“And why is that?”
“I, uh—” She glanced from Thad to her aunt, trying to make up something about helping Dr. Malone settle in or taking in homeless families. But she couldn’t lie into Aunt Margaret’s direct stare. “I’m going to visit the Maryland Institute to inspect the campus.”
“Alone?” Her aunt cocked one eyebrow. Thad, too, was watching her with suspicious disapproval.
Emily swallowed and shook her head. She should have just gone with Jovie and left a note. She could have apologized afterward. “Jovie offered to escort me.”
Aunt Margaret’s second eyebrow rivaled the first for height. “You will do no such thing. I may grant some allowances, but a young woman has no business traveling to another city with any man who is neither related to her nor her husband.”
Emily’s face radiated color. “Aunt Margaret, Jovie offered to help me and I accepted.”
Aunt Margaret flashed her eyes dangerously, unaccustomed to having her authority questioned. She crossed her arms and her presence filled the room like a mountain. “You will find an appropriate chaperone or you will stay home.”
Emily glanced at Thad and felt a flicker of annoyance over the smug satisfaction on his face. He seemed to think she’d already lost the argument. But after facing down her father, she wasn’t cowed by her aunt. Her posture stiffened. “I want an education,” she said coolly. “And I am determined to achieve it.”
But Aunt Margaret had one last ace up her sleeve. “If you want to live here, I absolutely forbid you to go.”
Emily wavered. Her independence boiled just below the surface, but she hadn’t quite worked up enough courage to make the break and leave behind all security. She saw now she would have to. Thrusting her chin forward, she matched the stubbornness in her aunt’s eyes. “I’m sorry, Aunt Margaret. But I’m going to Maryland.”
3
“Are you really following through with this ridiculous plan?”
Emily thought she had left her aunt’s house unseen, but she hardly reached the corner before Thad caught up to her. The confrontation wasn’t unexpected. She’d simply hoped she could put it off. Why hadn’t she just kept her mouth shut?
Her irritation spilled over. “I don’t think it’s ridiculous. I’m simply going after what I want. You go to school. Aren’t you doing the same thing?”
“It’s not the same at all.”
“Oh, now the truth comes out. What about all your talk of women making their way independently in the world? Was that just a ruse to get me to walk with you on the promenade?”
“Of course not.” He gritted his teeth in exasperation. “You know I respect your decision. But I don’t like how you’re choosing to attain it. What about your reputation?”
“I’d say that took a serious blow the moment my father threw me out of his house.”
“But overnight with Jovie? You’re nailing the lid on your coffin.”
Her fury overflowed. “This is spite, pure and simple. Admit it. You’re jealous.”
“Perhaps I am,” Thad shot back. “What’s wrong with that? I thought you and I had something special together.”
“What? What do we have, Thad?” she demanded, squaring off with him on the sidewalk.
He looked wounded. “Am I only an amusement to you, Emily? A diversion? What about last night? What about the understanding in your mother’s parlor? Does it all mean nothing?”
Emily closed her eyes. No, last night hadn’t meant nothing. And the moment in the parlor when Thad had pledged to wait for her, she had melted with the reassurance of his affection and support. She had needed it so badly after her father’s rejection. But he was retracting it the moment they reached a disagreement. “Thad, that was not a promise.”
“It was for my part.” He took her hands and pleaded with her. “I feel so alive when we’re together, Emily, as though my senses only truly know how to function when they have you to focus on. I thought you shared that.”
Attraction. Yes, she had that in abundance. Even now, his touch was like an opiate that clouded her thoughts. She tugged her hands free. “I have never misled you. I have always told you my schooling comes first.”
His face hardened. “Is that your excuse for shutting me out? You haven’t listened to a word I’ve said. Not about your father. Not about this. I’m trying to help you, Emily. Can’t you see that?”
“I didn’t ask for your help.”
His blue eyes burned into hers. “It is much easier to only have yourself to think about, isn’t it?”
She whirled, leaving him standing on the sidewalk, and stalked home alone. Thaddeus Black could be the most exasperating man in Charleston. She hoped he stewed long and hard over her absence!
The Malones’ arrival proved a welcome distraction. Emily had forewarned the staff about the new housing arrangements. Bedrooms were prepared and footmen were in place to lend assistance when the buggy pulled up with their salvaged belongings early that afternoon. Dr. Malone oversaw the transformation of William’s office into a temporary clinic while Emily directed his wife to a bedroom on the second floor.
Ida Malone was a petite woman unscathed by the snobbery that often characterized Charleston aristocracy. Perhaps because her husband’s affluence had been acquired through hard work, not inheritance. After stowing the last of her belongings, she squeezed Emily’s hand affectionately. “I cannot tell you how much we appreciate this, Emily.”
“It’s no trouble, really. Make yourselves at home. And don’t be afraid to utilize the staff. Our people greatly admire your husband, especially since he nursed Betsy through typhus three years ago. I assume he has filled these other bedrooms?”
“The Johnson and Merriweather families will be arriving later this afternoon. And John and Liza Norton will come tomorrow.”
Emily nodded in satisfaction and turned to Abigail. “You can squeeze in with me, to keep another of these rooms open.”
Abigail agreed, but Emily noted her swollen eyes and flimsy smile. She slipped an arm around her friend’s waist as she led her away. “Abigail, I am so, so sorry.”
The young woman shrugged halfheartedly. “They were only things.”
“Your things. Your memories, your treasures—everything comfortable and familiar. You just lost your home, Abigail. It’s okay to miss it.”
“I’ll get over it,” she said miserably. “Eventually.”
“Well, I’m not sure I will. Every time I think about our beautiful…” Emily’s voice wavered, and she sucked in a stabilizing breath. “It’s just best to keep my thoughts occupied elsewhere.”
Abigail’s trunk had preceded them and crouched in the middle of the bedroom floor. “Put your things anywhere,” Emily told her. “There’s plenty of space for both of us, although tomorrow you’ll have the place to yourself.”
This prompted a flicker of curiosity. “Are you going somewhere?”
“Just for a few days.”
Abigail paused expectantly. “You’re not going to tell me where?”
Emily felt guilty vocalizing her good fortune when Abigail had just lost everything. “We can talk about it later. Tonight is about getting you moved in and settled.”
“If it will give me anything else to think about, tell me now.”
“All right.” Emily smiled, trying not to appear too eager. “I’m visiting the Maryland Institute in Baltimore…as a potential student.”
“Emily, that’s wonderful news!” Abigail recovered some of her usual enthusiasm. “Did your aunt agree to take you?”
She scrunched her nose. “Not exactly.”
“Your mother?”
“No.”
“Not your father.” It wasn’t even a question.
“Of course not. Jovie offered.”
Abigail’s eyes grew wide. “And you accepted?”
“Well, I certainly don’t want to go alone.”
Heartache forgotten, Abigail spun in a circle, her laughter sweeping any space that her skirt mis
sed. “Does Thad know?”
Emily grimaced. “Yes.”
“I’d wager that wasn’t well received.”
“It serves him right. He tried to talk me out of school altogether.”
“He did not.”
“He did!”
Abigail sank onto the edge of the bed and clasped her hands under her chin. “If he had an ounce of sense, he would have made the offer first.”
Emily snorted. “I would never go to Baltimore with Thaddeus Black.”
“You don’t trust him?”
“I don’t trust me.”
Abigail grinned wickedly. “I believe that statement warrants further explanation.”
Emily flopped whimsically onto her back in the middle of the feather mattress. “Despite his occasional stupidity,” she emphasized, studiously examining a corner of the ceiling, “Thad is like a piece of chocolate cake. I can never eat just one bite.” She shot Abigail a sly glance. “So setting the whole cake on the table would be extremely unwise, if you know what I mean.”
Abigail howled with delight. “You are positively wicked! And Jovie?”
Emily rose enough to prop herself on one elbow. How could she put their friendship into words? “Jovie is more like earth and sky and water,” she answered thoughtfully. “Part of the landscape of my childhood. He’s just always been.” She shook her head and rose from the bed. “Nothing’s going to happen in Baltimore. Please don’t mention it to anyone.”
“I won’t,” Abigail promised. “At least Lizzie can be trusted to keep you out of trouble.”
Emily grew quiet.
“Lizzie is going, isn’t she?”
“Not exactly. She—uh—”
Abigail’s eyes narrowed. “I can tell when you’re lying, so don’t even try.”
Emily’s nose wrinkled guiltily. “I let her go.”
“You let her escape?” Abigail leaped to her feet, her voice rising with her body.
Emily clapped a palm over her mouth. “Not so loud. It was the only way to protect her. I helped her escape. And so did you.”
Understanding settled in the squint of Abigail’s eyes. She pulled Emily’s hand away. “The steamer tickets. Charleston to Philadelphia.”
“The steamer tickets,” Emily confirmed. “For Lizzie, her beau Ketch, and both of their children.”
Abigail let out a breathy whistle. “You’re full of risky news tonight. You could get in a lot of trouble for this, you know.”
“Which is why we’re going to tell everyone that Lizzie ran away in Baltimore.”
“But she isn’t going with you to Baltimore.”
“Nobody else knows that. In all the confusion, no one will notice.”
Abigail let out another long breath. “All right. I’ll keep that secret, too.”
“Thank you.” Emily squeezed her friend’s hand. “I knew I could count on you.”
Abigail opened her trunk and pulled out a pair of shoes that she placed neatly in the bottom of Emily’s wardrobe. “Did Lizzie ever tell you who attacked her?”
Emily gasped and her hand flew to cover her mouth. “The letter!”
“What letter?”
“Lizzie gave me an envelope just before I left the ship. She told me it was important and to read it right away.” Her fingertips worked their way to her temples. “Then the fire started.”
“It’s gone?”
“I must have dropped it. I never thought about it again.”
“Do you know how to contact her?”
Emily stared hard at the bedroom floor. “No, but she knows how to contact me. I’ll ask when I hear from her.”
Abigail leaned up against the wardrobe and crossed her arms over her chest. “Emily, how are you ever going to go back now that Lizzie’s gone?”
Her brow furrowed. “Didn’t you get my letter? I can’t return to Ella Wood.”
“That’s not what I mean.” She shifted slightly. “How are you ever going to return to passivity after what you’ve done?”
“I don’t understand.”
“I know you,” Abigail stated. “I’ve seen far more than you think. The way the workhouse unnerved you when we went to the prison hospital last fall. Your distress when Jack sold Jeremiah. That ridiculous drama you put on to purchase a slave child from Darius Johnson when he was separated from his father. And now you’ve helped four slaves escape.”
Emily bit her lip. “Am I that transparent?”
“To me you are. I don’t think you can go back to doing nothing.”
Emily was quiet. Thoughtful. She abhorred slavery. She’d risked everything to help a dear friend. But would she make those kinds of sacrifices for Ella Wood’s other slaves? Or for people she didn’t know? “Nothing I do will make any difference.”
“I’m not sure Lizzie would agree with you.”
Emily pursed her lips. “Abigail, do you think slavery is wrong?”
“Slavery is,” Abigail answered, uncrossing her arms and reaching into her trunk once more. “It’s as much a part of Charleston as the air and the sea. I’m not sure I’m qualified to judge two hundred years of history, but there is certainly room for improvement.” She pulled out a pair of stockings and smoothed the lace edging. “I’ve watched my father all my life. He treats black and white, rich and poor, slave and free, with exactly the same care. I think there’s a lesson in that.”
“Imagine how different Charleston would be if everyone thought so.” Emily shook her head decisively. “No, there is nothing I can do to change anything, Abigail. It’s a battle one person can’t possibly win. Right now I need to concentrate on my own life, on circumstances within my control. It’s time I focus on Baltimore.”
4
As the train rattled into the Baltimore station, Emily gripped her valise with a mixture of enthusiasm, apprehension, and exhaustion. The ride had been uneventful, at least until they entered Virginia where twice they had to disembark and take a stage to the next station because the Union army had torn up the track. For four days and three nights they traveled in small, cramped compartments with other unwashed passengers. She’d had plenty of time to second-guess her decision.
The sun was dropping toward the horizon when Jovie hired a cab to help them locate an inn near the school. After allowing her half an hour to settle into her room, he knocked on the door. “How about a bite to eat and a stroll along the waterfront? I could use some exercise before I retire for the night.”
She agreed at once. “I think my muscles have forgotten how to function properly.” She stretched one more kink out of her back and followed him to the inn’s dining room.
After finishing a late dinner—the best food they’d eaten in four days—Emily fell into step beside him and inhaled a welcome breath of freedom. Her mind still had trouble assimilating the new direction her life was taking, but with Jovie beside her, her few lingering apprehensions seemed far less threatening. She chuckled softly to herself.
“What?” he asked, smiling.
“I was just remembering the first time you and I went out in public together.”
“The lecture?”
She nodded. “When Sophia left us to go visiting, you were adamant about not taking me without a proper chaperone.” She was quite certain Jovie’s twin had planned it that way intentionally. “Look at us now.”
“Different circumstances. Your father should be here doing this.”
“Well, he’s not. And I can’t say it isn’t unpleasant being out from under his thumb. Or escaping Charleston gossip and propriety. I wasn’t meant to be a parlor decoration.” She drew another long draft of salty air. “No one knows me here. I can breathe.”
They crossed the tracks and meandered between buildings until the dockside opened before them. Masts grew from the indigo water like a forest of spindly trees. Scores of them, with streamlined steamers in between. At this hour, only the ships that would sail with the late tide showed signs of life; most were slumbering away the evening. But Emily could imagine
how the harbor bustled during the day.
“What river is this?” she asked.
“The Patapsco. It empties into the Chesapeake just there.” He pointed.
She leaned her elbows against a piling and absorbed the atmosphere. The smell of brine, the creak of wooden vessels, the gentle lap of water, the cries of wheeling gulls—they were just the same as in Charleston. If she closed her eyes, she could imagine herself at home.
But she wasn’t at home. She popped open her eyes and squinted across the harbor. “Jovie, I feel a little guilty about all the money you’re spending on me.”
He shrugged, his thumbs hooked easily in the top of his trousers. “I can afford it.”
“I know, but it’s still so much. The train fare, our meals, our hotel rooms.” He wasn’t family, not strictly speaking, and she felt odd being beholden to him.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“I’ll find a job,” she said earnestly. “I’ll work. I’ll pay you back.”
He shifted to face her. “Emily, I don’t want your money. I would pay for your schooling if I thought you would let me.”
One elbow slipped from the piling. “You would do that?”
“Don’t look so astonished. What better investment could I make?”
“But what about my father? What if he found out you were helping me?”
Jovie’s face darkened. “I’ve told you before, he has no power over me. In fact, it would give me great pleasure to cross him after the way he’s treated you.”
His loyalty bolstered her courage. Jovie looked so confident, so unshakeable. And her father could do no worse than he had already done. Still, she couldn’t accept Jovie’s money. “I know most misplaced Southern women sponge off a friend or a relative, but that’s not me. I think if I’m making the decision to go to school, I should find the means to accomplish it. On my own.”
“I thought you would say that. But it will be a challenge, even here. We’re not so very far from home, you know.”
Blood Moon (Ella Wood, 2) Page 3