I have added a SECOND excerpt from this book, below this first one:
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Struthers sat up in bed and squinted at the man, backlit from a light in the hall. “Wha- Lucky, is that you? What the hell you doin’ in Cheyenne? I left you back in the Dakotas.”
The man approached the bed. Suddenly, Struthers eyes opened and he was wide awake. “Hold on. You ain’t Lucky-“
The man lashed out with the butt of his pistol, catching Struthers flush on the right side of his head. He fell back with a groan..
The intruder ignored the form of Struthers. Instead, he went to Struthers’s coat, checking the pockets. From the interior pocket he withdrew the wallet and put it in his own coat pocket. He also removed another small object and put it in his pocket. Finally, he took a gold pocket watch from the night stand.
Quietly checking the hall and seeing no one up and about, the robber exited, closing the door latch almost silently. He then disappeared down the back stairs.
In the room, Struthers lay still, a growing pool of blood forming behind his head and soaking into the fine feather bed.
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Mason held up his hand. “Mrs. Sweeny, first, understand that what I am about to tell you I have not told anyone for over fifteen years. Second, I am not offering this as an excuse for my behavior. Far from it. I just want you to know the truth about me. Afterwards, I will take my leave, and you can judge me as you will.”
Sweeny’s eyes narrowed, and then widened. She was taken aback by not only Mason’s words but by the intensity with which he said them.
Mason looked down at his hands, folded in his lap. He began quietly.
“Odd knows I was originally from Virginia. Of course, Odd is a good fellow and is not prone to spreading gossip. I don’t know if anyone else in town knows, although a few may have guessed, because of my eastern accent.
“I was raised on a small plantation in the eastern part of that state. My lineage was a proud one. I was a descendant of George Mason, one of our country’s founding fathers. That individual was a well-respected plantation owner in his own right. He had twelve children, and, one of the males, who was a bit on the wild side, had an assignation with a young lady from a neighboring plantation. What resulted was an unexpected pregnancy. The girl was sent away to live with cousins for the duration of her confinement.
“She returned early the next year with a baby boy. George Mason was both angry and mortified by this development, and he did his best to keep the affair quiet. In one respect, Laramie and antebellum Virginia were alike. Here, the town is still small enough that everyone else knows everyone else’s business. There, everyone knew everyone else’s business because we all seemed to be related. George Washington married a Custis, the Custises were related to the Lees, and on and on.
“The elder Mason could not keep the affair and resultant bastard totally quiet, but, since it happened more often than you might think- often with slaves and masters, too- gossip died down through the years. The boy, whom Mason grudgingly allowed to carry the surname Mason, grew to adulthood, and, per a secret agreement between the families, inherited property from both sides of the family, enough to have a small plantation of his own.
“That man was my grandfather.”
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This represents a portion of the prologue and the last chapter. All you have to do is buy it and find out what happens in the middle!
-Roger
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Struthers sat up in bed and squinted at the man, backlit from a light in the hall. “Wha- Lucky, is that you? What the hell you doin’ in Cheyenne? I left you back in the Dakotas.”
The man approached the bed. Suddenly, Struthers eyes opened and he was wide awake. “Hold on. You ain’t Lucky-“
The man lashed out with the butt of his pistol, catching Struthers flush on the right side of his head. He fell back with a groan..
The intruder ignored the form of Struthers. Instead, he went to Struthers’s coat, checking the pockets. From the interior pocket he withdrew the wallet and put it in his own coat pocket. He also removed another small object and put it in his pocket. Finally, he took a gold pocket watch from the night stand.
Quietly checking the hall and seeing no one up and about, the robber exited, closing the door latch almost silently. He then disappeared down the back stairs.
In the room, Struthers lay still, a growing pool of blood forming behind his head and soaking into the fine feather bed.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mason held up his hand. “Mrs. Sweeny, first, understand that what I am about to tell you I have not told anyone for over fifteen years. Second, I am not offering this as an excuse for my behavior. Far from it. I just want you to know the truth about me. Afterwards, I will take my leave, and you can judge me as you will.”
Sweeny’s eyes narrowed, and then widened. She was taken aback by not only Mason’s words but by the intensity with which he said them.
Mason looked down at his hands, folded in his lap. He began quietly.
“Odd knows I was originally from Virginia. Of course, Odd is a good fellow and is not prone to spreading gossip. I don’t know if anyone else in town knows, although a few may have guessed, because of my eastern accent.
“I was raised on a small plantation in the eastern part of that state. My lineage was a proud one. I was a descendant of George Mason, one of our country’s founding fathers. That individual was a well-respected plantation owner in his own right. He had twelve children, and, one of the males, who was a bit on the wild side, had an assignation with a young lady from a neighboring plantation. What resulted was an unexpected pregnancy. The girl was sent away to live with cousins for the duration of her confinement.
“She returned early the next year with a baby boy. George Mason was both angry and mortified by this development, and he did his best to keep the affair quiet. In one respect, Laramie and antebellum Virginia were alike. Here, the town is still small enough that everyone else knows everyone else’s business. There, everyone knew everyone else’s business because we all seemed to be related. George Washington married a Custis, the Custises were related to the Lees, and on and on.
“The elder Mason could not keep the affair and resultant bastard totally quiet, but, since it happened more often than you might think- often with slaves and masters, too- gossip died down through the years. The boy, whom Mason grudgingly allowed to carry the surname Mason, grew to adulthood, and, per a secret agreement between the families, inherited property from both sides of the family, enough to have a small plantation of his own.
“That man was my grandfather.”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This represents a portion of the prologue and the last chapter. All you have to do is buy it and find out what happens in the middle!
-Roger