Read Online Beneath the Black Moon (Root Sisters) by Clara Fine - Free Book Online
Authors: Clara Fine
Ads: Link
“We have to return to the house
together. If your Aunt Beth finds out about you wandering around alone, she’ll
probably faint.”
“I
suppose it’s good that she doesn’t usually socialize with the Charmons,” Cam
said, “If they told her that I’ve been visiting them alone for years, she’d
skip fainting altogether and just die .”
“Probably,”
Mary agreed seriously as they parted ways.
***
Mrs.
Charmon’s living children ranged from twenty year old Ben, who had left home
almost four years ago and hadn’t been heard from since, to the infant Ellie,
who had developed a persistent and concerning fever. Cam had witnessed three Charmon
children die already, and her more selfish half didn’t want to keep visiting
the Charmons, for fear that soon enough she would have to watch little Ellie
pass away as well. It was a cowardly impulse and Cam refused to submit to it,
but she couldn’t deny the trepidation that welled up in her every time she
approached the little shanty in the forest where the Charmons made their home.
Every time she caught sight of the house, there was a moment when she braced
herself to hear Mrs. Charmon’s grief-stricken wails. Every morning it occurred
to her that perhaps today death would call again on the Charmon residence.
In
that respect at least Cam’s family had been unusually fortunate. The potent
combination of the rootwork of both Caro and Cam’s grandmother kept most
illnesses at bay, even if it couldn’t ward off tragedy entirely. So many women
lost their small children, but all of Solange’s daughters had grown up strong
and sound.
The
dusty, greasy curtains that hung in the single window of the Charmon hovel
twitched, and Cam caught sight of a bright young face peering out at her. Theodore .
Cam smiled, and when the little boy’s face split into an answering grin, she
felt her breathing return to normal. No tragedies at the Charmon residence
today.
All
was not quiet, though. Cam could hear the baby wailing and Mrs. Charmon
shouting at her brood. “Teddy! Where in the blazes is that boy goin’?”
“Miss
Cam is heeeeereeeeeee!” Teddy shrieked back at his mother as he came tearing
out of the house to see her. From across the clearing where the Charmon family
squatted, two more of the Charmon children heard Teddy’s announcement and came
running: towheaded William and his sister Lydia, with her serious gray eyes and
long braids.
Lydia
was the oldest and she reached Cam first, though she hung back for a minute to
admire Cam’s simple dress. “That’s awful pretty,” she said, winding the end of
one of her skinny braids around her finger as she spoke. “I sure like your
dress.”
“Thank
you,” Cam said. Lydia was ten, and she was so interested in clothes that Cam
was sometimes tempted to introduce her to Aunt Beth. Despite the difference in
age and class, Cam suspected that the two had more in common than Cam had ever shared
with her aunt.
“What
did you bring?” William asked as he slid to a halt in front of Cam. He was
barefoot and wasn’t wearing a shirt under his suspenders. He clutched a
homemade fishing rod in one hand and reached eagerly for the basket with his
other hand. Little Theodore ran up behind his brother and tried to fight past
his older siblings to reach Cam, but couldn’t get either of them to budge.
“You
three, stop mauling Miss Johnson!” Mrs. Charmon appeared in the doorway. She
was a tall, middle aged woman, wide-hipped and nearly shapeless after giving
birth to one child after another. Despite the toll her hardships had taken on
her appearance, there was something appealing about her round, open face. When she
smiled a certain way Cam could picture her as the pretty young woman that she
had once been. Mrs. Charmon gave one of those rare smiles just then, when she
caught sight of the basket of food that Cam carried.
She
and the children were excitedly examining the contents of Cam’s basket when a
cheerful yell announced
together. If your Aunt Beth finds out about you wandering around alone, she’ll
probably faint.”
“I
suppose it’s good that she doesn’t usually socialize with the Charmons,” Cam
said, “If they told her that I’ve been visiting them alone for years, she’d
skip fainting altogether and just die .”
“Probably,”
Mary agreed seriously as they parted ways.
***
Mrs.
Charmon’s living children ranged from twenty year old Ben, who had left home
almost four years ago and hadn’t been heard from since, to the infant Ellie,
who had developed a persistent and concerning fever. Cam had witnessed three Charmon
children die already, and her more selfish half didn’t want to keep visiting
the Charmons, for fear that soon enough she would have to watch little Ellie
pass away as well. It was a cowardly impulse and Cam refused to submit to it,
but she couldn’t deny the trepidation that welled up in her every time she
approached the little shanty in the forest where the Charmons made their home.
Every time she caught sight of the house, there was a moment when she braced
herself to hear Mrs. Charmon’s grief-stricken wails. Every morning it occurred
to her that perhaps today death would call again on the Charmon residence.
In
that respect at least Cam’s family had been unusually fortunate. The potent
combination of the rootwork of both Caro and Cam’s grandmother kept most
illnesses at bay, even if it couldn’t ward off tragedy entirely. So many women
lost their small children, but all of Solange’s daughters had grown up strong
and sound.
The
dusty, greasy curtains that hung in the single window of the Charmon hovel
twitched, and Cam caught sight of a bright young face peering out at her. Theodore .
Cam smiled, and when the little boy’s face split into an answering grin, she
felt her breathing return to normal. No tragedies at the Charmon residence
today.
All
was not quiet, though. Cam could hear the baby wailing and Mrs. Charmon
shouting at her brood. “Teddy! Where in the blazes is that boy goin’?”
“Miss
Cam is heeeeereeeeeee!” Teddy shrieked back at his mother as he came tearing
out of the house to see her. From across the clearing where the Charmon family
squatted, two more of the Charmon children heard Teddy’s announcement and came
running: towheaded William and his sister Lydia, with her serious gray eyes and
long braids.
Lydia
was the oldest and she reached Cam first, though she hung back for a minute to
admire Cam’s simple dress. “That’s awful pretty,” she said, winding the end of
one of her skinny braids around her finger as she spoke. “I sure like your
dress.”
“Thank
you,” Cam said. Lydia was ten, and she was so interested in clothes that Cam
was sometimes tempted to introduce her to Aunt Beth. Despite the difference in
age and class, Cam suspected that the two had more in common than Cam had ever shared
with her aunt.
“What
did you bring?” William asked as he slid to a halt in front of Cam. He was
barefoot and wasn’t wearing a shirt under his suspenders. He clutched a
homemade fishing rod in one hand and reached eagerly for the basket with his
other hand. Little Theodore ran up behind his brother and tried to fight past
his older siblings to reach Cam, but couldn’t get either of them to budge.
“You
three, stop mauling Miss Johnson!” Mrs. Charmon appeared in the doorway. She
was a tall, middle aged woman, wide-hipped and nearly shapeless after giving
birth to one child after another. Despite the toll her hardships had taken on
her appearance, there was something appealing about her round, open face. When she
smiled a certain way Cam could picture her as the pretty young woman that she
had once been. Mrs. Charmon gave one of those rare smiles just then, when she
caught sight of the basket of food that Cam carried.
She
and the children were excitedly examining the contents of Cam’s basket when a
cheerful yell announced
Similar Books
