The Cursed Journey from Darkness to Love - Dean Brenda Harlow

Why did she do it? What on earth got into her and, the biggest question was, will she go through with it? All these questions, and more were racing through Elizabeth Ann Holden’s mind. Just because she found an advertisement in a magazine, didn’t mean “she” had to answer it, but she did! It appeared there were more men in America than woman and the advertisement was for women. Dear Lord, now who in their right mind would inquire about such a thing? Well, Elizabeth did and now she is about to take a journey that she never expected.

Living in London, England, Elizabeth thought she had a pretty full life. She is in her late twenties, works in a textile mill, has her own small apartment and she has a great friend, Colleen, so why did she send in her responses to this advertisement? She thought long and hard about the prospect of her becoming a “bride” to a man she only knew through letters. Even though her life looks like a great one, it is an empty one. There is no excitement, no expectations about anything and mostly, there is no man. Yes, London is a huge city, full of men, but Elizabeth is, well, too picky. She is pretty, smart, caring and all that but she just doesn’t care about fancy living, and that is all the men around her care about.

Elizabeth would read the letters from a man in Louisiana over and over. His name was Clayton Michael Richardson, a cotton farmer. Good grief, she laughed to herself when she thought about the difference between the men around her in this big city and a cotton farmer, but that cotton farmer was what she soon fell in love with.

After many months of letters, a proposal was offered. Elizabeth could hardly believe the words when she read them. Marriage! Would she go to Louisiana? Travel on a ship that would sail for weeks before docking in New Orleans. Yes, yes, she would. With a long journey in front of her, and she never having been on a ship, she asked if she could bring her best friend, Colleen. Soon there was a return letter with two tickets.  Colleen graciously stating that she would love to go, made that “going” a little easier. Ok, so now all they had to do was go on that ship the “Merchant Knight”, find their sleeping arrangements and enjoy the sail. How hard would that be?

These two young ladies will soon find out that “enjoy the sail” would not be what they would be doing. They would see, for their very first time, a pirate. Yes, in the year 1845, pirates still roamed around the seas looking for ships to board and steal any cargo that ship carried. They would know firsthand how terrifying a thing called a “hurricane” could be out in the ocean. They would see up close, too close, what a Brothel was and what it meant to them. Elizabeth and Colleen would sail on two different ships and dock in places like Ocracoke Island, and Christian Bay. Their lives will come face to face with a Voodoo Queen, some called her a witch doctor. Oh, yes and there is so much more these two will face. Do you think that in all this journey they might have wondered if they should have gotten off the “Merchant Knight” before it sailed? This journey turned from something that the ladies thought would bring great joy to their lives, but shortly, once out at sea, it became a cursed journey of darkness. Will Elizabeth ever see her farmer, Clayton? Come on the journey and see for yourself.