by John Jakes
The carriage driver was still perched on his high seat. Rain beating on his bare poll, he flaunted the handwritten card hanging around his neck on a piece of twine. “Don’t yell at me, nigger. I got my travel pass.”
Virgilia sat absolutely still. The driver’s face was contorted, as if that would somehow keep the rain off. His grimace showed his teeth. Four upper ones were missing.
Less hostile, Cuffey said, “Didn’t rec’nize you, Grady. What happened?”
“What the hell’s it look like? Old Mrs. Huntoon, she wanted me to drive the carriage back to Charleston so Mr. Jim could use it. I told her the storm would muddy the roads too badly, but she wouldn’t listen.”
Virgilia heard resentment, even a suppressed fury, in that last statement. Grady’s owners hadn’t robbed him of his manhood.
Cuffey noticed the other slave staring at Virgilia with great interest. When Cuffey spoke, his voice held a note of warning. “This lady’s a visitor at Mont Royal. We come up the trail yonder, but it’s swarmin’ with snakes. Got to take the long way home.”
“Better not try it now,” Grady advised. “Least, the lady better not. Storm’s too fierce. Put her inside the carriage and I’ll stand watch. You ride lickety-split to Mont Royal and tell them she’s all right.”
Cuffey gnawed his lip. “I think you should go.”
“You know the way better’n I do. You go!”
Cuffey looked miserable. He was clearly afraid of being punished if something happened to the visitor. Grady was older and stronger, and Cuffey was intimidated. But he didn’t yield until Virgilia spoke above the wail of wind and rush of rain.
“Yes, Cuffey, go. They’ll be worried. I’ll be safe with this man.”
“All right,” he said. “But you watch her good, Grady. I be back with some of the gen’emen quick as I can.”
He rode out of sight. When the last muddy plop of the mule’s hoofs died behind the storm noise, Grady climbed down from the driver’s seat. His eyes never left Virgilia as he walked around to the carriage door.
“Don’t know if you want to shelter in here, miss. Might be wet and muddy.”
“Yes. Especially if the door won’t close properly.” With her face and her eyes, she tried to show him that he needn’t be afraid.
He studied her a moment longer, then clamped both hands on the lower edge of the window in the upper part of the door. He gave the door a sharp pull. When he let go, the door fell into the mud, connected only by the leather hinge on the bottom. The two upper hinges had been ripped apart.
He pointed. “Sure won’t close now. Water’ll be over the sill soon.”
“What”—she swallowed—“what if Cuffey remembers the door wasn’t broken when he arrived?”
“He’s too worried to remember. But if he does, he won’t say anything. I’ll make sure.”
She was almost faint with excitement. “Where can we go?”
“About a half mile down the road there’s an abandoned pounding mill. I should be standing guard when they show up, but I don’t expect that will be for several hours.” He gave her a last long look, then picked up the bridle of her horse and started walking along the road.
“My name’s Grady.”
“Yes. I know.”
That made him glance back and smile.
Cobwebs and the smell of mold filled the old mill. But the roof was solid, and the place offered excellent protection from the weather.
Virgilia felt as nervous as a schoolgirl dancing her first quadrille. For her that was an unusual reaction. Grady caused it because he was so rough-looking, yet so kingly. She found him kingly despite his muddy hands and feet and ragged clothing.
With a cynical light in his eye, he asked, “Why do you want to do this?”
“Grady, Grady”—she ran her palm up along his thick, wet forearm—“don’t look at me that way. I’m your friend.”
“There isn’t a white man or white woman who’s the friend of a nigger. Not in South Carolina.”
“Up North it’s different.”
“Do you come from there?”
“Yes. Northern people hate slavery. I hate it. I belong to organizations that help escaped slaves start new lives. As free men.”
“I thought about going north once or twice. Wasn’t sure the risk was worth it.”
She seized his arm with both hands; her fingers kneading deep into his flesh. “Believe me, it is.”
“You just want to help me, that’s all?”
“No,” she whispered. “You know that isn’t all.”
He grinned. “But I’m still asking why. Never been with a nigger before?”
“Don’t flatter yourself.”
That flare of temper produced a rumbling laugh in response. “Well, you’re not the prettiest woman I ever laid eyes on—”
She bit her lip and accepted the insult offered with a smile. He was showing who had the upper hand.
“—but your eyes are just about the warmest.” He rubbed his knuckles lightly up and down her cheek. Up and down. “Sure would like to see the rest of you.”
A moment later, drowning in her own heat, Virgilia stepped out of her pantalets. Using both hands, she raised the front of her skirt and petticoats. Grady’s smile faded.
“My, my. Guess I didn’t speak too kindly a minute ago. You’re pretty enough.”
“No, I’m not. It doesn’t matter.”
“But I got to tell you the truth, Miss Virgilia. I’ve never been with any white woman before.”
“Then come here,” she said, giving her skirt a little flounce.
She lost track of time then, taking him into her again, and again, and again, while the hurricane blew.
A dawn, pink and still, followed the night of wind and rain. Almost as soon as it was light, Orry came riding to the abandoned mill together with George, Billy, and Cuffey. They found Grady on guard outside.
“We’ve been searching for hours,” Orry barked. “Why didn’t you stay with the carriage?”
Scrambling to his feet, Grady answered respectfully. “Sir, I surely meant to do that. Just like I tole this here nigger of yours. But the carriage door was broke an’ mud an’ water come in. It weren’t a fit, dry place for a white lady to shelter. I ’membered this old mill, and we reached it ’fore the blow got too bad. I knowed you’d have some trouble findin’ us, but I knowed you’d come along this here road an’ see me, or I’d see you. I stayed awake out here the whole night long. The lady is fine inside. Hungry, I ’spect, but otherwise jes’ fine.”
Inwardly, he was chuckling. He always slurred his words when addressing any white man. It made them think they were dealing with another dumb, guileless darky. The deception worked perfectly; it usually did.
Virgilia appeared, pretending great relief. She complimented Grady on his politeness and loyalty throughout the long night. George looked relieved as she went back inside to collect her wet shoes and stockings—the only articles she had removed for sleeping, she said.
The worst destruction had occurred along the coast. As the hurricane roared up the Ashley, its force was already diminishing. When it whipped over Mont Royal, it uprooted trees to render roads impassable. But the plantation, and those nearby, sustained nothing more serious than roof damage and some staining of furniture when rain blew in through shattered windows. The tidal surge had not been strong enough to drive salt water this far upriver. All in all, the Mains could give thanks that they had again been spared the full wrath of one of the great storms.
On Wednesday of the last week of the Hazards’ visit, Virgilia announced that she was taking the river sloop down to Charleston in order to do some shopping. She wanted one of the house girls to accompany her, if Mrs. Main would permit it. Clarissa naturally said yes.
Maude questioned her daughter about the trip. Couldn’t she shop when they went to Charleston to catch the steamer? No, Virgilia replied with a smile, that would be impossible. Maude would see the reason when she returned.
V
irgilia’s behavior was puzzling, her mother thought. But then Virgilia’s behavior had been unusual during the entire visit. She had behaved herself. Ah, but perhaps she was going to Charleston to buy gifts for the Mains. Maude planned to send hers after she returned to Lehigh Station. If her daughter felt a need to express appreciation sooner than that, Maude had no intention of hindering her. The change in Virgilia was too welcome to be interfered with.
Slipping away from her slave chaperone wasn’t as easy as her desire had led her to suppose. Virgilia had to wait until the girl dozed off on her pallet, and that took longer than she had anticipated. Finally she crept from the hotel room and down the stairs.
A lone white woman hurrying along Meeting Street drew stares from some late-hour idlers, but they were people she would never see again. She had her newfound passion to help banish fears of discovery. In an alley near the Dock Street Theater she came upon Grady crouching in the darkness of a doorway. During their time at the mill they had worked out the day for the meeting, the hour, and the place. The instant she arrived, he snapped at her.
“You’re late.”
“I couldn’t help it. Did you have trouble sneaking out of the house?”
“No, I never have trouble with that, but the curfew for niggers rang a half hour ago. The pass I’m carrying is six weeks old. Should have figured out a way we could meet in the daylight.”
“If we met in the daylight, we couldn’t do this.” She put her arms around him and kissed him fiercely. “We might have been forced to wait months till I could arrange stops on the underground railroad. We decided it should be now. We decided it together, remember?”
“Yes,” he admitted.
She kissed him again, then opened her reticule. “Here. This is all the money I have. This slip of paper has an address in Philadelphia. A safe house run by Friends. Quakers,” she amended when she realized he didn’t understand the other term.
He fingered the paper, sheepish. “I can’t read this. Can’t read anything.”
“Oh, my God. I never thought of that.”
“But I can always find the North Star on a clear night.”
“Of course! Anytime you’re lost, ask at a church for directions. Churches aren’t universally safe for runaways, but I can’t think of any better place—or one that’s easier to recognize. Now about food. Can you cipher?”
He shook his head.
“Then if you buy food, you may be cheated since you don’t know about money. Worse than that, it could arouse suspicion. Stealing may be a lot less risky. You must decide.”
He heard the anxiety in her voice, patted her gently. “I’ll get there, don’t you worry. I’ve got good reason to get there now.”
Another long, intense embrace. She pressed her cheek against his clean work shirt. “Many more reasons than one, Grady. Up North I’ll teach you to read and figure. We’ll buy you a fine new set of teeth. You’ll be the handsomest man in creation.”
She drew back, gazing at him in the weak light filtering from the end of the alley. “Oh, I do care for you so.”
It surprised her to realize that. Why had it happened? Because of her desire to spite the Mains and their kind? Because she wanted to prove total dedication to the cause? It was both of those things, but it was more.
After an uneasy chuckle, he whispered, “Sometimes I get the feeling we’ll both burn in hell for this.”
How bleak he sounded beneath the laughter. She tried to jolly him out of it. “White man’s hell, or black?”
“Oh, white. I hear that’s a lot nicer. But in either place you end up the same way.”
“We won’t. We’ll have a happy, useful life together.”
And just let George or any of them try to stop us.
A shadow leaped up at the end of the alley. A bull’s-eye lantern flashed.
“Who is that?”
A fierce whisper: “Run, Grady!” He fled into the dark.
She counted ten, her heart beating frantically as the shadow enlarged. She flung the handbag to the far side of the alley, then called, “Watchman? Down here. A boy snatched my reticule, and I chased him.”
She had given Grady all her money; the story would work. The portly watchman reached her, puffing as he shone the lantern in her eyes.
“A nigger?”
“No, he was white. About fifteen, I’d say. With a small gold ring in the lobe of his left ear. I’ll wager he’s a cabin boy off one of the steamers. Please shine your light over there—I believe I see something.”
A moment later she showed him the inside of the reticule.
“Every dollar gone. I was a fool to step out of the hotel for some air. I thought Charleston was safe for white women after the retreat drum cleared the slaves off the streets.”
Her skillful performance completely fooled the watchman. There were no skeptical questions, and he personally escorted her back to the hotel.
Two days later, Grady’s owner showed up at Mont Royal.
29
WHEN THE VISITOR WAS announced, Orry and the others were gathered around the dining-room table where Virgilia had piled the presents for the family. Thus far only Tillet had opened his gift—an expensive silk cravat.
Orry pushed his chair back. “Excuse me, I’ll see what he wants.”
“I can’t imagine,” Tillet said. “Do you suppose it has something to do with Grady’s running off?”
“How could it?” Clarissa countered. Then she noticed her husband staring at Virgilia, who had taken the seat at the head of the table without invitation. Virgilia’s lips were pursed in a curious way. A smug way, Clarissa called it in the privacy of her thoughts. George noticed, too, and frowned.
Orry strode to the foyer. “James—good morning.”
He extended his hand to clasp Huntoon’s, which as usual felt flabby. It was also unexpectedly damp. The weather was cool but the visitor was perspiring heavily; sweat streaked the lenses of his spectacles. As he wiped them on the lapel of his coat and jammed them back on his nose, Orry wondered how Ashton could tolerate such a slug.
“What brings you here?” Orry asked.
“Not a social matter, I assure you. Are you aware that one of my slaves has decamped?”
“Yes. Grady. The news reached us. I’m sorry about it.”
“I find it more than somewhat coincidental that a nigger who has never before displayed the slightest sign of dissatisfaction suddenly elects to run away while you are entertaining visitors from the North.”
Orry stiffened. “James, you’re not suggesting—”
“I am suggesting nothing,” the other broke in. “I am stating it outright.”
Through the open doorway he had spied the Mains and their guests in the dining room. He had spoken loudly so that they would hear. In response, a chair scraped. Orry recognized the heavy thump of his father’s boots.
Huntoon continued, “I’m convinced that someone encouraged Grady to run away. Further, I think the responsible party is staying in this house.”
Tillet’s shadow fell across the pale wedge of sunshine cast by the fanlight. The others followed him out of the dining room. Huntoon glowered.
“Orry, it is widely apprehended that one of your Northern visitors is engaged in the work of encouraging rebellion among the nigras of the South. On the night of the storm Grady guarded, or purported to guard, this selfsame visitor.” Huntoon strode past him. “I put it to you directly, Miss Hazard. Did you help my slave escape?”
Orry seized Huntoon’s arm. “Just a minute, James. You can’t come in here and speak to my guests like a prosecutor. I realize you’ve suffered a financial loss, but that’s no excuse for—”
“Let her answer,” Huntoon snapped.
The others were facing him in a rough semicircle. Ashton watched Virgilia with unconcealed hostility. Billy was equally upset, but with Huntoon. Tillet looked unhappy, Clarissa baffled, George dismayed. And George’s sister—
A stone seemed to fall and strike the bottom of
Orry’s belly. Virgilia had her chin in the air and defiance on her face.
Orry collected his wits and said, “No, James. Not until you favor us with a reason.”
Huntoon’s pink cheeks indicated his rising temper. “Reason for what?”
“For your suspicion. It’s hard to believe that a surmise—a mere guess—brought you here, of all possible places, to look for a culprit.”
With the quickness of a cat pouncing, Huntoon said, “Ah, but I’m not guessing. First, as previously stated, Miss Hazard spent an entire night in the company of my nigger—something to which no Southern white woman would admit, of course, but that’s beside the point. I expect she filled Grady’s head with disloyal thoughts—”
“Virgilia, do you realize what this man’s saying?” George broke in.
Her smile never wavered. “Perfectly.”
“Tell him it isn’t true, for God’s sake.”
“Why should I? Why should I dignify his rantings?”
Orry’s stomach ached all the more. She hadn’t said she was guiltless. George realized that too. He looked ill.
“Now,” Huntoon went on, self-consciously fingering his lapels, “here is further evidence. On the night Grady fled from Charleston, carrying an old pass I inadvertently neglected to destroy, I am reliably informed that Miss Hazard was in the city.” That was true. Orry had forgotten.
Huntoon’s voice grew louder. “Her only companion was a nigger girl from this plantation. A girl with the limited intelligence typical of her race, a girl easily deceived. I am further informed that this girl awoke sometime after nine on the night in question and that she discovered Miss Hazard absent from their hotel room. What do you suppose she was doing abroad at that hour of the night if not abetting the escape of my slave?”
Huntoon stormed forward. “Why don’t you answer that, Miss Hazard?”
“Yes, do,” Ashton said. “It’s time you repaid our hospitality with the truth.”
Tillet reached for his daughter. “Step back here and keep out of this.” But she had already slipped past his outstretched hand. She linked her arm with Huntoon’s, clearly his partisan.