Etienne, born to an irish father and a French mother, on Christmas Eve 1841, had spent the majority of his life in servitude. When his parents were killed in a factory accident two days after his twelfth birthday, the man who had been their employer, in what appeared to be an act of kindness, took him and his younger sister, Isabelle, in. What the outside world did not know was that from the moment they had arrived at Eccles Manor, they had become slaves almost for the cruel and vicious Jefferson Eccles and his son Jefferson Jnr. Etienne could see no way to survive and continue to try and protect his precious sister from the cruelty of their masters without submitting to whatever beatings they subjected him to.
An extremely attractive man at 5’11” tall with broad muscular shoulders from years of hard work, his brown hair shaggy, his skin golden tanned. Wide brown eyes sparkled from a clean shaven face, his mouth full and sensuous, the faint irish accent he still carried from his infancy spent in his native Ireland, made him even more attractive to the young maids of the house.
He had, however, never, shown any interest in any of the girls who were more than happy to make his acquaintance until Bernie arrived at the Manor. From the instant he had first laid eyes on her, he had loved her and wanted nothing more than to protect her. He knew that she was in love with another but he couldn’t help himself. If he couldn’t have her, he would do anything in his power to take her away from her cruel and heartless husband and return her to her love.
At first glance Isabelle appeared to be a quiet reserved young girl, more than happy to spend her life working at Eccles Manor. But appearances could be deceiving.
Born on Valentines Day 1843, and at 5’8” tall she was almost as tall as her brother, but that was where the similarities ended. Her waist length blue-black hair hung down her back in thick ringlets, her skin porcelain clear, her eyes the colour of cornflowers in bloom, her Irish accent thicker than her brothers, she spent her hours at the Manor in mortal fear of her employer. Several times now he had made advances toward her and only sheer luck had kept her virtue intact. She knew that she had to find a way to escape the Manor without Etienne knowing about their masters actions, but she also knew that her time was running out.
She had felt an instant kinship with young Bernie, and had tried to help her whatever way she could. Bernie had spent hours talking to her of the friendly family she had left in a little town called Sweetwater, endearing the town and the people to Isabelle. She had contacted the people that Bernie had told her about and now it appeared the only way to save her was to try and make it out west before Jefferson caught them., because Isabelle had not a doubt in her mind that he would kill them when he found them.
The junior business partner of Bernice Williams’ grandfather, Jefferson Eccles practically bought his wife in an attempt to ingratiate himself with the old man.
Almost 40 years of age he, didn’t really look his age with his close cropped hair only having twinges of gray at the temples, but he had no qualms about having a sixteen year old wife. A huge heavy set man he was well over six feet all and with a muscular physique and being his wife’s grandfather junior business partner, he realised that his wife was frightened of him and used that to his advantage whenever he could. Beating her frequently, he took great pleasure in seeing the attraction his man servant felt for Bernie and used it against him whenever he could.
His eyes, a clear crystal blue, and his thin lips often pressed together in a cruel thin line, told volumes of the ice that ran through his veins, he ran his household with an iron glove, not at all dismayed by the frequent beatings he heaped on his household staff. He was a heartless, manipulative man who knew exactly what he wanted and God forbid any person who stood in his way.
