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Zippora?"
    The old woman took the drying cloth from Liberty and hung it on a peg. "That was thirteen years ago. My beautiful Marie was brutally attacked by two white, so- called gentlemen, who were on a drunken spree. When I learned she was going to have a baby, I brought her here. Reuben was born the night my daughter died. He is simple-minded and cannot speak. None of my medicine will cure him. But what my grandson lacks in intelligence, he was gifted with in his heart. He is of a kind and loving nature. He is my joy in life. In him I see much of Beau."
    "Oh, Zippora, what a lonely life you have lived. Have you no friends?"
    "No . . . but I have had the added joy of watching you grow up. You cannot know how your presence has often brightened up my loneliness. Just watching you with the animals brought me pleasure. I dared not approach you, fearing you would be frightened and never return to the swamp, and I would never see you again."
    Liberty brushed a tear from her cheek. "May I come to see you again?"
    "Come whenever you want to, Liberty Boudreaux. You will always find a welcome for you in this house. Come to me and I will teach you the social graces that are lacking in your education." Zippora pressed a bright red tin into Liberty's hand. "This is another gift for you."
    "What is it?"
    "It is a special scent that I made for you several months ago. I thought I might leave it for you to find in the swamp, but decided against it. You must use it to wash your hair and put it in your bath. It is a scent that will be distinctly you. No one else will ever match it."
    "How can I thank you for your kindness?"
    "There is no need to thank me. We are friends, you and I, Liberty."
    Liberty was having such a good time she was reluctant to leave. "I must go now. Thank you for rescuing me, and thank you for the lovely ring. I am glad you shared your beautiful story with me."
    Zippora turned toward the door and nodded. "Go, Liberty. You must be home before dark."
    Liberty was almost light-hearted as she skipped down the path on the way to the bayou where she had left her skiff. Deep inside she knew that, after meeting Zippora, her life would never be the same. She had found a friend in the most unexpected place. She could not wait to show Bandera the wondrous ring the old voodoo woman had given her.

 
    3
     
    Briar Oaks Plantation
    The afternoon was hot and steamy as Liberty dragged her boat up on the grassy slope and ran toward the stately, old plantation house. She was so accustomed to the house, that she did not notice the chipped and cracking paint on the barns and outbuildings, or the shutters and doors that needed repairing at the main house. As to the inside, many of the valuable paintings and rugs had been discreetly sold, but even though the furniture was in need of covering, there was still an elegance about the rooms, a hint of the bygone luxury that had been enjoyed by long-dead Boudreaux ancestors.
    Liberty saw an all too familiar buggy pull out of the driveway, and she wrinkled her nose in distaste. She did not like Sebastian Montesquieu, who was becoming a frequent visitor at Briar Oaks. Though he was not to Liberty's taste, her mother seemed to have singled him out as a prospective husband for Liberty's sister, Bandera. Sebastian was the nephew of Gustave Montesquieu, and the only heir, to the vast Bend of the River Plantation. Yet something about Sebastian made Liberty's skin crawl. She did not know how Bandera could endure the thought of having him as her husband.
    Breathing a sigh of relief, she stepped behind a pine tree and watched Sebastian depart. At least she would not have to face him today. She hastily ran her fingers through her tangled curls, then tried to press the creases out of her muddy gown by running her hands down the skirt. She was glad that Zippora had mended the tear—it hardly showed at all. If only she could make it to her room without being discovered. Neither her mother nor Bandera would have