Mockingbird's Call

by Diane T. Ashley

  Her mother shook her head. “We don’t want to give her too much.” She laid the child back down on the blanket. “Hand me a towel.”

  Amelia drew out a pair of snowy white cotton towels and watched as her mother arranged them under the little girl’s head. “If you will keep her head up like this, Nelly, she will be able to breathe more easily.” She pushed herself up from the ground and dusted her hands together.

  “Thank you, ma’am. I been so worried about my Sadie. She been gettin’ worse since Sunday.”

  “And rightly so.” Mrs. Montgomery took the bottle and spoon from Amelia. “It appears your child has pneumonia. You will need to give her one spoonful of this medicine every hour until you go to sleep tonight.”

  Amelia’s forehead wrinkled with doubt. “But, Mama, how will Nelly know when an hour has passed?”

  “Don’t you fret yourself, Miss Amelia. I knows how to watch the sun.”

  “I’m going to leave this basket with you, Nelly. There’s food inside for your family since you can’t work today and earn your portion. You’ll need to get one of the older women to watch after her tomorrow, though, so you can get back to work. Tell her to give your girl a spoonful at a time until this bottle is empty.”

  The woman thanked her mother yet again for her kind Christian heart even as the child started coughing and moaning once again.

  Amelia grabbed her skirts and followed her mother back outside. Cold winter air reddened her cheeks in the few steps it took for them to reach the family carriage. Once inside, she looked at her mother. “Will her child live?”

  “I don’t know, but we’ve done all we can.” Her mother shivered and pulled a thick fleece blanket over her lap. “We must always take care to provide medicine and care for the slaves, Amelia. It’s our Christian duty to them. And it will ensure that we’ll never be troubled by a slave uprising.”

  Amelia nodded, but she wondered. If that had been her little girl, would she have been so thankful for a basket of food and medicine? “Can’t we make their quarters warmer?”

  Her mother sniffed. “They don’t need warmth like we do. They are accustomed to harsher circumstances. Just as there is a danger in ignoring their needs, there is a danger in coddling them too much.”

  Coddling? Amelia didn’t think basic comfort was coddling. She opened her mouth to argue, but the coachman pulled up at the front steps and ended their conversation. She would remember to ask Papa later. Perhaps he would be more sympathetic to his workers’ needs.

  ❧

  Amelia pushed against the pommels of her sidesaddle to get a higher vantage point and looked all around the fields. The fall harvest had begun even though it was barely September. She could see the dark heads of the field workers as they toiled in the bright sunlight to the shouts and warnings of the overseer. She winced as the crack of a whip carried to her over the hot wind. She hoped none of Nelly’s family was being punished.

  In the months since she had first visited Nelly’s cabin with her mother, Amelia had often dropped by to see how little Sadie was progressing. It had taken the girl a long time to recover from the pneumonia, but the cough had finally disappeared as the hot summer days grew longer. Amelia had taken Sadie gifts, trinkets really—a pan of biscuits, a handkerchief made of soft lawn, and a shift she had cut from one of her old nightgowns. She thought of the gift she brought today, eager to see a smile on little Sadie’s face.

  Now she glanced around to make certain no one was watching as she turned her mare’s head toward the group of slave cabins her parents called the quarters. Mama and Papa would skin her if they knew what she was doing. They had strict views on which slaves she could befriend.

  Tabitha, her personal maid, was an acceptable friend and confidante. Tabitha was the daughter of Esau, the butler, and Rahab, the mulatto cook. As higher-echelon slaves, Esauand Rahab had been allowed to marry and lived in much nicer accommodations than those to be found in the quarters. She and Tabitha were very close in age, having been born only a month apart. She often pulled Tabitha into scrapes, like wading barefoot in the stream or sneaking fresh cream out to the barn cat after she delivered a litter of tiny, mewing kittens. But if they were caught, she was always quick to accept the total blame, aware that her punishment would always be lighter than that of a slave.

  That was why Amelia had never brought Tabitha with her to the quarters. If Papa ever caught her friend out there, he’d probably sell her to one of the neighboring landowners. He had very strict rules about the house slaves keeping separate from the field slaves. The only time they were allowed to be in the same building together was on Sundays at church, and even then the house slaves had to sit with the family while the field slaves occupied the balcony on the second floor. Amelia didn’t understand why the separation was so important, but she knew enough to be careful which of Papa’s rules she broke.

  The hot, dry wind chased Amelia into the quarters.

  Sadie came running toward her before she even had time to dismount. “Hi, Miss Amelia.” Sadie’s slender legs showed beneath the hem of her shift as she skidded to a stop.

  “I declare, Sadie, if you don’t stop growing, that shift is going to be too short for you before winter returns.”

  The little girl glanced at her bare toes. “Yes, ma’am. But I can’t he’p it. Ev’y night I ask Jesus to keep me short, but ev’y day when I gets up, my legs is longer.”

  Amelia laughed and reached out a hand to pull Sadie into the saddle behind her. “I’ve got a surprise for you today.”

  “A surprise?” Excitement made Sadie twist and turn behind her. “Where is it?”

  “I left it in my saddlebag. To see it properly you and I are going to have to go to the creek.”

  Sadie wrapped her hands around Amelia’s waist. “Is it a fishing line? I likes fish, Miss Amelia.”

  “No, it’s not a fishing line. But I’m not going to tell you anything else until we get to the creek.” She clucked to her horse.

  It only took them a couple of minutes to reach the shady banks of the trickling stream. Sadie slid off the horse first, and Amelia dismounted right after her. Having secured the reins on a nearby branch, she went to her saddlebag and made a production of pulling out a little reed boat she and Tabitha had woven the day before.

  Sadie’s mouth opened in an O. “What is it?”

  “It’s a boat just like a reed boat that once hid a little baby boy in Egypt a long time ago.”

  “Who would hide a baby in a boat?”

  Amelia pulled off her shoes and stockings and sat on the bank of the creek. “A long time ago, a big king reigned in Egypt, and he was a very bad man. He had lots of Hebrew slaves, so many that he decided to kill all the little boy slaves so he wouldn’t lose his power over them.”

  Sadie sat down beside her and dangled her feet in the water.

  Amelia handed her the little boat to play with. “One day, a Hebrew woman had a baby boy. She loved him so much that she hid him in a boat to keep the bad king from killing him.”

  “Was he in the boat a long time?”

  “No.” Amelia shook her head. “The king’s daughter found him, and she loved him like her own little boy. She brought him back to her home and named him Moses. When he was a grown man, he used his power to free his people.”

  “That’s a nice story, Miss Amelia.” Sadie moved the little boat back and forth in the water. “I wish I had a Moses to free my family.”

  “Amelia Montgomery!” Her father’s angry voice startled Amelia. How had he managed to find them, and how long had he been listening?

  She turned to face his wrath, praying that he would not take his anger out on the little girl beside her.

  Her father’s face reminded her of a thundercloud. His eyes blazed, and his teeth were gritted. He pulled his hat off and slapped it against his leg. She watch
ed the dust billow from his pants leg and swirl around in the dry air. Next to him stood one of the overseers, a heavy-jowled man with mean little eyes and a hard mouth.

  “Papa, I’m sorry.”

  “I don’t want to hear a word from you, Amelia. Get back home and await me in my study.” He turned to the overseer. “Obviously, this slave has too much time on her hands. Take her out to the fields. She can start to earn her keep.”

  “Papa, no.” Amelia put her hand out and stepped toward him. “Please don’t.”

  “This time you’ve gone too far, Amelia, sowing discordwith your tales of slave uprisings.” He grabbed her arm and dragged her to her mare, tossing Amelia in the saddle and slapping her mount’s flank. As she grabbed for the reins to keep from tumbling to the ground, Amelia heard Sadie screaming behind her.

  All the way home, Amelia prayed for God to intervene. She’d never meant to encourage rebellion. It had only been a Bible story. Tears of remorse made hot tracks down her cheeks as she reached the house. She dismounted and handed her horse to a stable boy before dragging her reluctant feet to Papa’s study.

  Inside the stuffy room, time slowed to a crawl. The bright afternoon faded to dusk, and still Papa did not come. Just when she thought he’d forgotten her, the door opened, and he stomped in.

  Amelia stood up, uncertain what to say. She watched as he went to the far side of his large chestnut desk and dropped into his chair, leaning back and gazing at the ceiling as if searching for the right words. Then he looked at her, his eyes colder than she’d ever seen them. She opened her mouth to speak, but he held up his hand.

  “I’ve obviously pampered you too much, daughter. I learned today that you do not understand the least thing about our livelihood, our very existence. I might be able to make allowances for some young woman who lived far away and knew nothing of plantation life, but I cannot abide treachery within my own household.”

  “But, Papa—”

  “No, not a single word will I entertain from you, Amelia Montgomery. Your behavior this afternoon was inexcusable. I have tolerated your liberal ideas for far too long, thinking you would grow out of your ridiculous beliefs once you understood the way of the world. But I was mistaken. I cannot and will not tolerate your rebellious ways any longer. I’ve made arrangements for you to travel to Knoxville to stay with your aunt and uncle for a year or so. They have offered to have you visit several times, but your mother and I always turned them down. We didn’t know we were raising such an ungrateful, spoiled child.”

  “What about Sadie?” Amelia slipped the question in as her father took a breath.

  “She’s no concern of yours any longer.” He pushed himself out of his chair and strode toward her, anger mottling his face. “You’re going to be too busy getting ready for your journey.”

  Fresh tears flowed down her cheeks. Did her father hate her? He must. Why else would he send her away to live with people she barely knew? And what about her mother? What did she have to say about all this? Would she intervene on her daughter’s behalf, or would she agree to the banishment?

  “I spent the afternoon making plans with Gregory Talbot.” Her father had turned back to her, his expression as unyielding as his words. “Luke wants to join up with the army, but his father has convinced him to return to school in Knoxville for his final year. He’ll be leaving on Friday. His father and I agreed that Luke will escort you to your aunt and uncle’s home. I will go to Nashville tomorrow to make the arrangements for your trip and to telegraph your aunt and uncle about your impending visit. I’ve decided you may take your maid, Tabitha, to keep you company and protect your reputation since you’ll have to overnight in Chattanooga. You will board the train in Nashville two days hence. I trust that will allow you sufficient time to pack your things and say good-bye to your mother.” He sat down at his desk once again and straightened a stack of papers on its surface. “I did not inform the Talbots of your views and recent indiscretion, and I expect you to keep the information quiet, also. You’re excused.”

  Amelia put a hand over her mouth to stifle her sobs and stumbled out of the room. In the space of one afternoon, everything had changed so much that she wondered if she would ever be allowed to come home again.

  Three

  Amelia was already tired by the time they reached the train station in Nashville, even though it was not yet midday. She, Luke Talbot, and her maid, Tabitha, had departed before daylight to ensure their timely arrival. The chaos they encountered at the crowded depot was overwhelming and frightening for someone who rarely ventured from her parents’ plantation. She was glad to have the escort of an experienced traveler. Luke had made the trip to Knoxville several times and knew exactly where they should go.

  Feeling like a country bumpkin, Amelia gazed on the large brick building that was the station house. It was an odd-looking building with crenulated towers and roof and two enormous arched doorways that made her feel tiny in comparison.

  Off in the distance at the very top of a hill, she saw the newly completed state capitol, with its soaring central tower and tall white columns. The sight made her proud to be from the state of Tennessee. If only the North and the South could put aside their differences and come to some kind of agreement. She wished she was smart enough to figure out a solution to eliminate the need for slave labor. The barbaric practice was tearing the country apart. No matter how long she spent in exile with her relatives, Amelia knew she would never change her mind on this topic. One day, she hoped to see all of Papa’s slaves set free. But that was a problem for another day. Today, she needed to concentrate on her journey.

  Train tracks ran hither and yon around the station in a dizzying patchwork. She held on to Luke’s arm with one hand as he threaded his way around crowds of people and piles of luggage. Her skirt threatened to tangle around her ankles, and Amelia wished she might have worn her hoops instead of five layers of petticoats. But hoops, although cooler, would be impractical once she was seated on one of the benches in the passenger car. She glanced over her shoulder several times to make certain Tabitha had not gotten separated from them, reassured when encountering the smile on her slave’s face. She thanked God again for Papa’s decision to allow Tabitha to accompany her duringher exile. No matter how many strangers she encountered over the coming year, Amelia knew she would have one friend in Knoxville—two counting Luke Talbot.

  All the noise and smoke was overwhelming. Amelia was a bit worried she might lose her grasp on Luke’s strong arm and vanish in the swirling, noisy crowd. She’d never seen so many people. Young men in uniform vied for space amongst soberly clad businessmen. Importunate merchants hawked everything from newspapers to blankets. Shouts and grunts filled the air as slaves loaded cargo into crowded boxcars.

  The smells of overheated bodies and live animals pushed in on her and made Amelia yearn for the country and a breath of fresh air. But she might as well put that behind her. Papa had made it clear she was not to come home before this time next year. By then, he said, the fighting would be over and things would be back to normal. He also made it clear she was to learn her place while staying in Knoxville. He wanted her to set aside reading newspapers and confine herself to novels to avoid further addling her thinking. He’d warned of dire consequences if she did not learn to conform her behavior to what was expected of a Southern lady of means.

  “We are nearly there.” Luke pointed to a long, black car with wide windows that vaguely resembled an iron carriage. It was one in a long line of cars attached to a locomotive that belched black smoke from a tall pipe at its front.

  “Praise God.” Amelia felt Luke’s gaze on her and looked up at him. He was such a nice man, and she had forgotten how handsome he was. He seemed so much more grown-up now, perhaps because of the years he’d spent away at college. He sported a thin mustache and neatly trimmed side whiskers that made him appear older than his twenty years. Gone was the lan
ky youngster she remembered from their shared childhood. Luke carried himself well, as befitted the eldest son of a wealthy planter. His well-made clothing was fashionable, from the brim of his tall black hat to the polished toes of his leather boots.

  “I am looking forward to getting back to Knoxville.” He patted her hand. “I know you will enjoy yourself there, Amelia. I hope to call on you often. Perhaps your uncle will allow me to escort you about town once you are settled in.”

  She nodded. “It will be comforting to know I have a friend nearby.”

  Luke smiled, showing his even, white teeth. “You may be certain of that. But I have the feeling it will not take long for someone as pretty as you to acquire a wide circle of admirers. I only hope you will still remember me then.”

  Amelia reached for her fan and opened it in front of her face to cover her embarrassment. She did not know how to answer Luke. If she agreed with his compliment she would appear conceited, but if she disagreed he might think she meant that she would no longer remember him as a friend once she became established. Uncertain of what to say, she decided to say nothing and pretended a sudden interest in a group of people who were standing a few feet away.

  They appeared to be a family saying good-bye to a young man about her age. The older lady wore a wide spring bonnet on her head, its upturned bill decorated with a bunch of flowers and greenery. She might have stepped out of Godey’s Lady’s Book, with her pale yellow bodice and matching skirt. She leaned over and kissed the young man, making his cheeks redden. He pushed his spectacles up on his nose and turned to the tall, handsome man who must be his father. Amelia wondered if the older man was a politician. He looked distinguished enough to be the governor. She watched as the two shook hands and embraced in the awkward way of men. Then the young man turned to a pair of ladies who were either sisters or some other close relatives. They all had the same look about them—tall, attractive, and openly affectionate.