Cory and she worked all week to have their chores done by Sunday—the house cleaning, the wood gathering, the privy dump—so that the only thing left was the marketing.The night was broken by two cats fighting in the alley, incessant howls indistinguishable from the screeching cries of babies. Still, Cory and she had risen by the fourth bell to fix a meal and see the Reverend and Sammy off to their day of sermonizing at Garden Court, one of the largestplantations in Louisiana. Cory went back to bed, promising to take care of Joshua and meet her later. Joy went out the door, heading for the stables.Moving south, Joy turned Libertine out of the city. Dawn spread in a violet light, shading everything with an enchanting color, and she let her thoughts rest peacefully on the awakening of the day. She found her way onto the back road, then lead Libertine onto the old, Indian hunting path, winding to the lake. Of course, there was an unlikely chance of meeting him on one of his queer runs but this, she told herself, was not the reason she chose the old hunting path.
