“In my sewing room, Pru,” she answered.
Their thirty-minute conversation proved fruitless, as well. Why couldn’t she get her parents to see reason in this matter? And how could Kate know when her debt was paid if she didn’t know how much it was? Father had been less than honest in some of his business deals. Prudence had seen the paperwork. But challenging him on this had been a huge mistake.
She left her mother’s sewing room and sat on the front porch. The deep golds, yellows, and reds of the autumn leaves painted a gay feeling—unlike her own frustration.
A rider came up the road to the house. He sat tall in his saddle. Without getting off of his horse, he stopped and asked, “Would this be Hiram Greene’s home?”
“Yes, sir. May I help you?”
“I need to speak with him on a business matter.”
The tall stranger dismounted. Prudence got her first glimpse of the man. He had red hair, freckles… “May I say who’s calling?”
Kate was walking toward the front porch, her head down.
“Urias O’Leary.”
“Urias?” Kate squealed and Prudence questioned.
Urias turned to the voice behind him. “Katherine?” He ran to her and swept her into his arms. “It is you.” A lump the size of the Kentucky hills stuck in his throat. Tears filled Katherine’s green eyes. He held her close, hugging her tight. “I’ve been looking for you for years. I’m so sorry. How are you? Are you all right? Where have you been?”
Katherine pushed herself from his arms and looked down at the ground. “I’m a servant of Mr. Greene’s.”
“I’ve come to get you, Katherine. I won’t take no for an answer.” He could feel the heat of his temper begin to rise. He slowly counted his blessings. One, I’ve found Katherine. Thank You, Lord. Two, she’s alive and safe. Thank You, Lord. Three… “I can’t believe I’ve found you.”
“Nor I,” Katherine replied through a halfhearted smile.
He thought she’d be more excited to see him. He turned back to the lady of the house. “May I speak with Mr. Greene?” he asked.
“I’ll let him know you are here.”
The brown-haired, petite lady scurried into the house. Urias turned his attention back to his sister and asked, “Did Mother sell you?”
She nodded yes.
“Katherine.” He lifted her chin with his forefinger. “I’m sorry I took so long. I went back the following year, but you and Mother had moved. I’ve been looking for you ever since. What happened?”
“My daughter says you are Kate’s brother.” Hiram Greene stood all of five feet five inches, if Urias was any judge of a man’s height. At six feet, he would easily tower over the older gentleman, but Mr. Greene stood on the top step and Urias remained on the ground with a half dozen steps between them.
“Yes, sir. May I take her home with me?”
“Now, Mister… ?”
“O’Leary,” Urias supplied.
“Mr. O’Leary, I’m a businessman, and I can’t be letting my help run off with any man that comes along. How can you prove to me she is your sister?”
Is the man blind? We both have the same hair and eye color and obviously have similar features. “You have my word.”
Hiram Greene chuckled. “Come into my office, son. Let’s see what we can work out.”
Urias gave a parting glance to his sister, then followed the man into his two-story mansion. The front room opened into an entryway larger than the living room in his parents’ spacious farmhouse. Urias wondered how long he’d have to work before he could earn enough to purchase his sister’s freedom. It was apparent, without Hiram Greene saying a word, he would not simply hand her over. And he would be far less likely to release her with nothing more than Urias’s promise to pay off her debt. But Urias determined to plead his case.
“Mr. Greene,” Urias began upon entering the gentleman’s office.
“Mr. O’Leary,” Hiram Greene interrupted. “Please take a seat. May I call you Urias?”
Urias nodded.
“Fine, fine. Urias, I’m not above selling Kate’s bond.”
“Sir, if I may be so bold, I have little funds with me. But I can give you my word I will return to my home and come back with the appropriate funds. How much is my sister’s bond?”
“Now, now, before we talk figures, I would need to calculate how much it is. As to the matter of your leaving and returning, that will be fine. But your sister will remain with us until the debt is paid.”
Urias thought for a moment. If she’d been with the family for two years, what would be the problem?
“However, I must tell you, I’ve had another offer to purchase Kate’s bond.”
“What? You can’t sell her. She’s my sister.” Urias knew he should keep his anger in check, but there were some things a man just couldn’t stomach, and ever since hearing of his sister being sold into servitude, it had been souring something terrible.
“I’m a reasonable man, Mr. O’Leary, but the hour is late, and I’d need something more than your word of your return to consider your offer over that of another.”
Urias suspected the man was just trying to up his price. “How much?”
❧
Prudence leaned closer to the back wall of the coat closet. Sequestered in her hiding place, she could hear just about everything that went on in her father’s business negotiations. Urias O’Leary was not pleased to see his sister in such a condition and, for that matter, neither was Prudence. Something had changed over the past couple of months with Kate—she seemed more despondent. At this time last year, she had sported a healthy tan. Now Kate’s coloring was pasty, at best.
“Five hundred dollars,” her father replied to Urias’s third request to know just exactly how much would be needed to meet his sister’s bond.
“Five hundred dollars?” Urias reached into his pocket. “I have twenty.”
Her father let out a wicked laugh.
“A hundred and a fine steed. Would you take it and let me return with the rest?” Urias pushed.
She could just see her father rubbing his chin as he always did, sitting back in his chair behind the desk. “If I take your horse, how long would it take you to return?”
“It was five days on horseback, so possibly a month.”
“Fine, a month and five hundred dollars, and you’ll be able to purchase your sister’s indebtedness. The horse stays here as collateral. The sun is setting, Urias. Have dinner with us, and you may spend the night in the barn.”
“Thank you, but I won’t impose.”
Prudence leaned against the back wall. Five hundred dollars! No wonder Father wouldn’t let me pay the debt.
“May I visit with my sister?”
“After her chores are finished, which will be after our dinner is served and she’s cleaned up the dishes. You’re welcome to have dinner with us.”
“No, thank you.”
Prudence couldn’t blame him for not wanting to create more work for his sister. Little did he know that Kate was only one of three in the kitchen.
“The barn is yours for the night, if you wish,” her father once again extended his offer.
Words were mumbled, and Prudence couldn’t make them out.
She had some money in her room, she knew, but not that much. Think, Pru, think. Then it hit her—Thomas Hagins was selling some hogs. If Urias herded them down to the Cumberland Gap, he could turn a profit. The question was: Would Mr. Hagins take Urias’s word, unlike her father? And would Urias want to herd hogs? A mental flash of Urias following a herd of large hogs through the windy foothills to the Cumberland went through her mind.
She slithered out of the coat closet and waited in the front room for Urias to leave her father’s office. She had to help him. Kate needed to be free. She needed to live once again. Prudence thought back on what Kate had spoken of yesterday about her life as a bond servant, about her mother, and even her brother. The abuse had to end. If Pru couldn’t convince her fathe
r to give her Kate’s bond, then she’d do what it would take to help Urias purchase it.
Urias stomped out of her father’s office but refrained from slamming the door. His temper showed by the redness of his face.
“Mr. O’Leary,” Prudence whispered as he passed by. “Meet me in the barn. I have an idea to help free your sister.”
“What? Who are you?”
“Prudence Greene. Your sister is my best friend. I want to help.”
He set his hat upon his head. “A friend doesn’t…” He stopped short of completing his comment.
Prudence figured she knew what the man was going to say, but now was not the time or the place to be discussing such matters. Her father would have her head if he found her discussing business one more time. Mother had already threatened to send her east to some high society fashion school for ladies. Thankfully, Father had talked her out of that for the time being.
“The barn, Mr. O’Leary.” She hurried up the stairs, praying her father hadn’t heard her brief discussion with Urias. At the top of the stairs, she turned down the hall and down the back stairs, sneaking out the back door to the barn. It was the long way to go, but the best way when you didn’t want to be intercepted. The barn door creaked as she opened it. The smell of fresh hay and oats wafted past her nose. “Urias?” she called. “Are you in here?”
The door creaked open again, letting in some golden light from the sunset. Prudence ducked behind the tack wall. The tall, thin frame of Urias O’Leary was highlighted in a dark silhouette. He led his horse by the reins into the barn. “Come on, boy, you’ll have a comfortable home for a while.”
Urias O’Leary was a handsome man, and he seemed to have a peace about him in the way he handled himself.
He stroked the horse’s head. “I’ll be back for you as soon as I can, boy.”
“Urias,” Prudence called.
Urias spun in the air and pointed his rifle straight at her.
“It’s me. Prudence.”
He lowered his weapon.
“Tell me what you must, woman. I need to be on my way.”
“I have an idea,” Prudence said.
❧
Urias sat on a rail and listened. She had an interesting plan, he had to admit, and he certainly knew the Cumberland Gap area. From here down to the Wilderness Road would be a trick, though. He’d have to get some detailed directions. The big question was whether he would be able to purchase five hundred hogs with only some of the money down. Would this Thomas Hagins trust him more than Hiram Greene did?
“Your plan has merit, but…”
“I know. But would Thomas extend the note to be paid upon your return.”
“Precisely.”
“I could give Thomas my word.”
The petite woman did not appear frail; she seemed like she could take on the world, given the right incentive. “Would he believe you?”
“I don’t rightly know. Men don’t like women talking business.”
He wouldn’t argue the point, but he’d long since learned from his adopted mom that women could have as much of a head for numbers as a man and quite possibly a better head from time to time. Urias didn’t have five hundred dollars for Katherine’s bond, and while his parents might have enough, the question still remained how he’d manage to pay them back. He could spend the winter furring, but that would only bring in some of it. But it would be worth it—anything to get Katherine out of a life of servitude. On the other hand, Prudence’s idea would bring a quicker income in less than a month’s time.
“Urias, I do love your sister. She’s become like a sister to me. But we must act quickly. I found Kate crying in the barn yesterday. Apparently the subject of her being sold again had come up. I tried to purchase her bond from Father myself, but he wouldn’t listen to me. He knew I would simply forgive her the debt, and it just reinforced his thought that a woman had no sense of business. Perhaps he’s right. I can’t see the logic in one man owning another or, in your sister’s case, owing a debt that seems never to be paid up.”
“My mother never would have sold Katherine for five hundred dollars.” He jumped off the rail. “Don’t get me wrong. She would have sold Katherine, but she would have sold her cheap. I don’t understand how the bill could be so high.”
Prudence sighed. “I don’t know the nature of your sister’s debt to my father. But I do know he would charge her for her food and clothing.”
“But he doesn’t pay her a wage.”
“Precisely. That would keep her forever in his debt.”
Urias kicked up some hay from the barn’s floor. Lord, I’m upset here. Calm me down so I don’t do or say something foolish, he prayed.
“Urias.” Prudence placed her hand on his shoulder. He turned to her. He could see the tears in her eyes. She truly did care for Katherine and her well-being. His heart softened.
“I’m not angry with you. Truthfully, I’m more upset with myself. I never should have left without bringing Katherine with me.”
“You were merely a boy at the time. How could you have cared for her?”
“I would have found a way. And I know Mom and Dad would have taken her in just as they took me in, if she were with me at the time.”
“One can’t look back and change things. We have to decide what to do now. I’m worried about her. Kate’s not looking well. I think she’s lost the will to live.” Prudence began to cry. “We must help her.”
Urias wrapped the woman in a compassionate embrace. “God will help us.”
“Amen.” She sniffled.
“Get your hands off my daughter!” Hiram Greene bellowed.
Three
Urias released Prudence and jumped back.
“How dare you!” Hiram Greene’s eyes bulged. His entire face resembled that of a setting sun.
“Father, it isn’t what you think!” Prudence cried.
“Get into the house!” Hiram ordered.
“But, Father, Urias…”
“Urias, is it?” The older man fumed. “Get to the house, now, before I take a switch to you.”
Urias’s hackles went up. “Nothing improper happened.”
Hiram faced Urias. “Don’t you be telling me what is what, boy. I have a mind to send you packing.”
“Daddy!” Prudence cried.
“Get!” He pointed to the open barn door.
Urias chastised himself for not having shut the door when he entered. He knew Prudence had planned on meeting him in the barn. And he knew it was not socially correct for a man and woman to meet privately. He hadn’t thought about that. He’d only been thinking about his sister and how hard it was going to be to get her out of this servant lifestyle.
“Sir, if I could explain.”
“I don’t think there is a thing you can say that will placate me in this situation.” Hiram scrutinized Urias’s horse. He relaxed his shoulders and asked, “Is he fast?”
Urias nodded. He didn’t know what to say at the abrupt change in Hiram’s demeanor. He’d never met a man who behaved quite like this before.
“Does he have papers?”
“No. I bred him from one of my father’s mares and a wild horse I captured.”
“Hmm.” Hiram went over to the horse. “He has good lines.”
“Yes, sir.” What else could Urias say? How could this man be so belligerent one moment, then congenial the next?
“You’ll spend the night in the barn. If you leave, I’ll call the law on you. I need to speak with my wife on the matter of your inappropriate actions with my daughter.”
“Nothing—”
Hiram held up his hand. “I’m not interested in what you have to say, son. You’re a stranger to me and so is your kin. Your word means nothing. Have I made myself clear?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. Supper will be in thirty minutes. I’ll send Kate out with a plate for you.”
“Yes, sir.” Urias stepped up to his horse and loosened the saddle.
Hi
ram Greene marched out of the barn, then turned back around at the doorway. “Fine-looking horseflesh. Mighty fine.”
Urias knew horses, and he knew Bullet could run like the wind. He’d been offered a fair dollar a time or two for the steed. But he’d always held back from selling him. He’d been considering purchasing his own place to raise horses. Horse-racing was beginning to be big business in Kentucky, and a man could do well breeding prime stock for the competition.
Hiram Greene, on the other hand, had the wealth of high society, while his business negotiations seemed more like wrestling a pig out of the mud. Urias felt certain he was paying more than his sister’s bond. But what did it matter? He’d buy her freedom.
Urias finished removing the horse’s tack and put him in an empty stall with some fresh oats. He groomed the animal; it had been days since he’d had a good brushing. He’d just finished cleaning up when his sister came in with a plate of food.
“What did you do, Urias? The house is in an uproar.”
“Nothing,” he grumbled.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Mr. Greene this angry before. Prudence is in tears. The missus is beside herself.” Katherine sat down beside him. “You be a bit of a handful, Urias. Seems little has changed.”
She had grown into a fine-looking woman—no longer the thin little girl with huge front teeth and pigtails. “My life is good, Katherine. I’m going to get you out of here. I promise.”
“Where have you been?” she asked, handing him his plate.
“For the first six months, I ran from spot to spot. I barely had much to eat, except for the food I could catch. My hunting skills back then left a wee bit to be desired. I found a barn I could hide in, and I was staying in there when I met Mom and Dad.”
“Mom and Dad? Father’s been dead for nearly nine years.”
“I’m sorry. Mac and Pam MacKenneth took me in and made me a part of their family.”
Katherine looked down at the floor.
“Katherine, we’ve searched for years. When we returned the following fall, no one knew where you and Mom went off to.”
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