Echoes in the Bayou Read Online Free PDF Page B

his
mother told him that she had run away, he got hold of one of his daddy’s
pistols and blew his brains out. Magnus believed that William Jr.’s spirit was
still haunting the place. What he couldn’t put his finger on was why? And who
was the slave that he was in love with?
    His mind
suddenly filled with unconscious insight.  The forbidden relationship that
went on behind plantation doors would be the premise of his new novel. The
master’s only son falls in love with a house slave from the plantation; their
love was so strong that when he finds out that she’s run away, he decides that
he’d rather die than live without her. It’s
timeless , he told himself. 
    He knew
that if he wanted another best seller that he was going to have to do some
serious digging into the past of Montieu Plantation.  Just then, he
realized that calling Gavin and getting Ava to come out to the plantation had
been perfect timing. He would give her free reign over the entire house and
allow her to oversee the renovations while he busied himself doing research.
"This is going to be perfect," he said out loud as he began writing
the outline for his new novel.

 
    Chapter
Four

 
    It gave
Ava unexpected pleasure to pack the rest of her remaining bags, leave the key
on the dining room table and simply drive away. Everything she packed fit
perfectly into her car so there was no need to put anything else in
storage.  There was nothing, absolutely nothing that could make her want
to run as far away from Savannah as she could like being betrayed and used by
the man that she loved.
    Even
though Magnus wasn’t expecting her for another day, she figured that there was
no time like the present and she wanted to put some distance between herself
and the betrayers, that's what she liked to call them. It was a new name she
had come up with last night while she lie awake going over what had happened.
To her, there was no other word that best fit the two of them.
    Gavin had
told her that Magnus had been stricken with writers block and almost never left
the plantation, so she figured she’d take a chance and arrive there a bit
early. And if he wasn’t home, she’d simply go into town and get a room for the
night. Either way, she wanted to get the hell out of Savannah. It was six
o’clock in the morning and according to her gps, she would be arriving in
Corinth at about seven o’clock that evening.
    She had
driven straight through to Alabama, and was in Tuscaloosa when her stomach
began to rumble. Glancing at the time, she realized that there was no rush;
Magnus wouldn’t be expecting her tonight anyway so she could take all the time
she needed. Although, she did want to reach her destination before nightfall,
and maybe she’d give him a call to let him know she would be arriving a bit
earlier than expected. "I gotta eat something first," she whispered
as she pulled into a local fast food restaurant.
      With
a full belly and gas tank, Ava hopped back onto the interstate, drove through
Tuscaloosa and headed towards Jackson Mississippi. She found it quite
liberating to be making the long trek to Louisiana alone. It was something that
she never would have thought of doing, ever. Mom and dad would be so proud , she thought to herself. If only they were around to see it . Her
parents had both passed several years ago, but she remembered when they had
informed her that she was adopted. It was at a time when they knew she’d
understand; they also told her that they loved her as if she was their own and
Ava knew that they had meant it.
    Her
parents soon told her all they knew about her birth mother, she was young and
she had been a victim of rape. And rather than get rid of her baby, she decided
to give it up for adoption.  Although Ava’s adoptive parents were older
than most of the couples that were looking to adopt, it didn’t stop them from
wanting a child. Besides that, the fact that both of her parents had led very
successful lives made them