The Unknowing Heiress

Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty – Two

Nate gave Maggie the address of the hotel in which he was staying in town. He felt it only polite and respectful to keep his distance while Isaac was ill. Maggie would go to him when it was appropriate, though she was exceptionally grateful to have a piece of home with her in Georgia.

The next day, Isaac took a turn for the worst. The pneumonia had made his breathing very wheezy. Breathing was already an exhausting feat for him so Maggie knew that he most likely had mere hours.

She sat in the wicker chair beside his bed and held his hand. She did not want to leave him alone. He watched her intensely, his pale green eyes were wide and frightened.

“It’s alright,” she said soothingly, squeezing his hand. “I am very glad that you found me, you know,” she informed him softly. “Regardless of what happened in the past with Momma, or what your intentions were for me with Mr Kincaid, I am still very glad that you found me.”

His eyes glassed over, as if what she was saying was making him emotional.

“I would have always wondered about you. It was very humbling to hear the stories of you from the workers here. I know you are a good man, Mr Lavelle.” Maggie paused and changed her mind on his title. “Father,” she corrected herself. Nate would always be ‘Daddy’, but in his final hours, Isaac could be ‘Father’.

It was a strenuous action, but Isaac smiled appreciatively.

“You would have been a wonderful father to me. I have no doubt of that. Please rest. Know that there is no resentment and there is no need for forgiveness.”

There was not anything else that she could say. She did not want him thinking that there needed to be apologies or anything. She understood why he had made the decisions he chose. He had been a boy afraid of his father when he’d known Maggie’s mother. And had he chosen to ignore his father’s rules then what would have happened to the slaves that worked on the Lavelle Plantation? Everything had happened for a reason and she had no regrets.

Joanna opened the bedroom door and brought in some cool towels and a clean bowl. Joanna was not dressed as finely as she usually was. Her blonde hair was tied back in a neat bun and she wore a cotton day dress without any petticoats and a practical, sturdy apron.

Though Maggie did not like Joanna at all, the care and devotion she had shown Isaac had won Maggie’s respect.

“Excuse me,” murmured Joanna quietly as she went around to the other side of the bed. She set the bowl down on the bedside table and began to dab his face, forehead and neck with the cool towels. “How are you sweetheart, alright?” she asked, concerned.

Isaac’s eyes travelled to his wife and he looked at her affectionately. At the end of the day, they were a couple who loved each other. Just like her own parents. And as soon as Isaac died, Joanna would be a grieving widow. Maggie could not be resentful in such a time. She would be courteous when the will was read and the deed was turned over to her.

“Lunch is downstairs on the table if you’re at all hungry, Miss Maggie,” Joanna murmured.

“Thank you,” replied Maggie politely. She rose from the wicker chair and leant over to kiss Isaac’s forehead. “I’ll leave you both alone.”

There was a small lunch in the dining room but the house was truly too sombre to run as usual. Max was sitting in one of the chair casually, sketching in his book. When Maggie passed him, she saw that he was drawing the wine glass in front of him. He’d truly captured the shine and shimmer of the light reflecting off of the glass. It was not the usual type of subject that Max would concentrate on. Maggie knew he was simply occupying his mind and hands while something dreadful occurred.