wharf. Taking Fancy’s hand with a gleam in his eyes, he brushed his lips across her soft skin. “That was not exactly the kind of adventure I had in mind for you and your sister, but I am happy that you have been so kind as to make light of my deplorably bad manners. Chance is no friend of mine—there is a great deal of bad blood between us, and I am sorry that you and Ellen had to see such an ugly scene.Will you forgive me?” He glanced meltingly over at Ellen. “And you, too, my dear?”
Ellen sent him an uncertain smile, her eyes very big and round in her face. “It was rather shocking, wasn’t it?”
Straightening the folds of her skirts, Fancy said quietly, “Yes, it was, but we will not repine on it. And as for forgiving you . . . there is nothing to forgive, Jonathan, it was just an unfortunate occurrence.” Looking at Sam, she flashed him a dimpled smile. “We shall talk no more of it. Instead, Mr. Walker shall escort us to the carriage and we shall all forget about Chance Walker! I doubt that after today he will be brazen enough to even show us his face again.”
“Oh, he is brazen enough!” Jonathan said. “I doubt that there is anything that he would find
too
brazen to do.”
Sam looked troubled, and ignoring Jonathan’s comment, he muttered, “I am sorry that Chance has made such a bad impression on you. He is, perhaps, blunt and inclined to speak his mind, but there is no evil in him.”
Jonathan’s brow sketched upward. “So you say, but you will not find
me
in agreement with you, brother.”
Sam opened his mouth to reply, but Constance rushed in with, “Oh, fiddle! I am sick to death of hearing that man’s name. He has been nothing but a trial to this family since he was born. It grieves me to say it, Samuel, but he is just like that no-good drunken father of his. And it matters not to hear you say that Morely hasn’t touched a drop in over thirty years. To me, Chance and Morely, too, will always be a blot on the Walker family name.” Having done her part to further blacken Chance’s character, Constance suddenly smiled charmingly and said, “Oh my, how I do run on! But, now, please, let us follow the baroness’s lead and just forget about Chance Walker and his coarse ways.”
Sam bowed to her wishes and, smiling ruefully, began to usher the ladies and his brother toward the waiting carriage. Regaling them with tales of how Richmond had begun in 1637 as a trading post because of its location at the head of navigation on the James River, Sam effortlessly put the unpleasant scene with Chance behind them. Fancy, her topazeyes gleaming with interest, listened carefully as Sam explained that some years later Richmond had been the site of Byrd’s Warehouse, but that the actual town hadn’t been laid out until 1737 by Colonel William Byrd. Staring at the village, which was scattered over several hills on the north side of the James River, as the carriage moved smartly down the street, Fancy was thoroughly fascinated to think that this bustling port town had humbly started out merely as a place to trade furs and trinkets with the Indians.
Thinking of the Indians, she could not help but recall Chance Walker’s earlier statements. A little uneasy, she asked suddenly, “ ’Tis likely that those Indians which Mr. Walker spoke of would attack us?”
Jonathan snorted derisively, but it was Sam who answered slowly, “Living in the wilderness as we do, far away from any town, anything is possible, my dear Lady Merrivale. But I do not believe we have anything to fear. The raids are well over a hundred miles away from us, in the Ohio River Valley. I doubt that any of the Shawnees or Mingos would push very deep in our direction.” He smiled reassuringly. “While we have suffered attacks in the past and have even lost members of our family to the Indians, the Walkers have long been known as friends to the Indian. You have little to fear at Walker Ridge. The plantation is large and well
Ellen sent him an uncertain smile, her eyes very big and round in her face. “It was rather shocking, wasn’t it?”
Straightening the folds of her skirts, Fancy said quietly, “Yes, it was, but we will not repine on it. And as for forgiving you . . . there is nothing to forgive, Jonathan, it was just an unfortunate occurrence.” Looking at Sam, she flashed him a dimpled smile. “We shall talk no more of it. Instead, Mr. Walker shall escort us to the carriage and we shall all forget about Chance Walker! I doubt that after today he will be brazen enough to even show us his face again.”
“Oh, he is brazen enough!” Jonathan said. “I doubt that there is anything that he would find
too
brazen to do.”
Sam looked troubled, and ignoring Jonathan’s comment, he muttered, “I am sorry that Chance has made such a bad impression on you. He is, perhaps, blunt and inclined to speak his mind, but there is no evil in him.”
Jonathan’s brow sketched upward. “So you say, but you will not find
me
in agreement with you, brother.”
Sam opened his mouth to reply, but Constance rushed in with, “Oh, fiddle! I am sick to death of hearing that man’s name. He has been nothing but a trial to this family since he was born. It grieves me to say it, Samuel, but he is just like that no-good drunken father of his. And it matters not to hear you say that Morely hasn’t touched a drop in over thirty years. To me, Chance and Morely, too, will always be a blot on the Walker family name.” Having done her part to further blacken Chance’s character, Constance suddenly smiled charmingly and said, “Oh my, how I do run on! But, now, please, let us follow the baroness’s lead and just forget about Chance Walker and his coarse ways.”
Sam bowed to her wishes and, smiling ruefully, began to usher the ladies and his brother toward the waiting carriage. Regaling them with tales of how Richmond had begun in 1637 as a trading post because of its location at the head of navigation on the James River, Sam effortlessly put the unpleasant scene with Chance behind them. Fancy, her topazeyes gleaming with interest, listened carefully as Sam explained that some years later Richmond had been the site of Byrd’s Warehouse, but that the actual town hadn’t been laid out until 1737 by Colonel William Byrd. Staring at the village, which was scattered over several hills on the north side of the James River, as the carriage moved smartly down the street, Fancy was thoroughly fascinated to think that this bustling port town had humbly started out merely as a place to trade furs and trinkets with the Indians.
Thinking of the Indians, she could not help but recall Chance Walker’s earlier statements. A little uneasy, she asked suddenly, “ ’Tis likely that those Indians which Mr. Walker spoke of would attack us?”
Jonathan snorted derisively, but it was Sam who answered slowly, “Living in the wilderness as we do, far away from any town, anything is possible, my dear Lady Merrivale. But I do not believe we have anything to fear. The raids are well over a hundred miles away from us, in the Ohio River Valley. I doubt that any of the Shawnees or Mingos would push very deep in our direction.” He smiled reassuringly. “While we have suffered attacks in the past and have even lost members of our family to the Indians, the Walkers have long been known as friends to the Indian. You have little to fear at Walker Ridge. The plantation is large and well
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