The Governor's Daughter (Winds of Change Book 1)
Read The Governor's Daughter (Winds of Change Book 1) Online
Authors: Jerri Hines
http://jerrihines.org/
Previously published as The Judas Kiss and The Promise
Copyright 2016 by Jerri Hines
Cover Art by Erin Dameron-Hill
Edited by
http://jancarolromancenovels.weebly.com/editing-services.html
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.
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T
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T
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m
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r
mi
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i
on
of
t
he
a
u
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hor
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ille
g
a
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nd
pun
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Dedication
To my wonderful mother, Ramona Dotson Caveness, who inspired my love for books and, as always, my loving husband, Bob.
Contents
A beautiful melody of orchestra music drifted in through
Cathryn
Blankenship’s
open
bedroom
window.
Ex
asperated, she pulled back the
curtains.
She
ignored
the
house
ablaze
with
lights,
the
murmurs of voices, and stared into the darkened night sky. Most nights she never gave much thought to the wonderment of the
sky
nor
the
beauty
of
the
radiant
stars
twinkling
from
far beyond her reach. Tonight was no different, except she
bemoaned
the
fact
there
was
no
moonlight.
How ever
was
she going to see?
She sighed. Of all things, her father, Governor John Rolf Blankenship, had sent her to her room. Her room! In the midst of the biggest dance of the year celebrating the Hampton Square Race, she had been admonished in the most humiliating fashion. She would never forgive her father. Never!
None of this would have happened if her father hadn’t decided
to
send
her
across
the
ocean
to
her
mother’s
family in London…for a
Season
. What a silly notion! She had no intention
of
leaving
Elm
Bluff.
Though,
she
well
figured
be
ing
sent
over
to
England
had
more
to
do
with
the
ramblings within the Colonies…a call for liberty and freedom. Well, she didn’t care a twit for
politics.
Cathryn glanced out her window. She was
going
out. Looking down, she wouldn’t have worried about
the
climb at
all
if
she
wasn’t
wearing
a
ball
gown,
but
she
didn’t
have time
to
change.
Tacy
would
soon
come back
to
check
on
her.
Without another thought, she hiked up the hem
of
her green
taffeta,
hooking
it
to
the
ribbon
around
her
waist.
She crunched over and slid through the
window.
Immediately, she winced. First at the sound of her tight
sleeves
ripping, then when she maneuvered her legs out the
window,
her petticoat became entangled on a nail head protruding
from inside the windowsill.
She
stretched
her
arm
up,
trying
vainly
to
work
the
ruffle
free
of
the
nail.
Her
arms
ached
while
her
slippers
skidded along the side of the house in an attempt to find solid footing. Her hand slapped on the
windowsill.
“Now,
now,”
the
familiar
voice
of
her
maid
said,
as
she leaned out the window. “What I’m to do with ya’, Miss Cathryn?”
“Tacy,” Cathryn whispered frantically. “Tacy, please free my dress. Quickly. I’m going to fall.”
Cathryn
stole
a
reluctant
glance
up
at
Tacy,
who
leaned
over the windowsill. She watched her maid’s strawberry blonde hair fall over her face while her fingers lay on the caught
material.
“There you go again, Miss Cathryn. Why it took me two hours to do your hair and fix you up just right! And here ya are hanging out your window. Next time tell me. Wasting my time when I got better things to do!”
“Tacy,” Cathryn retorted. “I don’t have time for this. Come now!”
“Governor
Blankenship
ain’t
gonna
like
it.
Not
one
bit.
Here
he
is
sending
me
up
here
checking
on
you.
Thinkin’
ya
desolate
up
here
by
yourself.
Tho’
I
would
have
wagered
ya
already
be
long
gone.
That
temper
of
yours,
Miss
Cathryn!”
Tacy flicked the caught material over the nail.
“Now, my Lady, ya need to get yourself back up here before the governor gets wind of whatcha up to.”
“I’ll send him a message when I get where I’m going. Tell
him
I’ll
come
back
when
the
ship
has
sailed,”
Cathryn said.
Ignoring
her
maid,
she
balanced
herself
on
the
window mount
below.
The
next
moment
she
leaped
down
on
the
soft grass,
rolling
quite
unladylike
before
finding
her
feet.
Cathryn
took
off.
From
behind
her
she
heard
Tacy
muttering
under her breath. “There will be other
ships!”
The silly goose will go and tell Father! I don’t have much
time.
By
golly,
William
had
better
be
where
I
told
him to be!
To
say
this
day
had
been
a
disappointment
would
have been an understatement. In no way had the day played out as she had envisioned. Cathryn undid the hem from her belted ribbon and let it fall back into place as she walked away from the
house.
Chatter and laughter echoed throughout Elm Bluff. It should have been quite a celebration with Sumner’s horse winning
the
race
once
more,
but
she
couldn’t
imagine
Sumner not winning whatever he set his sights
upon.
In truth, Sumner was her half-brother, but that didn’t matter to her. Her family wasn’t the conventional family within
Charles
Town,
but
she
loved
them
deeply.
That
was the reason for her dilemma this night. With her father’s
insistence on sending her over to England to her mother’s family, she would be separated from the only people she loved and who loved her.
“It will be good for you to meet your mother’s
family. It was your mother’s wish,” her father had said, although Cathryn knew well he had no real desire for her to go.
“Why can’t you come with me?” she cried.
“There is too much to attend to here. I can’t leave at this time, but I promise as soon as I get all settled, I will come over to bring you home.”
Governor Blankenship had long served as governor
of Antigua
in
the
West
Indies
before
settling
in
Charles
Town. At
an
early
age,
he
had
joined
his
Majesty’s
army,
a
second son to the Earl of Hestershire, but Cathryn had never set foot
in
her
father’s
England.
She
had
been
born
in
Antigua
a year after her father married her mother, Elizabeth Cavanaugh. It had been an arranged marriage, although her mother
had
died
when
Cathryn
had
been
six,
less
than
a
year after coming to Elm
Bluff.
“You
are
willingly
sending
me
across
the ocean,”
Cathryn
said
in
a futile
attempt
to
reason
with
her
father.
“You
talk
of
a
Season but, Father, William said when he was there a Season was just a way for girls to be paraded about for the
highest bidder. I will not be auctioned off!”
Her father gave a somber look at his only daughter. “It’s
not
that
way.
William
was
upset
because
he
wasn’t
invited to socialize. Granted, I will contend it’s a different way
than
we
do
here,
but
it
is
part
of
your
life
that
you
need to experience, my
dear.”
“Father, I won’t go!” she said, indignation
resounding in her
voice.
“You
have
no
choice,
my
dear,”
her
father
said,
pinching
her
cheek
as
he
had done
when
she
had
been
a
small
child.
“If you
had
any
inclination
toward
any
of
the
beaus
in
Charles Town
I
wouldn’t
force
you
to
go.
But
you
have
turned
away anyone
who
has
shown
any
interest
in
you.
Do
I
have
to
remind
you
that
I
refused
Maynard
Fleming
last
week?
I
only want your happiness.”
“Sumner
says
they
were
only
after
Elm
Bluff,”
she
exclaimed. “I want only to marry for love,
Father!”
“I
doubt
you
would
do
anything
less,
but
you
will
do
as I have requested. I have already made the necessary arrangements.
You
are
to
travel
with
the
Montgomerys.
They are taking their two boys to school in London. They have kindly offered to escort you to your grandparents,” Governor Blankenship informed
her.