A Civil Affair

Epilogue: (William's POV)

"You can't be serious, William!" My father is furious with me but then again, when is he not?

"It's not mine and I will not be accountable for someone else's mistake!" I argue tiredly. We've been through this over and over for awhile now.

"I'm not going to sit back and watch you mar this family even more than you already have!"

"Excuse me? What's that supposed to mean?"

"If it weren't for you, your sister would still be alive!" he shouts at me, throwing his glass across the room and shattering it against the wall. "Divorcing your wife is not the answer, boy! Think about the implications it has on us!"

"On us?! She's the one who's marred this family by getting pregnant by another man! How does that look when your own son is viewed as sterile?"

"That's why you need to bring the child up as your own! No one will know the difference!"

"You are insane and we are done with this conversation!"

I turn on my heel and almost collide with Raelynn, who had obviously been listening in to the conversation. I disregard her as I walk away, determined to get out of this stuffy house. She calls out to me but I don't waver in my step. I also hear my father call out and demand that I return at once but again, I have no care about either of them anymore. The plantation is mine, the divorce is final, and I can now focus on more pressing issues in my life.

I walk down to the Yellowwood, still standing tall and wide at the far end of our plantation, and survey the work being done. With the money from the sales of our crop, I was able to hire builders, keeping them in business while the war raged on around us. A new two-story house is being built on the opposite side of the plantation to my parents' house, along with a carriage house and stables. The slave and servant house will still remain on their side of the plantation, but the control has been relinquished to me.

This new house, on the property I bought with part of my trust, will be for my new family, which will hopefully grow in the future. I am no longer legally bound to Raelynn but I can't force her out of my father's house. I can only keep her out of the new one. She is Rex's responsibility now and even though the bookstore will lose the Parkers' business, I think we'll survive better without the gossip family around. I'm very fortunate also to know Savannah has latched herself onto another man, keeping her at a distance as well.

"It's coming along nicely, Mr. Hutchinson," one of the young men working on the house says to me as I approach.

"You're quite right. Will it be done before winter sets in?" I'm afraid with the winter snap all building will stop until spring.

"We're hoping. The framework is finished. Now it's just the inside that needs working on. Are you sure you want four bedrooms upstairs?"

"Four, yes."

"Why so many for just you?"

I smile, knowing the truth—one bedroom for Maddie and me, one for her mother, one for a nursery, and one as a playroom/toddler room. Yes, four sounds about right. "You just build them and I'll worry about what they're for."

"Yes, sir," he nods and heads inside the frame of the house.

When I turn around, Raelynn is standing there, hands on her hips, ready to start an argument. I sigh, roll my eyes and prepare myself to leave. Unfortunately, she steps in my way and glares up at me. I know she's not happy with things but she brought them on herself and then expected me to pick up the pieces of her mistakes. She just didn't understand that life didn't work that way.

"This house is too big for us. I want to live in the main house," she complains.

"This house isn't for you and it would be best to leave the main house anyway," I reply.

"Well if it's not for us, then who is it for? And why are you wasting our money on it when you should be thinking about the baby?" she whines.

"That money is not ours and it certainly isn't a waste. I'd suggest you go back to the main house and make arrangements to have your things delivered to Mr. Parker's house. I'm sure you don't want to keep him away from the expected grandchild."

"You know I can't expect them to take me in. Now be reasonable and help your pregnant wife get settled for her new arrival," she demands.

"Don't you get it?! It's over! The divorce papers are legal, final, and binding! You are no longer a Hutchinson so stop acting as if I owe you or your bastard child anything!"

I walk away, leaving her standing there, clearly taken aback by my anger. I need happiness in my life again and between the death of my sister, my father's anger, and Raelynn's whining, I'm at a loss. I wander towards town but instead of heading towards the bookstore, I venture away towards the cemetery behind the church. If anyone can give me solace, my sister can.

Kneeling in front of her grave, I can taste the salt as my tears trickle into my mouth. "I'm sorry," I sob. "You'd still be alive if it weren't for me. I don't know why you lost your baby but I know how scared you were when you found out about it. I've never been so scared in all my life. But I want you to know that I followed your advice and I followed my heart. But I'm scared something is going to happen to her and the baby. She's lost so much and I just don't know if I have enough to make her happy again."

I stand up and turn around, coming face-to-face with Rex Parker. I know he's mad, he has every right to be, but he should be mad at himself not me. I'm not in the mood to fight him here, in the middle of the cemetery, near my sister's grave. Yet he stands his ground, stepping in front of me, clenching and unclenching his fists. I glance down at his hands and I see he's also carrying a pistol on his right hip.

"I want you to reconsider those divorce papers, William," he barks sternly, his voice and his eyes not wavering.

I roll my eyes, knowing he is just as bad as Raelynn, and sidestep him but he steps in my way each time. "Get out of my way, Rex."

"Not until you destroy the divorce papers!"

"I'm not going back on it now. Please let me pass. I need to go check on the completion of my house."

He pulls the pistol from its holster and aims it at my chest. "I think you better change your mind."

"Or what? You'll shoot me in cold blood on my sister's grave so you can prove a point?!" I argue.

"If you were half the man you claim to be, she would never have come to me for the attention you neglected to give her!"

"If you love her than take care of the child you created together instead of pawning it off on me!"

"I don't love her and it was a mistake!" he growls.

"You can't be serious!"

"Take your wife back because she loves you more and deserves the life you can give her! Or if you want, I can hold you at gunpoint so you can destroy the divorce papers!"

"This is ridiculous! Get out of my way, Rex!"

I push past him and that's when I hear it—the bang is so loud in my ears I don't have time to process what happened. That is, until I feel the pain. I fall aimlessly to the ground, screaming and clawing at the grass to make the pain stop. I look up and see Rex hovering over me with his pistol poised and ready for another shot.

"Stay down, William, or I will not hesitate to shoot again."

The pain is unbearable. I don't want it to end like this; it can't end like this. Slowly, bracing my hands on the ground, I push my body up into a kneeling position. Every movement, every breath, is painful but I need to get up. His pistol is still pointed at me but it doesn't stop me from moving. I know I have to get help, ironically from Rex's father.

"I said stay down!" he shouts.

"You don't want to do this," I grit my teeth. "You don't want my blood on your hands!"

Another shot sounds as I scream, the bullet piercing my shoulder this time. He's getting too close to my heart with his shots and the next one could hit its target. I'm lying on the ground now, clutching my shoulder and gasping for air through the pain. There's no one in the cemetery and no one within earshot to hear the pistol go off. I'm literally there at Rex's mercy, something I refuse to beg for, even at gunpoint.

"I hold all the cards in my hand right now," I hear him say above me. "You can either do what I say or die, those are your choices. There's no one here to help you and you're losing a lot of blood."

"I'm not going to pay for your mistakes, Rex. I've told you, killing me isn't going to change the fact that you got her pregnant! My family won't take care of her if I'm dead. They know the truth."

"You're lying!"

"I wish he was, Rex," a meek female voice says behind him.

"Raelynn?" I wince in pain, my tiny movements killing me.

"Rex, put the gun down," I hear her speak again, ignoring me.

"Or what? You'll shoot me? You said this was what you wanted. You said—"

"I know what I said! It's called injuring, not killing, Rex! Now put the damn gun down!"

"You probably don't even know how to use that gun." I squint and that's when I see her holding a colt in her hands.

A shot rings out over the quiet cemetery and I see Rex go down, still clutching his pistol. I look back over to Raelynn and she points the colt away, the gun still smoking from the shot. I sigh and lean my head back down onto the cool ground, finding it ironic my ex-wife saved my life from the man who got her pregnant in the first place. But I didn't miss their exchange of words and something tells me my ex-wife was playing this to her advantage.

*   *   *   *   *

The winter chill is starting to set in and all I can do is watch the slow progress of my house from my bedroom window. My arm has been in a sling, protecting the shoulder that was shot and my leg has been tied in bandages for weeks. I'll most likely walk with a limp for the rest of my life, after I stop walking with the help of a cane, of course. Every day I'm reminded by my father that Raelynn saved my life and now I owe it to her to take care of her and her bastard child. Which brings me to my other thoughts—Maddie and my unborn child.

I haven't seen her in weeks, Mr. Parker putting me on bed rest and my father putting me on house arrest. I know she knows what happened to me because Mrs. Parker has gone into the bookstore to tell her the latest gossip. I also see her by the tree, sitting on the swing, watching our new house being built. But she never once comes into the main house to see me or ask how I'm feeling. I think she's still afraid of my father, even though he can't hurt her anymore.

"William, you should be in bed," my mother interrupts my thoughts as she comes in with that awful-tasting antibiotic Mr. Parker has prescribed.

"I can't stand being cooped up in here while I watch the house get built from across the plantation," I whine, staring out the window.

"Well stop watching and get back in bed. You have a visitor," she smiles.

"Please tell me it's not the Marques. I really don't want to play nice," I beg, reluctant to get back in bed.

"No, it's someone you'll want to see."

After taking my medicine, I hand her the empty cup and watch as she walks out the door. With my free hand, I push my body further up on the bed so I can rest my head on the headboard. As the door opens again, I wince just thinking about who has come to call. Just seeing her though brings a smile to my face.

"I didn't think I'd see you until after winter," I smile up at her, slightly teasing her for her reluctance to visit.

"I didn't know if I was allowed to see you," she replies.

"He has no power over me anymore. He can't control either of us," I reply, motioning for her to join me on the bed.

I am lucky that Rex shot me on the same side of my body because it's easier for her to curl up next to me on my ‘good' side. Once she's situated, I wrap my arm around her and pull her in close, kissing her forehead. She leans up and gently touches my face before kissing my lips. I haven't felt this secure and happy in a long time. Her eyes flutter open and she stares into mine.

"How are you feeling?" she asks concern on her face.

I shift slightly. "Better but going a bit stir-crazy in this room."

"They don't let you out?"

I shake my head. "They even have meals brought up to me. Mr. Parker says bed rest to heal the wounds from the bullets and my parents are following the doctor's orders, almost too well."

"So they treat you like a prisoner in your own home?"

I shrug my shoulders. "How are you doing?"

Instinctively, I watch her place her hands on her stomach. "We are both fine. I had another checkup with Doc Parker and he said the baby is growing just fine."

I am elated and pull her tighter against me. "Do you want a boy or a girl?"

"A little girl would be nice, to take over the bookstore. But I want a little boy to be able to take over the plantation someday," she answers. It's the first time I've heard her speak genuinely about another business other than her own.

A knock at the door sends her scurrying away from me towards the edge of the bed. "Relax, it's probably just my mother. She knows everything."

The door opens and it's not my mother standing there, but my father instead. Maddie is terrified and I'm unsure how he's going to react to her being there. Without a word though, he looks from me to her and back to me, then walks out of the room, slamming the door behind him. I hear Maddie sigh, obviously holding her breath when he came in, and she curls back up next to me.

"What does your mother know?" she asks me after getting settled.

"She knows how I feel about you, about the investment in the bookstore, about the house, and she knows the baby is mine."

I hear her gasp. "The baby? You told her about the baby?! Would she tell your father?"

I can see the concern in her eyes but I try to reassure her. "She knows there's nothing she can say to my father at this point."

"Then why did he come in here looking at me the way he did? He has to know!"

She's beginning to panic. "Hey, hey, none of that. It's not good for the baby."

"Will, what if he stops construction on the house or he forces you to dissolve the divorce or keeps us apart?" She's almost in tears thinking of the worst.

I cup her face gently in my hand. "None of that is going to happen. No one is going to keep us apart ever again—not my father or even Raelynn."

"How can you be sure?"

"My father has already lost so much and in the eyes of his peers, he has failed to keep his family in order. He can't afford to disown or outcast his last child."

Shouting from outside causes both of us to look towards the window. I glance up into her eyes as I hobble to the window and pry it open with her assistance. We can't see what the commotion is all about but people are scurrying everywhere. I turn around and grab my cane, preparing to leave the room, when my door swings open again.

My mother's face is horrified. "The Yankees are here! They are tearing apart our town!"

"What can we do? We have to stop them!" I lunge towards the door but my mother's hand stops me.

"Your house is gone, Madeline. I'm sorry." I turn my head to see Maddie burst into tears.

"What happened?" she asks between sobs.

"They've begun to burn houses and pillage stores," she reports.

"And my mother? Is she ok?"

"We don't know."

As I look from my mother to my love, I realize all the fighting was for naught. Her brother's death, her father's death, my sister's death, and everyone else involved, means nothing because they still came. No matter how hard we tried to keep our livelihood going and our crops from failing and our stores from closing, they still came. As I stand there holding Maddie as she cries out of fear of losing the last remaining member of her family, I realize that no matter we believed in and how we were taught to live, they still came.
 

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