Wade Williams paced the long porch in front of Perry's grandfather's house. Three days had passed since his ruined wedding. Three days and no answers. Wade had slept and eaten little, as had all the others around him. Deep lines carved his features, and a permanent frown spread across his thin lips.
When Wade first arrived at Three Oaks, he'd thought Perry's disappearance was only a plot to stall him. Confidently he'd begun to search the house, assuring himself her ploy would only cause a few minutes delay. But his confidence faded as he widened his search to include the barn and fields beyond. His anger grew with each passing minute. He plowed through each room with Perry's bewildered grandfather, a whimp-ering Noma following in his wake. Perry was spoiling his plans, not only for a wedding but also for owning Three Oaks. The longer he searched, the more he thought about how he'd make her pay. Just after noon, Sarah, the black cook, came running from the creek, waving Perry's muddy slippers above her head. Tears ran down her face as she heaved for air and climbed the last few feet to the porch.
Noma spotted her first and burst into tears, exclaiming everyone's fears. 'My baby! My baby's drowned!' She ran toward Sarah and both women wailed their pain as they hugged.
Wade had men search the creek for miles downstream. They found Perry's tattered nightgown, but Wade continued to push them relentlessly to find her body. He wanted to see her, no matter how mangled and bloated her body.
Now, after three days, Wade had little hope. He tapped his leg restlessly with his riding whip. It was really too bad, he thought, that the silly girl couldn't have done this a few months after they'd married. She'd destroyed his carefully made plans. Now he would have to reorganize. His goal to run this part of the state would be delayed by weeks, maybe even months.
Noma interrupted his thoughts as she stepped from the house. She was sick with grief, her face swollen from crying and her voice husky from yelling Perry's name. Wade was finding her of less and less value to him, therefore his manner grew sharper at each meeting.
'Did you search the room again?' he barked.
'Yes, Mr. Wade. But as I told you twice before, there weren't nothin' missin'. I know all Miz Perry's clothes, and only her nightgown and slippers is gone.' As Noma turned to point to the slippers and gown piled on a porch table, she burst into tears. 'I don't under-stand why my baby would go off like she did. It just weren't in her to do a thing like kill herself. She always was a-fightin' death, never headin' toward it.'
Wade could stand no more of her whining. He shoved her back into the house and resumed his pacing. Noma was right about one thing. It just did not make sense. The question kept pounding in his brain-why would a girl with Perry's spirit kill herself? Though everything pointed to suicide, Wade kept searching his mind for another answer. He would believe that she was dead only when he saw her body.
Reluctantly he decided to call off the search. He knew he had pushed all the people at Three Oaks to their limits. They were a pathetic lot to begin with. He was sick of ordering them around. The old man had vanished into his study and into a bottle. Wade doubted if Perry's grandfather would ever see the light of sanity or sobriety again.
Climbing onto his horse, Wade cursed the house and its inhabitants for spoiling his plans. He rode toward the Williams farm, plotting his next step. Luckily, few people knew of his engagement. After a reasonable time he could marry another-though no other woman bore Perry's qualities. He whipped his horse in frustration.
Within a few hours Wade stood before John and Mary Williams. They'd been waiting for word of Perry. Wade was amazed at the depth of their grief when he told them Perry had drowned. John's gray eyes were filled with sorrow as he held his crying wife in his arms.
'I've done everything I can to find the body. I guess it must have washed farther downriver by now,' Wade stated matter-of-factly. He paraded back and forth across the width of their porch. His boot heels tapped a rhythm to his bland voice. 'With the rain, the stream was swift. She could be all the way to Cape Fear River by now.'
Mary stopped crying and looked up at her husband. 'Oh, John, we were watching Hunter leave that morning. To think poor little Perry was drowning.' Mary was speaking to John and was unaware of Wade's reaction to her mention of Hunter.
'Did Hunter see Perry while he was here?' Wade asked the obvious question, his lips drawn tight across a facade of calmness. Only small white marks around his mouth hinted at his frustration at the mention of Hunter's name.
John watched Wade closely. He didn't know the cause of the hatred Wade bore for Hunter, but he could see it burning in Wade's eyes. John had to answer Wade's question carefully, for he was not a man to lie or give away secrets. 'Perry met Hunter in Philadelphia, I think. She never said much about it, and I forgot to ask Hunter. He, or rather Abram, helped Perry book passage here just after the war.'
'Why was Perry in Philadelphia when the war ended?' Wade's question was demanding. He had to know how much John knew about Perry.
'I have no idea,' John stated. He turned his face toward Mary, discouraging any further questioning by Wade.
Wade knew his uncle well enough to know that even if John Williams did know the answer, he couldn't be pushed or bullied into telling. Wade's mind moved logically. If Hunter had helped her once, was it possible he'd helped her again? He'd been close enough to help three nights ago, but how could Perry have had time to let him know she was in trouble? Maybe they were secret lovers. If so, Hunter could have come to her. That would explain her reluctance to marry him.
Calmly he asked, 'Who went up in that balloon with Hunter?'
John didn't seem to understand the point of Wade's question. But as always, his words were carefully chosen around his nephew. 'Hunter had only Abram with him.' John didn't seem to want to go into detail about Hunter's visit. Wade thought it almost looked as if his uncle were hiding something-not about Perry, surely, or the grief wouldn't have been in his eyes, but perhaps about Hunter's reason for visiting.
'No one else was in the balloon? You're sure?' Wade pressed.
'I'm sure. I walked up and looked into the basket. It was loaded with supplies.' John's eyebrow raised as he studied Wade.
The Union captain's pace slowed. He would have to be careful or John would guess his suspicions. 'Why did Hunter come down here?' Wade asked, interrogating John. He could not put his finger on why, but Wade felt John was not telling everything he knew.
John shrugged. 'He planned to return as soon as the war was over to visit us. Maybe he just wanted to see us before the wedding next month.'
Wade knew Hunter and Jennifer planned to marry after the war, but he hadn't thought much about it. She was too much of a woman for Hunter, or for any one man. Wade had known her years ago. At the time he'd left her alone after a mild flirtation. She was more trouble than he wanted to take on. Also, Wade thought it would be fun to watch his cousin suffer after they were married. His theory about Hunter and Perry didn't make any sense, with Hunter planning to marry soon. Hunter wasn't the type to have both a wife and a mistress. Wade laughed to himself. His cousin seemed to have little to say around one woman, much less two. Unless she was a bird, any woman would have trouble talking with Hunter. His only love was flying through the air in that damn balloon.
Wade smiled warmly, transforming his manner instantly. 'I think I'd best go to Philadelphia for the wedding of my only cousin.' He thought for a minute before adding, 'And I think I'll offer Perry's poor maid a job. With Perry gone and the old man hating the sight of Noma, maybe she'd like to stay on at my place. I haven't really had time to look for a housekeeper.''
Wade's mind was plotting as he moved away. If there ever had been anything between Hunter and Perry, surely Noma would know. Also, if there was any chance Perry was alive, she would find Noma. He would have the black woman watched, even though the odds were that it would be a waste of time.
Chapter 20
