The first Virginia Rose died at the age of 37 in 1773. Now the Roses are nearing the first dozen and every Rose dies at or right before 37. In 1991, Number 11 makes some bad choices and needs the assistance of a lawyer to possibly keep her out of jail for a lengthy time. During the counseling and after the trial, she keeps on seeing and dating him. Their love grows and she opens her past to him. John becomes nearly obsessed with her and opens himself to the spirit of Virginia Rose One and she leads him and drives him to find why and how she died and how to break a 200-year curse on the family.
Excerpt:
A merciless sun beats down through a cloudless sky, scorching the earth and threatening to turn it into powder. The same threat was applied to the man who lay face down beside the road. The shade of the trees was of little help against the rays that burned through the parched leaves and attacked him in many spots. He had lain in the dust for hours, hoping the lack of movement would spare him a heat stroke. Although he occasionally dozed from boredom, he thought more frequently than rested.
Of one thing he was sure, the one fact in his life was the secret that the whole world realized and shared; Bower’s Point, in the Province of Delaware, was the last stop on earth. The dying seaport was empty of life; it was the catchall for the hopeless, the washed-up, the low-life people. Bower’s Point was the handbasket filled with rejects resigned to descend into hell. Those who came, stayed, suffered, and died there. There was no way out and no hope for the ones trapped in Bower’s Point.
He felt a nudge and lazily opened one eye. He saw a set of toes covered with dust and dried mud. He opened the eye wider and saw a small ankle that disappeared into the folds of a brown skirt. It intrigued him enough to move his head and open both eyes. The skirt faded from age and wear but was clean, ended at the woman’s waist, and was topped by a once white, but now faded yellowish blouse, partially covered with a light brown cloak.
The woman’s tanned face had a weathered look as if she was the spouse of a farmer. Her cheeks were dimpled and soft. Her nose was small and slightly tucked under at the tip. Her hazel brown eyes looked at him with concern. Her jet-black hair surrounding her face fell straight and tangled now, but he could see the past effects of curling above the ears and at the nape of her neck. A faded yellow scarf was tied loosely around her head.
“Are you dying?” she asked when he had looked at her for a moment.
“No, I’m not dead yet.” He moved a little, shifted his body, yawned, and stretched his muscles. “I may look dead, but I was just trying to stay calm and hoping the sun wouldn’t bake me before it sets.”
“Pity,” she said. “I hoped to claim your coat to keep me warm this coming winter.”
“That wasn’t very nice, Miss,” he frowned.
A tiny smile fluttered across her face. “Since you’ve known me, have I ever claimed to be nice?”
“Who are you?” he asked, still frowning. “Where did you come from? I haven’t seen you here before.”
“I’m Virginia Rose,” she said, bowing her head slightly. “I came here from Philadelphia. It’s taken me a while to get here. In fact, I just arrived. That’s why you haven’t seen me. Were you looking for me?”
He shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck with a parched, wrinkled hand. “Why the bloody hell would I be looking for you?” he growled and stretched again.
“Pity. It’s been like that my whole life. No one has ever looked for me, but they ask about me. Who’s that? Virginia Rose, who? Never heard of her. Where did she come from? Wish she’d go back.”
“Well, I wasn’t looking for Virginia Rose, I’m sorry to say. But you look like you were a fine young woman once.”
She raised her brows and delivered a snappy response. “I beg your pardon. You told me I wasn’t very nice, wishing to keep warm this winter. Now, look at you.
You’ve become intimate with me, and you insulted my looks. You have a lot of nerve, sir!”
His frown deepened. “I’ve not become intimate with you! I haven’t touched you at all!”
“Pity. “That’s in line with no one looking for me. It’s depressing, you know. I mean, you know my name and where I’m from. Then you tell me I’m old and no longer pretty. It would be best if you looked at yourself. I think you are older than dirt, and I’ll bet you your coat that I’m younger than you.”
She sat beside him. “Well?”
He suddenly laughed at her expression. “I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean it as an insult. I meant I should have been looking for you many years ago when you were. . . So maybe I’d better think of something else to say.”
She laughed and threw her head back. “Well, since you know me, would it be possible for me to know you?”
“That’s fair enough. I’m Captain Merriweather, ex-captain of the tall ship The Willow. I’m originally from London, England. Now I sit here at this last stop before hell and wait for the end of my life. If you wish to live and be a part of the world, Virginia, my advice is to move on. Move anywhere except to Bower’s Point.”
She smiled. “Thanks, Captain. Do people call you that?”
He nodded. “Most do. My first name is Nathan.”
“I’ll call you that then.” She crossed her legs and spread out her skirt.
“I’m hungry. Can you feed me?”
“Are you crazy? I have a bloody hard enough time just keeping myself alive.”
“No, I’m not crazy. I asked if you could feed me. I take your answer to mean no since you are a hard man. You should be glad I’m not your mother. I’d take a switch to you if you were my son. I’d not be sparing the rod on such an unruly person.”
“I’m bloody happy I’m not your son! What is the point of this? Why didn’t you keep going? Why did you stop to bother my sleep?”
“Why were you sleeping anyway?” she asked. Inwardly she enjoyed the distress her presence created. She admired his self-control.
“Because there’s no work today. The nets have all gone out on the boats, and I went for a walk. If I bloody want to sleep, I will, whether you like it or not!”
She reached into her skirt pocket, took out two apples, and handed one to him. “It never hurts to ask, sir. I wouldn’t have known your name if I hadn’t asked you. You learn by asking and listening to what’s said. But I do hope you won’t be this way forever. You will only make life more difficult for yourself.”
He looked at the apple and then at her. He thought to himself, “This is strange. What’s she looking for? She can’t be interested in me. She looks like she comes from a wealthy family. Watch yourself and your pockets, Nathan. She’ll knock you on the head when you’re not looking. Then, when you wake, your coat, pants, and money will be gone.”
“I know I could have walked on,” she said. “I also could have taken a rock and done you in. Then I would have your coat, shirt, pants, and shoes. However, that isn’t me.”
She took a bite from her apple and chewed slowly. “I married when I was thirteen, and my mama said it was high time for me. I’ve lived alone for many years since my husband decided he had to go west and seek his fortune. Instead, he found his death and a grave somewhere there. As you said, I’m not the young woman I was when I was seventeen. Right now, I’m twenty and worried about the future and what will happen to me. I’m lonely, but I’m not the kind of woman who can hang out in taverns and earn money that way. That isn’t a life; that’s a living death.
“Five years I’ve been alone. I’ve wandered from Philadelphia to here. Why did I stop to talk to you? I don’t know. You didn’t seem to be an unkind person, lying there sleeping. I still think you’re nice even though you try to be as mean as a baited bear now that I woke you up. So, don’t pretend to be bitter with me or life.”
“Agreed, but you still haven’t answered my question. Why did you choose me?”