The Widow of Rose Hill (The Women of Rose Hill Book 2)

by Michelle Shocklee

Seemingly satisfied, Samuel bounded off the sofa. “Mama, can I go play with Isaac? We were gonna go rock hunting down by the creek, but Moses said we had to go stand in the yard and listen to you.”

  Natalie hesitated to answer. Nothing in their world was the same as it had been a mere hour ago. She wasn’t certain any of the slaves would still be on the property, considering they were now free. There was also the fact that a company of Federal soldiers remained outside her door.

  “Not right now, Samuel. I need you to go to your room and play. I’ll come up and tell you a story in a bit.”

  Her son’s bottom lip poked out, but he obeyed and trudged into the foyer and up the stairs. Oh, how she loved that boy. What did the future hold for him now that everything had changed?

  “Why didn’t you tell him the truth? That the slaves are happy because they’re finally free?” A hard tone edged the colonel’s voice.

  “I didn’t lie to my son.” She glared at him. “I will explain things in a manner he can understand when we’re alone. I certainly don’t need an audience to dissect every word I choose trying to explain something very complicated in a way a four-year-old can comprehend.”

  After a tense moment, he acquiesced. “I apologize. I have no right to question what you tell your son.”

  His contrite words gave her pause. He didn’t seem the type to admit to being wrong about anything. George certainly never had. “Apology accepted. Samuel won’t understand freedom any more than he understood slavery, but I will do my best to explain it all.”

  “Are you feeling better?”

  Embarrassment washed over her. She had never fainted in her life and was mortified she had done so in front of the Yankee and his men. “Yes, thank you. I’m not sure what came over me.”

  “You had some rather shocking news. All in all, I’d say you handled things quite admirably.”

  Once again, his kind words were unexpected. If she weren’t mistaken, he had just given her a compliment. “You may not believe this, but I am happy for them. I never really thought about the plight of the slaves until my husband’s sister helped several of our people escape, my favorite maid included.”

  “That event changed your mind?”

  “Not at first,” she admitted, recalling the morning after Adella and Seth left Rose Hill, taking four slaves with them. She shivered, remembering Luther’s wrath. If not for George’s reasoning that the plantation couldn’t operate without slaves, she felt sure her father-in-law would have sold them all that very day. “After Adella Rose left, she wrote explaining why she’d done it. She described how Jeptha and Zina and Aunt Lu were free, living in Mexico, and how happy they were. I suppose someone from the north can’t understand this, but that was the first time I realized Negroes were simply people, just like us.”

  “And yet you kept them in bondage.”

  She looked away, his words reminding her of the guilt—and fear—she’d lived with since the responsibility for the plantation fell into her hands. “As I said, someone from the north wouldn’t understand.”

  A long silence followed.

  “What will you do now?”

  “I have no earthly idea, Colonel. I suppose it will depend upon whether or not any of the slaves—I mean, free men and women— stay or not.” She glanced to the window. The ruckus had died down, and she wondered if her people were even now packing their meager belongings to leave Rose Hill.

  “You do realize if some choose to stay, you will be required to pay wages. And”—he almost sounded apologetic—“Confederate currency is worthless. Only gold or United States currency is being accepted.”

  Any shred of hope of keeping Rose Hill operating evaporated with his words. “I haven’t any money, Confederate or otherwise. We’ve been without an overseer for three years because I couldn’t pay the salary, though the only men who hadn’t gone off to war weren’t the type I would hire anyway.”

  “Some planters are giving a share of the harvest to their workers as payment. Others, free room and board. There are ways to pay someone without cash.”

  Natalie considered his words. “I suppose those are options.”

  “I am curious how you managed to keep your slaves on the plantation without an overseer.”

  “Moses.” She gave a sad smile. Aside from Samuel, Moses, Harriet, and Carolina were the closest thing she had to family these days. It hurt to think of them leaving. “Moses saw to it the fields were planted and tended. He tried to arrange the sale of the cotton, too, but the markets were closed. Your Union blockades were quite effective, Colonel.”

  “War is an ugly thing. People in the south as well as in the north have suffered. I, for one, thank God it is over.”

  His sincerity touched her. “That is something we can agree on.”

  He gave her a long study before he tugged on thick leather gloves. “My men and I will take our leave now. I’m setting up a command post not far from here. We’ve been ordered to help Texans in the reconstruction of the Union and see that free Negroes are treated fairly. If you find yourself in need of anything, send word to the old Langford plantation.”

  Natalie gasped.

  “Are you acquainted with the previous owner, Calvin Langford?”

  She stood, practically sputtering. “Of course. He was my father. Langford Manor is my home.”

  He appeared taken aback by her outburst. “As I understood our information, the plantation was abandoned after an outbreak of yellow fever a few years ago. Langford and his wife succumbed to the disease. Is that not the case?”

  “There was an outbreak, and I lost my parents, but the property has not been abandoned. I simply reside at Rose Hill instead.”

  His thick, dark eyebrows drew into a frown. “Is anyone living there? Do slaves still work the land?”

  “No. My husband feared the outbreak would spread, so he sold off the remaining slaves after so many had died.”

  The colonel’s shoulders relaxed. “I’m sorry for your loss, ma’am, but with no occupants, the plantation is indeed abandoned.”

  Natalie held back a very unladylike snarl. “No sir, it is not. The house may be closed and the fields fallow, but it is still very much my property.”

  Several ticks from the mantel clock filled the strained silence.

  “I’m afraid you’ll have to take the matter up with the Union officer in charge, General Gordon Granger. I believe he’s in Austin presently. In the meantime, I have orders to follow.” With a nod, he turned to leave.

  “You cannot mean to seize my property after I have just informed you it is not available.” Natalie stared at him, aghast at the very thought of a company of Yankees living in her childhood home.

  He turned. “Mrs. Ellis.” He took a deep breath, as though forcing himself to remain civil. “I have my orders. If you would like—” Something outside the window caught his eye. A grave look swept his features, and he returned his gaze to her. “I fear you have more important things to worry over than an abandoned plantation.”

  Hurrying to the window, Natalie covered her mouth with her hands, choking down a wail that threatened to come forth.

  A line of slaves, bundles on their backs and in their arms, made their way down the long drive toward the road.

  The exodus had begun.

  A wave of compassion washed over Levi as Mrs. Ellis stared out the window. Hearing her story, seeing the pain and fear in her eyes, he couldn’t imagine what was going through her mind now. Although she seemed to be a strong woman—she’d kept the plantation going all alone when others in similar circumstances could not have—he had glimpsed vulnerability in her eyes.

  “Miz Natalie?”

  They turned to find Moses in the parlor doorway, his hat held with both hands.

  “Moses.” The whispered sob spoke volumes. Tears glittered in her blue eyes as the big Negro approached. “I suppose you’re here to tell me you’re leaving too.”

  “No, ma’am.” He nodded toward the window. “Them folks ain’t got
no place to go, but freedom done called their name. Harriet and me, we figure on stayin’ at Rose Hill, if that be to your likin’.”

  She nodded as tears slipped down her cheeks. “Of course it is to my liking.” She cast a wary glance at Levi then back to Moses. “I can’t pay you. I am not sure how …” Her words trailed.

  “Don’t you worry none ’bout that, Miz Natalie. We work that out later.”

  “Thank you, Moses.” Looking toward the window again, she asked, “Has everyone else gone?”

  “Not everyone, but most. We has ’bout two dozen left in the quarter.”

  Carolina appeared in the doorway and gave a slight shrug. “I stayin’ too, Miz Natalie, if that be all right. I got no place to go.”

  Levi thought Mrs. Ellis might crumple to the floor again from sheer relief.

  “I promise I will pay you somehow.” She included both servants in her gaze. “It will all depend on whether or not we can bring in the harvest. Without workers though …”

  There was no need to finish the statement. Without workers, how could she get the cotton harvested, baled, and shipped to the markets in Galveston?

  “My men and I will take our leave now,” Levi said, offering a slight bow. He had a camp to set up and orders to see about. The plight of a widow—albeit a beautiful one—was not his concern.

  Her worried frown turned into a scowl. “And do you still intend to occupy my property without my permission?”

  “I will send word to General Granger and let him know that although the plantation is abandoned, the owner resides nearby. Until I hear from him, I have my orders, and my men need a place to camp.”

  “Colonel, Langford Manor is a home. My home. It’s filled with family heirlooms and personal belongings. I will not have your men rifling through my property, taking what little there is left of value and ruining the furnishings with muddy boots and dirty bodies.”

  They stared at each other, neither willing to concede defeat. She crossed her arms and arched one fine brow, almost daring him to proceed with his plans.

  “I assure you,” he said, “my men are not thieves. Besides, they will stay in tents on the property.” He glanced down at his boots covered in trail dust. “However, I will occupy the house. I also require use of a room for an office. Other than the kitchen, I do not foresee a reason to disturb the rest of your home.”

  She seemed to measure his earnestness through narrowed eyes. “Do I have your word you will contact your superior regarding the matter immediately? And that you will vacate the premises the moment he informs you a grave mistake has taken place?”

  Levi held back a chuckle. General Granger was not likely to consider the use of an unoccupied plantation a grave mistake. The man had far more important matters to concern him, the most pressing being the liberation of more than two hundred fifty thousand Texas slaves.

  “I will deliver his response to you personally, Mrs. Ellis.”

  “Very well.” Although she agreed to the plan, her tone was anything but compliant. “You may make use of the downstairs guest room as well as the adjoining sitting room. They have their own entrance, thus you will have no need to venture into the rest of the house.” She glanced at Moses then back to Levi, her gaze challenging. “I will have Moses drive me over in the morning to see that all is well.”

  Levi met the challenge with his own unflinching stare. Did she think the threat of her arrival the following day could prevent his men from ransacking the place if they chose, as other Union companies had done all across the South? His men knew they would face severe punishment if they stooped to such ignoble levels.

  “That is your choice, Mrs. Ellis.” He inclined his head. “Until tomorrow.”

  He made his way to the porch and down the steps to his waiting horse. The men were already on the move.

  “I take it things went well with Mrs. Ellis.” Corporal Banks handed him the reins to his horse before swinging up onto his own mount.

  “Why do you say that?” Levi looked back to the two-story white house. Mrs. Ellis stood at the parlor window.

  “I haven’t seen you smile in days.”

  Was he smiling?

  He made a conscious effort to appear straight-faced and settled into the saddle. “I’m just glad to finally be on our way to make camp.”

  Corporal Banks glanced at the woman in the window then chuckled. “Yes, sir. Setting up camp sure is something to smile about.”

  Glaring at the young man’s back as he rode away, Levi kicked his horse into motion.

  The smile, however, gradually crept back to his lips and remained there for some time.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Despite getting very little sleep, Natalie arose before the sun. The dawn-drenched world she found out the window looked much the same as it had each morning since she’d come to Rose Hill six years ago. Yet, everything had changed. Not even the deaths of her husband and parents had left her feeling as forsaken as the events of yesterday had. Simply putting one foot in front of the other took more effort than she dreamed possible.

  After the departure of the slaves and soldiers, she’d gone upstairs to Samuel’s room and never left. Harriet had brought up a light meal for both of them at some point, a worried look in her eyes when she found Natalie sitting on a child-sized chair, staring at nothing. Natalie somehow managed to keep Samuel from asking too many questions and then put him to bed early. She’d crawled onto the small goose-down mattress with her son and wrapped him in her arms despite the muggy evening air coming through the open windows. More than anything, she’d needed his nearness, inhaling his little-boy scent, whispering quiet prayers throughout the night that God would not take him from her too.

  Birdsong greeted her now as she made her way to the detached kitchen wing. Absent were the voices of dozens of servants bustling about, carrying breakfast dishes, sweeping the porch, or filling lamps with kerosene. There was no blow of the ram’s horn to call workers from the quarter, no jingle from wagons carrying slaves to fields, and no laughter of children from the double row of cabins down from the manor house. Instead, a strange, unsettling stillness hung over the entire plantation.

  As she’d expected, Moses, Harriet, and Carolina were seated at the long work table. Mugs of chicory root coffee sat in front of each of them, though no one seemed interested in the bitter-tasting brew they’d sunk to drinking after Union blockades prevented coffee beans from entering through the ports. The other house servants, including Clara, the young woman who cared for Samuel when Natalie was occupied, had joined the majority of field hands in their departure yesterday.

  Moses stood. “Mornin’, Miz Natalie.”

  Harriet, too, jumped up. “I get you some breakfast straightaway.”

  “There’s no need,” Natalie said, exhaustion already in her voice even though the day had barely begun. “I couldn’t eat a thing. I need to get to Langford Manor, if it’s still standing.” She turned to Moses. “I fear what those Yankees may have done last night.” Tears threatened, but she blinked them back.

  “Now, don’t go borrowin’ trouble.” Moses took his hat from the chair post and plopped it on his graying head. “That Yankee colonel seemed like a decent fellow, from what I could tell. He say they wouldn’t do nothin’ to your house, and I believe him.”

  Although she appreciated his calming words, the knot in her stomach would not unwind until she knew her childhood home remained safe and intact. “I pray you’re right. It still infuriates me how that man defied my wishes, as though they were of little consequence compared to those of the great Union Army.”

  Recalling Colonel Maish’s unflinching dark eyes as he’d stood his ground, Natalie shivered. Though the man had seemed sincere, she would be foolish to trust a Yankee. They cared little for Southerners. His scornful tone when he’d accused her of lying to Samuel about the slaves’ celebration was evidence. It didn’t matter to him that their entire way of life had changed in an instant. It didn’t matter that Samuel’s very futur
e looked bleak and uncertain now. What legacy could there be in a plantation with no one to work the land? Her concern wasn’t for herself but for her son, yet did the Yankee colonel care?

  “I get the wagon hitched.”

  Natalie watched Moses leave the kitchen. What would she have done if the big man had heeded the call of freedom and walked off the plantation with the others? She didn’t deserve his loyalty, but she was grateful for it nonetheless.

  “You want me to fix yo’ hair before you go yonder to Langford Manor, Miz Natalie?” Carolina’s scrutinizing gaze had Natalie looking down at the rumpled dress she’d slept in. She touched her head and felt matted curls. “Wouldn’t want you meetin’ with that Yankee soldier lookin’ like somethin’ ol’ Ebenezer found in the woods.”

  Natalie almost smiled at the candid words. It was good to know some things never changed.

  “Yes, please. I would also like you to accompany us to the plantation. I may need your help inside the house.” She looked at Harriet. “Would you see to Samuel while we’re gone? I don’t want him venturing too far from the house today.”

  If something happened to Samuel …

  She tamped down the fear rising inside, refusing to give it a foothold. Today of all days, she needed her wits about her.

  “When he wakes up, I’ll put him an’ Isaac to work makin’ molasses cookies.” Harriet chuckled. “Them two can eat more sweets than a growed man.”

  Natalie left the kitchen, knowing Samuel would be well cared for in her absence. Harriet doted on her white master’s son as much as she did on her own.

  Shame pricked her. Neither she nor her family deserved the woman’s kindness.

  Memories swirled, taking her back five years.

  After Harriet and Moses lost their youngest children to yellow fever, George sold their two oldest sons, along with the remaining Langford slaves, for fear the disease would spread to Rose Hill. Harriet had grieved nearly unto death. Yet in those dark days, Moses never said a word against George or against God. Natalie was expecting her first child, and though the baby was months away from making its appearance, she couldn’t imagine the pain of losing one child, let alone all five. Not long afterward, Harriet confessed she too was expecting. When the baby arrived, both she and Moses laughed and cried, naming the little boy Isaac, which, according to the preacher Moses had belonged to years ago, meant laughter. Like the biblical couple Abraham and Sarah, they’d trusted God to bring them joy in their old age. Though she’d never expressed it aloud, Harriet seemed at peace after Isaac was born. George was gone to war by then, and the two women raised their babies side by side. Freedom hadn’t come in time to save Harriet’s other children, but Natalie was grateful the Negro woman would not lose Isaac at the hands of a white master.