Tapestry of Hope (Lights of Lowell Book #1) , livre ebook

A T APESTRY OF H OPE
Books by Tracie Peterson
www.traciepeterson.com
A Slender Thread What She Left for Me I Can t Do It All! **
A LASKAN Q UEST * Summer of the Midnight Sun Under the Northern Lights Whispers of Winter
B ELLS OF L OWELL * Daughter of the Loom A Fragile Design These Tangled Threads
L IGHTS OF L OWELL * A Tapestry of Hope A Love Woven True The Pattern of Her Heart
D ESERT R OSES Shadows of the Canyon Across the Years Beneath a Harvest Sky
H EIRS M ONTANA Land of My Heart The Coming Storm To Dream Anew The Hope Within
W ESTWARD C HRONICLES A Shelter of Hope Hidden in a Whisper A Veiled Reflection
L ADIES OF L IBERTY A Lady of High Regard
S HANNON S AGA City of Angels Angels Flight Angel of Mercy
Y UKON Q UEST Treasures of the North Ashes and Ice Rivers of Gold
Books by Judith Miller
www.judithmccoymiller.com
F REEDOM S P ATH First Dawn Morning Sky Daylight Comes
P OSTCARDS F ROM P ULLMAN In the Company of Secrets
* with Judith Miller
with Judith Pella
with James Scott Bell
** with Allison Bottke and Dianne O Brian
T RACIE P ETERSON AND J UDITH M ILLER

A T APESTRY OF H OPE
A Tapestry of Hope Copyright 2004 Tracie Peterson and Judith Miller
Cover design by Dan Thornberg
Unless otherwise identified, Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means-electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise-without the prior written permission of the publisher and copyright owners.
Published by Bethany House Publishers 11400 Hampshire Avenue South Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
Bethany House Publishers is a division of Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Printed in the United States of America
ISBN-13: 978-0-7642-2894-0 ISBN-10: 0-7642-2894-3
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Peterson, Tracie. A tapestry of hope / by Tracie Peterson and Judith Miller. p. cm. - (Lights of Lowell ; 1) ISBN 0-7642-2894-3 (pbk.) - ISBN 0-7642-2910-9 (large-print pbk.) 1. Irish American women-Fiction. 2. Indentured servants-Fiction. 3. Textile industry-Fiction. 4. Lowell (Mass.)-Fiction. 5. Married women-Fiction. I. McCoy-Miller, Judith. II. Title. III. Series: Peterson, Tracie. Lights of Lowell ; 1. PS3566.E7717T37 2004 813 .54-dc22 2004001022
To Ann Dunn- my dear Proverbs 17:17 friend. Thanks for your love and prayers. Judy
Proverbs 17:17 A friend loves at all times. . . .
Special Thanks To Retired Colonel and Mrs. Walt Hylander of Rosewood Plantation , Lorman, Mississippi, for their insight and hospitality.
TRACIE PETERSON is a popular speaker and bestselling author who has written over fifty books, both historical and contemporary fiction. Tracie and her family make their home in Montana.
Visit Tracie s Web site at: www.traciepeterson.com .
JUDITH MILLER is an award-winning author whose avid research and love for history are reflected in her novels, many of which have appeared on the CBA bestseller lists. Judy and her husband make their home in Topeka, Kansas.
Visit Judy s Web site at: www.judithmccoymiller.com .
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28
CHAPTER 29
CHAPTER 30
CHAPTER 31
C HAPTER 1
May 1846, Lorman, Mississippi
T HE TEMPERATURE was unseasonably hot, insufferably repressive. By all accounts, springtime had scarcely arrived in Mississippi, but nature s cruel trick was going unnoticed by no one, including the residents of The Willows plantation.
Jasmine Wainwright flattened herself against the bedroom wall, her right arm wedged against the red oak window frame. She wriggled in protest when a tickling bead of perspiration inched its way down her narrowed shoulders. Taking great care, she lifted the lace curtain between two fingers and peeked below. I see a carriage arriving, Mammy. It must be Papa s houseguests. I m tempted to pretend I have a headache and remain in my room. I know he plans to show me off like prize cotton from the season s first picking.
Mammy stood by Jasmine s dressing table with her arms folded across her ample bosom. Um hum. Well, you don t know fer sure what your papa got in mind, but iffen you don t set yourself down, supper s gonna be over and dem visitors be gone afore I get a chance to fix your curls.
Jasmine glanced at the plump servant who had been her caregiver since birth and knew she could remain a few more moments idea of who will greet me when I descend the stairs. Oh, look, Mammy! One of them is nearly as old as Papa, but the other appears much younger-and more handsome.
I thought you weren t lookin fer no husband.
I m not ! But Papa seems determined to marry me off. She pulled the curtain back a bit farther and continued spying on the two men. The younger one has a kind face.
The familiar sound of Mammy slapping the hairbrush on her open palm captured Jasmine s attention. Oh, all right. I only wanted one more look, she said while scurrying back to the dressing table. The older man looks rather austere and rigid. Perhaps he s the younger man s father.
She plopped down and stared into the oval mirror as Mammy plunged her thick fingers in and out of Jasmine s heavy golden-brown hair, coaxing the strands into perfectly formed ringlets. Perspiration trickled down the sides of the black woman s face and dripped onto her bodice, leaving her cotton dress dotted with wet spots.
Chile, I ain t never gonna get these curls fixed proper if you don t quit flutterin that fan back and forth. Jest when I think I got one curl fixed all nice an proper, you go whipping that fan around and stirring up a whirlwind. And quit that frowning. Them creases you s making in your forehead is gonna turn into wrinkles. You gonna look like your grandma afore you turn twenty if you don stop making dem faces.
Jasmine giggled.
Ain t funny, chile. When you s gone and got yourself all wrinkled and can t find no man to marry you, what you gonna do then? Come runnin to Mammy, spectin me to make you look young and purty?
Jasmine met Mammy s stern gaze in the mirror s reflection. I m sorry, she said while grasping the servant s roughened hand and drawing it against her own soft, powdered cheek. But since I don t want a man, I don t suppose it matters very much if I wrinkle my face, she added with another giggle.
You bes get that out o your mind. Sides, I s hoping to see you bring some little babes into this house one day. Maybe I ll be takin care o them too.
Jasmine flushed at the remark. Whatever would I do without you, Mammy?
Don t know, chile, but ain t no need to worry bout that. I ain t made plans to meet my Maker jes yet. Course, He may have some different ideas. But if so, He ain t told your ole Mammy. And since I ain t never plannin to be parted from you any other way, I s thinkin we ll be together for a spell o time. The servant gave a hearty chuckle, her ample figure jiggling up and down in tempo as she laughed. We better hurry or you gonna be late to supper for sure. Then we both be in trouble. Anyways, that s as good as them curls is gonna get for now. This hot, damp weather makin everything limp, including your hair.
Jasmine checked her appearance in the mirror one last time, patted the ringlets, and rose from the cushioned chair. You won t get in trouble, Mammy. I m here to protect you. She pulled the woman into a tight hug, her slender arms barely spanning the old servant s broad waist. Besides, after all these years, you know Papa is all bluster and bristle. He d never lay a hand on anyone.
Um hum, you jes go on thinkin that, child.
Jasmine loosened her hold and leaned back. She looked deep into the old woman s eyes. Whatever do you mean?
You never know. Your pappy might jes decide you re still young enough to turn over his knee. The words were followed by another deep-throated laugh. Now get on downstairs and be nice to your papa s visitors.
You know they ll bore me. Papa s visitors always want to talk about business matters instead of entertaining topics.
Well, hot as it is this evenin , you know your pappy s bound to be in bad humor. He don t like this heat-never has.
He complains about the heat every summer. I don t understand why Papa doesn t move us north with Grandmother.
How he gonna do that? Can t move this cotton plantation up there where it s cold. Sides, your papa stays here cause this here is his home. He wouldn t live nowhere else. Even if he could, can t nobody get your mama out o this house anymore.
Jasmine s brown eyes momentarily clouded. I convinced her to go to White Sulphur Springs two years ago.
The old servant s head bobbed up and down. Um hum. And she convinced all of you to return home only three days after you got there. Your mama doin some better this past year, though.
It s her headaches, Jasmine commented.
It s her fears, Mammy corrected. I don know-maybe that s what causes her headaches. But your mama s been full of fears ever since I knowed her. Yes, sir. Being afraid, that s her real problem. Don know what she thinks is gonna happen outside this here house. The old woman shook her head back and forth. Her forehead creased and formed a deep V between her wide-set eyes.
Um, um, it s a terrible thing to be so afraid of life.
Jasmine knew her father wouldn t care for Mammy s forthrightness, especially in regard to the mistress of the plantation. But Jasmine wouldn t forbid Mammy to address the matter. At least Mammy was honest with her, saying the things that others thought but refused to confide.
Jasmine shook her head at the frustrating situation. But she s b