by Every, Donna
He was glad that the end of the day was drawing to a close and that he could soon head back to the house.
As the family sat down to dinner a few hours later, his aunt handed him a letter that had been delivered that day.
“It must be from your fiancée,” she said with a pleased look. He almost thought she seemed happy to remind him that he was betrothed, especially since she so heartily disapproved of his liaison with Deborah.
The last thing he wanted was a letter from Ann to remind him of his responsibilities in Carolina and he almost groaned when he saw it but he put the letter next to his plate and said, "Thank you, Aunt Elizabeth. I will read it later."
Deborah and Cassie brought in their meal and he couldn't help his eyes following her as she crossed the room and put out the food. Vivid images of her in his arms flashed before him making him distinctly uncomfortable in his chair and the letter beside his plate added to his discomfort in other ways. He looked away from her and caught his uncle’s amused look.
“The harvest is progressing nicely and we should be finishing about the time you’re ready to leave, Richard. At least there have been no more incidents of anyone getting caught in the grinder and the new boy seems to have settled in well.”
“Good. I know you need all hands on deck but was wondering if I could go into Town tomorrow,” Richard asked.
“Of course, my boy. You don’t need my permission, but you may have to drive yourself there because I can’t spare anyone. Do you think you can find your way?”
“I will take Deborah with me. I’m sure she can make sure that I don’t get lost.”
“Do you have business in Town?” His aunt asked curiously.
Richard hesitated, not really wanting to tell her that he was taking Deborah to buy some clothes to replace the drab skirts and blouses that she wore. He couldn’t even explain it to himself but he wanted to give her something that would please her.
“Yes. I need to meet with our agent here and I really should send some letters home.” Yes, it was long past the time he should have written to Ann.
Richard was too tired to even share a drink with his uncle in his office. Instead he made his excuses and headed to his room where he stripped off his clothes, put on a comfortable robe and sat up in bed to read the letter. He broke the seal with reluctance, for some reason not wanting news of what was happening in Carolina or in Ann’s life.
April 5, 1696
Carlisle Hall,
James Island, Carolina
Dearest Richard
I can’t believe that you have been gone for only five weeks because it has felt like five months. The days drag by and my thoughts are constantly with you, wondering how you are doing and if you are enjoying Barbados.
I’m certainly enjoying Barbados very much, Richard thought as an image of Deborah came to his mind. But I’m sure that’s not what you mean.
My only relief from missing you is to attend an occasional party but even then I miss your presence and I am reminded of that time on the terrace at the Berkeley’s party which does not help. Charles has been kind enough to escort me if my parents are not attending. I have been spending quite a lot of time with your mother and Charlotte and I was very worried when I heard that you had been ill. I hope you have fully recovered your strength.
My father is eager for you to come back with all the things you have learned so that you can begin to make the changes you and he have spoken about. You know that business is not of interest to me but I’m sure that you will be successful at whatever you are planning to do.
I hope you have not met and fallen in love with any beautiful Barbadian women who will try to convince you to stay because I miss you terribly and can’t wait for you to come back so that we can start our life together.
All my love
Ann
PS Looking forward to receiving a letter from you soon although I know how you hate to write. A brief note will suffice.
Richard sighed. He would write to Ann early in the morning and mail it when he went into town, although to be truthful his mind was not to it. As for her concerns about him falling in love with a Barbadian woman, she had no worries there, although he had to admit that a certain beautiful slave girl was occupying his every thought. However one did not fall in love with slaves. As soon as he had his fill of her, he was sure that she would not possess his thoughts as she did now.
The thought flitted through his mind that he could call for her but the truth was that while his mind was willing his body was weak. He was just too exhausted.
He put the letter on his bedside table and turned down the wick of the lantern until it went out. The smell of Deborah on the pillow beside him stirred him in spite of his tiredness and while he struggled to find the energy to call for her, sleep decided the matter for him.
Deborah lay in her cot and listened to her mother’s even breathing. She was excited that she and Richard would be going to Town tomorrow for she didn’t know the last time she had been into Town.
She had thought that he would call for her tonight. She was glad that he hadn’t, so that she didn’t have to battle with herself as she did every time she gave in to him, but she missed the warmth of his body next to hers and the strength of his arms around her. She missed his intoxicating kisses and his addicting caresses.
Stop it! She scolded herself. She did not want to be thinking of him in that way. She wondered if he had already tired of her. Had she lasted even less time than Hattie? Was it because she did not please him? No, he had said that she was worth every pound he paid for her. As if that was a compliment!
So she would keep her part of the bargain and it would be strictly business. He was betrothed and he was going back to Carolina in two months. She was a slave and he was free. The only thing she wanted from him was her freedom.
The next day was somewhat overcast which perfectly matched Deborah’s mood. She wasn’t sure why she was feeling so low in spirits; it certainly wasn’t because Richard did not call for her last night. She put on the best dress she had apart from the green one and met him in the driveway where the stable boy had brought the carriage.
Richard was already seated with the reins in his hands looking impatient. He gave her a hand up and she took the seat next to him, making sure that she was as far as possible from him.
“Ready?” he asked and she nodded but did not reply.
After travelling for quite a while in silence he asked if everything was all right.
She said yes briefly but did not elaborate.
Richard was acquainted with enough women to know that she was lying. He therefore knew that when she could not contain herself any longer he would find out. He almost smiled when a mile or so down the road, Deborah asked, “Are you regretting our arrangement?”
“What do you mean?”
Did he mean for her to spell it out? “You did not call for me last night so I wondered if you called Hattie to come to you instead.”
She couldn’t seriously believe that! “Deborah the only reason I did not call for you was because I was incapable of doing anything other than sleeping after working in the fields all day.”
“Oh,” she replied mollified.
“Were you worried that I had tired of you already?” he teased.
“I was hoping that you had,” she lied, “but then you might try to get out of your promise to free me. That’s all I want.”
“I can’t imagine ever getting tired of you,” he assured her and raised one of her hands to his lips.
Deborah was not sure why the day seemed so much brighter than it had before they left, especially since the sky was still covered with grey clouds.
Chapter 20
At breakfast on Wednesday Thomas brought Richard up to date on what had been done the day before. He was pleased with the progress of the harvest but said that they needed to start harvesting the more mature canes that were on the outskirts of the plantation otherwise they would begin to lose their sugar content.<
br />
Nobody looked forward to harvesting them because the stems were harder to cut and their distance from the mill meant that they had to wait long periods for the carts to come back from taking the canes to the mill, which often resulted in a backup of canes to load.
His uncle told him that it was easier to burn those canes, but the fire had to be managed carefully so that it did not get out of control. Then the canes had to be processed the same day otherwise they would spoil and the juice would be no good. That usually meant running the mill and boiling house through the night.
"Do you have water out there?" Richard asked.
"There's a well near the field and we always have buckets on hand in case we need them. Don’t worry, we do this all the time."
Richard finished eating and returned to his room to collect his hat as well as a large handkerchief in case he needed to protect himself from inhaling the smoke. Deborah was tidying the bed which had become disheveled during the night. Would he ever get enough of this woman? Rather than getting her out of his system she seemed to be getting further under his skin.
Deborah's heart sped up when Richard entered the room.
“We’re burning canes today so I need a kerchief to cover my nose.”
She paused in straightening the bed just to feast her eyes on him as he dug through a drawer looking for a large handkerchief.
Richard turned around to catch Deborah looking at him with blatant desire on her face which evoked an immediate response in him. She held a pillow in front of her as if in defense but he crossed the room and took it from her, tossing it on the bed as he pulled her close.
"You have no idea what you're doing to me with that look in your eyes," he warned her.
"What look?" She asked innocently.
"The look that says ..." he whispered the rest in her ear and Deborah blushed. He kissed her thoroughly before reluctantly pulling away and saying huskily, "I've got to go.”
For no apparent reason Deborah began to feel a sense of foreboding and didn’t want him to go, but she could hardly say so.
"Be careful," she said instead.
"You sound like a wife,” he teased. “I’ll be careful,” he promised. “I wouldn’t want to miss tonight,” and was gone.
As she fluffed the pillows a letter that was on the bedside table floated to the floor. She had noticed it the night before and she was sure that it was the one from his fiancée. It had seemed to accuse her as she shared his bed that night.
Picking it up she began to wonder what she had written. Had she told him she was missing him? Shared intimate secrets? What was she like? She was very tempted to read it but she put it back without giving in to the temptation.
She quickly finished tidying the bed and gathered up his dirty clothes. She would wash them along with the dress, skirts and blouses he had bought her in town yesterday. She still could not believe that Richard had bought her clothes because he hated seeing her in the same drab slaves’ clothing. She did not know what she had done to deserve such treatment but she would enjoy it while it lasted.
Sarah was doing the laundry when Deborah joined her to wash Richard's clothes and hers. The day was already hot but there was a strong wind that dispelled the heat and would dry the clothes quickly.
"Master Richard treating you real good," Sarah said smiling as she gestured at the new clothes. "I’m glad. You happy with him?"
Deborah smiled a little secret smile and admitted, "Yes, ma. More than I expected to be. And he promised to free me when he goes back to Carolina,” she confided. “But the mistress doesn’t know so don’t tell the others.”
“I’m real glad, Deborah! I knew he was a good man.” She hugged Deborah in delight. “Maybe the master will free me too.” Deborah fervently hoped so. Maybe the master would give her a little money to help them. She still didn’t know what she would do once she was free.
Turning back to the clothes, she finished washing them in a few minutes and took them to the drying yard in a bucket. Without consciously thinking about it she hung Richard's on the line and spread hers on some nearby bushes. Slaves did not hang their washing with their master's.
She had spread the last shirt on the bush, a green and white flowered one of the softest cotton, when she turned to find Hattie behind her. She jumped in fright as she had not heard her walk up and was about to scold her for startling her when Hattie said, "I don't know what you gave Master Richard but you got him bewitched. He buy them new clothes for you?” she asked jealously.
Deborah nodded, feeling guilty and ashamed since she had scorned Hattie for accepting a shilling after sleeping with Richard and here she was accepting clothes. In a strange way, she felt sorry for Hattie that Richard had moved on from her and she wondered how she would feel when he went back to his fiancée.
Richard listened as his uncle and the overseers went over the plans to burn the mature canes. The area was about ten acres and was next to a field of young canes which would not be ready for harvesting until the following year.
The plan was to widen the track between the older and younger canes to create a fire break to protect the young canes and provide an access to load the burnt canes onto carts once the field cooled down and the canes could be cut. There was already a rough cart road between them but it had become overgrown in the rainy season.
Once the bush edging the field of young canes was cleared they would start what his uncle called a perimeter fire which was the quickest way to burn the canes. He had said that this type of fire had to be handled carefully since it was hotter and moved faster than any of the other methods of burning.
Richard and a crew of about twenty slaves began to cut back the overgrown bush from the far end of the field and worked their way down. He was happy that it was not as back breaking as cutting sugar cane and this allowed them to make rapid progress. A cart followed them so that they could pile the cuttings into it.
The overseers signaled with the agreed gun shot that they were ready to start the fire. It was progressing well and burning away from where Richard and the gang were cutting, when the wind shifted suddenly and several sustained gusts from the south created a new head and flames, aided by the wind, reached towards them like hellish hands. The intense heat caused them to shrink back.
“What’s happening?” Richard shouted to a slave over the crackle of the flames
“The wind shifted,” he answered. “Best get out quick,” he warned even as he ran.
“Run,” Richard urged the other slaves even as he ran back to help the driver of the cart to control the panicking horse. The horse reared up and its hoof clipped him on the temple before it bolted down the track as Richard collapsed to the ground, stunned by the blow. The handkerchief, which he had been holding over his nose, blew from his hand as he lost consciousness.
Thomas had ridden down towards the track in time to see the slaves run out.
“Where is Richard?’ he asked one of them who gestured towards the track, coughing. Thomas jumped from his horse and ran towards the track where he found Richard lying on the ground with blood trickling from a cut on his head. He picked him up under the arms and began to drag him out and was relieved to see one of the slaves appear to help carry him.
Loading him onto the cart, Thomas anxiously checked to see if he was still breathing and was relieved to see his chest move. Once they moved away from the smoke, Richard began to cough violently before slipping back into unconsciousness.
Thomas didn’t know how much smoke he had inhaled and how bad the cut on his head was but he didn’t look good. He swore to God that if he spared Richard’s life, he would give up something that was important to him in exchange: Sarah.
Deborah saw the smoke in the distance and once again a nervous feeling came over her. She tried to tell herself that the master was accustomed to doing controlled burning but the feeling would not go away.
A high gust of wind made her look frantically in the direction of the fire and she was frustrated that she coul
d not see anything apart from thick smoke that rose in the air, thankfully downwind from the house.
She paced up and down in the yard, unable to sit still and unwilling to examine why she was so worried about Richard.
It was almost a relief when half hour later she saw a cart racing into the yard. She started running towards it, knowing already what her premonition had told her. As the cart came to a halt she rushed to it to find Richard lying unmoving in the back, with blood all down his face and on his shirt.
Her heart froze as she gazed in disbelief at his still form and everything seemed to slow down around her. She couldn’t believe this was happening. Surely Richard could not be dead, not when she was just beginning to have feelings for him.
Thomas rode into the yard, shouting for Jethro to help get Richard into the house, even as he jumped from his horse. Chaos erupted in the next few minutes as Elizabeth and the girls rushed out to see what was happening and the house slaves appeared in the doorways.
“Deborah, get some water and cloths to clean the wound,” the master instructed. “I’ve already sent for the doctor. Quick!” he snapped when she still seemed dazed.
She snapped out of it and ran to the kitchen to boil water and find clean cloths, sobbing in relief that Richard was still alive.
Chapter 21
By the time the doctor arrived just over an hour later, Deborah had cleaned the wound on Richard’s head and sat in the chair next to his bed watching him closely. She was worried that he had not regained consciousness, even when Jethro helped her to take off his filthy shirt which reeked of smoke so that she could wipe him down as best as she could.