Garden of Forbidden Secrets

by Eric Wilder

  Delphine entered the kitchen to find Shasa sitting on the floor, her arms gathered around her knees as she sobbed. Leather cracked as Delphine lit into her with the whip.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Delphine said. “You have a feast to prepare, so get the hell off the floor!”

  Shasa was short, her bony frame swallowed up by the plain brown dress she wore. Her bushy hairdo liberally sprinkled with gray made her seem even smaller than she was. The old woman scooted away from the whip, trying without much success to protect her face from the flying leather.

  Remembering her guests, Delphine had to restrain herself from beating the slight old woman to death. Taking a deep breath, she somehow managed to regain her composure when she caught up to the little woman.

  When Shasa was in the kitchen, Madam Delphine kept her chained by the ankle. The long chain allowed her access to all parts of the kitchen but would let her go no further. When Shasa had to relieve herself, she had to do it in a can in the corner. Once, in an angry snit, Madam Lalaurie had dunked her face into the can.

  Delphine wanted to punish Shasa. She also needed the cook available to prepare dinner for her guests arriving later that evening. Seeing a pot of water boiling over an open flame, she knew what she had to do. Grabbing the old woman’s hand, she wrestled her to the boiling pot and plunged her left hand into it.

  “Don’t you cry out, don’t you dare!” Delphine said.

  The boiling water on Shasa’s hand produced pain like she’d never before felt. It didn’t matter because she knew if she cried out the mistress would hold her hand in the water even longer. When Delphine finally released her grip and let Shasa wrench her hand from the boiling pot, blood was pouring down her face from where she had bitten through her lower lip.

  “You’re not hurt you horrible black bitch,” Delphine said. “Get your lazy ass off the floor and get dinner started. My guests are arriving in four hours. If you don’t have the feast of all feasts prepared by then, I swear by God, I’ll personally skin you alive.”

  Madam Delphine Lalaurie went stomping out of the kitchen just as Aisling entered. Seeing Shasa slumped on the floor and bleeding, Aisling ran to her, putting her arms around her shoulders and hugging her.

  “Oh my God! What did that evil woman do to you?”

  Blood was dripping down Shasa’s neck, and she was holding her left hand. The hand was already swollen and puffy, and as red as boiled crawfish. Aisling ran to the cabinets, returning with a crock of honey. Without asking, she plunged Shasa’s hand into the gooey substance. Tearing cloth from her petticoats, she used the strips to bandage Shasa’s hand.

  “The honey will lessen the pain and help the burn begin to heal,” Aisling said.

  Aisling used more cloth from her petticoat to staunch the blood on Shasa’s face.

  “Your lip needs stitches,” she said. “Hold the bandage tight. I’ll go get Mama.

  Aisling and her mother Adela soon returned to find Shasa still sitting on the floor.

  Aisling was as tall as her mother. Both had long red hair. They could almost have passed as sisters. From behind, they were all but impossible to tell apart. Adela had a brandy bottle and held it to the old woman’s lips until she had drunk enough to quickly intoxicate her.

  “This will hurt though the brandy will provide some relief while I put stitches in your lip,” Adela said.

  “I got to get to cooking,” Shasa said. “The mistress has people coming for dinner. She said she’d skin me alive if I don’t have a feast prepared for them.”

  “I told Taj what happened,” Aisling said. “He’s coming with Danke and Estelle. Mama and I will help, too. You may have to show us how, but we’ll get everything ready for you.”

  Adela knew the brandy was working because Shasa’s words were slurred when she said, “You girls are angels sent straight from heaven.”

  “Open your mouth and don’t talk,” Adela said, her Irish brogue prevalent. “I’m going to sew up this cut as fast as I can. Will you be okay?”

  “Damn, Baby,” Shasa said. “I can’t hurt no more than I already do.”

  Taj arrived with Danke and Estelle as Adela tied off the thread, applied a soothing poultice on the wound and then bandaged it with gauze and tape. Estelle and Danke grabbed Shasa’s arms and helped her into a chair. Shasa continued to sob.

  “Something else is wrong, isn’t it?” Aisling said. “Please tell me what it is.”

  “James, my son,” she said. “He been killed in the fields down River Road.”

  “How do you know?” Aisling said.

  “I feel it all the way to my very soul. James dead and I ain’t ever going to see him no more.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Aisling said, gently hugging the old woman.

  “Can I have some more brandy?” Shasa asked.

  Adela handed her the bottle. “Drink it all. Taj can raid the liquor cabinet and get us more.”

  Taj was the largest man Aisling had ever seen. His skin was black as coal and covered with tattoos and tribal markings. Though he looked mean as hell, he was one of the kindest and gentlest persons Aisling had ever known. He kept his compassion hidden from the Lalauries who considered him their enforcer.

  Danke and Estelle, dressed similarly to Shasa though not nearly so slight of frame, were two middle-aged black women who had somehow managed to survive in the Lalaurie household. Scars on their faces and many more on their bodies testified to the abuse both of them had endured. Danke began to cry as she held Shasa’s head in her hands.

  “I’m okay, Baby,” Shasa said. “You’re gonna have to help me cook tonight.”

  “We ain’t going no place,” Estelle said. “You just keep sitting right there and tell us what to do. We’ll get it done for you.”

  The wonderful aroma of Creole cooking soon filled the kitchen. Taj had brought more brandy, and Shasa was quite drunk, though still coherent enough to direct the preparation of the food. The menu included oyster artichoke soup, sauteed redfish with crab and oyster dressing, and bread pudding with cognac sauce as dessert. Shasa was pleased.

  “You girls cooked a regal meal fit for a king, or the madam’s cousin, the governor of all the colonies. I hope she don’t find out I didn’t cook it, or she’ll be dragging me to the Dark House to skin me alive.”

  “We ain’t telling nobody,” Estelle said. “Far as the mistress will ever know, you cooked everything with your one good hand.”

  Shasa chuckled as she lifted herself with some difficulty from the chair.

  “You girls get the hell out of here. The mistress will return soon, along with the waitstaff. You don’t need to be here,” Shasa said. “I’m drunk as hell, and right now I don’t give a damn.”

  Danke and Estelle kissed Shasa and hurried out the door leaving only Aisling to tend to the old woman.

  “I used plants from the garden to prepare this salve,” Aisling said, rubbing some on Shasa’s lip. “It’ll help you heal. I’ll redress your burn tomorrow and bring more salve.”

  Shasa smiled for the first time that night as she caressed Aisling’s cheek with her one good hand.

  “Ain’t nothing ever gonna heal in this house. Way too much evil afoot,” she said. “You were my angel tonight, Baby. I promise you now, one day I’m going to be your angel.”

  When Aisling reached the little room where she and her mother lived, the curtain was pulled between her bed and her mother’s. Knowing Taj was in bed with her mother, she listened to their noisy lovemaking.

  Tonight, she had other things on her mind: the young man she’d met in the courtyard, the most handsome person she’d ever seen in her life. Tomorrow, she would return to the garden and pay another visit to the boy named Darius.

  Chapter 32

  Shasa was feeling better the following morning when Aisling went to change her bandages. She’d even cooked Aisling’s favorite omelet. Aisling was taking the last bite when Calpurnia came flying through the open window and landed on her should
er. Shasa waited a moment before commenting about Aisling’s expression.

  “Baby, you got a funny look on your face. What did the bird just tell you.”

  “There’s a new boy named Darius working as a gardener in the courtyard. He’s the dreamiest boy I’ve ever met. He sent Calpurnia to find me. I’ll be back later to check on your wounds.”

  Calpurnia flew ahead as Aisling ran down the stairs to the courtyard. She found Darius tending the ferns hanging from a second-story balcony. They both smiled when they saw each other.

  “Good morning,” Darius said. “You were right about Calpurnia. She understands every word I say.”

  “She told me,” Aisling said. Darius’ smile disappeared when she asked, “Do you like it here now?”

  “I gotta show you something,” he said.

  “What is it?”

  “You’ll see,” he said as she followed him into one of the garden’s many hidden nooks. “I couldn’t sleep last night after meeting you. I walked outside for a breath of fresh air and heard something. I found this cage.”

  “It’s so big,” Aisling said. “What do they keep in it?”

  “People,” Darius said. “I hid in the bushes when I saw the master and mistress take a woman from the cage and lead her into that building.”

  Darius pointed at a door secured by two padlocks. Hidden in the farthest nook of the courtyard, Aisling had never noticed it.

  “What’s in there?” Aisling asked.

  “Don’t know for sure. They shut the door behind them, and I listened with my ear to it.”

  “What did you hear?” Aisling asked.

  “Screams, horrible screams,” he said. “I waited in the bushes until they came out. The master and mistress were carrying the body of the woman. There’s a dry well over there. That’s where they threw the body.”

  Aisling’s hand went to her mouth. “My God! They killed her?”

  “Worse than that,” Darius said.

  “How do you know?”

  “This morning, I lowered a rope and went down into the well to have a look,” he said.

  “And?” Aisling said.

  Darius shook his head. “She was dead. What else they did to her you don’t even want to know.”

  “That’s awful,” Aisling said

  “Her body wasn’t all I found down there. It was a boneyard. I counted a dozen skulls.”

  “What’ll we do?” Aisling asked.

  “What can we do?” Darius said.

  ***

  Dr. Lalaurie waited in his study as Taj entered the door along with Adela.

  “Here she is, Mastah,” Taj said.

  “Leave us,” Lalaurie said. “I’ll handle things from here.”

  Taj returned to the hallway, shut the door, and then made a pretense of walking away. He didn’t, putting his ear to the door instead to try and hear why Dr. Laulaurie had ordered him to bring Adela to his study. The door was thick, and he could hear nothing.

  Adela stood in the doorway, wondering like Taj why Dr. Lalaurie had summoned her to his study.

  “Sit,” he said, pointing to a chair in front of his desk. “Madam Lalaurie left this morning for an extended visit to Paris. While she is gone, I have some specific things I intend to do. The number one thing on my list is to make love to your daughter.”

  “That’s out of the question,” Adela said. “Aisling is only fifteen. She’s a virgin.”

  “That’s about to change,” Dr. Lalaurie said. “Madam Lalaurie’s boat sails today. Tomorrow, I have reservations for the bridal suite at the Hotel Montalba.”

  “Madam Lalaurie won’t allow it,” Adela said. “We are related to her.”

  “The madam will never know. When she returns, you and your waif will be onboard a ship bound for Ireland.”

  “You can’t do that. We have no family left in Ireland and no place to go,” Adela said.

  “That appears to be your problem and not mine. Have your daughter ready tomorrow evening to spend the night with me at the Hotel Montalba.”

  “And if I don’t?”

  “Madam Lalaurie and I have a room where we punish slaves who disobey us. Aisling will spend the night with me tomorrow, and you’ll be on your way back to Ireland, or I will make love to Aisling tomorrow night with or without your assent. If you try to defy me, you will see the inside of the punishment room, and Aisling will join you there after I have had my way with her. Your choice.”

  Adela’s flash of anger changed quickly to fear and then a feeling of utter hopelessness.

  “Take me instead,” she said. “Aisling’s just a child.

  “And that’s precisely why I want her and not you. Have Aisling ready tomorrow. You may go now.”

  Adela was crying when she ran out of the study. Dr. Lalaurie followed her out the door and then went upstairs to his bedroom. When he opened the curtains and looked out the window to the courtyard, the first thing he saw was Aisling in the embrace of the mulatto boy his wife had recently purchased at the market.

  ***

  Dinner was finished, Shasa cleaning the kitchen when Adela and Taj joined her. Adela was crying. From her puffy red face, she’d been doing so for some time. Shasa put her arms around Adela, hugging her to her bony chest.

  “Baby, what’s the matter?”

  “Madam Lalaurie’s on her way to France and that monster husband of hers is bent on taking Aisling’s virginity.”

  “The mistress won’t allow him to get away with that. She and Aisling are related.”

  “He intends to either send us back to Ireland or else to torture and kill us in that torture chamber of his.”

  “Where does he plan to take Aisling’s virginity?” Shasa asked.

  “He has a room tomorrow night at a hotel in the Quarter. You have to help us stop him, Shasa.”

  Shasa walked to the window and stared out. For the first time that month, it was raining. Shasa stuck her injured hand out the open window letting the cold rain soak the bandage. When she returned to the kitchen table, she had a look of resolve on her face.

  “Well?” Taj said.

  “You have to take Aisling’s place.”

  “How can I do that?” Adela asked. “He knows what I look like.”

  “It’s almost Mardi Gras. You and Aisling are about the same size, and you both have long red hair. Wear a Mardi Gras mask. If you’re clever, he’ll never know the difference.”

  “But what will it matter? When he discovers my ruse, he’ll simply go through with his threat of dealing with us in the torture room.”

  “That’s why you’re going to have to kill him,” Shasa said.

  “But how will I do that?”

  Shasa went to the cabinet and returned with a butcher knife. “With this.”

  “How will I conceal the knife from him? Adela asked.

  “Baby, do you know what a veve is?”

  Adela shook her head. “No, I don’t.”

  “It’s a symbol used to beg the assistance of a particular voodoo loa. It’s usually drawn on the ground with flour or some other powder. Offerings to the deities are placed on top of the veve. If the loa accepts the offering, he will grant your request.”

  “What does that have to do with anything?”

  “I need to tattoo a veve on your chest. The only veve I know how to draw is Baron Samedi’s. If the Baron accepts your offering, he will ensure that evil man’s death.”

  “If I’m the offering, shouldn’t the veve be on my back?” Adela asked.

  “If Dr. Lalaurie were a normal person with normal desires,” Shasa said. “He isn’t. He will turn you on your stomach and take you from behind. When he does, you’ll be the offering between the veve and him.”

  “How do you know this?” Taj asked.

  “He’s had almost everyone in this house at one time or other,” Shasa said. “His perversions are well known.”

  “It all sounds too dangerous to me,” Taj said. “Why don’t I just kill him?”

  �
�Because it would result in your death and both Adela and Aisling’s when Madam Lalaurie returns. This way, she’ll never know who killed Dr. Lalaurie.”

  “How will this work?” Adela asked.

  “Strip your clothes off in front of him and keep your mask on. Show him your titties but cover the veve with your hand. Talk in a child’s voice. He’ll think of it as foreplay, and it will only serve to further excite him. Hide the knife under the pillow, in the bed.”

  “Can’t I just stab him in the back?” Adela said.

  “Baron Samedi will only accept your offering once he is on top of you. We need his help to make this work.”

  “How will Adela get rid of the body?” Taj asked.

  “She won’t,” Shasa said. “She’ll leave it there and steal out of the hotel.”

  “But the desk clerk will see me when we check in to the hotel,” Adela said.

  “Wear a long coat with a hood. The master won’t protest because he doesn’t want anyone knowing he’s checking in to the hotel to have sex with a fifteen-year-old relative of his. When the mistress returns, she’ll have no reason to believe anyone here had anything to do with the killing.”

  “What if it doesn’t work?” Taj said.

  “It has to work,” Adela said. “I can’t allow that monster to touch my baby girl.”

  “Then bare your chest, and I will tattoo the veve on you,” Shasa said. “This will take a while because it has to be a mirror-image of the true veve.”

  “Why is that?” Adela asked.

  “Because if it isn’t, the veve will be upside down when Lalaurie flips you over. Though it might work anyway, we can’t take that chance.”

  “When you finish with her’s, put one on my chest,” Taj said.

  “What purpose will that serve?” Shasa asked.

  “Maybe nothing. If all else fails, the veves might help us find each other in another life,” the big man said.

  Shasa spent the next hour tattooing the intricate reverse veve on Adela and a normal Baron Samedi veve on Taj. When the old woman finished her task, she bade the couple good luck and farewell. When they reached Adela’s room, they found Aisling in tears on her bed.