Excerpt: Wild Rose on the Flint

UNACCEPTABLE
After Te-You kissed Abigale, they heard rustling in the bushes behind them and saw Abigale’s younger sister, Lucy, running toward the house. She had been spying!
“There will be trouble I know now. I must go.” Abigale reached for his hand and stared at the young warrior she so loved.
“You should go too.”
Te-You remained and watched as Abigale ran home in the setting sun then slipped quietly into the woods.
When Abigale arrived that the house, news had already spread that she was being behaving improperly with one of the Creek Warriors. Her mother was furious and would not look at her, no matter how much Abigale pleaded with her. Henry, her father sat resigned with a drink in his hand. He looked at his daughter but not with disgust. She could not discern his expression or what he would do.
“Abigale, go to your room!” Her mother’s voice boomed as she stood by the stairs in the hallway. Lucy sat on a bench by the front door grinning like a possum and stuck her tongue out at her older sibling. Abigale ran upstairs to her room as was told. Kathleen followed with a hard look upon her face.
Once in her room, Abigale could do nothing but pace the floor, unsure what her mother was going to say or do. She walked to one of the windows and stared out, wondering if Te-You was back in his village by now. She heard the door open and her mother’s stepped in, then the door closed and was locked. The only noise heard was her mother's slow footsteps across the hardwood floor. Abigale turned around to face her mother.
“Since you were young, you have been a free spirit and somewhat wild. It has been allowed as were your trips to the Creek villages with your father. At the time I saw no harm since you were doing well in your lessons and in the ways of becoming a proper young lady-it seemed.” She paused and walked to a different window that viewed the front of the house.
“I’m thinking of sending you to your Aunt Charlotte in Charleston. If she agrees, you will be leaving by end of the week.”
Abigale gasped and started to protest.
Kathleen controlled her anger, held her hand up and stared hard at her sixteen year old daughter. “It’s all for the best, Abigale.”
“But why do I have to leave? He didn’t hurt me at all! Why do I have to leave? What did we do so wrong?” Tears welled up in her eyes and her voice got louder with anger.
“Because he’s not…OUR kind. You know that! It is not allowed, not acceptable.”
“But we care about…”
“You don’t know anything! My daughter is not going to get mixed up with some savage that stinks of fish and animal skins!” Abigale had no idea how much the Creeks disgusted her mother.
“Hypocrite! How can you talk that way after you’ve treated…”
“It doesn’t matter now. and mind your tongue, girl. You are going and if you resist, something else will be done about HIM! You have to forget about all this nonsense. Your Aunt Charlotte will teach you how to be a proper lady.”
Abigale had lost the battle before it had begun, and she knew had to do what was demanded of her by her mother. She slowly sat on the edge of her bed, feelilng beaten.
"After your character has improved greatly, you will be presented to the society of Charleston and possibly attract suitable gentlemen with marital prospects. Wouldn’t you want a good husband, nice home and fine clothes along with a family, Abigale?”
Abigale stared at the floor, still crying and angry. “Men choose whomever they want for a wife or companion. Why can women not do the same?”
“Women have to accept what society dictates to them. They do not have the right to choose; they are chosen. Then if they know what is best for their future, they accept God’s gift of what will hopefully be a good match; a good man who can provide for her and his hopes will be that you can give him children in return. THAT is how it is.”
“But what about love? What if there is no love in the union?”
A sad look came across Kathleen’s face and she walked to Abigale’s bed and sat next to her, stroking her strawberry blond hair. Her voice was softer now and seemed more compassionate.
“Sometimes love has no place in a woman’s destiny I’m afraid. Sometimes love comes, sometimes not. But a wife must be an obedient one who shows her husband some semblance of love. It is one of her duties” She stood and again walked to the front window.
“Another thing; at times a wife must be tolerant things in her marriage such as flaws and even blatant indiscretions.”
Abigale did not understand but felt that one day soon she will find out.
Her mother turned and looked around the room, her face was hard again and her voice changed tone.
“Get your gown and come to my room, we can talk more while you get ready for bed.”
The pain of Abigale’s heart breaking matched that of her throbbing head. She did as her mother said and dressed for bed in her room. Her mother gave her a few moments’ privacy and returned. They talked a little longer and Kathleen led her daughter to her room. She hugged her, opened the door for her and told her to rest. Once the door was closed, Kathleen pulled a key from her pocket and quickly locked the door.
Abigale heard the lock turn and shook the doorknob, disbelieving her mother would lock her in her room like a prisoner. She was furious but there was nothing she could do. She walked to the window that faced toward Te-You’s village and felt something on the floor under her bare foot. She bent down to pick it up; it was a nail.
“Where did this come from?” she mumbled. When she began to stand up she noticed something odd. Mother had her windows nailed shut! She tried to pull at each of the three, but they would not budge.
Abigale ran to her door and banged as hard and loud with her fists, screaming at her mother and asking her why, not choking back the tears this time.
Kathleen was already downstairs trying to ignore the cries of her daughter. Henry sat in the same chair smoking a pipe, his drink on the table next to him.
She walked up to him and looked down with contempt on her face.
“This is entirely your fault! You took her with you every day to that Creek village, she grew up with HIM! And now see what’s happened! She LOVES HIM! Lord only knows what they've done!" She turned and stomped out of the room and left Henry alone with his thoughts and whiskey.
In the distance he could her her last words, "I should have NEVER allowed you to convince me to move here!” Henry's face was expressionless.