Voices From Within (Book 2)

Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

Reggie Thanturnum

It was Monday morning, January 3, 1803. A brand-new year. Reggie Thanturnum and his brother Rupert stood in the open doorway of their large barn and watched their brother Roman and his new wife Talia ride down the long driveway. They had been married on Saturday evening and friends and family had celebrated late into the evening.

Roman and Talia were leaving on their honeymoon to buy horses for their new estate. Reggie felt a twinge of jealousy as he watched the happy couple. He had never seen his brother so happy, and Talia was a gem. She was a true Thanturnum woman and evenly matched to his brother.

Reggie was twenty-one and had had tumultuous relationships in the past, leaving him extremely wary of women's intentions. He hated the thought of weekend parties and being pursued by women who only saw the Thanturnum estate. He believed they only pursued him for the money or status or both.

"Rupert, saddle up my horse, Jack. I going to ride into Carlisle to find a card game and get drunk. Don't wait up."

Reggie went to the house and climbed the large wooden staircase to his bedroom. He washed up with cold water and towel dried his long black hair. He smoothed out his moustache and beard and then splashed on some cologne.

He pulled out a clean white shirt, black woolen pants and his favorite gambling vest. He pulled on his tall black leather riding boots and adjusted his collar and tie. Then Reggie chose a long frock coat and his black cape.

Laying out an extra shirt and socks to take with, he contemplated on how much money to bring. He counted the amount he was willing to lose and put the rest in his lockbox. Reggie chose his hat and grabbed his leather riding gloves. When he arrived in the barn, his horse was ready to go.

"Well, look at you all duded up. Why so fancy?" asked Rupert.

"I have always found that women take better care of you at the tables if you smell good. You might want to consider it the next time you go to town."

"Humph," grunted Rupert. "And here I thought you just wanted to get drunk and play cards. I can stay here and do that."

"I enjoy taking money from people that I don't have to work with every day."

Rupert laughed and told him to have fun. Reggie mounted his stallion, and he rode through the pasture. Reggie rode to the end of their property, crossed the river on the bridge and climbed up the embankment to a wide spread of land that belonged to their neighbor, Ivan Polansky. He rode the ridge of the river road, knowing he was alone and able to spend some time thinking.

Thanturnam land stretched east to west along the Conodoguinet creek was a 100-mile-long tributary of the Susquehanna River in the south-central part of Pennsylvania. In the native American language, the name of the river meant "a long way with many bends". Conodoguinet Creek joined the Susquehanna River upstream of Harrisburg.

Reggie was lost in thought. As he rode the top ridge of the river on Ivan Polansky's land, he could see his magnificent barn in the distance. Reggie scolded himself. He had promised Ivan the last time he saw him he would stop over and help split some wood.

Last time he visited the old man, he had noticed the diminishing pile next to the house. He had split kindling and filled the wood boxes for Ivan, but that was before Christmas. With all the preparation for the holiday festivities and the wedding weekend, the task had slipped his mind.