by Simon Rumney
She tried something new, something more direct; something she felt would calm Max down while clearing things up for him. "You are making mistakes and I can help you fix them."
But even these extremely clear words did not help because Max stood up and shouted: "Get out of my office! Now!"
As Julii respected his wishes and left, she wondered why Max would expose his incompetence so. He must know she would tell Count Anton, and Count Anton would not be happy to be losing money. 'Why had Max refused her help?' She could have saved him, but now every scenario she played in her head ended with Count Anton sending Max away.
Sure enough, Count Anton had been as upset as she had predicted, and, sure enough, Count Anton had confronted Max, and, sure enough, Max had behaved like an immature simpleton and, sure enough, Max had shouted about “how indispensable his services were to the count's operation”. Of course he threatened to resign in a manner that was far too aggressive and could not be withdrawn and had to be accepted.
Julii was not particularly pleased to see Max go. She felt confused, frustrated, responsible and deeply sorry but harbored no doubt that he had placed himself in this ridiculous predicament.
She also felt annoyed because she was not yet feeling confident in her abilities. She believed she needed another person's help if she was to pay back Count Anton's kindness. So, shortly after Max's dramatic departure, Julii penned a letter offering Cecilia the role of office manager in Count Anton's blockade-running business.
Scourge of the southerners
Within a week of Max's departure, everyone in the Confederacy learned there was a new kind of blockade-runner in the South.
Unlike her predecessor, Julii had taken the time to study the capital assets of the South and compared them to the capital assets of the North. She believed even a fool could see the South was strategically impoverished.
Much to the horror of the southern generals, Julii's first order of business was to completely ban the use of Confederate paper dollars from all future negotiations. This already bad news was made far worse by Julii's unwillingness to waste time sugar-coating her demands. 'Why would she?' She hated the powerful generals of the South.
She simply did not care that, during her very first meeting as Max's replacement, the powerful generals deeply resented hearing: "Your Confederate currency has a very poor chance of maintaining any value if the North wins the war."
Having the value and stability of their beloved currency questioned was outrageous; no one in the South talked about anything to do with the war like that. No one even entertained the possibility of defeat. Had anyone else expressed such doubts it would have been considered treasonous, but the Count's blockade-runners were the only thing keeping the Confederacy alive, and that made Julii untouchable.
From the moment her decree was issued, every shipload of urgently-needed armaments arriving from Europe and the West Indies was held on board until it had been paid for in full with bails of high grade cotton, or vast quantities of tobacco, or, when she could apply enough pressure to the treasury, bars of pure Confederate silver and gold.
For a new nation used to receiving favorable credit terms and long settlement dates, this was a major insult, but Julii, quite simply, did not care. Unlike her unintentionally brutal dealings with Max, when it came to dealing with the Confederate hierarchy, she was deliberately malicious.
The abrupt delivery of her swift and radical changes left them feeling slighted and helpless, but because Count Anton would not even hear of removing Julii, they had absolutely no recourse. All they could do is watch as their precious assets were loaded onto the Count's ships and sent away to Europe.
Without exception, all of the once complacent southern generals longed for the return of Max. They all missed bamboozling him and getting their own way all the time. To a man, they all hated Julii, but their rigid upbringings and polite ethos prevented them from treating a woman in a less than gentlemanly manor, so they sat in meetings and held their tongues as Julii tied them up in knots.
During her first meeting with General Hardee she had expected him to expose her as an Injun but, even though he had seen her at the awful court martial and stood two feet from her during the riot in Atlanta, he did not recognize her.
Like all of the southern generals, Julii knew Hardee was eaten up with frustration and hidden anger because of the way she treated him, but she also knew, when it came to women, southern gentlemen were bound by extremely silly rules of correct behavior.
Julii would sit quietly watching them search for new ways to placate her. They flaunted their brightly-colored collar decorations and their battle honors and the long fluffy feathers in their hats, but all of those things had the opposite effect because they brought back terrible memories of her Robert's hideous court martial and subsequent murder.
Julii now knew the origin of those hated feathers because she had read a book about Africa. There on the page had been a drawing of a tall, ugly bird that had those long, fluffy, and much despised white feathers protruding from the end of its useless, stumpy wings. The picture had the word “ostriches” printed beneath it. It amused Julii to read that the common belief was ostriches bury their heads in the sand because “If they cannot see a predator, the predator cannot see them.” It entertained her to make the obvious comparison between the denial of the stupid bird and the denial of the stupid Confederate generals.
'She hated them all!' She hated the way the so-called “southern gentlemen” could shower love and adoration on their wives and children while buying and selling a brown man's wife and child.
She hated the way “southern gentlemen” would make great sacrifices in order to provision white soldiers, while forcing a brown man to toil in the raging sunshine with little access to food and water.
She hated the way a “southern gentleman” would treat their livestock and pets better than they treated their brown people.
She hated the way a “southern gentleman” would shout at another white man who did not open the door, or remove his hat, or stand for a white lady, while thinking nothing of having another woman beaten nearly to death simply because of the color of her skin.
She hated the way they sat at the count's meeting table looking like benevolent grandfathers and treating her with respect because they didn't know she was an “Injun”. She wanted to scream at them and reveal herself, but that would not serve her vengeful, long-term plans. So she smiled and listened to their polite conversation as she watched them drink the count's tea and eat his cookies and waited for her chance to hit them back.
On the day General Hardee finally gave her some of the vengeful information she craved, Julii was so lost in her bitter thoughts she almost missed it. She had to stop him in mid-sentence and ask him to repeat what she thought she heard him say.
Delighted by his obvious ability to impress such a fine southern lady, General Hardee did as he was asked. Between sips of the count's expensive Indian tea, he repeated what he had been saying. "New Orleans has been completely blockaded by the North's ironclads."
Then, by way of impressing her further, he added, "Savannah is now the only deep sea port open to us. You are now our most critical source of supply."
Julii smiled her sincerest smile as she replied. "And we will keep that supply chain open until the inevitable southern victory, General."
The General was all but melted by her flattering gaze and that amused Julii. It also amused her to know her gushing words were not just lip-serving nonsense. If she had been so disposed, she could actually have helped the South because she had read about and, more importantly, understood military strategies in her many history books.
Books such as the Iliad, which explained the strategies behind the Greeks’ siege of Troy, and books which explained the strategies of Sulla and Marius during Roman wars, and books which explained Napoleon and Wellington's strategies during European wars, and even books that explained the strategies of Washington during the American War of Independence
had all been devoured by her hungry mind.
It all seemed so obvious to Julii. In every single book, the armies in all of the wars were marred by exactly the same mistakes and, having studied the confederate reports of the first battle of Bull Run, Shiloh and the second battle of Bull Run, Julii saw the classic mistakes of the past being duplicated by the Confederate generals.
After listening to General Hardee list provisions required for a battle near a place called Antietam, Julii studied a map of the area and realized they were about to do it again. She felt like stepping in to tell the high command that the Persians had made all of the same mistakes during their disastrous defeat at the hands of the Athenians in the Battle of Marathon, but she didn't.
It all seemed so glaringly obvious to her, but she held her tongue and watched as the disaster at Antietam caused the death of 26,000 men and the shameful retreat of General Lee's Confederate army.
As luck would have it, the meeting where Julii found out about the disaster at Antietam was also the meeting where she found out the rest of the information required to complete her first act of personal vengeance.
One of the insignificant generals made the novice mistake of showing off in front of Julii. Like a child seeking her approval, he wanted to show her that he was important. He simply could not resist telling her about being placed in command of a town called Vicksburg. He even went on to say, "The blockade of New Orleans now made that little town, on the banks of the Mississippi, the key to all supply movements in the South."
As though tempting Julii to act, he went on to say, "Everything moving up the Mississippi from the south and down from the north must now go through Vicksburg. My role will be critical."
She was in the process of memorizing the name “Vicksburg” when she felt an ever-familiar disturbance in her tummy. It was the sudden and uncontrollable need to throw up that had been coming and going for weeks. Having only the time it took to reach for a waste paper basket to react, she vomited all of that morning's breakfast right in front of the pompous generals.
All of the men at the table were shocked and deeply concerned for Julii's health. Some stood and dashed to her side, while others sat in shock as she heaved, again and again, into the basket.
The meeting, which had almost concluded anyway, was adjourned. Cecilia showed the generals out and said the farewells while promising to distribute her minutes of the meeting to all.
She then escorted Julii to Count Anton's home where, much to her surprise, Julii's first task after being put to bed was to ask Cecilia to gather all the information they had about a particular area of land along the Mississippi river.
The Underground Railroad
Sometime during the morning after Julii threw up in front of the Confederate high command, Miss Dotty tumbled into her room, lay down on Julii's bed, and placed a moist towel over her eyes.
The deeply hung-over cat house mother didn't even notice that Julii was still in bed until Julii said, "Good morning."
Leaping to her feet, Miss Dotty had the audacity to berate Julii for sneaking up on her, while Julii turned to throw up into a basin on the floor next to the bed.
After things calmed down a little, Miss Dotty gave Julii a nasty look, fell back onto the bed and went to sleep. Julii climbed out of bed and sat in front of her mirror as Samantha and Tilly bickered about which one would apply what type of makeup.
In the middle of it all, Cecilia came in and handed over the requested information about the mostly empty tract of land on the banks of the Mississippi river.
As she was being made pretty, Julii read the files full of information about crop yields, livestock numbers, population figures, road capacities and contour maps of the area.
When Cecilia asked why Julii was interested in a patch of land where the only place of interest was a “nothing” town called Vicksburg, Julii was too busy throwing up to answer. Samantha said it must be "Something she ate." Tilly insisted that it was "Some kind of tummy bug going around Savannah.” Cecilia thought it might be stress because "Julii worked far too many long hours."
But it was Miss Dotty who accurately picked what was ailing Julii. Not even bothering to open her eyes, she spoke in a hoarse matter-of-fact voice. "Ain't neither one of you right. Your mistress' gone and got herself knocked up."
When Miss Dotty heard nothing but silence, she removed the moist towel from her eyes and asked "You still there?"
Four shocked women stared silently back from the place in front of the mirror as Miss Dotty added, "Oh sure. My girls get knocked up all the time. And let me tell you it's a real pain in my ass."
Placing the moist towel back over her eyes, Miss Dotty returned her aching head to the pretty lace-covered pillow as Julii grasped the fact she was carrying Robert's baby. Feelings of pleasure and satisfaction overwhelmed her. 'She still had a part of the man she thought lost forever.'
Everyone in the room, except one, was also very excited and happy for Julii. They all kissed and cuddled Julii, then kissed and cuddled each other. It was like a child's party until the mood was suddenly broken by Miss Dotty. She had been the obvious “except one” and she had the audacity to say: "I know a doctor who'll take care of that there bastard for you, honey."
Julii asked for clarity, and Miss Dotty did not sugar-coat her answer. It took a moment for the full meaning of Miss Dotty's words to sink in. Julii even had to ask Cecilia to clarify exactly what Miss Dotty was getting at, and when she did, the most appalling row broke out.
Samantha dragged Miss Dotty from the bed and physically heaved and pushed her towards the door of Julii's bedroom. She was shouting, "You ain't never gonna kill Miss Julii's baby!"
Using her weight advantage, Samantha shoved Miss Dotty clumsily out of Julii's bedroom and onto the landing. As she went, Miss Dotty shouted just as loud in reply, "Ain't no nigger in Savannah gonna get away with pushing me around!"
At the sound of the commotion in his usually calm home, Count Anton came running upstairs to see what was happening. His breathless surprise and displeasure was initially directed at Samantha until she let go of Miss Dotty, turned to him, and said through her tears, "This here woman wants to kill our Julii's baby, Mister Count! You just can't let her kill Miss Julii's baby!"
Count Anton's reaction went in two different, yet simultaneous, directions of shock and surprise. The first came out in his words to Miss Dotty. "You want to kill Julii's baby?"
Then, in almost the same moment, as though surprising himself, he turned to Julii and asked, "You are pregnant?"
Realizing the implications of his own words, Count Anton crossed to Julii and cuddled her. "Is it..."
Recognizing his mistake, Count Anton changed his tone from excited to somber. "Is it his?"
Julii's tears told him everything he needed to know. While still holding Julii, Count Anton looked at Miss Dotty. He sounded genuinely confused and surprised. "But why would you want to harm Julii's baby?"
Miss Dotty made a point of pushing Samantha vengefully away from her as she said in her aggressive tone, "I didn't want to harm no one’s baby! Your nigger here got all uppity for no goddamn reason!"
Count Anton's voice found a tone that no one in his household had ever heard before. It made his anger very clear while maintaining the dignity inherent in a highborn existence. "Never, ever refer to my housemaid as a nigger while you are in this house!"
Miss Dotty was more taken aback by hearing this than being manhandled by a nigger. She was even more surprised to hear Count Anton say, "You will use her correct name. I know that you know it because I have heard you use it, many, many times to give Samantha orders."
Miss Dotty was now as shocked as it was possible for any white woman in the South to be. Her outrage and complete incredulity came unmistakably through her angry question. "You're taking this here nigger's side over mine? I ain't never heard of such a thing. You, sir, ain't no gentleman!"
Miss Dotty turned and walked down the stairs firing a barrage of “last words�
� as she went. "How was I supposed to know she wanted to keep the bastard? Who in their right mind would want to keep a bastard anyway? Don't make no sense! Goddamn nigger lover! You and your niggers ain't heard the last of this!"
As Miss Dotty stormed out of the red front door and disappeared into the street, Count Anton embraced Samantha. She was crying and shaking uncontrollably. Her blood was cooling and the realization of what she had done to a white person was pulsing around her body. The fear in her was palpable.
Count Anton's words were nothing but supportive and calming. "Be still now, Samantha. You were protecting your family. You did nothing wrong."
Samantha wept tears of a muddled combination of terror and gratitude. Julii embraced her from the other side to Count Anton, and Samantha let go of the repressed fear, agony, anger and shame unfairly borne by every brown person in the South.
Julii kissed her forehead dearly as she said, "You are safe here, Samantha. We are all safe here."
But, even as she comforted Samantha, Julii knew immediate action was required if she was to save her friend. She had no doubt that Miss Dotty had the vindictive temper to organize a lynch mob and, in the South, white folks could lynch any brown person just as long as they compensated the white owner for loss of property.
Julii knew what form her action should take because money was the only thing Miss Dotty ever wanted, so offering her some of that seemed like a good place to start. As luck would have it, money was something Julii now had lots of because, despite her constant protests, Count Anton insisted on paying her a significant salary for her hard work. Every month he gave Julii large sums of cash that she had no use for because he paid for everything she wore, ate and did.
On the afternoon of the day of the dreaded incident with Miss Dotty, Julii forced herself to ignore all feelings of sickness, got dressed, dragged herself to the count's office, and sent a runner to the saloon. Inside the envelope he carried was a thousand of her own Confederate dollars, a card offering her personal apology, and a request for Miss Dotty to pardon Samantha.