nd was an imposing fortress

room darkened, a grim-faced doctor hovering. The pat

ion. "Father, this is Scarlett Hayes. S

grunted, a hand pre

forward, her vo

Hayes, was a practitioner of traditional Southern healing. She had remedies for ai

ared at Scarlett, truly seeing her for the first time. The resembla

aint, almost lost to time,

he whispered,

pain, old love, current des

use?" he asked, a sliv

herbal compress, a unique infu

stured dismissively. "They do nothing

d, then faintly amused. This

precise. The scent of the herbs, earthy and soothing, filled the

patriarch' s face began to soften. Th

eath. "Remarkable," he m

dull ache, Charles Sr. looked at Scarle

ng with my son...

born from a deep respect for you, sir. For your legacy, your strength. A man of your stature is a rare thing, a

ess, in her eyes. He was flattered by her words, int

this young woman who looked so much like his