Chapter 15

I shouldn’t have been surprised to discover that Jasmine had never left the plantation, but I was.  I found her excitement over the concept of making a three mile trip in the barouche to be a delightful pick-me-up for the gloomy mood I’d developed.

Away from prying ears and eyes, my lady’s maid proved to be amusingly animated.  She had comments and curiosities about the simplest of things, such as names of trees or types of birds. We closed our eyes and listened to the sweet songs of the whippoorwill and gasped at the sight of a fox chasing a rabbit.  We rooted for the rabbit, of course.

I enjoyed the little ride so much that I hardly noticed the time or felt the inconvenience of the antiquated mode of travel.  We’d left just after sunup to avoid the heat of the day, but, even so, I still would have suffered from heat and dust had I not been so distracted by this animated young woman. Her comfort level around me, once we were