Hey, thank you for your continued support. Shout out to a new reviewer: Lefteyejada. Thank you, hope to hear from you again.
I wanted this story to go on so much, I broke the last chapter in two. :)
Standard disclaimer
Balancing on the rickety stool, Mercedes peered up at the top shelf, at the big box.
Her mind was still wondering what it contained, as her excitement grew.
'Suppose it's the fabled treasure? A box like that can hold a lot of money.'
The fragile stool groaned under her, as she tip-toed and tried to reach the box.
Behind her, she heard someone's feet pounding on the stairs, but she didn't stop. Her only intent, was reaching the box.
Sam reached the top of the stairs and burst into Mercedes' bedroom.
She stood poised on her tiptoes, wearing only pretty lace panties and she was reaching upwards.
"Mercy, don't!"
She shrieked in surprise and lost her balance, as the stool tipped. Sam took all of two steps and caught her, as she fell.
The big box tumbled down, at the same time, strewing dusty papers and photographs, everywhere.
Mercedes struggled in his arms, surprised and indignant.
"What are you doing? Unhand me, you villain!"
She fought to get out of his arms, looking around for something to cover herself with. She spotted the yellow polka dot dress and hastily threw it on.
"I don't think this was meant for you," Sam said, as he gathered up papers, photos and old letters, to return to the box.
"Well, it's in my aunt's closet, so I guess it's mine." She sighed in disappointment, as she knelt to help pick up the strewn contents.
"I thought I had found the treasure. It's just old papers and what not."
"I don't know what these are, I just know, Carmen was supposed to get rid of them."
Sam looked as mystified as she felt. He was still down on one knee gathering up the papers, when she demanded,
"Get out of my room. I'll pick them up." He shook his head and kept gathering the dusty contents and putting them back into the box.
"I caused you to drop them. The least I can do, is help pick them up. They don't look that important, though."
"Let me decide that."
She tried to brush him aside, so she could see all the scattered items and Sam wondered internally, why Sue had left instructions for Carmen to deal with this box.
There was evidently something here, she didn't want the whole world to know about.
"You should finish getting dressed. I'll clean this trash up and get rid of it."
"I don't trust you." She paused, looking through the documents, old letters and photos. "For all I know, there may be some valuable bonds, or a map to the gold."
"I doubt that," Sam said, and kept gathering the papers.
Minutes later, Mercedes went speechless, as she reached to pick up an old photograph.
There were two young women and a baby girl in it.
She recognized the older woman, as her mother. The other woman she wasn't sure of, so that had to be Aunt Sue. And it looked like her, now that she thought about it. She was holding the baby girl.
Puzzled, Mercedes turned the photo over. Across the back was scrawled,
'My baby and me with my sister Mollie.'
"Mollie," she mused out loud. "My mother's name was Mary. Mollie is an Irish name. Did my aunt ever mention having a child?"
She heard a gasp and looked up. Carmen stood in the doorway.
"Miss Mercedes, what you got there?" she asked.
"A picture of my mother, my aunt and a baby, that kind of looks like me." Sam tried to take the photo from her, but she resisted.
"Oh Lord, Miss Mercedes, put that stuff back in that Pandora's box, afore you regret it." Now, Mercedes was even more puzzled.
"Why would I regret it? It's just a box of old letters and photos. Here's an old one, from my mother to Aunt Sue. And here's some more photos of Aunt Sue and the baby."
"Miss Mercedes, you give me that, this instant," Carmen said, rushing to take them, with an alarmed look on her face. "You got no reason to be digging through Miss Sue's personal stuff."
Mercedes resisted.
"Here's a letter to my mother from Aunt Sue, that was returned, unopened." She began to open the envelope. Carmen looked at Sam.
"Please, Mr. Sam, don't let her look at this stuff. There're some things best left as a secret." Sam said,
"She's right, Mercy. We've got no right to be digging into the ghosts of Sue's past." Mercedes began to get horrible, uncertain suspicions.
"Does it…does it concern me?" She looked at Carmen and the old woman hesitated.
"Put it all back in the box, Miss Mercedes and let me destroy it."
"No," Mercedes said, shaking her head. "I think I have a right to know." She sat down on the floor and began to dig through the things.
"You two know something I don't?" Carmen had tears in her eyes.
"I've warned you, Miss and now you gonna find out something you don't want to know." Mercedes turned questioning eyes to Sam. He shook his head.
"Mercy, I don't know anything. I never really knew that much about Sue's past. I was supposed to deal with this, and I forgot."
He cursed under his breath. Mercedes looked up at the old woman.
"What do you know, Carmen? What is it, you're trying to hide from me? Did my aunt have a little girl? Do I have a cousin somewhere?"
Tears leaked from Carmen's eyes and down her wrinkled face, as she shook her head.
"No, that ain't it. Miss Sue never wanted you to know, and she couldn't do much for you. So, she gave you to her respectable half-sister, to raise…and sent money, as much as she could."
Shock and horror, colored Mercedes' face.
"I…I don't believe you. Are you telling me…I'm Sue Sylvester's daughter?" Sam looked on in shock, but Carmen nodded.
"No, that's crazy. My mother's maiden name is Johnson…my aunt married an Irishman."
"Miss Jones, Miss Sue never married."
"Oh God," Sam whispered, "It's worse than I thought." He hung his head and said, "I'm so sorry I forgot to deal with this box."
Mercedes clutched the photo and wept.
"It can't be true." She shook her head. "I'm not a low-class bastard…I'm from a fine family with a proper background. My father died at sea…" No one said anything.
"I…I'll prove it." She started to dig through the pile of letters. "It can't be true…my own mother wouldn't lie to me," she mumbled.
"She did it to protect you. Miss. Miss Sue told me her half sister had changed her last name, and made up a fake background, by pretending to be a high-class widow…all to protect you."
"So, I'm not only a daughter of a whore, I've been supported all these years and educated, not with a scholarship and money from my father's inheritance…but from the earnings of this…this bordello? Oh, God! This can't be true."
She buried her face in her hands and sobbed.
Sam's heart hurt for her.
He reached out and put his hand on her shoulder and said,
"No, Mercy, you're the same person you've always been, not the one you thought you were. And what difference does it make?"
"I don't even know who my real father was." She began to dig through the letters and reading snatches here and there, then looked up at Carmen and asked,
"You know, don't you?"
The old woman nodded and sat down on the bed with a sigh.
"The Johnson-Sylvester's, were a poor immigrant family, having a hard time finding work. So, Sue took a job, cleaning the home of a rich African American, nightclub owner. She was just a young girl…"
"And he took advantage of her?" Carmen nodded.
"Her family threw her out. The only one willing to help her, was her half-sister, Mollie. They made a deal to protect you in the only way they knew how. Mollie was too sickly to work, and Sue was pretty, so she earned money the only way she could."
Sam sighed.
"Don't judge a person 'til you've walked a mile in their boots. Rather than be angry and ashamed, Mercy, you should be proud of them. They've both sacrificed, thinking of you," he said.
Mercedes took a deep breath, unsure what she felt about anything.
"Buford. Oh Lord, Buford must not know." She looked over at Sam beseechingly. "You're going to enjoy telling him, aren't you?" He shook his head.
"No, Mercy. I won't tell him."
"I don't believe you. You'll use this against me and he won't want to marry me anymore." Carmen sighed.
"Miss Mercedes, you know Mr. Sam won't do that. Only the three of us knows and it can be our little secret. Let me burn this box of stuff and you can forget it ever happened. Miss Sue didn't want you to know anyway."
"No, I want to read all and know everything about both of them," she said shaking her head.
Carmen gave her a sad nod and left the room.
Sam sat and watched Mercedes.
He had never felt so sorry for anyone, in his whole life, not even for Sue.
"Carmen's right, this can be kept a secret. Mercy, I have been terrible and I know it, but I swear I'll make it up to you."
"I don't trust you."
She sat on the floor, her face tear-stained and her shiny dark hair, falling around her soft, milk-chocolate shoulders. At this moment, in all her grief and vulnerability, Sam has never seen, such a beautiful woman. More than that, he was in love with her. He loved her for her spunky, hard-headed, stubborn personality, her weaknesses and her pride.
"Mercy," he whispered, "We will burn this stuff and no one needs to know…certainly not that knuckle-head, Buford." She shook her head and sobbed some more.
"I don't believe you…Buford won't want to marry me…"
"Then Buford is a stupid idiot," Sam snapped. "Because I'd marry you in a heartbeat." He paused, shocked at himself, for what he'd just said. But he meant it.
"You're a liar and a scoundrel. You're after my half of the Lily."
"Yep. I'm so low, I could crawl under a snake's belly…but I love you Mercy. You hear me? I love you and I don't give a damn, anymore about the business."
He tried to take her in his arms, but she resisted.
"I don't even know who I am…my whole world has been turned upside down and I don't know what to believe anymore."
"Well, believe this, I love you Mercy…and I don't blame you for doubting me. I don't care where you're from, or who your folks were. All that counts in this world, is who you are. I love everything about you Mercy. I love your pigheadedness…your silly pride…you, Mercy…I love you."
He stood and pulled her to her feet, looking down at her, down into her brown eyes, as his green ones blazed with love and passion for her.
'How in the hell could I have thought her to be plain?' he wondered.
"You'll tell him…I know you will Sam."
"Hell woman, you are so stubborn!" he muttered.
He jerked her to him and kissed her, with everything he had in him, passion, lust, care and love, everything he never realized he was capable of.
For a long moment, she clung to him, returning the kiss and Sam wanted to hold her in his arms forever, to protect and comfort her and kiss her tears away.
Suddenly, she pulled away and slapped him.
"All you wanted was a plaything," she said. Sam rubbed his stinging cheek, his anger at her disbelief, growing.
"You're wrong, Mercy. I'd like to have you forever…if you let me. But I know, I'll never get that chance, after I've behaved like such a heel…but I want you to know how sorry I am, about everything…and you have my word…I'll never tell anyone about us, or about your past."
She was sobbing now, tears running freely down her anguished face, as she looked up at him.
Seconds later, a strange look crossed her features and Sam knew, what was coming, wasn't good.
"Get out! Get out of my sight! I will tell Buford myself and hope he won't care. That way, I won't have to worry about your blackmail."
Sam felt as if his heart was rent in two.
He searched her face, seeing no jest and knew he was losing her.
"I said I won't tell," he said, his green eyes pleading with her. But she remained standing, with the same look on her face.
He turned and went out of the room, and the minute he closed her door, she fell to the floor, sobbing in a crumpled heap.
Sam listened outside her door, his heart breaking at the sound of her, crying her heart out.
There was nothing he could do, to comfort her.
She wouldn't let him, because she didn't believe him.
There was only one thing he could do for her now, he thought.
Okay, this can be considered as part one of the final chapter, which I will post in a few minutes.