Savage Flames

Even with her daughter at her bedside, sweet and caring, Lavinia could not banish the awful picture of Hiram walking toward her with Virgil in his arms. The memory of the arrow in her husband’s chest made her feel sick to her stomach even now, but she forced herself to face the way life was now changed for both herself and her daughter.

“I will be alright,” Lavinia finally said. She sat up and positioned her pillow behind her back to make h

erself more comfortable.

She noticed that she still had on the dress she had worn since morning, but her shoes had been removed.

Her feet felt the comfort of the blanket that her daughter must have drawn over her after removing the lovely silk and lace-trimmed bedspread that Lavinia herself had made.

She was so glad that she had never shared a bed with her husband, or it would be impossible to stay there now, to continue resting while trying to accept the reality of Virgil’s death.

Although they had been loving toward one another, once he had come to her bed each night to take his pleasure, he had been in the habit of returning to his own bed in a room down the corridor.

They both had preferred it that way.

They each had enjoyed having a bed to themselves, especially Lavinia. Virgil snored so loudly that when she had at first tried to sleep with him as a newlywed, she had not gotten a wink of sleep.

It was his suggestion that he sleep elsewhere ifshe would not feel neglected by his doing so. She had quickly told him that she never felt neglected while he was with her beneath the same roof. It wasn’t necessary for them to share the same bed for a full night.

“Uncle Hiram…removed…the nasty arrow from papa,” Dorey said, visibly trembling.

“Thank goodness,” Lavinia said. She shuddered as she again envisioned her husband with the arrow lodged in his chest. It was a sight she might never be able to forget. “I’ll go soon and start preparing him for burial.”

She gazed at Dorey, whose eyes were swollen from crying. “The funeral will be a quiet and quick one,” she murmured. “It will only include our family.”

“I’m glad,” Dorey said. She wiped tears from her eyes with the back of her hand. “It would be horrible to wait for distant relatives and friends to arrive.”

“That is exactly why I am doing it this way,” Lavinia said.

She gazed at her daughter, marveling as always at her loveliness. Her hair was the same golden color as Lavinia’s, and she had a pretty face, delicate in every respect. Dorey had seen too often how cruel the world could be. She had not only lost her father, but both sets of grandparents as well.

Lavinia was all that was left of her daughter’s world, for neither of them included Hiram when they spoke of family.

He was a deplorable, disgusting man. He reeked of sweat. His hands were always dripping with it.

And his one eye never stopped watching Lavinia. It was as though he were always mentally undressing her.

“Do you think the Indian that killed Papa will come and kill us, too?” Dorey suddenly asked, jarring Lavinia back to the moment.

“Please don’t worry about that,” Lavinia said, trying to reassure her daughter. She took one of Dorey’s tiny hands in hers.

“But, Mama, the Seminole Indians live so close,” Dorey said. She swallowed hard. “Do you think they are responsible for Papa’s death?”

“I can see why you would think that, but, Dorey, they haven’t given us any problems, or anyone else as far as I know,” Lavinia said softly. “And your father didn’t interfere in their lives, either. He left them alone, for he felt safer that way. He certainly didn’t want to make an enemy of any Indians.”

“Then…what Indian did this?” Dorey persisted.

“I don’t know of any other Indians in the area who would have cause to attack your father,” Lavinia said thickly. “But someone did. Who hated him enough to kill him? I just don’t know, Dorey,” Lavinia said, sighing. “Please, dear. I just don’t want to talk or think about it any more. I am so tired. This has taken everything out of me.”

Dorey leaned down and hugged Lavinia. “Mama, I’ll leave you alone if that is what you want,” she murmured. “Is it?”

“Dear, you stay if you wish, or leave if you would rather do that,” Lavinia said as Dorey stepped slowly away from her. “I know this isn’t any easier on you than on me.”

“Mama, Hiram told me not to be afraid about what happened to Papa,” Dorey said. “He said that he is here for us and that he will care for us in Papa’s absence. He…he…even said that he would marry you to make it proper for us all to live together under one roof. He said that would keep people from…talking.”

“Lord,” Lavinia said. She shivered with disgust at the very thought of Hiram touching her with his sweaty palms. “I would never let that man touch me, much less…marry me. There is nothing about him that I like. Even Virgil was becoming wary of him and his antics, and he was Hiram’s brother. Sometimes Virgil hated claiming Hiram as a relation.”

She paused, then again shuddered. “Marry Hiram?” she said softly. “I think not. Oh, how horrible a thought!”