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Chapters (153)
  1. Beulah Land
  2. Dedication
  3. PART ONE
  4. 1
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5
  9. 6
  10. 7
  11. 8
  12. 9
  13. 10
  14. 11
  15. 12
  16. 13
  17. 14
  18. 15
  19. 16
  20. 17
  21. 18
  22. 19
  23. 20
  24. 21
  25. 22
  26. PART TWO
  27. 1
  28. 2
  29. 3
  30. 4
  31. 5
  32. 6
  33. 7
  34. 8
  35. 9
  36. 10
  37. 11
  38. 12
  39. 13
  40. 14
  41. 15
  42. 16
  43. 17
  44. 18
  45. 19
  46. 20
  47. 21
  48. 22
  49. 23
  50. PART THREE
  51. 1
  52. 2
  53. 3
  54. 4
  55. 5
  56. 6
  57. 7
  58. 8
  59. 9
  60. 10
  61. 11
  62. 12
  63. 13
  64. 14
  65. 15
  66. 16
  67. 17
  68. 18
  69. 19
  70. 20
  71. 21
  72. 22
  73. 23
  74. 24
  75. PART FOUR
  76. 1
  77. 2
  78. 3
  79. 4
  80. 5
  81. 6
  82. 7
  83. 8
  84. 9
  85. 10
  86. 11
  87. 12
  88. 13
  89. 14
  90. 15
  91. 16
  92. 17
  93. 18
  94. 19
  95. 20
  96. 21
  97. 22
  98. 23
  99. 24
  100. PART FIVE
  101. 1
  102. 2
  103. 3
  104. 4
  105. 5
  106. 6
  107. 7
  108. 8
  109. 9
  110. 10
  111. 11
  112. 12
  113. 13
  114. 14
  115. 15
  116. 16
  117. 17
  118. 18
  119. 19
  120. 20
  121. 21
  122. 22
  123. PART SIX
  124. 1
  125. 2
  126. 3
  127. 4
  128. 5
  129. 6
  130. 7
  131. 8
  132. 9
  133. 10
  134. 11
  135. 12
  136. 13
  137. 14
  138. 15
  139. 16
  140. 17
  141. 18
  142. 19
  143. PART SEVEN
  144. 1
  145. 2
  146. 3
  147. 4
  148. 5
  149. 6
  150. 7
  151. 8
  152. Copyright
  153. Books by Lonnie Coleman published by Classica Libris (digital editions)

The three ladies were settled in the open carriage, and Leon took the driver’s seat and off they went. Nell and Penelope engaged each other in comfortable conversation that mentioned without going into the two unsettling marriages the ladies’ families had been party to since last meeting in Savannah.

It was a warm day, but clear and dry. There had been rain recently, so the foliage along the way had its own fresh color, yet the clay road was hard enough to be driven upon without creating clouds of dust. Leon felt good, and somehow, suddenly important. He sat erect in the driver’s seat, conscious of his muscle and that of the two horses that drew the carriage along to Beulah Land. They moved at a nice clip, not so fast as to blur the passing scenery and jostle the occupants of the carriage, nor so slow as to bore and tire them.

Sarah found herself surprisingly relaxed after the journey they had made, and ready to enjoy whatever came next. As the two older women found much to talk about, she was left pleasantly to herself on the other seat. She looked about and liked what she saw of the country the clay road cut through. Fields of cultivated land on both sides alternated with wooded areas and a bridge over a branch of the creek.

At one point Leon turned briefly, keeping his eyes on the horses and his hands on the reins, to say, “Beulah Land begins here—everything we pass until we get to the door is Beulah Land!” It was more than information, it was happy boast, and they all laughed with pleasure in him. Having laughed, the two older ladies resumed their conversation about back pain, and Sarah looked about, from one side of the road to the other, up, and once back, and then far to the horizon, and thought: Beulah Land, all of this is Beulah Land.

The fullness of its impact, that of the earth itself with all its promise, caused her to look at Leon in a new way. This Beulah Land would be his. Her thought was neither ambitious nor calculating. She saw that the land was beautiful, and that driving over it, Leon took on a presence, a personal importance she had never felt in him when they met in Savannah, where he had always appeared to be somewhat frivolous, somehow furtive or secret, and often bored. Here he was at home in all ways.