Chapter 5
The next day Richard and Rebecca had a pleasant stroll through the garden.
"It was such a beautiful night last night. I woke up and just had to look out at the moonlight, I wish you could have been there," Rebecca held her arm around Richard's and looked up at him.
"So do I," Richard looked over and smiled at his darling Rebecca, whom he was so in love with. He wished that he could have been with her looking out at the moonlight. Maybe he would have even stolen a kiss from her sweet lips.
Rebecca smiled back at her handsome fiancé as she thought of last night. Samson had kissed her with his big negro lips, and stretched her nether regions so good with his big dingus.
"Don't you think so?" Richard looked over Rebecca.
"Oh, sorry my love, my mind must have been elsewhere," Rebecca realized that her fiancé had asked her something, whilst her mind had been on Samson.
"On our wedding perhaps?" Richard smiled at his beloved Rebecca, as she smiled back at him.
"I was just..."
"Mastah Richard?" Sango came out with a message for Richard.
"Mastah Chatham wants you to meet him in the study. His guests have arrived." Sango then told him.
"Thank you Sango," Richard said as he looked over at Rebecca.
"Your father wants me to meet some important people,"
"Oh, well try not to be too long, I had hoped that we could take a ride to the lake today," Rebecca hopingly looked over at Richard.
"I'll try," Richard wanted to lean over and give his sweet Rebecca a soft and gentle kiss on her cheek, as he felt a bit bad for leaving her alone in the garden. However, as they weren't married yet, he wanted to remain a perfect gentleman for Rebecca, so instead he gave her a gentle smile.
"This way mastah Richard," Richard then followed Sango over to the mansion.
Inside his study, William Chatham was surrounded by four men and one woman, all dressed appropriately fancy for a meeting of this kind.
"Mastah Chatham sir, Mastah Richard is here," Sango announced his and Richard presence as William Chatham nodded over at Sango.
"Gentlemen, lady, this is my future son-in-law Richard," William came over to Richard who nodded at the men and the woman.
William then walked Richard over to the man in the army uniform.
"This is my good friend, Colonel Henry Clark,"
"How do you do sir," Richard said to the older man in his late fifties smoking a cigar.
"Good to meet you son," The colonel puffed some smoke up in the air from his cigar.
"Not only is he a colonel in the army, but his family owns the largest brewery in the state," William told Richard.
"Second largest," A confident and smug looking man walked over.
"Ah, you wish Sullivan," The colonel said.
"Gentlemen, let's not start this again, shall we," William looked over at the two men.
"The name's Frank Sullivan," The thirty-six year old Frank came up and shook Richard's hand.
Like the colonel, Frank Sullivan had a mustache, though a smaller and much less bushy one.
"How do you do sir," Richard shook his hand.
"Oh stop with the sir son, name's Frank," Sullivan told Richard who nodded.
As William introduced Richard to the rest of his friends, outside on the porch Mrs. Chatham had tea with the men's wives.
"Did you hear about John Emerson's wife, Laura?" Eunice Clark, who was the forty-eight year old wife of the colonel asked the women around the tea table.
Eunice, a heavy set woman who had a propensity for gossip that was unmatched.
"No, what about her?" Christia Sullivan took a sip from her cup. At twenty-five, the thin blonde was the youngest woman at the table. She was also the wife of Frank Sullivan.
"Well I overheard this from a private Bronson, who's under my husband's command. Bronson, who also rides for the pony express, delivered a letter to the Emerson farm. When he did, he saw Laura Emerson putting on a dress, and her belly was huge. The way Bronson told it, she was at least nine months pregnant." Eunice told the women.
"Are you sure? I could have sworn that I saw the Emerson's pick up supplies in one of my husband's mercantiles a few days ago. And Mrs. Emerson didn't seem with child." Priscilla Robertson said.
Priscilla was the wife of the forty-three year old Nathan Robertson, who owned mercantile stores in most of the towns in Alabama, who was also one of the men who William Chatham was introducing Richard to.
The thirty-one year old Priscilla came from humble beginning, and had met her husband Nathan almost twelve years ago in one of his merchantiles, where she cleaned the floors. Though some had called her a gold digger, the light brown haired Priscilla had never had a bad intention in her life. She and her husband Nathan had simply fallen in love those twelve years ago.
"Well here's where it gets intriguing," Eunice said with hint of a smile on her face.
"A week later Bronson returned to the Emerson farm, and Laura Emerson didn't seem to be pregnant anymore. Thinking that it was no secret that Mrs. Emerson had been with child, Bronson congratulated John on the baby. John who seemed a bit embarrassed, told Bronson that he didn't know what he was talking about, and that his wife hadn't been pregnant. But then as Bronson got up on his horse, he saw one of the Emerson farm hands carrying a negro child. It then hit Bronson, Laura Emerson had given birth to a negro child." Eunice told the ladies who looked at each other in awe.
"Well to be perfectly honest, it doesn't surprise me one bit," Charlott Riley said as she took a sip from her tea cup. The gorgeous and often quite vulgar redhead was the wife of Ira Riley, a former outlaw who had become one of the largest saloon owners in the state. Charlott had been a dancer at one of the saloons before she got married to Ira. As always Charlott wore one of her outrageous dresses, where her breasts almost poured out of her corset.
Charlott also ran the Black Colt, an establishment off the beaten path on the way to Elmore. Where she had a staff of negroes who would bed white women. Her normal clientele consisted of white men who would bring their wife, and then watch through peep holes from the next room, as their wife was bedded by a big black negro.
"As I understand it, the Emersons have four virile negroes on their farm. It was just a matter of time before one of them put a baby in Laura's belly," Charlott said with a wicked smile.
That was one of the reasons why the ladies really enjoyed Charlott's company, she always said the most raunchy and wicked things.
The hours passed at the Chatham estate as the men discussed some business and the women gossiped. After dinner, the Chathams were bidding farewell to their guests.
"It will be interesting to see how the railway expansion in the south turns out," Nathan Robertson stood by his carriage talking to William Chatham and Frank Sullivan.
"The president of the railway company has assured me that the railway will come through near the southern pass," William told the men as Nathan shook his hand.
"That's good to hear," Nathan said as he joined his wife in the carriage.
The men nodded as Nathan tapped on the roof of the carriage to signal the driver to head off.
"It was a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Kelly," Richard told the elegantly clothed woman, who had been the only woman in Mr. Chatham circle of businessmen.
Cordelia Kelly was the wealthiest woman in the state next to Julie Millton. The thirty-four year old woman was known for being a strong and independent woman. She had managed to expand the ranch she had inherited from her parents, to become one of the largest horse ranches in the state. Over the years there had been men who had tried to woo Cordelia, but they had all felt a bit threatened by how strong and willful she was. Something not very common for women.
"A pleasure to meet you as well, and I sure hope I am invited to your wedding with the lovely Rebecca," Cordelia told him smiling.
"Of course Mrs. Kelly," Richard told the stunning woman, who picked up her cowboy hat which covered her golden blonde hair. Though she wore an elegant dress, Cordelia was still a cowgirl at heart.
Cordelia then walked over to her horse.
"I just watered the horses miss Kelly," Mark Holt, a cattle rancher who worked for Cordelia, gave her a hand up on her horse, as she gave him a thankful nod. Cordelia who was more than capable of getting up on her horse by herself, would usually never let a man help her up on her horse. With Mark however, it was different.
A couple of years older than Cordelia, Mark Holt had worked for Cordelia's parents since he was seventeen. Since then the had become a very talented and sought after cattle rancher. Even after Cordelia's parents died and with healthy offers from other ranchers, he had stayed with Cordelia.
Over the years, Cordelia had always wanted to tell Mark what a rock he had been for her, and that without him she might not have been able to manage the ranch after her parents died. Though, something always seemed to get in the way.
As he got up on his horse, Mark glanced over at Cordelia. He was still in awe of how beautiful she looked wearing a dress. He could count the times he had seen Cordelia in a dress on one hand. Then suddenly he noticed Cordelia looking over at him.
"I know, I look ridiculous," Being a cowgirl, Cordelia felt rather uncomfortable in a dress, though, deep inside, she really enjoyed the way Mark looked at her.
"No, it's just... different," Mark couldn't say that what he wanted to say. That she looked beautiful. Something the had wanted to tell her for a long time.
"Well, can't wait to get home and into some proper clothes," Cordelia said as she and Mark rode off.
After saying goodbye to most of the guests, only the colonel and his wife Eunice remained.
"Let's go into my study and have a brandy," William Chatham told Colonel Clark, as they walked off. The men were good friends and enjoyed revisiting old times.
Watching the two older men leave, Richard walked over to Mrs. Chatham.
