My Father's Mistress

About My Father's Mistress: On February 29th, 1740, in Port London, England, a baby girl is born to Amy and Liam Malone. They name her, Mary Catherine. Her father fancies himself to be a poet, a charmer and a captivating spinner of yarns. He is enslaved by a mistress, a she-devil-bitch from hell that lives in a bottle of fine Irish whiskey. When Mary Catherine is six years old, her mother disappears into fates unknown. It is suspected that Amy ended an overwhelming depression by jumping from Putney Bridge into the Thames. The last time Mary Catherine saw her mother was on that bridge. 1856 – Port London: “Da, I have someone that I want you to meet.” Catie comes home, bringing with her a gentleman named Charles Ross, of Ross Brothers Shipping. Mister Ross wears a gentleman’s suit and sports a clean shaven face. He states his case as representing a certain Colonel Beecham and the Missus Beecham, among others, who are well respected owners of large estates, or plantations, in the Colonies. He is not without purpose as he launches into his spiel: “The Beechams have instructed me to search for, and engage, an educated and honest young girl from your St. Hilda’s School, here in Port London; a girl who is bright and speaks well the King’s English. Reverend Dobson has suggested that your daughter, Mary Catherine might be an excellent candidate for this opportunity. “Mary Catherine would come to live with the Beechams on their plantation. Their plantation, called Beecham’s Folly, among other things, produces a goodly amount of tobacco for export. Mary Catherine would work in the big house, at the pleasure of the Missus. Other servants are cooks and cleaning slaves. They will be known as house slaves. Other slaves will be working in the fields, clearing land, caring for the animals, and tending the tobacco crop. The young girl selected, would work for the Beechams as an indentured servant for a period of five years. After that period of five years, having repaid the cost of her voyage to Philadelphia, Mary Catherine would be free to go elsewhere; free from servitude in a land of opportunity. “There will be other girls of the same caliber, who will go to other such homes. I am paid for my services by several such wealthy landowners in America. I have been successful in my endeavors for the past four years. Mary Catherine would be making the voyage with two other young girls. They will be met on arrival by my brother, named Kelvin Ross. He will deliver the girls safely to their proper destinations.” Ross pulls out a pipe; puts tobacco in his pipe, strikes a match and begins to puff away. He looks quite pleased with himself. “This tobacco, of course, is imported from the Colonies,” says he. He continues: “After chatting with your young Mary Catherine at her school, and on Reverend Dobson’s recommendation, I feel confident that the Beechams would be happy and proud to have Mary Catherine to come and live with them at Beecham’s Folly. Think on it over night and give me your answer in the morning.” On this horrendous crossing, they survive violent storms, dastardly pirates, starvation, rats, kidnapping, madness, falling in love and finally making port in America, over four months after their anticipated arrival. They will have survived one hundred and sixty-three days at sea. My Father’s Mistress is told to the reader, individually, by each character, in a braided style; likening to a Rashomon telling. It is a historical fiction, acquainting three young girls with good and evil, lust and love, life and death, and the struggles involved in the birth of a new nation. As in any birth, these are painful times. Living through the American Revolution, along with a few Indian wars, Cate is a survivor, without sacrificing her integrity. She had never before experienced a society that condoned and promoted slavery. Her closest friend turns out to be a slave girl named Elsie. Cate and Elsie maintain their close relationship for a lifetime.