Chapter ONE - Weebly

trickling down his temples, but his pulse was slowing.
“I offered to give the money to Mother,” Holin said,
as they began to walk, the dogs trotting ahead of them.
“But she’s letting me keep it. She says we have enough
and that grandfather will help us if we need more.”
“That’s kind of her,” Ethan said absently, still
watchful.
The truth was Elli didn’t need the money. Her father,
Van Taylor, was still one of the wealthiest shipbuilders
in Boston. And John Harper, Elli’s husband, had been a
successful merchant. When he died, he left her a
spacious stone house in the North End. And if that
wasn’t enough, she owned a small shop just around the
corner from their residence, where she sold lace and
ribbons, silk and satin, catering to the finer tastes of
Boston’s wealthier women.
Ethan was a prisoner when Elli married Harper; he
was still in the cane fields when John died of pleurisy
eight years ago. He could convince himself that during
his years on the plantation he had wished Elli happiness,
knowing that she would not wait for him. But he
couldn’t deny that upon returning to Boston, and