Storm Clouds Rolling In & On To Richmond (Books 1 & 2 in the Bregdan Chronicles) by Ginny Dye - HTML preview

Chapter Fifteen

Rose looked up in surprise as she heard the sound of hoofbeats behind her. “You going riding again, Carrie?”

Carrie pulled back on the reins and brought Granite to a halt. “I’ve got some thinking to do. As usual, your mama gave me a lot to ponder. I always listen...” She paused for a long minute. “This time somehow felt different, though. Like she was trying to open my heart so she could pour her words and feelings right into it.”

She shook her head. “There was something about her intensity... Anyway, I’m going to take a ride and let what she said sift around in my head.” Raising her hand, she moved Granite into a trot. “See you later,” she called over her shoulder.

Rose watched her for a moment and then continued walking. She was on her way to her mama’s. One of the children had come running up to her at the big house and told her that her mama wanted her. There had been nothing about the child’s face to alarm her, but Rose had noticed her mama wasn’t as strong lately. She probably just needed something done.

“Hello, Mama,” she said cheerfully as she walked through the door. “Hannah said you wanted to see me.”

Sarah, from where she was seated in her rocking chair next to the crude window, nodded.

Rose walked over and took the chair across from her.

“You look tired, Mama,” she said with a sudden anxiety as she noticed how hot and still the cabin was. The only sound was the buzzing of flies. “Why don’t we go sit outside? There is more of a breeze there.”

Sarah shook her head. “I be all right, girl. And what I gots to be sayin’ be best said without listenin’ ears pokin’

in.”

Rose sat back in surprise. “What do you want to tell me, Mama?” Now she felt even more anxious.

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Sarah gazed at her tenderly for a long moment, her hands resting easily in her lap. “You been the best daughter a body could ever hope to have, Rose.”

Rose didn’t know what to say. “Thank you,” she finally murmured. She knew without a shadow of a doubt that her mama loved her, but she didn’t usually tell her right out.

Sarah continued to stare at her for several minutes.

The silence built in the cabin until she seemed to make up her mind. “I got somethin’ I want to tell you.” Her voice was grave and quiet.

Rose sat silently, having no idea what her mama could have to say that would make her so serious. She had never seen her quite like this—with a mix of fear, determination and sorrow shining from her eyes.

“You wouldn’t remember nothin’ ‘bout the old Master Cromwell,” she began. “The one who be Miss Carrie’s granddaddy.”

Rose shook her head. Old Master Cromwell had died when she was still very young.

“He wasn’t much like Carrie’s daddy. He treated us slaves all right, but he didn’t have no trouble usin’ the whip if he thought it was needed. And he didn’t always limit his time in bed to bein’ with his wife.” She paused a moment, seeming to remember. “Course, that still happens a lot now. When a man owns you, he figures he can do with you what e’er he wants. Old Master Cromwell, that be the way he figured.”

Rose stared at her, wondering where in the world she was going with this.

“When I first done got to this plantation, I didn’t look old like I do now. People done used to tell me I was right nice to look at,” she said with a smile, before her expression turned sad. “Well, the old master must have thought the same thin’. Me and John, we’d just got married, but that didn’t stop him from comin’ down to my cabin one day. I was sick with a little fever and weren’t workin’ in the fields that day. John weren’t nowhere around. I reckon the old master knowed that.” She stopped and took a deep breath.

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“Anyway, the old master had his way with me that day.

I tried to stop him, but he just laughed at me. Told me he could do what he wanted with what was his. Told me the whip was waitin’ for me if I thought I would like that better.”

Rose fought to hold back her tears at the look of pain on her mama’s face. Sarah’s eyes were glazed with remembering.

“When John got home that night, I didn’t tell him. I was afraid of what he would do, and I was afraid of the whip for him.” She paused again, almost as if she couldn’t go on. “Then, not too many weeks later, I came up pregnant. My John was so excited. He always wanted children. He was willin’ to take the chance of being separated from them, even though it broke his heart to think they might be sold away from us. He wanted children—lots o’ them,” she said, her voice trailing off to a whisper.

All Rose could do was sit and listen.

Sarah tried to steady her nerves. “Miss Carrie’s mama was the one who helped deliver you, Rose. You and your brother—”

Rose jerked forward in the chair. “My brother? What are you talking about, Mama? I never had a brother,” she cried. “You mean to tell me I was a twin?”

Sarah nodded, asking her with her eyes to hear it all.

“Yes, Rose, you was a twin. There were two of you. Two fine babies.”

“What happened? Did he die right away? Why didn’t you tell me?”

Sarah continued as if she hadn’t heard her questions.

“Miss Abigail was smiling when you done come out, Rose.

You were the first baby. It was easy to tell right at the first that you were going to be a beautiful girl.” She smiled, remembering. Then her smile faded. “I was surprised as anyone when I felt another baby comin’. I was excited, too. Ain’t too many twins born ‘round here. Then I saw Miss Abigail’s face. She weren’t smilin’ anymore. First I thought my baby be sick or somethin’ wrong with him.

She didn’t say nothin’ at all. Just held my baby boy up so’s I could see him. I think if she could have got him out

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of the room without my laying an eye on him, she would have.”

“But why, Mama?” Rose felt as if her world was spinning. She knew the truth, but she couldn’t bring herself to admit it.

“That baby boy was as white as Miss Carrie. He even had blue eyes peering up at me.”

Reality hit Rose like a sledgehammer. “My daddy isn’t really my daddy?” she whispered in shocked disbelief.

“John isn’t my daddy?”

Sarah shook her head, compassion flooding her face.

“I’m sorry, Rose.”

“You mean Carrie’s granddaddy is my daddy?” She shook her head. “I’m half-white?” she asked. Her head was pounding, spinning with the shock of her discovery.

Then another thought hit her. “You mean I’m blood-related to Carrie? Why haven’t you ever told me?” she cried.

Sarah reached out and took her hand. “I need to tell you the rest of the story.” She squeezed her hand and kept talking. “Miss Abigail didn’t know what to do. What old Master Cromwell done may have been all right on other plantations, but she knew her husband didn’t see eye to eye with his daddy. And the old master had taken real sick right before I had dem babies.” She paused again, remembering. “Nobody had seen my babies yet

‘cause ever’one was out in the fields. They done decided the best way to keep from having any talk and scandal was to take the white lookin’ baby away.” Sarah paused again, tears in her eyes. “I got to hold my baby boy once before they took him away. A carriage came rollin’ up, and he was gone...”

“My brother is still alive?”

“I don’t rightly know. I ain’t never seen him again.

Never was told where they took him. It was like he weren’t never born. They told me I wasn’t to tell nobody.”

Rose tried to absorb all she was hearing.

Sarah squeezed her hand again and kept talking. “My John knew right away when he got home that somethin’

was wrong. He thought somethin’ was wrong with you.

He held you so tender, so proud to know he had a

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daughter.” She shook her head. “I couldn’t hardly stand it. I couldn’t keep the tears from pouring down my face.

Well, John kept after me till I told him.” Once again there were tears on her face. “I couldn’t stand losing another baby, not after my babies got killed in Africa. I didn’t rightly care who y’alls daddy was. I was yo’ mama!”

Rose’s heart wrenched. She reached out and took hold of her mama’s other hand. She was shocked at how cold it was. “Mama...”

Sarah shook her head. “I ain’t told you all the story yet. John was mad clear through. All he wanted to do was kill the old master. Carrie’s daddy came down to the quarters when he was rantin’ and ravin’ in the cabin.

Came right in without our even knowin’ he was out there,” she said. “Marse Cromwell be a good man, Rose, but he was in a right sticky place. He understood how my John felt, but he had to take care of his daddy, too. He told us he was mighty sorry for what his daddy had done.

Said he wished he could go back and undo it.” Sarah smiled wistfully. “Don’t all of us have things we wish we could go back and undo?”

“Was that why Daddy was sold?” Rose asked. “He’ll always be my daddy,” she added fiercely, her mind full of the last precious days they had shared together before he died.

“You right, Rose. John was your daddy. He loved you as much as he could have loved any baby of his own,” she declared with pride. “When Marse Cromwell told him he would have to go away because he couldn’t risk any trouble, all John could think about was me and you. He told Marse Cromwell he would go away, and he promised he wouldn’t never say nothing about there being another baby, but only if the Marse promised to keep me and you here. Only if he promised to take good care of us.”

“Daddy said that to Marse Cromwell?” Rose whispered. She knew Thomas Cromwell was kind, but she also knew he felt like slaves were inferior people, certainly not in any place to make demands of him.

Sarah nodded. “Marse Cromwell promised that day.

He said he would take good care of us and make sure you’d grow up workin’ in the big house so’s you didn’t

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have to be a field hand. But I had to promise never to tell you. My John was sold the very next day.”

Rose stared at her. “And you had no idea where he was for eighteen years? Didn’t that tear your heart out?” She shuddered at the idea of being separated from Moses. It would be like part of her being ripped away.

Sarah nodded. “I didn’t want John to go away. I told him we could go on the auction block together. I wanted us all to be a family. He wouldn’t hear nothin’ of it. Said he weren’t going to take no chance of being split up and not knowing whether we were all right. He said he trusted Marse Cromwell to keep his word. And he did.”

Rose’s head was spinning from the revelations that had just been told her. Shaking her head in disbelief, she asked the only question she could think of. “Why are you telling me now, Mama? Why now after all these years?”

Sarah shrugged. “I done kept that secret for as long as it needed to be kept. I don’t know how long I’m going to keep on living, and that secret didn’t need to follow me to the grave. I reckoned a long time ago that you had the right to know the truth ‘bout where you come from. Why, you could maybe have a baby that come out lookin’ white.

What would you have done if that happened? What would Moses have thought?” Abruptly she changed the subject.

“Your Moses be a good man, Rose. He be like my John.

He loves you with that burnin’ kind of love. He’ll take good care of you.”

Rose nodded absently, still trying to absorb all she had learned. Finally she spoke. “Thank you, Mama. Thank you for telling me.”

Sarah nodded and squeezed her hands again. “You need some time to think through everythin’ I told you. I love you, Rose girl. You always remember that no matter how you got here, you had a mama and daddy who loved you with all their hearts—-who would do anything in the world for you.”

Rose nodded, tears welling up in her eyes.

“You need to go spend some time thinkin’,” Sarah said softly. “I’m tired. I think I’ll lie down for a little while.”

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Rose leaned down to give her a kiss and walked slowly out the cabin door. All she could think was that she had to find Moses.

Carrie had been riding for over an hour, so deep in thought she hardly knew where she was. Granite, seeming to sense her mood, was content to walk along, his tail swishing constantly at the flies buzzing around his body. Every now and again his head would bob sharply in protest against an invading marauder biting his neck, and Carrie would reach out to brush it away.

A sudden shout caused both of them to lift their heads at the same time. In the distance, she saw Moses working with a group of the field hands. He was beckoning her over. She didn’t really want to be disturbed, but she couldn’t pretend she hadn’t heard him. She turned and headed Granite toward him.

“Thought you might like to see this,” Moses said with a wide grin, standing back and waving his arm toward the field.

“What?” Carrie asked in a bewildered voice as she looked out over the brown field. Then she leaned from her saddle to look closer. “Look at that!” she exclaimed, leaping easily from the saddle. In a moment, she was down on her knees, unmindful of the dirt. “Our first bean plants,” she said joyfully. She stood and looked down the seemingly endless rows of tiny sprouts that had just pushed their heads up to welcome the sun. “Think of all the people these will feed.”

Moses nodded. “I knew you’d want to see them. We can hope for a long summer and a mild fall. These beans went in mighty late, but they still have time to bear a lot of food.”

Carrie’s head shot up suddenly. “What did you say?”

Moses looked confused. “What do you mean?”

“The last thing you said about the beans. What was it?”

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Moses looked at her as if he was afraid the hot sun had gotten to her. “I said these beans went in mighty late, but they still have time to bear a lot of food.”

Carrie smiled and nodded. “Exactly!”

Moses waited a moment and then asked carefully, “Am I missing something here, Carrie?”

Carrie laughed and shook her head. “I’m sorry, Moses.

I know I’m not making much sense. It was something I’ve been thinking about. I had lunch with Sarah today, and she said a lot of things that got me to thinking. I’ve been afraid that by the time I get off this plantation it will be too late to make much difference in the world.”

“You’re not but nineteen years old, Carrie.”

“I know,” she said. “But it seems like I’ll be here forever, just running this plantation. I can do everything I can now to make my dream come true, but I had been wondering what I’ll do if it’s too late. You gave me the answer I needed.”

“I did?”

“Yes. Don’t you see? Even if I get started late, there will still be time for me to bear a lot of fruit, just like these plants can still feed a lot of people. Who cares whether they went in when most people plant crops. The people who eat this food will be glad they went in at all.”

Moses nodded, appreciation lighting his face. “That goes for me, too, I reckon. There will still be things for me to do when I leave this plantation.”

Silence fell between them as they stared down the long, even rows.

“Moses!”

Both Carrie and Moses heard Rose’s voice long before she appeared on her mare around the curve in the road.

Every muscle in Moses’ body tensed. Carrie knew he was imagining trouble. She certainly was.

Rose rode up beside them, her eyes wide and her breathing irregular. “Carrie. I didn’t know I would find you out here.”

Carrie could hear in her voice that she was disappointed to see her. Why? She watched as her friend regained control and slid from the saddle to stand beside them.

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“I thought I would come out here to say hello and to see how things are going,” she said casually.

Carrie knew she was lying but had no idea why. Had she done something to upset her? She tried to hide her hurt feelings by climbing easily into her saddle and smiling down at the couple. “I need to be getting back to the house. I’ll see you later.” She turned and cantered off, her mind sifting through the possibilities of what could have made the shutters go down over Rose’s eyes.

She was still searching for a reason when she rode past the road leading down to the quarters. She stopped and wheeled Granite around, eager to tell Sarah she had come to some conclusions about the talk they had. She wanted to thank her again for the challenge to think things through.

She rode slowly, taking deep breaths of the late afternoon air. The day was finally starting to cool off, especially in the shade of the tall oaks spreading their canopy over the dusty road. Late-blooming honeysuckle lent a sweet perfume to the heavy air.

The door to Sarah’s cabin was open as usual when she rode into the quarters’ clearing, but she was surprised when Sarah didn’t step to the door to meet her. Maybe she was still resting. Carrie tied Granite’s reins to the hitching post and walked over to the open door.

And stopped. She knew instantly.

“Carrie!”

She vaguely heard Rose’s voice in the distance, but she didn’t turn around. She was held rooted to the tiny step.

“Carrie, I’m sorry I was so silly back there. I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings. I’m glad you’re here, though. I want us to talk with my mama.” Rose was speaking as she tied up her mare, but suddenly she slowed, as if realizing her friend hadn’t even acknowledged her presence. “Carrie?”

Her voice grew sharp. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

She was beside her then, peering into the tiny cabin.

“Mama!” She ran inside and fell to her knees next to the still body. Sarah was sitting in the rocking chair by the window. “Mama...” Rose’s voice fell off into soft sobbing as she laid her head on the white-clad lap. “Mama...”

Moses appeared on the steps next to Carrie.

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She turned and looked up into his anxious face. “She’s gone, Moses. Sarah has gone to be with John. She’s gone home.”

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