swing a little toward me.”
“No! I can’t,” she whimpered.
“Yes you can.”
Soleil tried again to reach out to Alex. This time she did as he instructed and swung her body. As their hands connected, Soleil lost her grip on the tree branch. Sweat made the hand she grasped Alex with slippery, and the force of her falling body caused him to lose his grip on her hand. Soleil braced herself for the pain that was to come when her body connected with the hard ground below. But the pain never came. Instead, Soleil felt Alex's arms wrapped around her as he shifted in midair. When they connected with the ground, Alex's body absorbed the force of the impact.
Soleil was a little dazed but otherwise unharmed. Beneath her, Alex gasped for air.
She rolled off him and began examining his body for injuries. “Have you lost your mind? Why would you jump out of the tree?”
“What other choice did I have? I couldn't very well let you fall and break your beautiful neck. As long as there is breath in my body, I will always protect you. Always.”
~*~
SOLEIL'S EYES FLEW open, the memory burning bright in her mind.
Alex. He had always been there for her, and always would be. Like the release of a dam, memory after memory returned to her. She and Alex hunting in the woods together during their youth. Her singing to Alex as they sat on the bank of a lake. She remembered them. She remembered everything. Each memory slammed into her heart, increasing the love she felt for him until there couldn’t possibly be more room. As if her entire heart was filled with love for him.
She tried to lift her hand to hold her aching head, but the movement was blocked by thick iron chains wrapped around her wrists. The chains were staked to the ground, pinning her in place. Another set of chains were shackled around her ankles. Her eyes scanned the room. She was alone in the cabin’s dimly lit interior.
The crunch of footsteps moving toward the cabin carried to her ears. Not wanting to alert him that she had awakened, Soleil closed her eyes and lay unmoving on the ground.
The poorly maintained door groaned in protest at being opened. Likely no oil had seen its hinges since it was installed in the cabin.
Though she feigned sleep, the man grabbed the chains attached to Soleil’s wrists and hauled her to her feet. She gasped, stumbling to regain her footing. The man half-dragged, half-carried her to the back of the cabin, where he passed a rope hanging from the ceiling through the chains around her wrists. Then he grabbed the other end of the rope and hoisted her up, leaving her hanging from the ceiling with her arms above her head. He connected the chain around her ankles with a hook that protruded from the floor, leaving her exposed and making it impossible for her to move.
“Ready,” the man shouted above her head.
The creaking door opened again as someone entered the cabin. Chained with her back to the door, Soleil couldn’t see who the newcomer was, but her heart already knew.
"A chair, please," Vivian’s voice spoke into the silence.
The man pulled a chair from a nearby table and sat it directly in front of Soleil.
Vivian sauntered around from the left and sat in the chair with all the grace of a lady during tea time. “Today you will learn your place. How dare you presume to be worthy of Alex’s love."
“I dare because I am worthy. I am Soleil Jacqueline Dufor, daughter of Dominique Dufor, whose shipping company could rival—if not out-earn—Alex’s plantation. Despite the hue of my skin, any man would be privileged to have my hand in marriage.”
“Your memory has returned, I see. No matter. I will help you remember a new lesson today.”
Vivian turned to the man. "I think ten lashes will do. Then I will take my leave, and you can do what you will with her."
Soleil wondered how so much hate could reside in someone’s heart. Her only crime was loving Alex, and this kind of retribution was unwarranted. But she refused to beg this woman for mercy. She lifted her head and braced herself for the blows to come.
The man parted her hair and draped it over her shoulders and breasts. He took a knife and sliced her dress open from the dip of her back upward, pulling the fabric aside to expose her bare flesh. Soleil heard him step back to position himself for delivering the first lash.
No matter how she braced herself, Soleil was not ready for the whip’s sting as it made contact with her flesh. Her cry of pain split the air. A brief pause followed, leaving just enough time for the sting of the first lash to subside before the second blow came, doubling the pain on her tender flesh. Soleil screamed in agony with each connection of the whip to her skin. She counted four lashes before the pain became too much and her world went black.