Indigo

by Beverly Jenkins

Galen asked, "What's Shoe paying you, two, three dollars a piece? That will buy you a few drinks, a few cheap whores, but you boys are smarter than that. Think how much whiskey and women you could get if you had fifty dollars gold in your pocket."

  Shoe snapped, "Don't listen to him!"

  Hester could almost see the rusty wheels turning in their heads as they pondered Galen's words.

  Finally, one of Shoe's men said, "Hell, y'all know we ain't never going to see that much gold at one time hauling ass, so I'm taking it."

  The other mumbled agreement. They started up the bank.

  "Stop dammit!" Shoe screamed, but they paid him no mind. They scrambled over the gold like dogs over a fugitive. Some came out of the fray with more than their share, but all were far richer when it ended than they had been when it began.

  Shoe was furious, threatening to kill them all, but they were armed also, and outnumbered him. They pocketed their bounty and mounted up.

  Up on the bank, Galen smiled down benevolently. "There's only one condition."

  Shoe's men looked his way.

  "Never, ever show your faces in this state again. If you do you will be shot on sight."

  The men's eyes widened.

  "Agreed?" Galen asked.

  They nodded quickly.

  "Have a good trip home, boys."

  In departure, the men gave the red-faced Shoe a chorus of "See you Ezra," and galloped on down the riverbank. None looked back.

  Galen smiled. "Well now. I guess they weren't as bent on slave catching as you thought, eh, Ezra? Release my wife," he demanded coldly.

  Shoe quickly put his gun to Hester's head. "The gal is leaving with me."

  Hester heard Raymond laugh from behind his hood. "We should shoot him simply for being stupid."

  "Yes we should," Galen said but there was no smile on his face. "Release her Shoe. I've grown weary of this now."

  "No! I—"

  The first shot hit his shoulder, the second hit the kneecap. The force spun him away from Hester. He lay on the ground screaming from the pain.

  Hester did not hesitate. She ran up the bank to her husband and was snatched up into his arms. He pulled her close and held tight. "Oh God, petite. I was so worried."

  Hester was crying and kissing him. She was overcome by her joy, and thanked heaven her prayers had been answered. "I knew you would come for me. I knew."

  "I was scared to death."

  The sound of Raymond clearing his throat interrupted the tearful reunion. "If you two don't mind, we still have some offal to dispose of."

  Galen grinned. Now that he had his Indigo back in his arms, he didn't care what happened to Shoe. "Do whatever you like with him. La Indigo and I are heading home."

  Raymond asked. "May I kill him?"

  "No, mon frere. I'm certain you can come up with something far more creative than that."

  So Galen and Hester left Raymond and his brothers to ponder their capacity for creativity.

  Chapter 22

  “So, what did you decide to do with our friend, Ezra?" Galen and Hester asked Raymond at the breakfast table the next morning. Hester's return last night had filled the household with joy. Raymond and his brothers celebrated into the wee hours of the morning, long after she and Galen had gone to bed.

  "By now, Shoe's on his way south just as he would have liked."

  "Except for the bound and gagged aspects of the journey," Gerrold added.

  Hester glanced at Ginette, who appeared as confused as she. Gail Grayson asked, "What do you mean?"

  "We sent him to a friend of ours in Tripoli." Galen laughed. "You had him shanghaied?" Raymond nodded. "Our Tripoli friend is a prince, and is always in need of servants to muck out his barns. He's a horseman, you see. I figure by the time Shoe is done with the stables he will be an old man."

  "But what if he tries to escape?"

  Galen said, "The prince will have him killed. They frown very heavily on escaped slaves there."

  Hester's eyes widened. "You sent Shoe to slavery?"

  Raymond nodded without apology. "I thought it would be a nice tribute to all those he sent south. Maybe now he will recognize the value of freedom and understand how truly precious it is."

  "So what about Jenine and Foster?"

  Galen took over the conversation. "We found Foster first. Jenine had left him to his fate. He told us what had happened. After he assured us he was not too injured to ride, we put him on a spare horse and headed out after you. We ran across Jenine a short while later. The wagon had become mired in the muddy road. She was not pleased to see me. We freed the wagon, put her and Foster in it, and sent one of the brothers back to Whittaker with them. Foster will undoubtedly recover, but Jenine's fate lies with the men of the Order."

  Hester stood out on the wrought iron veranda of the bedroom and watched the sun fade from the sky. She pulled her cloak closer around her shoulders to shield herself against the chill of the rising wind. It was now mid-October, nearly one year to the day since the night Mr. Wood brought the injured Black Daniel into her home. The year had been an eventful one. Had someone told her then that in a year's time she would be deeply in love and married to the cynical, rude man hidden in her cellar, she'd have asked if they been dipping in the applejack. But she had married him, and she was deeply in love. She was also carrying his child. She still hadn't told him, but she would tonight, now that the world seemed to have regained its equilibrium.

  Hester heard him enter the room. She smiled as their eyes met, but the smile faded when she saw Galen's anxious face. She went to him asking, "What has happened?"

  "John Brown has attacked the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry, Virginia. The telegraph office in town is filled with people awaiting the news of the outcome."

  "Has anyone been killed?"

  "It is uncertain. The first wire indicated one man, a baggage master, has been killed, but there's been no further word."

  Hester sank down into a chair. "Good heavens, what will this mean?"

  "No one knows. There will be repercussions with either outcome. God, I admire that old man, but I wished he'd waited. Douglass tried to dissuade him when they met secretly this past August in the old quarry near Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Douglass thought the place was a perfect steel trap. The heights around the arsenal make it indefensible against a counterattack. He told Brown he'd never get out alive, and I fear Douglass will be right."

  Over the next few days more became known. Brown entered Harper's Ferry, on Sunday night, October 16, 1859. With him were twenty-one men of mixed races.

  Three of Brown's men were left behind at the base of operations at the Kennedy farm in Maryland. Of the eighteen others in the band, five were Black: escaped slaves Shields Green and Dangerfield Newby; two Black men from Oberlin, Ohio, Lewis S. Leary and his nephew, John A. Copeland Jr.; and Osborne Perry Anderson. Of the remaining Whites, three were Brown's sons.

  The armory was defended by a lone watchman and was quickly overrun. Brown had hoped the slaves in the area would mass and join him in this fight for their freedom, but no advance word had been sent to alert them of his plans. Nevertheless, he sent men out into the countryside to spread the word and to garner hostages. The patrol returned with only a few recruits and a few hostages, one of which was the great-grandnephew of George Washington. The baggage master alluded to in the first wire was a free Black named Heywood Shepherd. He was killed by some of Brown's men positioned on the bridge. He was supposedly shot when he walked out onto the trestle searching for the night watchman.

  Some said Brown knew he couldn't win, that he'd given up before the raid began due to his perceived lack of support from men like Douglass and others who'd declined to join him. Others pointed out that it was simply a matter of the old man lacking the forces and the military strategy necessary to successfully carry out such a daring strike. Whatever the reason, the ironic death of Shepherd, a free Black man, seemed to symbolize the fiasco that followed.

  After Shepherd's
death, Brown stopped the eastern-bound midnight train and kept it sitting on the tracks for hours, then, and no one knows why, he let it proceed. The train's occupants quite naturally alerted the authorities.

  When the morning of Monday, October 17, 1859 dawned, the residents of Harper's Ferry, very aware by now of Brown's presence, began a sniping campaign aimed at Brown's men. Marching quickly to the town's aid were the combined forces of the Virginia and Maryland militias. By afternoon, two of Brown's sons and six others of the band were killed, along with three townspeople. Seven of Brown's men deserted him and escaped. Two were later recaptured.

  Taking his surviving men and his remaining hostages, Brown sought cover within the thick walls of the fire engine house. That night the U.S. Marines arrived, commanded by Colonel Robert E. Lee and Lieutenant Jeb Stuart. When the militias decided they didn't want to be the first ones in, Lee sent in the marines.

  In all, the raid on Harper's Ferry lasted less than thirty-six hours. Brown lost ten men, including Newby and Leary. Copeland and Shields Green were amongst the seven captured. Osborne Perry Anderson and five others escaped.

  Hester was one of the many Black women who wrote to Brown after his capture. Her letter joined those sent by the famous poet and lecturer, Francis Ellen Watkins, and those sent to Brown's wife. The race also extended a hand to Mrs. Leary, the widow of Lewis S. Leary, and her child. The other Black man who gave his life at the Ferry, escaped slave Dangerfield Newby, left behind a wife and seven children, all in bondage.

  The verdict from the jury was swift. Virginia mobs were calling for Brown's blood. Their calls were answered. Brown was convicted of treason, murder, and of inciting insurrection on November 2, 1859. He was sentenced to hang one month later.

  Only the happiness instilled by her pregnancy helped Hester through the sorrow following Brown's incarceration in Charleston. Galen and Raymond journeyed to Virginia for the trial, leaving Hester in the care of Maxi and Gail. Racine and Ginette had returned to Louisiana shortly after Brown's capture, but both pledged to come back in the spring to help spoil the baby. By Bea's calculations the babe would be born sometime in late June.

  Galen returned the last week of November. Raymond went on to Amherstburg to check on his paramour. Galen and Hester were so glad to see one another the lovemaking began on the carriage ride from the train station. By the time they reached the Folly, Hester was dewy and pulsing, and Galen couldn't ever remember wanting one woman so very, very much. He carried her into the house and up the stairs. He'd just reached the top when Maxi appeared.

  Galen said firmly, "For the next three days no one is to disturb us unless the house is afire or war is declared."

  Maxi smiled at the happiness shining in Hester's eyes. "Yes, your highness."

  Galen added, moving on toward his wing, "And that includes Raymond!"

  Inside the room, Galen kicked the door closed with his booted foot, then set his wife gently atop the bed. He found he wanted to just look at her a moment, savor the beauty of her face, the curve of her smile, the sparkle in her gaze. He still found it hard to believe that they were headed for a long life in each other's arms. That she loved him made his heart sing songs it had never sung and made him awaken each day glad to have her by his side.

  "Whatever is the matter?"

  "Just enjoying the sight of you. I missed you truly."

  "Then come here and show me just how much."

  He grinned as his eyebrow raised. "Is this my mistress speaking or my wife?"

  "Both," she purred.

  Galen removed her saucy little felt hat and set it aside. "I'm not certain I can satisfy both of you, you're both insatiable." He leaned down and touched his lips to her mouth. "But I will dearly try..."

  And his trying set Hester afire. He spent an inordinate amount of time removing her dress, then the silken undergarments beneath. He lingered over the removal of her stockings and garters, making her senses shimmer from the intensity of his touch. With kisses and caresses he showed her just how much he'd missed her and she shamelessly showed him the same.

  They spent the next three days immersed in one another. He fed her grapes, shared her bath, and taught her to juggle. They teasingly argued over names for their firstborn and settled the issue with a rousing pillow fight. They played checkers, donned formal finery, and danced to music no one else could hear. They opened the door only to receive Maxi's magnificently prepared meals and to call for fresh water for the tub.

  The days were glorious, but on the third day, Raymond knocked loudly.

  "Go away!" Galen called from the bed. "I'm staying in here forever."

  Raymond laughed. "The hell you are! I'm not letting the business go to rot just so you can continue to play Romeo. There's work to do Galeno. Do you want my future nephew to be born in the poor house?!"

  "It's going to be a niece, Raymond!" Hester shouted at the door.

  "No it isn't!" came his reply. "Galeno, you have until noon!"

  They took the resulting silence to mean he'd gone.

  Galen sighed and looked over at his nude wife sitting cross-legged beside him on the bed. "He's right you know. There is work to be done."

  "I know, but I wish we could stay in here forever."

  He leaned up and kissed her on the lips. "Noon is three hours away. How about we make the best of it?" He waggled his eyebrows meaningfully.

  Hester smiled. "And you call me insatiable."

  On December 2, 1859, John Brown went to the gallows with quiet dignity and was hanged. Some in the South celebrated. Black abolitionists called the day Martyr Day. In northern cities all over America, the multiraced opponents of slavery paused to mourn his death. Black businesses were closed. Church bells were rung. Members of the race fasted, and wore black armbands to the many services and rallies held in his honor. Hester and Galen joined Detroit's Black citizens for the memorial held at Second Baptist Church. The Detroiters passed a resolution declaring John Brown "our temporal leader whose name will never die."

  In New York, people met at Shiloh Church. In Philadelphia, public prayer meetings were held at both Shiloh and Union Baptist. In Cleveland, two thousand people of both races crammed into Melodeon Hall to hear the speeches given by judges, members of the Ohio legislature, and the presiding officer, Charles H. Langston. Outside the hall were another thousand people unable to get in.

  The editor of the Lawrence, Kansas Republican declared in the day's edition, "the death of no man in America has ever produced so profound a sensation."

  The pall of Brown's death lifted somewhat as the Christmas season approached. A week before the holiday, Gail left the Folly to go and spend the season with her family in Niles. After seeing her off, Hester and Maxi were in the kitchen making bread when Galen and Raymond came in. Galen sidled over to filch one of the small cakes Maxi had made earlier in the day for the children's party. When he reached, Maxi slapped her spoon across his knuckles.

  He yelled, "Ow! That hurt. You're a vicious old crone, do you know that?"

  Maxi cut him a look.

  He quickly added, "Beautiful, though, very beautiful."

  She couldn't resist him, no woman could. "You have the tongue of the devil, do you know that?"

  Galen bowed, "One of my more stellar traits, wouldn't you say, wife?"

  Hester turned and replied drolly, "And add to your already terribly inflated opinion of your charms? Certainly not."

  Raymond roared.

  Galen feigned a wounded look.

  Maxi patted Hester on the back approvingly. "You're learning, chiquita."

  Maxi then asked the two men she'd helped raise to men, "What can I do for you? Surely you aren't hungry, luncheon was less than an hour ago."

  Galen explained, "I came to have my wife answer a question for me. Raymond is just tagging along getting pointers on how to woo a beautiful woman."

  Raymond said something in French that made Hester think she was glad she couldn't understand the language.

  Maxi i
gnored the men, then asked meaningfully, "Is this a question a crone can hear or should I leave the room?"

  Hester was so embarrassed she turned and said, "Maxi?!"

  "Don't Maxi me. I can hear the two of you clear on the other side of the house. Your poor babe will never learn to sleep all night with parents so loud."

  Galen confessed with a straight face, "It's mostly Hester, Maxi."

  Hester's eyes widened. "Galen?!"

  "Well it's true."

  Raymond roared with laughter.

  Hester used her wooden spoon to smack Raymond across the knuckles just like Maxi had done Galen, and the roar stopped. He looked surprised and wounded. He turned his puzzled face to Galen and said, "She's almost as good with that thing as Maxi."

  "Terrifying thought, isn't it?" Galen replied, his eyes glowing at his determined little wife.

  Hester narrowed her eyes. "Dammit, ask your question."

  Raymond asked in wonder, "She curses too?"

  Galen grinned. "In her own fashion. 'Dammit' is about the extent of her salty vocabulary, though."

  Maxi was shaking her head and smiling. "Hester, these two are like two playful tiger cubs, and like cubs they will play with you whether you wish it or not."

  Hester certainly had to agree. "Are you two finished?"

  Both men stared back innocently.

  She took a calming breath, then smiled at her mustached husband. "Now what did you want to ask?"

  "When is your birthday?"

  Hester turned back to the biscuit dough. "I—don't know."

  Galen peered at her stiff back and felt his heart twist. He felt absolutely stupid inside. A thick, uncomfortable silence hung in the air. Maxi and Raymond exited quietly, correctly sensing the couple needed to be alone.

  Galen came to stand behind her and said sincerely, "My apology. I wasn't aware you didn't know."

  She replied softly. "Don't fret. There's nothing to apologize for. After all, it is a question a husband would ask his wife."

  He wrapped his arm around her waist and she savored the strength and safety his embrace always seemed to imbue. "My aunt was never sure about the actual date, so instead every year we celebrated the day I came north, the fourteenth day of October." She leaned back into her husband's strong chest and the memories of that first day rose vividly. "I thought Michigan was the coldest place on earth. When my aunt explained that it was only autumn, and that the winter would be much worse, I thought she was fooling. She wasn't though."