Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or its characters. But I claim the plot of this story. Enjoy!
BitterCinderella, bribumblebee, auroraboralis, and deltagirl74, thank you so much for your amazing and supporting reviews. It means a lot and also motivates me to write faster, lol.
And don't worry. It does upset me a little that over 300 people read my stories but don't leave me some love...but it's fine. Everyone has a different interest. I'm just glad that a few readers like it. I'll only write for those readers :)
Thank you again!
Chapter four: Tales and explanations
"I surely do hope ya enjoy your stay here, Lord Whitlock." said the maid while she watched the tall handsome man walking around and observing the mansion's best guest room. "Is there anythin' ya may need?"
The man stopped whatever he was doing and looked at the maid, who was waiting by the door for his response.
"No, thank you, umm..." he replied, furrowing his brows as he stared at the pretty dark-skinned girl. "What's your name there, suga?"
The maid smiled bashfully and answered, "My name's Sally, sir."
The gentleman grinned and then bowed his head at her, making the girl giggle.
"Pleasure's all mine, Miss Sally."
Sally's honey colored cheeks darkened as she politely excused herself. The handsome man laughed quietly to himself and sat himself down on the neatly made bed.
He bent forth to run his fingers through his messy blonde curls and wondered how long it was going to take to finally witness the birth of his sister's first child all the way in Tennessee. There's no way he was going to miss it.
A frustrated sigh escaped past his lips as he lifted his head up to examine his whereabouts for the last time.
"How did I end up here?" he asked himself,getting back on his feet, only to pace back and forth as his hands began to work on the small transparent buttons on the front of his white winged collar shirt.
He grimaced when he realized that his front is still a little damp from the downpour he had encountered before a giggly group of young women in black found him and invited him inside their master's mansion.
To be quite honest, he wasn't quite impressed with anything this mansion and its master had to offer for him. As soon as he stepped foot in this giant house, he wanted to continue on with his journey and return to Texas, where a dreadful young woman longed to share her life with him in holy matrimony.
He shuddered when that woman's face popped in his head and tried to focus on the bright side of his current situation. The shudders of disgust slowly turned to shudders of pleasure when he thought of the innocent young girl he recently met on his way to his "room".
"She's certainly a beauty, ain't she?" he said to himself, a big smile lurking on his charming face as he thought about their their lips almost touching before they were interrupted.
The other woman's face popped up again, reminding him that he was no longer allowed to mingle with other women. He growled angrily as he tore at the buttons of his shirt and whisked it off his well-sculpted torso, leaving him in his dark trousers which was also damp as the white material he threw on the bed.
Why on earth did his mother have to set him up with someone who would only spread her legs just so she could have what she wants? The answer to that revolved around his family's image and finances.
María Dolorés Fernández was the only daughter of a Spanish psychiatrist named Marcéllo Aarón Fernández and his wife, a Mexican Native named Anna Mariléna. The Fernández family were one of the wealthiest families in Mexico while the Whitlocks were the wealthiest in Texas.
Jasper Hale Whitlock was the only son of a deceased lawyer and his wife, Allen Jasper and Rosalynd Whitlock. His life with them wasn't as peachy as everyone thought, in fact, he hated it. He loathed how everything had to be done for him and also how he had to follow his father's footsteps other than being his own man. His twin sister, Rosalie also felt the same way. Their parents expected her to marry one of the richest bachelors in Texas, but she refused and marched to her own tune; she ran away from home so she could live a long and happy life with the town's hefty blacksmith, Emmett John McCarty.
Not wanting to let her parents and brother worry about her, Rosalie would send a lot of letters to her family, informing them that she had married the love of her life and will soon become a new mother by the fall. After receiving the news, Jasper was overjoyed with his sister's happiness and swore to himself that he'll seek his...until his father graciously welcomed death with open arms, dashing Jasper's hopes of becoming his own man.
He and his mother were devastated, especially his mother. Rosalynd Whitlock had lost her husband, and now she has to remind Jasper about how important it is to keep their family name alive and strong. It was because of this Jasper was engaged to the horrible María Fernández, Mexico's own venomous rattlesnake.
That woman was exotically beautiful on the outside but her heart was cold as ice. He wouldn't dare touch her, even if she were the last woman on earth.
It was already the month of May, and deeply depressed, Jasper wrote back to his beloved sister and told her everything that had occurred after their father's death. In over a couple of days, Rosalie wrote back, suggesting that he should come to Tennessee and maybe he could be as happy as she was. Jasper, desperate to escape the dilemma that he was in, agreed with her and prepared his things for the morning.
As easy as it sounds...it wasn't. Before Jasper could get on with his long journey, he had to face his heartbroken mother, who was practically losing her mind over the family's wellbeing. Hoping that she'll allow him to leave, Jasper simply hands over the will his father had left for him to his mother. It worked.
And now... he wasting his time, prancing around a strange dark room that isn't his, in the state of good ol' Mississippi when he's supposed to be Tennessee, talking to his sister and her husband.
Jasper groaned in annoyance when he noticed that he left his waistcoat and cap outside in his carriage. He threw his turn over shirt back on and headed out of the room, on a mission to retrieve his belongings.
Meanwhile...
The small girl was finally out of the tub, all dressed up in a long white night gown, that made her look tinier than she already was.
"Where do you girls sleep?" she asked Sally, who recently returned from tending the Whitlock fellow. She just wanted to know so she won't have to go back to that horrible man who took advantage of her.
"Down in the cellar." answered Sally, smiling at the young girl and grabbing her small hand when she slipped on the bottom of her long sleeping gown. "Come, Miss Alice. Ya need to rest. This has been a rough day for ya."
Alice nodded and smiled her thank you to the maid, who had been so helpful and so kind to her since her first encounter with the horrible Master Hunter.
Sally started to lead little Alice down the staircase, and Alice couldn't take her eyes off the scary looking pictures. They arrived at the final steps of the stairs and Sally pushed the ancient door wide open revealing nothing but pitch black darkness inside.
"This-this is our room?" stammered Alice, her big eyes wide in disbelief. "It looks like a dungeon."
All Alice could see was pure darkness and once she stepped a foot inside it, she shivered at the cold feel of the stone floors underneath her bare feet. How can these girls live like this?
"I know." agreed Sally and Alice almost panicked when the maid let get go of her.
"Where are you?" demanded the frightened girl, spinning around on the spot while flaring her arms everywhere in search of Sally. "It's too dark! I can't see!"
"Shh, Miss Alice." whispered Sally as she went to fetch something in a nearby corner. "The other girls are sleepin'. Ya don't wanna disturb them."
By the end of her sentence, Sally returned to Alice's side with a small lantern in her hand. With a careful hand, she reached into it and prepared a small fire causing the room appear less dark but a bit more eerie.
Alice drew a breath of relief. She always hated the dark, in fact, it was one of her biggest fears.
Sally raised the lantern in front of her and took Alice by the hand to lead her to her new bed all the way in the back of the cellar.
"Ya will be sleepin' next to me and Charlotte, Miss Alice." she gushed, sounding very proud of herself. "I hope ya like your new bed. I made sure ya had the freshly washed sheets."
Alice thanked her as nicely as she could as sorrow filled her tender heart. This was the first night she won't be sleeping in her bed. Oh, how she missed her family.
Her stomach began to ache and Alice stopped in her tracks causing the maid in front of her to look down at her with worry.
"I'm sorry, Sally, but I don't think..." she whispered, her voice breaking slightly as a vision of her blind grandmother grieving with her ill sister flashed in her head. "I don't know if I would be able to sleep tonight."
Her sight was blurred by her tears and her shoulders slumped over as her arms wrapped around herself.
Sally stared at the girl with pity, not knowing what to say or do to comfort her.
"I can't sleep well without knowing my grandmother and my baby sister are safe and sound..." Alice sobbed into her hands as her shoulders shook. "I miss them... I want my grandmother...take me back to her..."
Sally carefully placed the fading lantern on the ground and wrapped her arms around Alice. She kissed the top of Alice's hair and rubbed her back.
"Believe me, Miss Alice. I know your pain..." she whispered to her, her own hazel eyes watering with so much sadness, "I miss my momma. Everyday I wish I could join her in heaven so I won't have to suffer with this evil man who swore to our father he'd look out for me..."
Alice almost choked on her own tears as she tried to make sense of the maid's words.
"W-what do you mean by our father, Sally?" squeaked Alice, looking up at the pretty maid's face with horror.
Sally sighed sadly and suggested they should have a seat on her bed before she could start her explanation. And when they did, Sally looked over at the confused young girl beside her, deeply dreading the words that were about to come out of her mouth.
"Master James and I are half brother and sister, Miss Alice." she said, her jaw clenching as shame filled inside her.
Alice was speechless. All she could do was gape at the pretty mulatto maid in horror. How could someone so kind and gentle as Sally be related to someone so repulsive and heartless as James?
"That's the same response I get every time I tell someone." chuckled Sally, though her sincere hazel eyes shone with so much sadness.
"But h-how can you be his..." Alice shuddered when James' face popped in her head, "how? It can't be!"
By the shrill of Alice's bell-like voice, a couple of the other girls grunted in their sleep and Sally held her finger to her brownish-pink lips.
"Shh, Miss Alice." she reminded the dark-haired girl, who blushed in embarrassment.
"Sorry. But I just don't understand. You're so nice and he is just..."
Alice shuddered in disgust to prove her point and Sally laughed quietly.
"I know. Ya wanna know what the real shocker is?"
"What?"
"Our father was the nicest man I've ever met."
"Then how is James like this?"
"His grandfather, Bartholomew James Hunter owned this mansion and he was the cruelest man who ever lived. Back in those times, he had over a thousand slaves living in this cellar and he would punish them for almost any reason. His favorite was my momma. She was only ten years old when he began to rape and beat her until she had no more strength to fight back. None of the other slaves would help her, not even her own mother and father. If they did try to stop him, they would be punished severely or even killed. The only person who would try to help her was his fifteen year old son, Bartholomew James II, or Barty for short.
I know what you're thinking. How could a boy like James' father would ever help a little ol' Negro girl? Well, the truth was that he actually cared for my momma.
As they grew older, the old man finally died, leavin' the mansion under his son's care and the slaves to wander off where ever they pleased. Barty had the right to marry any women he wanted. He desired my momma for his bride but he knew that was never going to happen. For that reason, before the old man passed away, he already entwined Barty's life with one of Biloxi's most eligible woman.
Thus, James was born. My poor momma had to deliver the bastard from the white wretch's open thighs while carryin' me in her womb. It's been such a heartache for my dear momma, she watched the love of her life marry someone who wasn't her. The same goes for my father. Whenever he made love to his wife, he only thought of my mother."
Alice cringed causing Sally to laugh a little before carrying on with her tale.
"After I was born, my father declared that my momma will no longer be a slave. As the years went by, my father fell ill and on his death bed, he made James swear that he'll protect me until I marry."
Sally wiped at the fresh tears on her honey cheeks and then looked over at Alice, who also had tears streaming down her face.
"The bastard lied, Miss Alice. He and his devil mother tortured me and my momma. He had me raped and beaten by his friends...and sometimes he would join in as well."
Alice felt her heart tear apart at the very thought of a frightened biracial girl being touched inappropriately by her older brother. Apart from sorrow, she also felt rage, a feeling she never thought she could muster. James needed to learn from his wrongdoings.
"My momma died then." more tears rushed down Sally's crumbling face and Alice tried to comfort her by taking Sally's hands in her tiny ones. "She died in my arms...he and that wretched woman killed her."
"I'm so sorry, Sally..." croaked Alice, gently wiping Sally's cheeks from more salty fluids. "You didn't deserve any of that. I'm so sorry... I wish I could help-"
"What's done it's done now, Miss Alice." said Sally, smiled softly at the tiny girl next to her. "It's all in the past. Right now, I have to watch out for all of ya...as best as I could. I can't lose anyone else."
She smiled widely at Alice and then gathered her back in her arms. Alice sniffed a couple of times, her own arms wrapping around Sally, letting her know that she appreciates everything she had done for her.
The two girls remained silent while finding comfort in each other's embrace. Alice was certain that besides her and Sally, the other maids were just as desperate to break free from James' clutches...but it would be impossible; James' powerful colleagues would help him whenever he needed them.
A few more minutes had passed and Alice was beginning to feel a bit trapped. There was so much emotion radiating from this devastating cellar. She needed some air.
"Sally?" she whispered, slowly disentangling herself from the other girl's limp arms.
"Hmm?" uttered Sally, her mind still set on her horrible past.
"I was wondering if I may step out for a bit?" asked Alice, as she played with the cuffs of her sleeves. "I just need some time to myself and then I'll return."
Sally nodded in understanding while staring deeply into the dark distance.
Alice smiled, leaning over to place a light kiss on the maid's wet cheek to show her thanks, and then leaped to her feet.
"I'll be back." she assured Sally over her shoulder as she tiptoed her way out of the dark cellar. With a melancholy sigh, Alice closed the door behind her and began to climb up the stairs. She ignored the haunting portraits of the James' ancestors as she traveled up one step at a time, careful not to trip over her annoyingly long sleeping gown.
There was a loud bang somewhere in the distance, making Alice lose her balance. Her arms clung to the stair rails and her entire body started to shiver in fear when she heard the monster's voice speaking to someone who had just entered the mansion.
The first thing that came to her head was to not let the vile beast catch her, no matter how much she tumbled over on her short legs.
His sneering voice was getting closer to her and so were a couple of footsteps. Acting quickly, Alice hurried up the stairs, ducking her head so her messy black hair would not be seen.
Just when she thought she was going to get away with it, the bottom of her gown got caught around her tiny foot, causing her to fall hard on the glossy white floor. She cried out, rubbing the pain away from her throbbing knee.
"Who's there?" the monster called out from downstairs. "Show yourself!"
Alice's heart picked up an alarming tempo when she heard the footsteps transforming from tentative steps to mild running.
"Oh no..." she groaned. "I can't let him see me..."
She had to do something fast! She will not allow anymore harm to come to her.
Ignoring her minor injury, Alice jumped to her feet and spotted an open door right in front of her. She ran inside and tried to find the perfect spot to hide from the deranged man.
His voice and footsteps were drawing nearer and Alice hurried over to a wooden trunk located against the wall beside the neatly made bed. She jumped inside it and curled into a small ball to fit perfectly. Her tiny nose scrunched up in disgust at the ancient trunk's odor.
She bit back a gasp when she heard the door swing open. Her hands covered her mouth as her eyes went impossibly wide with fright.
"Please don't find me. Please don't find me." her mind chanted.
"You check over there and I over here..." the monster ordered.
She sensed James' partner approach the wooden trunk and she suddenly felt herself crashing down in despair.
There was no hope for her after all.
The lid of the trunk lifted and Alice's heart almost gave out when the striking blue eyes of the handsome Lord Whitlock stared right at her.
Let's stop right here! I'm such a tease! But have no worries! I will make it up to you guys in the next chapter! It's gonna be good...I'll let you all be the judge of that. :)
I could've added an "italics" flashback, but I decided not to. I got lazy. :) I wanted to explain more of Sally's character (I seriously have been obsessed with Thomas Edison's beautiful mistress, Sally Hemmings)
I also wanted to show more of how truly disgusting James was, so you guys could hate him more and more! Did it work?
Until next time!