Chapter 1 ~ Monticello's Unexpected Guest
September 25, 1792
It had been a quiet, warm evening and the temperatures were slowly dropping as autumn was now upon them at Monticello, as elsewhere. Thomas Jefferson, the man who owned Monticello, sat in his parlor in front of the fireplace, reading over some books and paperwork. In the springtime, he would be leaving for France to be the American ambassador to the French court.
Of course, he was learned in French as well as several other languages, but he liked to read in the different languages and the journals from these other countries, to keep abreast of what was going on politically.
He had been near dozing, when one of the servants came in and seemed agitated.
Jefferson glanced up, put his book aside and said tiredly, “Well Charlie what is it?”
Charlie had a stuttering problem and it was pronounced when he was troubled as he was now.
He said, “Mr.…Mr.…Mr. Jefferson there is a woman outside the door; she looks hurt and some man coming after…after…after her threatening her.”
Standing to his feet, he stretched tiredly; bed was calling and now it seemed that there was some problem brewing outside; well he had best see to it and end it here and now.
The sun was low on the horizon, so there was not but another hour or so left of daylight, but enough that when Jefferson came out onto his front porch he was aghast at the sight before him.
A young woman was running across his lawn, and an older man was running after her with a whip in his hand; and the simple stunning fact was that she was not a Negro, with a master after her. The woman was white, as was the man.
Jefferson stepped down off his front porch, gathered his horse, whip, quickly mounted it, and took off at a quick gallop to meet the interlopers; or at least the man anyway. He could not have any but kind thoughts about a woman who was apparently trying to escape an abusive relationship.
He reined the horse in and stopped in front of the woman. Holding out his hand toward the woman, she gratefully took it as he swung her up on the horse and watched as the man ran breathlessly after her, raised arm and whip in hand.
It was then that he noticed the tear in the young woman’s dress and the stripe mark across her back; apparently, the man had already inflicted harm to this young woman.
This angered Thomas to no end; a man that would dare to hurt a woman in such a fashion deserved whatever wretched end he got and by God, Jefferson would see that he got such a treatment.
The man approached cautiously; he knew damned well who lived here and knew Mr. Jefferson by sight; but not by acquaintance.
In a hoarse and threatening voice the man said, “Just give me back my property Mr. Jefferson. Yeah I know who ya are. I know of ya at least.”
Thomas stared at the man, glinting down at him through cold, glittering eyes smoldering with anger and said in a low voice, “Do not tell me what to do on my property.”
The man then said in a louder voice, “That here is my daughter.”
Jennie cried out and said, “No, you’re my stepfather and you have no right to me; besides I’m an adult now. I can leave if I want.”
The man lurched towards her, grabbed her skirt in his hand, and went to pull her off, when Jefferson quickly shot his whip out and struck the man across the hand, causing the man to fall back in pain. A hateful look crossed his fat features and he said, “You’ll be a sorry ya did that Mr. Jefferson.”
At that moment, Jefferson noted his friend Jimmy Madison was riding up the tree-shaded lane; and at that moment as his attention was pulled away from the young woman, the man grabbed her ankle and pulled her down off the horse; grabbed her hair and started dragging her away.
Thomas turned back away from his friend Madison, who noted the horrific scene playing out in front of his eyes, and both men jumped off their horses and Jefferson strode forward and took his whip, and to Madison’s surprised horror, lashed out and struck the man on his back, tearing his shirt and opening his skin; as that man had apparently done to his stepdaughter.
Thomas motioned for Jimmy to get the girl and take her inside; he had to deal with this vermin for the last time; hopefully.
Since Jimmy did not know what was going on, except that he had never seen his friend lash a man before, he took the young woman who was crying now and led her towards the house, while walking his horse up the drive.
Jennie could hear her stepfather screaming at her, that he would get her; he did not care what it took, he would get her back, and that he had someone interested in marrying her.
As the woman walked up the steps, Jimmy followed and noted with horror the ugly red welt across her back; she had been whipped and like a damned animal at that, Madison thought angrily. Why now he could see why Thomas had whipped that man; and he deserved it too.
He ushered her inside and then said, “Wait here miss. First, what’s your name miss?”
She said tearfully, “Miss Jennie Lewis.”
He sighed and said, “I’m James Madison; I think you know my friend out there is Thomas Jefferson.”
She nodded tearfully and said in a low voice that she was sorry she had brought trouble upon the both men.
He shook his head and said, “Don’t you worry about it Miss Lewis. You came to the right place for help.”
The door opened and closed, while Jennie stood there, clutching her shawl around her torn dress and shivered from fear and cold; it was getting cooler in the evenings now.
Jimmy stood on the porch, and hastened to mount his horse and ride out to where Thomas was still sitting astride his horse, and the man was getting angrier and was near to becoming violent with Jefferson.
He rode out hurriedly, and spun the horse around and faced his friend and said, “What the blazing hell is going on out here? Why the devil isn’t that man gone yet?”
The man snarled at Jimmy and said, “Who the hell are ya? This has nothin’ to do with ya so go on and git.”
Madison stared at the man and said in an ominously low voice, “Don’t tell me what the hell to do. My friend lives here and I’m here for him.”
The man lunged at Madison, who spun his horse around and lunged for him as well; ready to take the man on. If, by God, he wanted to hit on someone, let him take on a man; not a helpless innocent woman.
The whip cracked the air and came down on the man’s backside again, and he roared in pain and this time he turned and left, swearing up and down he would be back.
Thomas sagged visibly and said, “Let’s get back to the house. I’m afraid we’re not through with that devil yet.”
Jimmy swore under his breath and then said hastily, “Did you see what that man did to that poor girl? Who the blazing hell are these people? No not the woman, but the man; what’s his relationship to her?”
Madison hoped he would not say that the man was an irate husband; that would not be good. However, he was relieved, but only mildly to find out that the man was her stepfather.
As they reached the house, they both could see the young woman standing on the porch, shivering with her wrap clutched tightly about her; and tears were in her eyes that much they both could see and it was not any wonder either.
Madison’s legal mind was on overdrive now, trying to think how in the hell that man could even claim her; if he were her stepfather then he had no rights at all, and especially if she were an adult now and Jefferson had said that she said she was to him.
As they dismounted, they each tied their horses to the porch railing and moved quickly up the steps.
Jennie stepped back some and both men noticed and Jimmy sighed; he knew she would be afraid of men in general; hopefully though she could remain here and find some peace and that not all men were brutes and devils.
Thomas said, “What’s your name miss?”
She said quietly, “Miss Jennie Lewis. I already met Mr. Madison here; he had asked my name. I’m sorry about the trouble I’ve brought upon you and your friend here.”
She was trembling with cold and fear but Jefferson sighed and said, “Don’t you worry about it Miss Lewis; I won’t tolerate a man hurting a woman like that; I don’t care who he is or what the relationship is for that matter; but you have nothing to worry about. He has no legal right to you at all; even if you were not an adult. Isn’t that right Jimmy?”
Madison nodded and said, “That’s right Miss Lewis; he’s not your biological father so he has nothing, no rights whatsoever; and even if he were your biological father, you’re an adult so he would still have no rights. We can have him arrested for battery and assault on you, and for threatening Mr. Jefferson here and myself.”
Jennie had not known that he had threatened both men, and she started to cry. It was a heartbreaking sound to hear, and neither man wanted to hear her, so Thomas said rather tensely, “Let’s take her upstairs and put her in the room next to mine; we’ll tend to her wounds, for I don’t think it’s serious enough for the doctor.” Then he turned and left, leaving Madison to follow along, with his hand gently on her arm as he guided her forward.
Copyright @2011 by Melissa Kalson. Do not remove any part of story for any reason at all.
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