Bitter Victory

Book excerpt: Trace Burdette is a Texan who fought for the Union. He returns to claim the farm left to him by his brother who died in a mysterious accident. Trace meets Anne Michaels, his brothers sweetheart and learns she is pregnant. He marries her to save her reputation. Regina Mills, a young woman from Indiana, is recruited by the Freemens Bureau to teach the Negro children. She decides to live at the hotel owned by Annes father. She and Anne become good friends. With the Klu Klux Klan terrorizing the country side, and a yellow fever epidemic raging through Texas, Trace and Grady, his partner, are caught up in the turmoil. The obstacles Trace and Regina face are finally resolved. The north won the war but it was a bitter victory.