The Dowry Read online

  Robert sat in the carriage house for hours reading the book by flashlight as he walked through the pages of her early life, reading about her struggles with family.

  “Why father insists that I participate in these social gatherings, intent on having me parade myself before these dandies, is maddening. I would no more choose a pampered child without a day’s hard labor to his credit, then I would burn the landing to the ground. My future husband, should I choose to marry, will be a man of honor and courage, one who knows hard work and does not hide from it.”

  It was well past midnight when Hunter’s whining brought him back from the past. Checking his watch, he closed the trunk, diary still in hand and descended the ladder. There he found the hound, tail flying as he expressed his delight at seeing Robert.

  Debating on just grabbing one of the many blankets covering furniture about the room and sleeping on a couch, the thought of a morning shower convinced him otherwise. Ushering Hunter out the door, he closed everything up and then climbed into the Jeep, heading home for the night.

  ----*----

  “You look like crap,” RD declared as Robert arrived the following morning, later than normal. He could see that RD had the crew working on the exterior grounds as they waited for the city’s approval to begin work inside on the structure.

  “I found the mother lode,” Robert replied as he waved the diary under RD’s nose while handing him a cup of coffee.

  “Thanks. What is that?” he asked, accepting the coffee and curious at the statement.

  “CFW, Charlotte Foxworth Water’s diary. It has detailed descriptions of the work she had done here.”

  “No way, are you kidding me?” RD replied, knowing the value of eyewitness descriptions of historic buildings.

  “Yup, this is the tale of an 18-year-old obsessive. This girl was a fanatic for details. She even describes the hidden staircase to the tower room,” he replied.

  “Wait, I thought this was Foxworth House, where did the Waters come from?” RD asked in confusion.

  “Still working on that myself. I Googled her and found a small snippet about a short marriage to a Jefferson Waters. I need to do more research on that, but I am hoping the diaries might shed more light on it as well.”

  “Isn’t it wrong to read her diaries? I mean, she isn’t even your family,” RD replied quietly, as if they were conspiring to commit a crime.

  “I will have the lawyers contact Victoria and let her know what I found, but the paperwork outlined anything I discovered in the house was mine as part of the deal,” Robert replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

  “Even so….” RD responded.

  “I’ll look into it,” Robert said, closing the subject for now.

  With that, the two men toured the grounds with each focusing on different things that needed their attention. They had learned earlier that the dock could be repaired without a permit so long as no changes were made to the original footprint. As such, Robert could see the barge crew out on the water already, replacing bad pilings and planks, while working to restore the rotted woodwork railing.

  “How much longer before we get the go-ahead from the city for demo?” Robert asked RD as they walked back up to the house after watching the activity at the dock.

  “Couple of days. The biggest problem down at the city is they keep asking if we are serious,” RD replied in frustration.

  “I was here until midnight last night, and saw zero ghosts,” Robert replied to the insinuation.

  “Hey, it’s not me,” RD said defensively.

  “Tell you what. Tonight, I am spending the night, all by myself,” Robert stated defiantly.

  “You and Hunter?”

  “Yup, just the two of us.”

  “Good, bring your laptop and maybe you will get those plans finished. We need to get them approved by the Foxworth rep and filed with the city. I gave them markups for the demo approval, but we can’t start the remodel without them,” RD reminded him.

  “You still have that little generator? Can I borrow it?” Robert asked, knowing that the laptop was only good for about an hour on battery power.

  “In the back of the truck, I’ll leave it on the front porch. It’s already full of gas.”

  With all the activity, Robert had completely forgotten to do the renovation plans. Per his agreement with Victoria, he would leave a set on-site for them to review and sign off on before starting work. As it was things were starting to pile up as he needed to do the same for both his projects in town.

  “Can you keep an eye on Hunter while I run into town?” Robert asked as he headed to his Jeep without waiting for a reply. He knew the hound was extremely popular with the crew and would be well looked after.

  ----*----

  Robert was gone most of the morning as he ran various errands. He had to hit his rental apartment for a few things and then the sporting goods store for the stuff he needed to spend the night in the house. His time in the Army had seen him in the field for weeks at a time, so the concept of roughing it wasn’t new to him.

  This, however, didn’t require him to hump in everything he needed, nor did it require that he had to do without. Besides a sleeping bag and cot, he added a gas stove, folding table and chairs, as well as a gas lantern. A cook set and ice chest rounded out the list of immediate items he envisioned needing.

  His purchases might be considered excessive for one night, but he actually planned on spending more than one night on occasion as work progressed. It wasn’t unusual for him to overnight at a project site, and as with most construction projects, they had already ordered the ever-present Port-a-Potty that every worksite required. At this point all he lacked was a proper shower to be self-sufficient, and there was always a river nearby if he got desperate.

  Finishing his shopping spree at the grocery store for edibles and ice for the ice chest, he found himself back at the house well after noon. As he came up the drive, he was surprised to see a huge dumpster out front and the men hauling debris out the front door.

  “What gives?” Robert asked as RD appeared. Hunter sprang down the front steps to greet him as only a dog can.

  “Great news, the inspector from the city came by right after you left this morning and hand delivered the approval to begin demo.”

  “He brought it out himself?” That was not a normal process for any city he had worked with in the past.

  “He wanted to see this place for himself,” RD replied with a smile.

  “I gave him the tour and he wished us luck.”

  “That is great news. Here, can you give me a hand?” Robert opened up the back of the Jeep and started unpacking his morning purchases.

  “You are serious about this?” RD asked as he saw the camping gear stacked in the back.

  “Deadly serious.”

  “Oh, dude, bad choice of words,” RD responded before laughing and pulling boxes out of the Jeep.

  ----*----

  Robert had chosen the front parlor, located on the right as you walked into the foyer, for his campout. While both the living room and the parlor were possible locations, the living room on the left had access to the dining room and then the kitchen, while the parlor was a room to itself.

  Because of that, the workmen had been using the living room and the main hall as the pathways out to the front door. There was a constant stream of men passing by as they carted pieces of the demo’d kitchen out to the dumpster. Robert could see others attacking the radiators and piping connected to them, while a third group was demolishing the boiler in the basement.

  More than one of the workmen paused as they watched Robert setting up for the night. Within minutes, it was known throughout the worksite that the man was going to stay the night in the house. The whispered conversation confirmed to Robert that the decision was the right thing to do. By spending the night, he could dispel the rumors and get everyone off this ghost kick.

  Once he had everything in place, he pulled out one of the chairs he had purchased earlie
r, dragged it over to the folding table and produced his laptop from its bag. Using one of the extension cords connected to the commercial generator they now had running out front, he plugged in and began working. The change in plans due to the early approval meant he no longer needed the smaller generator he had asked RD for earlier.

  While everyone worked around him, Robert concentrated on completing the architectural drawings outlining the updates he had in mind for the house. Working through the afternoon, he had made good progress by the time the rest of the crew was ready to call it a day.

  “So, you are really going to do this?” RD asked as they watched the last workmen leave for the day.

  “Yup, I have room for you, if you are interested. I can sleep on the floor and you get the cot,” Robert offered with a smile.

  “Ah, negative, that’s ok.”

  “On a positive note, I am just about done with the drawings. Your people did an awesome job cleaning up the originals,” Robert replied, acknowledging the work it took to convert the scanned originals into workable CAD files.

  “Shoot them the files when you are ready and I’ll have them printed off for review,” RD replied, nodding at the compliment.

  “Will do. Last offer…” Robert motioned to the cot as RD headed out the door.

  “Maybe next time, if you are still here tomorrow,” RD taunted as he continued out the door.

  With that, Robert went back to his work until well after dark. Finally deciding to call it a night, he first fired up the lantern and then went out to kill the generator, the power source for his work light and laptop. The silence after shutting down the generator was in stark contrast to the constant drone the engine had provided all day.

  Returning inside, he used his phone to link his laptop to the internet. Once he was online, he uploaded the drawing files to RD’s company website, with a request for a copy to review and then shut the link and laptop down for the night.

  Turning from his work, he could see Hunter lying on a blanket nearby, quietly watching him.

  “Hungry?” he asked the hound as he began pulling out their dinner.

  The dog didn’t make a move to get up, but sat where he was, as he watched Robert set up the stove, his tail thumping as it struck the blanket. Next Robert grabbed a small cooking pot and placed it on a burner. Dumping a can of stew into the pot, he lit the burner and set the flame on low before grabbing the lantern.

  “Let see how far they got today,” he told Hunter as he headed out of the room.

  Entering the kitchen with the dog at his side, he was happy to see the room almost completely devoid of the vandalism that had been done during the last renovation attempt. All the appliances had been removed as well as all the cabinets and counters not original to the space. The fact that the room was nothing more than bare studs gave him his blank canvas.

  Wandering from room to room, he could see where the radiators had been cut loose from the piping and moved out to the dumpster. There were only holes in the floor in several places on the first floor, where the pipes had been pulled into the basement and hauled out as well.

  He then went upstairs, where the radiators were also gone, but here the piping still protruded from the flooring. He was very aware of the additional work that would be required to get them out without tearing up the place.

  “Oh crap, dinner,” Robert announced, as he realized he had forgotten the stew on the stove.

  Hurrying down the stairs, with Hunter at his heels, he was convinced he would find the stew burnt to the bottom of the pan. Entering the room, he rushed over to the stove, sniffing the air as he did so. There he found his meal unsinged, the flame extinguished under the pan and its contents still hot but not burnt.

  Checking, he found the burner knob of the stove in the off position. Turning from the stove, he found the only other occupant of the house watching him expectantly, his tail thumping the floor.

  “Can you believe that?” he asked the dog, having no plausible explanation at hand.

  Chapter 7

  Foxworth Landing, early 1858

  The major parts of the house construction were coming to an end, but there was a mountain of work still to do inside. There was also a significant amount of exterior detail work to be completed as the ornate trim and scalloped siding took considerable time to install. There was also the matter of locating experienced craftsman, familiar with the work she required.

  To make matters worse, the disagreements between the North and the South were escalating and more people were talking of secession. The unrest had people all over the area concerned about the future. Many of her workmen were anxious to be off the job and home to their families.

  Charlotte however, was not concerned and was as busy as she had ever been, providing for farmers and travelers alike. Her social life was all but nonexistent and she found she liked it that way. She had met many of the young men in the surrounding countryside, but she found little time for their interest in her. Between the business of shipping and the construction of her home, she was quite content with the way things were.

  It was in this climate that her father had introduced Charlotte to Jefferson Anderson Waters. Absent from the first evening she had spent at the Waters’ home, subsequent events had brought the two together in socially appropriate circumstances to acquaint themselves. Christina seemed to delight in arranging activities that required her older sister to interact with the man.

  Only a few years her senior, he was the eldest son and studying to take over the family business. Jefferson’s father was the head of a well-to-do Jacksonville family that had relocated from Savannah and had dealings with the European aristocracy. Their transatlantic shipping operation was a complement to her father’s local shipping business.

  Jefferson had been raised in a life of privilege and ease from the very start, and he was constantly boasting of his imported European lifestyle. Charlotte found him arrogant, spoiled, and useless, considering the hard work she had endured for most of her young life and the direction it was heading.

  She discovered herself set upon, however, as both her father and her sister promoted the relationship at every opportunity. Jefferson, a handsome man, seemed to take a fancy to her as well, which hardly helped matters. She suspected, though, that it was due to her disinterest in him. He seemed like one of those men whom most desired that which they were denied.

  Charlotte soon found herself on family picnics or in social gatherings specifically intended to get the two together. So it was that she found herself hosting the man as he and their fathers had come south on one of the regularly scheduled runs to review the progress on the house.

  “I am told that you supervised the construction of the house. Admirable for a woman of such young age,” Jefferson said as he indicated the structure.

  The pair were standing at the end of the pier where the cobblestone path started, leading away from the river. Charlotte had insisted that they lay the stonework near where the woodwork started to prevent the more heavily laden wagons from sinking into the soft earth during one of the many rains.

  “Yes, and designed it as well,” she replied, not willing to diminish her contribution nor concede to the implications of the statement.

  “I have seen similar construction in England, during my last visit. You did quite well in capturing the European flair. One would think you had continental experience,” he added with a smile.

  “That was not my intent, I happen to like the look of it. I had seen similar structures in Savanah and Charleston on a trip north with my father,” she replied curtly.

  It was a true statement, however, her pride prevented her from including the attraction to the bright colors and lace-like trim. She felt the admission would weaken her perceived strength of character, enforcing feminine traits.

  “Well, I think you have done splendidly, regardless of where you derived your inspiration. Shall we?” Jefferson offered his arm to her while indicating the older men preceding them into the ho
use.

  Resigning herself to the polite, yet demeaning gesture, she accepted his arm with a sigh and the two followed their fathers up to the house. Over to one side, she could see her little sister, canvas and paints all set up, focused on the river with the boat at the pier. She had been quite prolific of late, her passion for painting being the focus of her young life.

  For once, Charlotte envied her little sister’s life over her own.

  Foxworth Landing, Present day

  Finishing his stew, with a small portion dribbled over Hunter’s kibble, Robert cleaned up his dinner mess before settling down with Charlotte’s diary once more. He had boiled a small pot of water for doing his dishes, washing just the cooking pot as everything else was disposable. He had purchased a small plastic tub for this purpose and dumped the dishwater in the bushes outside when he finished.

  Not sure what to make of the whole stove thing, he decided not to dwell on it. Likely he had just forgotten that he had shut it off, distracted by his excitement to see the progress in the kitchen. While not buying his own explanation, he had nothing better to offer at this point. Lying back on his cot, he began to thumb through the diary, searching for more information on the house’s construction.

  As he read, he could sense the excitement of a young woman about to begin her life without obligations to others. In the earlier pages, he had read of her love for her family, and the terrible burden it had placed on her childhood with the loss of her mother. In this house, she was looking for a new start, one where she was only responsible for herself.

  Coming to the end of the volume, he found himself drawn into the world this woman had created for herself here at the river’s edge. Getting up from his cot, he led Hunter out into the darkness, flashlight in hand, and crossed over to the carriage house. Climbing the ladder once more, he again searched the trunk, looking for the next volume in her personal history.