CHAPTER 1

August 28, 1916

From the side yard, Juliette heard someone whistling JohnMcCormack's "Somewhere a Voice Is Calling," but insteadof George Alston, her father's hired man, it was SpencerDavenport, the best-looking boy in town, in her opinion. Shestood and waved to him.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Looking for a lovely lady," he said. "Have you seen any?"he asked, when he reached the porch.

She punched his arm playfully. "What are you really doinghere?"

"I came with my dad to see about some acreage your fatherwants to sell."

"Are you going to buy it?" Juliette asked.

"I'm not. I don't know about Dad." Spencer stepped closer."My, you look pretty. Mind if I steal a kiss?" She touched thered tie on her navy dress with the sailor collar and smiled asSpencer slipped his hands around her tiny waist and pulled herclose to him. At that moment, Nattie, George's wife and theWilcox family's cook, came onto the porch.

"I thought I smelled trouble when I saw you slippingthrough the yard," Nattie said. "Miss Juliette, go in the houseand wait for George."

Juliette bristled. "Why don't you mind your own business?You can't run my life."

Nattie smiled and took a pencil and a small notebook fromthe pocket of her apron and made a mark on one of the pages."Just keep on sassing me. Your daddy knows I charge more towork with sassy girls. What you just said cost him a quarter. Ireckon he'll have a talk with you when my bill gets real high."She tucked the notebook away and wiped her coppery foreheadwith a handkerchief. "As for my business, he said not to leaveyou without a chaperone when young men come calling. Yoursisters will be out here shortly."

Spencer started to say something, but Nattie warned, "Thatgoes for sassy guests too. Now, what was you about to say?"

"I think it's time for me to get going. Nice talking to you,Juliette." He walked around toward the backyard.

Nattie took a pinch of snuff from a small tin and placed itin her cheek. "Mmm hmm. See how quick he leave when heknow there won't be no kissing involved?"

"Who'd want to stay with an old colored woman hangingaround anyway?" Juliette asked, feeling a sting in her conscienceas she said it. Nattie wasn't old, and her skin color shouldn'tmatter.

Nattie calmly took out her notebook and made anothermark. "You still got a few things to learn, girl. That boy thinksyou pretty, but down deep, he don't care about nothing but onething."

"How would you know?" Juliette expected Nattie to makeanother mark in her notebook, but she didn't.

Instead, Nattie spat a stream of tobacco juice into thebushes and said, "I know a lot of things you'll never know." Itstruck Juliette that Nattie would look almost regal standingon the porch in her yellow floral-print dress if she would stopspitting.

A moment later, Juliette's sisters, Mary and Kate, cameout to the porch. Kate glanced about and asked, "Where didhe go, Nattie? I wanted to see Spencer!" She had an urgentlook, as if she'd missed an interview with the prince of Walesor something. Juliette noted that Kate was wearing one of herprettiest dresses, a blue chemise with a bow at the waist. Herhair was pulled back with tortoise shell combs. She glanced overat Mary and rolled her eyes.

"Who knows?" Mary said. "Perhaps he'll fall for a thirteen-year-old girl."

"He likes me. He will want to see me," Kate said.

"He'll want to see you make yourself scarce!" Juliette said.

"Nattie, she's being mean."

Nattie, who was taking another pinch of snuff, said, "Whydon't you go around back and find him?" Kate took off runningdown the steps, and Nattie yelled, "Kate! Walk like a lady!"Mary looked at Juliette and said, "What a great way to getrid of her. Why didn't I think of that?"

Juliette shook her head and said, "Poor Spencer!" and theylaughed.

Their mother stepped outside, and when she found out whythey were laughing, she laughed with them. "Always trying tosteal your beaus," she said. She turned to Nattie and asked, "Areyou up to making a crown roast for dinner tonight?" Nattienodded and followed their mother back into the house. Georgedrove Mr. Wilcox's Studebaker Touring Car around, parked,and opened the back passenger door for Juliette.

As they neared the downtown area, they drove by rows oflovely Victorian homes along a street paved with oaks drapedwith Spanish moss, and Juliette started singing, "Dusk and theshadows falling o'er land and sea; somewhere a voice is calling,calling for me. Dearest, my heart is dreaming, dreaming ofyou," and she stopped to ponder whom her heart was dreamingof because she wasn't sure. It struck her that Nattie was probablyright about Spencer. He'd likely whistle that song for any prettygirl.

"Mighty pretty song. Why'd you stop singing?" Georgeasked.

"George, do you think there's one perfect person foreveryone, and when you find that person you just know it?"George glanced over his shoulder and smiled. "Absolutely—Iknew it the first time I saw Nattie," he said. "Why do youask?"

"Because I want to find whoever my heart is dreaming ofand marry my perfect match. Then, when I get married, it willbe a joyful event, and the whole church will be packed withpeople watching a real live fairy tale unfold before their eyes."She sighed.

George chuckled and said, "I hope you get your wish." Heglanced back and asked, "How come your folks let you take thisjob? Your daddy's got plenty of money."

"I wanted it, but Mom didn't like the idea. Then Daddy saidit would teach me some valuable lessons. In the end, Mom gavein, saying it couldn't hurt since only the finest, most upstandingpeople visit the museum."

George parked in front of the museum, got out, opened thedoor for her, and then walked with her to open the museumdoor for her. She knew he didn't have to do all that, but Georgewas nice. "Good day, Miss Juliette. I'll be back at two o'clock."Juliette lingered in the doorway long enough to hear Georgepick up her song in his rich, clear voice, "Dearest, my heart isdreaming, dreaming of you. Somewhere a voice is calling forme ..." She listened until he pulled away from the curb, andthen she hurried to open the museum's gift shop.

CHAPTER 2

Thomas Fletcher got out of bed carefully before dawn toavoid waking his younger brothers. He knew his motherwould call them to help her soon enough. Moreover, he enjoyedthe stillness of early morning without Ralph and Edward'schatter. Thomas went to the kitchen and lit an oil lantern. Hisback and shoulder muscles were still sore from the day before,when he'd helped his father get in the last of their peanut crop,an early Spanish variety. They had been delighted with the yieldof seventy bushels per acre, but the result of harvesting is alwaysthe same: sheer exhaustion at the end of each day. He figuredJess and Mike, his father's hired hands, were at least a third ofthe way to Birmingham by now with the wagons of peanuts.Of course, they had first gathered the peanut vines to cure forhay to sell to livestock farmers. Thomas put on his boots, whichhe kept near the door, and stepped outside, heading for theouthouse by the back pond behind the house, following a widepath his father had cut through a stand of bamboo before hecame to the clearing. As always, he had to keep an eye out forsnakes and gators. He felt pleased to be the first one up...