my time in the city. I promised to bring my wife some finery, and it may take me a few days to complete my shopping,” he added with an exhausted smile.
“I’m confident we can accommodate you. We can send a telegraph, and once we receive word regarding the time and date, I’ll notify you.”
“Good enough,” Mr. Forbes said, once again struggling to stand.
“Let me retrieve your cane, Mr. Forbes, and I’ll see you to the door,” Jasmine offered.
“No. You remain seated, Mrs. Houston. You’ve had more to contend with this day than I.”
“Indeed, my dear. You remain seated,” Nolan said as he took the older man by one arm. “I’ll accompany Mr. Forbes.”
Mr. Forbes leaned heavily upon his cane as Nolan escorted him across the thick wool carpet. Jasmine waited until she heard the tapping of his cane upon the wooden floor in the hallway before turning her attention to McKinley.
“Do you want to return home and discuss this matter with Violet—or perhaps fetch her and we can all take our noonday meal together?” Jasmine asked.
He shook his head. “No. I can tell you, sister, that I’ll not even entertain the notion of returning to The Willows and bringing in a cotton crop. If you want to do so, then that is all well and good, but I say we should immediately sell the place.”
“That may prove more difficult than you think,” Nolan said as he strode back into the room.
“How so? The Willows turns a handsome profit. There ought to be any number of investors willing to purchase such a plantation.”
“That’s not what Forbes tells me. He just said there are two plantations that have been on the market for over a year now and still have no buyers. Additionally, he tells me that because the fever devastated the area around Lorman, it will prove more difficult to find a purchaser until the fear of a repeat epidemic dies down.”
McKinley stood up and began pacing back and forth between the settee and Nolan’s oversized desk, his shuffling feet brushing the carpet nap first in one direction and then the other. “This is indeed a fine predicament,” he said while raking his fingers through his thick hair. “We can’t even properly mourn the loss of our family because of a cotton crop. I say we let it rot in the fields. What difference does harvesting the cotton make if we’re going to sell the plantation anyway?”
“Not a very fitting tribute to our father or our brothers, do you think? We should at least honor Father’s final request, McKinley.”
“Surely he realized what he was asking would be impossible for either of us to accomplish,” her brother argued.
Leaning slightly forward, Jasmine watched as her brother paced in front of her. McKinley had always been the sensitive male member in their family, yet suddenly he appeared cold and indifferent. She’d never seen him so detached and aloof. His behavior was as disturbing as the decision they must make. Surely he didn’t truly believe they should sit back and permit the crop to lay waste.
“Nothing is impossible if we trust in the Lord and maintain a proper perspective. Perhaps Violet would be willing to remain in Lowell with her parents while you traveled with Nolan and me to The Willows. With three of us, we could conduct the necessary business more rapidly. You or Nolan could oversee the crop, and I could attend to putting the house in order to place it for sale and help with the book-work,” she suggested hopefully.
“Did you not hear me? There is no way I can travel to Mississippi. I’ll not leave Violet with her parents when our child is due to be born in December. You know she’s frightened something will go wrong again.”
Jasmine nodded. Violet had suffered the loss of a stillborn child early in her marriage, and it had nearly incapacitated her throughout this pregnancy. Even though she’d subsequently given birth to one healthy child, the thought of another stillborn baby loomed in her mind, and she was
“I’m confident we can accommodate you. We can send a telegraph, and once we receive word regarding the time and date, I’ll notify you.”
“Good enough,” Mr. Forbes said, once again struggling to stand.
“Let me retrieve your cane, Mr. Forbes, and I’ll see you to the door,” Jasmine offered.
“No. You remain seated, Mrs. Houston. You’ve had more to contend with this day than I.”
“Indeed, my dear. You remain seated,” Nolan said as he took the older man by one arm. “I’ll accompany Mr. Forbes.”
Mr. Forbes leaned heavily upon his cane as Nolan escorted him across the thick wool carpet. Jasmine waited until she heard the tapping of his cane upon the wooden floor in the hallway before turning her attention to McKinley.
“Do you want to return home and discuss this matter with Violet—or perhaps fetch her and we can all take our noonday meal together?” Jasmine asked.
He shook his head. “No. I can tell you, sister, that I’ll not even entertain the notion of returning to The Willows and bringing in a cotton crop. If you want to do so, then that is all well and good, but I say we should immediately sell the place.”
“That may prove more difficult than you think,” Nolan said as he strode back into the room.
“How so? The Willows turns a handsome profit. There ought to be any number of investors willing to purchase such a plantation.”
“That’s not what Forbes tells me. He just said there are two plantations that have been on the market for over a year now and still have no buyers. Additionally, he tells me that because the fever devastated the area around Lorman, it will prove more difficult to find a purchaser until the fear of a repeat epidemic dies down.”
McKinley stood up and began pacing back and forth between the settee and Nolan’s oversized desk, his shuffling feet brushing the carpet nap first in one direction and then the other. “This is indeed a fine predicament,” he said while raking his fingers through his thick hair. “We can’t even properly mourn the loss of our family because of a cotton crop. I say we let it rot in the fields. What difference does harvesting the cotton make if we’re going to sell the plantation anyway?”
“Not a very fitting tribute to our father or our brothers, do you think? We should at least honor Father’s final request, McKinley.”
“Surely he realized what he was asking would be impossible for either of us to accomplish,” her brother argued.
Leaning slightly forward, Jasmine watched as her brother paced in front of her. McKinley had always been the sensitive male member in their family, yet suddenly he appeared cold and indifferent. She’d never seen him so detached and aloof. His behavior was as disturbing as the decision they must make. Surely he didn’t truly believe they should sit back and permit the crop to lay waste.
“Nothing is impossible if we trust in the Lord and maintain a proper perspective. Perhaps Violet would be willing to remain in Lowell with her parents while you traveled with Nolan and me to The Willows. With three of us, we could conduct the necessary business more rapidly. You or Nolan could oversee the crop, and I could attend to putting the house in order to place it for sale and help with the book-work,” she suggested hopefully.
“Did you not hear me? There is no way I can travel to Mississippi. I’ll not leave Violet with her parents when our child is due to be born in December. You know she’s frightened something will go wrong again.”
Jasmine nodded. Violet had suffered the loss of a stillborn child early in her marriage, and it had nearly incapacitated her throughout this pregnancy. Even though she’d subsequently given birth to one healthy child, the thought of another stillborn baby loomed in her mind, and she was
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