by Londyn Skye
With that evening in mind, Harrison was now certain that Lily was also the reason why James had just rushed through shaving and bathing, and why he was currently watching his longtime friend ride off his property on his strongest horse with the speed of a twister, dressed in the finest attire from his very own closet. The sight of it further proved that Harrison’s assumptions about James’s feelings for Lily were right. But just as with all the other intimate details of his friend’s life, “your secrets are safe with me,” Harrison whispered, as he watched James ride out of sight. “Ride like the wind, my friend.”
* * * *
While Lily had spent two hours pushing to focus mentally and deliver another stellar performance, James had spent nearly that same amount of time pushing Harrison’s horse to near death in order to be there for another once-in-a-lifetime moment in Lily’s life … but it was far too late. Lily had already taken a final bow to her grateful audience, only for her eyes to home in on the empty seat next to Landon that had been reserved for James. With all the orchestra members surrounding her, Lily finally exited the stage, feeling just as drained as the horse that James was currently dismounting. James quickly wrapped the horse’s reins around a post near a troth of water and began fighting his way through a sea of people exiting Branaugh Theater. Hearing no music playing within the building, his heart sank into his stomach. He scrambled into the theater only to have his fears confirmed: the curtains had closed, and all seats were empty. He had missed every minute of the show.
“James!” Landon called out after spotting him panting in the wings, looking as lost as a puppy. “A successful night, wouldn’t you say?! Did you hear that crowd?!”
With the culmination of missing Lily’s show and his week-long nightmare in jail, the excitement in Landon’s voice was equivalent to screeching nails on a chalkboard in James’s ears. Landon’s joy only managed to elevate his agitation tenfold, so too did the fact that he was not the person James wished to see at that moment.
In the midst of all the bodies backstage, Lily had yet to see that James had finally arrived. She had walked backstage toward William, Anna Mae, Ben, Isabel, and Elijah, who all welcomed her with delight on their faces. Anna Mae’s eyes seeped tears of joy as she hugged Lily. “I’m so proud ‘a you, baby!” she boasted.
“Thank you, Ms. Anna Mae!” Lily excitedly replied.
While Lily and her friends celebrated on one side of the stage, Landon was holding James up on the other, rambling on and on about the success of the show. Not far into the conversation, though, James became completely incoherent to Landon’s words. He was far too busy searching for the woman he needed to settle his agitation. He kept looking over Landon’s shoulder, his eyes bolting from face to face, trying to find Lily in the clutter of dancers and orchestra members. Since Landon had helped to afford Lily the opportunity to play at Branaugh Theater, James wanted to escape his meaningless chatter without being disrespectful. In an instant, though, respect became irrelevant; the woman James was desperate to see, he had finally spotted … in the arms of another man.
After presenting Lily with a massive flower arrangement, Elijah was embracing the woman that James had been dying to hold for nearly a week. The sight of it caused him to abruptly bolt past Landon without a word, leaving him standing there alone, looking confused by the sudden change in his demeanor. The blood in James’s veins had instantaneously reached explosive levels after seeing the man he loathed stealing his celebratory grand finale ritual. James’s face turned a deep red and he balled his fists tight as he glared at Elijah, whose arms were wrapped as tightly around Lily’s body as his were currently supposed to be. James flew in a beeline toward the embracing pair, his lips tightly pursed, his body rigid, and his ears deaf to the joyous laughter of the celebrating crew around him. All James could hear in his head was the array of compliments that Elijah had showered Lily with in the past. His eyes were fixated on the smile illuminated on Lily’s face as Elijah held her. With hunger and exhaustion having completely eroded James’s emotional rationale, his anger was on par with a man walking in on his moaning wife, her sacred lair happily welcoming the hardened flesh of another man.
“LILY!” James suddenly shouted.
Lily quickly turned her head toward the sound of the familiar voice. Her smile broadened and her eyes lit up, the very second they confirmed what her ears already had. “James! You’re here!” she exclaimed, quickly letting go of Elijah, excited to finally hug James for the first time in days.
Lily’s abrupt departure instantly enraged Elijah. His face quickly morphed into a tight-lipped grimace as he watched her damn near run toward a man that he considered as nothing more than her manipulative, money-hungry master.
“Get into the carriage!” James commanded Lily, as he sidestepped her offer for a hug.
“But why?” Lily asked, looking confused as James breezed by her, glaring coldly at the man who had him beyond irate.
“We’re leavin’!”
“But James, I’s…”
“I SAID WE’RE LEAVIN’!” he shrieked in an explosive belligerent tone that stopped the celebration cold, instantly silenced every mouth, and commanded the bewildered eyes of everyone surrounding them.
“James, I…”
“NOW!” he screamed, startling everyone. His jealousy and anger would not allow him to turn his eyes away from Elijah, who reciprocated with a glare that was equally as icy.
Not much had been said, but James’s sudden appearance and his explosive attitude had instantaneously killed the joyous mood of the celebration. For several uncomfortably quiet seconds, the entire cast stared curiously at him, perplexed by his bizarre behavior. After such a successful night, they expected that James would be the happiest of everyone there.
The aftershock of James’s nasty attitude had Lily unable to even move. She just stood there holding her bouquet, her mouth partially agape. She was wearing yet another one of Anna Mae’s beautiful gowns. At that moment, though, she did not feel so beautiful in it. Embarrassment and humiliation had quickly trumped all other emotions. She was thoroughly confused as to why James was just now arriving and as to why his first order of business was to humiliate her in front of all her friends.
When James was finally able to tear his eyes away from Elijah, he looked over at Lily’s face and knew immediately that his jealous tantrum had just ruined her night. Feeling the embarrassment of the moment full force, Lily shamefully lowered her head, reminding James of her reaction during the many occasions that his father was nasty to her. The sorrowful sight made him immediately regret his actions.
Already emotionally weakened from a turbulent week, it took very little to drain Lily’s joy. She, therefore, conceded to James’s demands without a fight. “Yessa’,” she finally replied. She had quickly reverted back to her slave mentality and acknowledged him accordingly. As she walked away with her head hanging in shame, the clicking of her fancy shoes against the concrete floor sounded more like cannons going off in the midst of the awkward silence that lingered in the hallway.
James briefly watched her retreat to the carriage and then turned to glare at Elijah once more, hoping the hateful glance conveyed his anger about touching Lily. Without another word, James then began walking to catch up with Lily, leaving everyone else behind to speculate in confusion about what had just happened.
“ADAMS!”
James stopped and turned around to find Elijah walking up behind him.
“Can I have a word with you?” Elijah asked.
“What the hell do you want?!” James barked.
Elijah arrogantly smirked. “Same thing as you it seems,” he replied boldly. “I see the way you look at Lily. And you’re a damn fool if you think I haven’t noticed the way you look at me wheneva’ I talk to her. I’ve seen it from day one.”
“Get to your fuckin’ point! I don’t have time for this shit!”
“C’mon, Adams. It’s just you and me here alone now.” Elijah stepped even closer, t
he swagger in his strides exuding extreme confidence. “I know your little conniption fit here tonight had nothin’ to do with Lily, so why take it out on her?”
“You don’t know a damn thing!”
“I know I was here for her tonight! I know I was a comfort to her while you were nowhere to be found! I know that she didn’t deserve to be treated the way you just treated ’er! I know that a real man would’ve taken his anga’ out on me … not her!”
James took a step closer to Elijah, an evil intensity in his eyes. “I’d be careful what you ask for,” he said through gritted teeth.
Elijah fearlessly took another step closer to him too. “You betta’ be careful too. You don’t know who you’re fuckin’ with eitha’, greedy white boy!” he snapped. “But I can assure you that I’m a man who knows good ‘n damn well that you can’t possibly offa’ Lily the sort ‘a life that I can, and you’re a goddamn lunatic if you think otha’wise.” He scoffed and shook his head. “Lemme guess, you dragged Lily up here to a free state thinkin’ things will be different or easy somehow, didn’t ya’? Well, I can promise you that, outside ‘a William’s mansion, nobody will give a damn about Lily bein’ free or not free anywhere else in these racist United States, trust me on that,” he said, recalling his lingering bitterness over what his friend had done to him. “Outside of William’s gates, without those filthy guards he hired, Lily’s fair game. If anybody catches wind about the little love affair you’re hopin’ for, she’ll have a target on ’er back the size ‘a New York for hatred, ridicule … hell, even death! So, I suggest you let go of any twisted fairytale fantasy ideals you have about ’er. Or betta’ yet … why don’t you just let her go?!”
“And I suggest you stay y’ur ass the hell away from her, or the only thing left in that smart-ass mouth ‘a yours will be your tongue!”
Elijah arrogantly laughed at his threat. “You’re so hell-bent on tryna pretend like Lily’s free, so don’t you think she oughta be the one to make the decision about who she wants?” he smirked. “Go on and ask ’er, Masa’ James … ’cause I’m certain that afta’ the week I just spent with ’er, she’ll be beggin’ for more of me.”
Despite sensing the lies in Eiljah’s implications, every ounce of James wanted to swing for having the audacity to suggest such a thing. But he knew that that’s what Elijah wanted: more proof that Lily need not be with a man who possessed such a volatile temper. It would have been another reason to drive her away and perhaps into Elijah’s arms. James was definitely unwilling to give him that satisfaction. Instead, he stepped to within a hairsbreadth of Elijah’s face. “Seems I’m not the only one with a twisted fairytale fantasy,” he finally replied.
They stood there with each other eye to eye in silence afterward, both looking like two rabid animals ready to square off. After a few seconds, James finally found the strength to turn and walk away in an attempt to diffuse his fury.
“If you really gave a damn about Lily, you’d let ’er have the sort ‘a life she deserves!” Elijah yelled to James down the hall.
His words rang through James’s ears loud and clear, but his temper had caused him enough turmoil for the night. Remembering that fact left him content to let Elijah have the last word and gave him the strength to continue marching away from a potentially bloody battle scene.
Chapter Nineteen
Master:
A man who owns servants or slaves.
OR
A skilled practitioner of a particular art,
technique, or activity.
The carriage ride back to William’s estate seemed longer than usual to both Lily and James. It was nightfall, but James did not need light to know that Lily was crying. Her body language spoke volumes, as did her silence. She sat next to the bouquet that Elijah had given her with her body turned slightly toward the window, looking out into the darkness, sniffling lightly every few minutes. James wanted to find words of comfort, but William was along for the ride as well, and he did not want to embarrass himself or Lily any further in his presence.
As soon as the carriage halted in William’s yard, Lily hastily got out and trotted up to her room before James and William even reached the porch steps. When she was out of sight, William turned and scolded James with his eyes while pointing his finger toward where Lily had just gone. “That beautiful young lady up there, she was a complete and utter wreck before the show tonight, pacing and worrying herself sick, wondering what had happened to you! Then! After all the heartache and trouble you caused, you had the audacity to walk into that theater and treat her that way! You-you imbecile! Did you not see the instant look of relief on her face the moment she saw you?! She was herself again for the briefest of moments until you ripped it all away from her again! And to know that your little tantrum had everything to do with…” William stopped and snickered. “Yes, jealousy is undoubtedly a very natural emotion James, but only a fool would allow it to unravel him. And you … you bloody fool!” he insulted, pointing his finger near James’s face. “You are hanging by the thinnest of threads … a very, very frayed thread at that!”
“I don’t wanna hear any of your wisdom-filled riddles right now, William!” James replied, putting a hand up.
William shook his head. “I’m too disgusted to waste any more of my oxygen speaking to you anyway!” He then stormed up the stairs and slammed his bedroom door.
Once William was out of sight, James immediately ascended the stairs, two steps at a time, and entered Lily’s room without bothering to knock. Lily still had her dress on and was standing by the fire she had just started, trying to warm herself and calm her severed nerves.
“Lily,” James said, quietly closing the door behind him.
“Yessa’?” she replied with her back to him.
“You still cryin’?”
“No sa’, I wasn’t cryin’,” she lied, trying to hide her face by continuing to gaze at the fire.
“You’re not a very good liar.” He approached her from behind. “Can you look at me, please?”
Lily refused to turn around, hoping to continue hiding any evidence of her lie.
James stood patiently behind her. “Please, tell me your troubles.”
“I’m fine,” she insisted. “Just a lil’ tired is all.”
James did not want to hear that. He wanted the verbal punishment that he knew he well deserved. “No need for lies. Tell me what’s wrong.”
“I ain’t got nothin’ to say … masta’.”
“I know you, Lily, and I ain’t neva’ seen you cry for nothin’.”
“I’m fine,” she lied again.
“I figured you’d be too angry to speak to me, and I don’t blame you. But I came up here anyway because I at least wanted to tell you how sorry I am.”
“For which part, huh?” Lily asked. Her arms were folded across her chest, and she still refused to turn around and look at him. “For beatin’ up that moron? Landin’ yo’self in jail? Missin’ the show? Or for remindin’ me in front ‘a everybody on that stage tonight that you own me? Which one is it … masta’?”
“Stop callin’ me that!” James shouted in frustration.
“For what!?” Lily barked back, finally turning around to face James. “You own me, don’t ya’?! You’s my masta’, ain’t ya’?!” she berated, her tone full of venom as she began punishing him with her words the way he silently hoped she would do. “You demand what you want ‘a me, and I’m always to oblige with a respectful answa’! Ain’t that the way it is now?!”
“I don’t own you, Lily!”
“Six in one hand, half a dozen in the otha’!”
“What in the hell’s that s’pposed to mean?!”
“It’s all the same! You may not have paid for me, but I still ain’t nothin’ but the subservient little toy yo’ daddy bought for you to play with all them years ago!”
“My subservient toy?! You know goddamn good ‘n well I ain’t neva’ thought ‘a you like that!”
“Could’ve foole
d me! ’Cause you always been awful good at playin’ with me,” she said smugly, throwing her hands on her hips. “Hell, sometimes I think if I wasn’t able to play piano you’d‘ve neva’ botha’d to say anotha’ kind word to me eva’ again!”
“You don’t believe that!”
“Well, what else am I s’pposed to believe, huh?! It seems awful strange that afta’ all these years, you find out I can play, and suddenly you treatin’ me nice and talkin’ nice to me. Then tonight, afta’ you and William make all that money, you go right back to snappin’ at me the way you used to!”
“You think this is about usin’ you to make money?!” James asked, truly in shock that she would say such a thing.
“Elijah told me ’bout that article … The one ’bout you usin’ me to make money!”
That fact seared James’s insides and added another layer of cement to his hatred for the man. “You can’t possibly believe those ridiculous lies!”
“What I can’t believe is how foolish I’ve been all this time! It all makes so much sense now!”
“Lily, I asked you if this was what you wanted! I neva’ forced you to do any ‘a this!”
“More than one way to get what you want!”
“None ‘a this was eva’ about me or about what I want!”
“Please just stop!” She threw a hand up. “I swear I don’t know what to believe outta you anymore!”