Softly Blows the Bugle

by Jan Drexler

  He pulled the right-hand drawer open and felt underneath. The certificate was gone.

  Solomon burst out of his study and grabbed the buggy whip from its holder.

  “Dulcey!” He let his voice carry all of his rage as he thrust the kitchen door open. “Dulcey!”

  He found her in the pantry, cowering behind a barrel of flour. Grabbing her hair, he pulled her out into the open and shook her.

  “You traitor. You helped Elizabeth betray me. No one crosses me, Dulcey. No one.”

  He threw her to the floor and raised his whip. The beating only fed his rage rather than satisfy his appetite. He struck the woman at his feet until the whip broke, then resorted to kicking, but nothing gave him the release he needed. Not even her sobs as she curled on the floor, begging him to stop.

  He finally turned away from her, exhausted but not sated. He staggered up the stairs and fell onto his bed, cradling his pillow to his stomach. If she survived, Dulcey would never cross him again. But she wouldn’t have done so today if she hadn’t been coerced by Elizabeth.

  Gripping the pillow in his fingers, he imagined Elizabeth’s slim arms in his hands. The pain in her eyes as he gripped harder, his fingers sinking deep into her flesh, then he ripped his hands down and out, tearing the pillow in two. He lay back on the bed as feathers drifted around him. Someday he would have Elizabeth in his hands, and she would know the power of his wrath.

  Aaron finished his work at the harness shop just before supper. He declined Casper’s invitation to stay for the meal and started the walk home.

  Home? He chuckled as he got into the rhythm of his stride. The Weavers’ farm had become home for now, with Lydia mothering him as well as Jonas, and Abraham willing to give fatherly advice. Aaron watched Abraham’s interactions with Jonas carefully. His own father had lost touch with his family and with reality when Aaron’s mother died in childbirth, disappearing into the woods for days and weeks at a time while Grandpop had raised Aaron. As wonderful as Grandpop had been, he wasn’t Aaron’s father. Witnessing Abraham and Jonas together gave him an idea of what he had lost, but also gave him hope that someday he could be that kind of father with his own children.

  Supper was ready when he arrived at the Weavers’, but Lydia wasn’t there.

  “She went to help Susanna Lehman with her lying in,” Abraham said as he flipped hotcakes on the stove. “She’ll likely be there all night, so the three of us will be bachelors for supper.”

  “Datt always makes hotcakes when Mamm is gone at suppertime,” Jonas said as he took a bottle of maple syrup from one of the cupboards and put it on the table.

  “That’s right.” Abraham moved six hotcakes from the griddle to a covered plate inside the oven. “Easy to fix and easy to clean up.”

  Abraham had made enough hotcakes to feed the entire church, Aaron thought, but somehow the three of them managed to eat half of them.

  “Don’t worry about the leftovers,” Jonas said as Aaron patted his full stomach. “We’ll have them for breakfast, warmed up and rolled around sausage links. There’s nothing like it.”

  After they finished eating, Abraham asked, “You’re working at the Zooks’ every day now, aren’t you?”

  Aaron leaned back in his chair. “Casper has me doing small jobs to help out, but I’m learning as I go. Every week there’s something new to work on.”

  “Have you heard what Elizabeth is going to do now that that old cabin is destroyed?” Jonas asked.

  “She hasn’t said anything to me about it. I’m just glad we were able to keep the fire from spreading.”

  Abraham stood and started clearing the table. “I’ve worried about that old well, sitting so close to the house. Reuben never repaired the cover, but so far it has held up. Now that no one is living there, we’ll need to either fill it in or make the cover safe before one of the children falls in.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that,” said Jonas. “I’ll work on that tomorrow morning. We don’t have any farm work pending, do we, Datt?”

  “The oats are cut and shocked, and the hay is cut. It needs another day or two to cure, and then we’ll be able to start hauling it to the barn. So, tomorrow would be a good day for that project. I’ll help you with it.”

  Aaron hadn’t thought about the dangers of that old well. As he had been hauling buckets of water up out of it, he hadn’t been able to see the bottom. But he had to drop the bucket down at least twenty feet before it hit water, and he had no idea how far the bottom might be.

  “Are there many wells like that one around the area?”

  Abraham sat at the table again and ran his fingers through his beard as he thought. “The original landholders in the last century didn’t always build homes on their land grants, so there are only a few. I think I remember there being an old log house on Abel Patterson’s place, about the same age as the one on Reuben Kaufman’s farm. Abel never lived in that old place though, so I don’t know if it’s still there. But there’s always a possibility that a well existed there at one time. The other farm from that time is where Gideon and Ruby live now. The house was rebuilt, and they updated the place when they got married a few years ago. They still use that old well, although they’ve cleaned it out and built a new cover for it with a windlass. Old root cellars and springhouses hold the same dangers, though. No telling how many of those are around the old homesteads.”

  Jonas and Aaron washed the dishes and straightened the kitchen for the morning.

  “I’m going over to see Katie before it gets dark,” Jonas said.

  “I’ll walk with you as far as the road.” Aaron grabbed his cane. “I haven’t heard Elizabeth’s pony cart go past yet.”

  “Didn’t you say she was at Ruby’s this afternoon? She probably stayed and had supper with them.”

  “You’re right, but still, I’m uneasy about it. She should have gone home by now. The sun is going down.”

  Jonas grinned as they left the house and walked toward the stone bridge. “It sounds like you’re putting your claim on her, worrying like that.”

  “Would you mind?” Aaron grinned back. “I don’t think she would.”

  “I think it would be wonderful if you became part of the family. I’m looking forward to it.”

  “Don’t give out congratulations yet,” Aaron said. “She hasn’t said she would marry me.”

  “She will.” Jonas stopped on the bridge. “She wouldn’t dare turn you down, or she would have to answer to me.”

  “I think the woman knows her own mind.”

  Aaron chuckled as his friend continued onto the road and turned toward Katie’s house. But even with the bantering, his unease continued until he finally saw Elizabeth’s pony cart coming down the road. She saw him and turned into the farm lane.

  “You look like you’re waiting for someone.” Her smile was calm.

  “Did you have a good time with Ruby?”

  She nodded. “It’s always good to spend time with her. Even if I’m feeling sad, she never fails to lift my spirits.”

  Aaron stepped to the side so he could see the road more clearly. Up the hill, someone was coming, staggering with an uneven gait. Elizabeth turned to see what he was watching.

  “It’s Dulcey.” She moved over in her seat. “Get in the cart, Aaron. It looks like she needs help.”

  Elizabeth turned the cart around and urged her pony into a quick trot. By the time they reached Dulcey, she had fallen in the middle of the road. Elizabeth handed the reins to Aaron and ran to her.

  “Dulcey! Are you all right? What happened?” Elizabeth, as small as she was, pulled the other woman up off the ground, cradling her shoulders in her arms.

  Aaron drove the pony closer to the two women, then eased out of the cart. “Is she badly hurt?”

  “I don’t know. She has blood all over and she has lost consciousness. Can you help me get her into the cart? We need to take her to Mamm.”

  Aaron braced his legs and lifted the young woman’s shoulders while Eli
zabeth carried her legs. They laid her carefully in the back of the pony cart. Elizabeth climbed in with her and held her head on her lap.

  “Hurry, Aaron. We have to get her home.”

  “Lydia isn’t there,” he said as he climbed onto the seat of the cart. “She’s gone to be with someone during their lying in.”

  “We’ll still take Dulcey there. We can clean her up and help her the best we can until Mamm gets home.”

  Aaron drove slowly to keep the cart steady until they reached the hitching rail at the kitchen door of the Weavers’ house. Abraham came out to meet them.

  “What is wrong?”

  “It’s Dulcey. She’s hurt, badly. We have to help her.”

  Abraham lifted the slight woman out of the back of the cart and carried her in while Aaron held the door open. Elizabeth went into the front room and lit the lamp.

  “Aaron, if you bring a sheet to cover the couch, we can lay her there.”

  She hovered nearby while Aaron got a sheet from the cabinet under the stairs and spread it on the couch. Abraham laid Dulcey down.

  “I’ll fetch Lydia’s clean nightdress,” he said, then looked at Aaron. “We’ll need hot water, a basin, and some clean cloths.”

  Aaron nodded and headed for the kitchen, but before he left the room, he looked back. Elizabeth bent over her friend, wiping her face with the edge of her skirt. Where he came from, white women didn’t treat the black women like that, but he could see the love in Elizabeth’s expression. Nothing would keep her from helping Dulcey the best she could.

  He smiled as he went to the stove and lit the fire laid for the morning. Maybe that was one reason why his love for Elizabeth was growing stronger every day. She was always surprising him.

  By the time Aaron brought a basin of hot water and Datt found Mamm’s clean nightdress, Dulcey had woken up.

  She groaned and tried to sit up.

  “Shh,” Elizabeth said, holding on to her friend’s shoulders. “You stay right there. We need to get you cleaned up and bandaged.”

  Aaron and Datt left the house, leaving the two women alone.

  “He knows.” Dulcey grasped Elizabeth’s arm. “Masta Solomon, he knows you was in the study.”

  Ice water froze Elizabeth’s veins. “Did he do this to you?”

  Dulcey nodded and took a washcloth from Elizabeth’s hands. She tried washing her face with it, but Elizabeth took it back and carefully dabbed at the drying blood.

  “He’s a hard man. I tried to warn you,” Dulcey said.

  Elizabeth nodded, tears filling her eyes. “It’s my fault, Dulcey. I talked you into helping me.” She rinsed the cloth and started washing the cuts on Dulcey’s legs.

  Her friend shook her head. “There’s no one to blame but Masta Solomon. You didn’t hold no whip, did you? He did this himself.”

  “I need to wash your clothes, there is blood all over them. You can wear Mamm’s nightdress until your clothes are clean and dry.”

  Dulcey’s eyes widened. “I can’t. Your mama’s nightdress? I daren’t. It ain’t right.”

  “But Mamm would want you to. What else will you do while you wait? I don’t have any clothes here for you to wear.”

  “I’ll wrap myself up in this sheet. I can’t wear no fine lady’s nightdress.”

  Since Dulcey was adamant, Elizabeth gave up. She held the sheet ready while Dulcey undressed, biting back a gasp of horror when she saw layers of scars on her friend’s shoulders and legs. Finally, Dulcey’s outer clothes were in a pile on the floor and she held the sheet around her.

  “Will you be all right while I take your clothes into the kitchen?”

  “I’ll be fine.” Dulcey lifted the washcloth from the basin and tried to wring it out, but her hands were trembling.

  Elizabeth took the cloth from her and helped her lie back on the couch. “You’re hurt and you’re exhausted. Let me take care of you for once.”

  Dulcey’s eyes grew moist. “I ain’t never known a white woman who would do for one like me.”

  Elizabeth smoothed Dulcey’s curly hair. “I don’t know about that. We’re equal in the Lord’s eyes.”

  She waited until Dulcey closed her eyes, then took the clothes into the kitchen to wash. She took a pail of cold water that sat on the side of the dry sink and plunged Dulcey’s dress into it to soak. Then she went to the back porch where Datt and Aaron were talking. The moon was rising in the east, nearly full.

  “How is she?” Datt asked.

  “She is bruised and bloody, but other than that and being tired, she seems to be fine.” Elizabeth clasped her hands together to keep them from trembling. “This isn’t the first time Dulcey has been beaten. She has a lot of scars on her back and legs, old scars, as if she has endured these beatings most of her life.”

  Datt moved over on the bench to give her a place to sit. “I’ve never seen her before, but you know her. Who is she?”

  “She works for Solomon. She’s his cook and housekeeper, but before he hired her, she had been a slave somewhere in the south until the war ended.”

  Aaron frowned. “Did she say who beat her so badly?”

  “She claims it was Solomon. But even though I’ve seen that he has a cruel streak, it’s so hard to believe he would beat her like that.”

  Datt leaned forward, his elbows propped on his knees. “That is a serious charge, but I was at the Beilers’ house when Gideon called for a meeting of the ministers this afternoon. From what he said, Solomon is never going to be part of the community in spite of his assumption that he will be.”

  “What can we do about Dulcey?” Elizabeth asked.

  “She shouldn’t go back to Solomon, no matter what she says.” Aaron held Elizabeth’s gaze with his own. “We’ll need to be firm about that.”

  “Why do you think she would want to go back?” Datt asked.

  “Because she hasn’t left before now, even though I’m sure he has treated her badly ever since she started working for him.” Aaron turned his cane slowly between his fingers, the end resting on the porch floor. “Someone in Dulcey’s situation might not be willing to hope that another place could be any better than where they are. I’ve seen it happen. I used to go hunting with a slave that lived on a farm near ours. In spite of the freedom his master gave him to wander the hills, hunting and whatnot, Sam would never consider running away. Even though he was a slave, he had a better life than Dulcey found working for Solomon. He was safe, fed, and had a job to do. He wasn’t willing to exchange that for the unknown he might encounter if he tried to escape.” He clenched the end of the cane in his fist. “I wonder what happened to him. The last I knew, his master was burned out by the same Yankee patrol that destroyed our place.”

  The three of them sat in silence for a few minutes. Elizabeth understood Dulcey better than either Aaron or Datt could imagine. She had had many opportunities to leave Reuben, but she hadn’t. Shame had held her back. Shame and fear. If she had left Reuben, he might have come after her, and then her situation would have been much worse.

  The moon rose higher and Elizabeth stood up. “I’m going to finish washing out Dulcey’s dress, then sit up with her tonight.”

  “Do you want me to sit with you?” Aaron asked.

  His offer was tempting, as Elizabeth imagined them talking quietly in the moonlit room while Dulcey slept, but she couldn’t ask him to stay only to keep her company. “I’ll be fine. I’ll call you if I need you.”

  Datt and Aaron went to bed, Datt to his room on the main floor off the kitchen, and Aaron upstairs to one of the bedrooms there. Elizabeth lit the kitchen lamp and worked to remove the stains from Dulcey’s dress. Once it was clean, she hung it on the clothesline. The night was fresh after the hot day, and nearly as bright as daytime with the moon so large. If Datt had pressing farm work to do, he could work by the light of this moon.

  She walked back into the front room, taking the lamp. Dulcey woke up as she came in.

  “I didn’t mean to wake you. Did
you have a good rest?”

  “I slept hard, ’til a dream woke me up. An old alligator was chasing me across the swamp and briars clung to my legs. Jus’ like Old Scratch grabbin’ at me ’til blood ran like a river.”

  Elizabeth smiled. “No alligator will get you here, whatever that is.”

  Dulcey didn’t return her smile. “But Masta Solomon, he might. He might guess where I went to when he wakes up. I need to get back there.”

  “You’ll do no such thing.”

  “But if he wakes up and finds I’m gone—”

  “You have to stay here where it’s safe. If you go back, you know he’ll beat you again.” Elizabeth took Dulcey’s hand. “You never have to go back there again. You’ll stay with us. Make your home here. Or we’ll help you go wherever you want.”

  Dulcey looked at their hands. Elizabeth grasped tighter, her light fingers entwined with Dulcey’s dark ones as she waited for Dulcey’s decision.

  “I won’t go back if you’ll help me. I daren’t go back to the saloon either. That was an evil place.”

  “We’ll look for a place to live. A nice place where you only need to work for yourself. We can build a lovely little cabin for you, and you could have a garden and chickens.”

  A tear dropped onto their hands. “That sounds like heaven, sure enough. But it’s just a dream. Masta Solomon, he’s gonna be lookin’ for me, and for you. We got to run and live however we can.”

  “Don’t worry about that right now. You need to get some sleep. Things will look better in the morning.”

  “Only with Jesus’s help. No matter what men do, Jesus is more powerful.”

  Elizabeth didn’t answer. Even though she had done everything she could to be free of the memories of Reuben, she had no freedom at all. And now Solomon . . . would she ever be free from him?

  Dulcey squeezed her fingers. “Elizabeth, you reckon that’s right, don’t you?”

  “I believe Jesus can save people, but I don’t know if he’ll save me. I try to pull myself out of Reuben’s clutches, but I’m still there. I don’t know how to get free. I don’t think I deserve to be helped by Jesus.”