Receive Me Falling Read Online Free PDF Page A

began to press itself
upon her.   How long had she slept?   It could not have been more than an
hour.   She noticed that her soiled
clothing had already been removed from her room, and fresh water filled the
basin.   Only the soreness in her limbs
and the dark rings below her eyes suggested what she had participated in under
the cover of night.
                Catherine
bent down and splashed the cool water on her face, allowing it to run down her
neck and into her nightclothes.   Fanning
herself, Catherine dressed and swept up her hair.
                  The aroma of fried eggs and fresh bread
drifted up the staircase as Catherine descended to the dining room.   Her father had not yet arrived at the table,
and for that Catherine was grateful.   She
was not yet awake enough to put on the façade of the obedient daughter, and was
afraid her guilty countenance would betray her.
                Leah appeared from the kitchen
carrying a pitcher of freshly squeezed juice.   Her eyes were half-closed and her caramel colored skin appeared
pale.   She started upon seeing Catherine
at the table so early, and quickly crossed behind her to pour her drink.
                “You’re awake early,” said Leah.
                “The wind woke me.   I’m still running on last night’s energy.”
                “Mami is tending to Rebecca this
morning.   She and the child are doing
well.”
    Catherine reached for Leah’s arm.   “Thank you for getting me last night.   I hope Mami has not been too hard on you.”
                “She hasn’t yet had the opportunity,
but I am sure it will only be a matter of time.”
                The girls laughed and Leah turned
back toward the kitchen.
                “Shall we meet in the grove after
sewing tomorrow?” whispered Catherine.
                Leah nodded and disappeared around the
corner.
                Catherine was alone only a moment
before Cecil stumbled into the dining room, trailed by his butler, Thomas.   She put on a smile as he crossed the room and
kissed her on the head.
                “How are you this morning, my dear?”
                “Fine,” said Catherine.   “How did you sleep last night?”
                “I spent some of the time on the
hall couch, I must confess.   It was a
late night at the Ewings.   But I awoke
before dawn and was able to continue my slumber in the comforts of my bed,
until Thomas insisted I come down to eat.”  
                Catherine exchanged a smile with
Thomas as he pushed her father’s chair to the table.
                 “I,
for one, can’t wait to get home from Services today,” said Catherine.   “I’ve found a particularly mossy and
unexplored region by the lagoon where I hope to find some medicinal plants for
Mary.”
                “Aren’t the Englishmen joining us
today?” asked Cecil.         
    “They’re not due here until four o’clock .   I’ve invited them to dine with us this evening to secure them
introductions with the Ewings and the Halls.   Our three plantations will be the focus of their observations.”
    “Do these men have the upfront capital necessary
to start their own sugar plantations on St. Christopher?”
    “It would appear that they are very wealthy and
very motivated,” said Catherine.   “I do,
however, find their timing a bit odd.”
    “Why?”
    “You know as well as I do that Britain is close to banning slavery
in its colonies,” said Catherine.
    “It will never happen.   The British economy relies too much upon our
exports and debts to them.   Abolishing
slavery would be the equivalent of pulling the supports from underneath the
entire capital system.   You take too much
stock in those bumbling Quakers and Evangelicals.”
    “Perhaps, but it would be foolish to ignore such
rumblings. After all,