True Heart Read Online Free PDF

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    â€œVirginia!”
    Through a curtain of confusing thoughts, Virginia heard her name. No, not her bondage name. She must be dreaming of her childhood, of Papa tossing her atop the haywagon, of Agnes showing her how to spit straight, of Lottie teaching her to pee standing up without soiling herself or her clothing, of Cameron taking her to the Harvest Fair and buying her sweetcakes—
    â€œDuchess!”
    Acrid smoke from a burned feather seared her nose. Batting the air, she turned away.
    â€œDuchess.”
    Merriweather’s voice. Poplar Knoll. Servitude. Virginia opened her eyes. Two chandeliers wavered overhead. When the images converged, she felt a hand on her arm. She drew back, longing to return to the dream.
    â€œYou fainted . . . Virginia?”
    Virginia. Her given name spoken by the mistress of a tidewater plantation. Curiosity pulled her fully from the swoon.
    Mrs. Parker-Jones knelt beside her. “Have you hurt yourself?”
    â€œNo,” Virginia was quick to say. She felt hemmed in, befuddled.
    â€œThen you know this Cameron Cunningham?”
    â€œAye.” Hope thrummed to life inside her, and she prayed that she didn’t embarrass herself. “He was always Cam to me.”
    â€œSweet Jesus. Merriweather, fetch the brandy.” Mrs. Parker-Jones held out her hand. “We both need fortification, don’t you agree?”
    Ignoring the offered hand, Virginia pulled herself up and sat in the chair. The spring cushion felt odd, and the smooth wood of the chair arms were cold against her skin. Her mind whirled like a top. Cameron. Cam. The boy she’d pledged to marry. The man who’d sailed to France without her. After all these years, Cameron had—had what? “Cam saw the cask.”
    â€œYes. He recognized that design of yours.”
    The unthinkable had come to pass.
    She couldn’t form questions fast enough. “Where? Where did he see them? Is he here?”
    â€œHe saw them in Glasgow.”
    A world away.
    â€œMoreland’s account says you were a thief, and your father despaired of turning you from a life of crime. At your sire’s bidding, Moreland paid your fine.” She frowned. “Which happened to be the price of a ten-year indenture before the war.”
    Virginia couldn’t stop thinking about Cam. Absently, she recited an old truth. “Moreland lied. He bought me from a hellish man, Captain MacGowan.”
    â€œYou must have been terribly frightened.”
    By the time Virginia had been herded off the ship in America, she’d been beyond fear. But the horrors of that voyage paled beside what had come later. “May we talk of something else?”
    â€œCertainly, Virginia. Do you know the name of Cameron Cunningham’s ship?”
    She’d never forget it. “The Highland Dream.”
    â€œNo. It’s named the Maiden Virginia now.”
    An old memory stirred. She and Cameron stargazing on the roof of the stables at Rosshaven Castle. He’d promised to name his ship after her. He’d vowed to take her around the world. She looked at her hands, stained and workworn and devoid of the lovely ring he’d given her.
    But she’d worked hard to forget the past, to dodge the heartache. The pain returned and, with it, the most important question. “Will he come for me?”
    Looking like the one with a great secret, she said, “Captain Brown says yes. He sailed from Glasgow before your Captain Cunningham and arrived yesterday. He came to visit this morning.”
    â€œWhat did he say about Cameron?”
    â€œHe believes that with fair winds, the Maiden Virginia could dock in Norfolk today or tomorrow.”
    Relief robbed Virginia of breath. Her plan had worked. Cameron had seen the cask and remembered the symbol. Cameron hadn’t forgotten her. “On his way here.”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œWhat did Cameron say to Captain Brown?