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

Chapter Sixteen

“My mama may have been a slave, but she was the freest person I ever knew,” Rose murmured quietly.

Carrie nodded and slipped her arm around her friend’s waist.

Sarah had been gone for over a week. Still, Rose liked to come out to the grave. She could remember her mama’s words best when she was standing beside her grave. Every evening when the sun slipped below the horizon, she walked out to gaze down at the flower-draped wooden cross and remember.

“My mama left behind so much.”

“I think maybe your mama lived life more than anyone I ever knew,” Carrie responded. “She told me one time that it wasn’t the material things in life that mattered.

She wouldn’t be able to take them with her anyway. She said the only thing that counted was how much love you left behind.” She smiled. “Your mama left behind an awful lot of love.”

“Your mama loved everyone,” Moses said in his deep voice.

Rose edged closer to his towering body. The need for his physical presence had intensified since her mama had died so unexpectedly. It was only when she could feel him that she was sure he was there. She tried to stay busy during the days, but the grief over her mama was still too fresh.

Moses put his arm around her, and the three stood together quietly. They didn’t speak again until the sun had flung its last golden ray and slipped behind a purple bank of clouds.

Moses was the one to break the silence. “I won’t never forget the first time I saw her. I thought she was an angel.

I’d just been sold on the block and split from my family.

I wasn’t nothing but a mess of anger and hurt. Your mama knew that. Her love that first night made those feelings a little easier to bear. Then she taught me how to

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let go of all that hate and hurt. I don’t know what I would be without her.”

Carrie nodded, remembering too. “Sarah has been like a mama to me all my life. She always knew what I was feeling. She was smart enough not to give me many answers. She just asked a lot of questions and let me figure things out. She trusted me to make the best decisions.” Tears filled her eyes. “I’m going to miss her so much.”

Once again, Rose felt the tears pouring down her cheeks. She didn’t try to stop them. Her mama had taught her that trying to control grief was like trying to dam up a river. You could hold it back for a while, but sooner or later it was going to be stronger than your control. When it broke, the dam would do a lot more damage than if you let it flow natural like. She would cry for as long as she needed to, and somewhere in the future, time would work its magic and the hurting wouldn’t be so bad. “I had the very best mama in the whole world,” she whispered through her tears. “She’ll be right in the front of my heart for as long as I live.”

Finally, she forced a smile. “I’m ready to go back now.

Thank y’all for coming with me.”

When they reached the edge of the quarters, Rose and Moses turned toward their cabin.

“I’d like you to come to the house for a while if you would please,” Carrie said.

Rose looked at her. “Got something on your mind?”

Carrie looked up from the sheet of paper she was holding in her hand. Moses finished lighting the lantern and sat back down on the loveseat beside his wife. Carrie settled in the wingback chair across from them. “I got a letter from my father today,” she announced.

“Bad news?” Rose asked.

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Carrie shrugged. “It could be. I really saw it more as a sign than anything else.”

“A sign?” Moses asked.

Carrie nodded. “My father filled me in on what’s going on. I told him I didn’t ever want to feel so detached from current events again. It’s all right being here on the plantation, but I don’t like feeling so separate from the rest of the world. He’s been writing me letters every few days to keep me abreast.” She raised the paper, looked for her place, and began to read.

Our office received information today about one of the new bills to pass the House of the Northern Congress. We do all we can to stay in touch with Union politics. They are calling it the Crittenden Bill.

Basically, it asserts that the war has been forced on the country by Southern malcontents. It also says the federal government’s only aim in pressing on toward an assured final victory is to ‘Preserve the Union with all the dignity, equality, and rights of the several states unimpaired.’

Carrie looked up as she got to the end of the first page.

“What’s all that really saying?” Moses asked.

Carrie frowned. “What it’s saying is that the war the Union is fighting is being fought in such a way so as not to affect the institution of slavery in the slightest degree.”

“Then what’s the South fighting this war for?” Moses asked. “I thought they were convinced the North was going to abolish slavery. I thought that’s what they were fighting about.”

“The South doesn’t believe them,” Carrie responded.

“Politicians in the North are trying to duck away from the issue in hopes of ending the rebellion soon, but no one down here is buying it. Here...” Quickly, she scanned the letter and picked up her place again.

Only two of their senators had enough guts to be honest about what they really believe. One was Congressman Riddle from Ohio. I, at least, admire his honesty. When someone tried to get him to change his vote, he let them have it. Told them

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slavery was doomed to die, and every sensible man knew it. He told them when it died it would not be simply voted out of existence—it would be abolished by convulsion, fire and blood. He believes the convulsion is the war we are in now. He wants the war recognized as the thing that will kill slavery.

Like I said, I can admire the man’s honesty, but I pity his naiveté. The South will fight to the bitter end to protect our rights. Sooner or later, the rest of the Northern politicians will come out of the closet and admit their real intent. Not that it matters. We down in the South have seen the truth for a long time.

Carrie put the paper down.

Rose was the first to speak. “I thought the North wanted to see slavery end?”

“A lot of people do,” Carrie said, “but I think right now their main focus is trying to restore the Union. I still don’t think people up there realize how sacred the institution of slavery is down here and how afraid people are of what will happen if it ends… Or how determined the South is to fight what they perceive as forced control.”

She shook her head then and leaned forward in her chair. “I didn’t read that letter so that we could discuss politics.”

“I didn’t figure you did,” Moses said with an easy smile, his massive frame settling back in his chair. “What’s going on inside that head of yours?”

“It’s time for y’all to escape,” she said firmly.

Rose and Moses both bolted upright in shocked surprise, but Carrie didn’t give them time to say anything. “I’ve thought it all through. I don’t think this war is over by a long shot, but right now the South seems to be winning. They’re already tightening up their control of the slaves, and they’ve brought on more militia to track down runaways. It’s only going to get worse, especially if they win.” She paused. “If the North wins, there is no assurance things will be any better. If they’re truly not going to abolish slavery, things might get worse for blacks if the North tries to appease the South.” She shook her

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head. “I think we need to move now to get you two to freedom.”

Moses was the first to break the shocked silence. “How are you going to manage things around here if we leave?”

Carrie had thought about that, too. “That doesn’t really matter. That is my problem.” Rose opened her mouth to interrupt, but Carrie continued on. “My family has stolen your freedom for too long. What is important is that you be free. Right now, things are going our way here, but sooner or later, my father is going to find out the truth. I have no idea what will happen then. We can find a way to get you out of here now. I’m not so sure about later.”

Rose finally broke in. “We can’t leave you here alone, Carrie. We won’t leave you here alone. Our time will come.”

Carrie gazed at her friend, recognizing the determined tone in her voice. It meant she was settling in on a decision and wouldn’t be moved. Carrie sighed, picked up the letter, and began to read again.

The governor is calling for more men to help build the defenses for the city. He is asking all slave owners to send slaves to help in the effort. He has given us until the middle of October to finish the harvest, and then he wants them sent. Pick five that you think would perform the work best, but make sure you send Moses. His strength and size would be a welcome addition to the work force here.

Silence filled the room when she finished. She looked up at her friends’ shocked faces and smiled sadly. “You see, it really is the best time.”

Rose sat quietly, tears pouring down her face.

Carrie leaned forward to take her hand. “I thought you would be excited,” she said, confused. “You always told me you would never leave the plantation till your mama was gone. Sarah is safe with John now. There is nothing to keep you here. It’s time for you to follow your dreams.”

Rose brushed at her tears and tried to smile.

“I think it’s time to tell her,” Moses said, looking at Rose with a strange expression.

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“Time to tell me what?”

“It’s only fair, Rose. How would you feel if you were in her place?”

Carrie was suddenly alarmed. “What do I need to know?” she asked in a voice made sharp with anxiety.

Rose nodded at Moses and turned to Carrie. “My mama told me something before she died. I guess she knew her time was almost up. I was coming out to talk to Moses about it when I found y’all together in the field, but at that moment, I needed to talk to just him.”

“That’s why you weren’t too happy to see me,” Carrie said.

“I came back to apologize. I think I said something, but you didn’t hear me. Then I saw my mama...”

Carrie nodded. “I understand.”

“No, you don’t. You need to know what she told me.”

“I’m listening.”

Rose took a deep breath and looked her straight in the eye. “My real daddy is your granddaddy.”

Carrie slumped back against the cushion of the chair.

It never even crossed her mind to wonder if Rose was lying. She knew better. “Maybe you should tell me the whole story,” she said.

Piece by piece, broken by tears on both their parts, the story tumbled out. The room darkened, the lantern casting longer shadows on the walls, as they talked.

Finally, Carrie turned her head to gaze out the window. A moon was hanging, full and lush on the horizon. From where she sat, the golden orb seemed to perch right on top of the trees. She needed time to absorb all Rose had told her.

After several long minutes, she turned her head back to look at them. “The woman who has been my slave all these years is really my half-aunt?”

Rose stared at her. “I guess I never really thought of it like that,” she murmured.

A faint smile formed on Carrie’s lips. “I’d go back and undo all of it if I could,” she said, “but I can’t. Your mama always told me that if you can’t change a situation, you might as well look for the good things in it and do the best you can with it.” Her eyes filled with tears.

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“What are you crying for?” Rose asked.

Carrie shook her head. “Your mama should have hated me.” Tears spilled over and poured down her cheeks. “Sarah should have hated me,” she repeated.

“Every time she looked at me, she had to remember that it was my granddaddy who made her lose her little boy and her husband. How could she look at me? How could she love me?”

Rose leaned forward and took her hands. “You know my mama wasn’t like that. She didn’t judge people by things they couldn’t help. She took them as they came and loved them for who they were.”

Carrie nodded and wiped away the tears, forcing a tremulous smile. A new thought struck her. “We really are blood-related. All those years we thought we were like sisters... We really were related.”

Rose nodded. “Yes. Now you see why we can’t leave right now.”

“No,” Carrie said, standing up to make her point more firmly. “Now I see even more clearly that you must leave soon. Don’t you see?” she said, waving her hands and speaking intensely. “The Cromwells have done nothing but rip your family’s dreams away from them. It’s time for that to stop. I can’t bring back all the lost years with your daddy. I can’t find your little brother for you. I can give you your freedom. I can make sure you and Moses are never separated by the auction block or an owner’s whim.” She stopped, looking at them beseechingly. “We don’t know when it might be too late. I want to do this for you while I can.”

Moses leaned over and took Rose’s hand. “I think Carrie is right, Rose.”

Rose shook her head. “She’s the only family I have left,” she said in a low voice full of tears. “The only blood family. How can I leave now? Now that I know?”

Suddenly, Carrie gasped and sat up straighter.

Rose looked at her. “What’s that strange look on your face, Carrie Cromwell?”

Carrie jumped up from her chair and headed out of the room. “Come with me.” She turned down the hall into her father’s office. “I said I didn’t have a way to bring your baby brother back, but I may have been wrong.”

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Rose and Moses looked at her blankly.

Carrie laughed. “Oh, I know I can’t bring him back, but we might be able to find him. I was able to find your daddy after all those years.”

Suddenly Rose understood. “The records! They might tell where my twin brother was sold and who bought him.”

Carrie nodded, already opening drawers and hauling out the huge books her father had been keeping for as long as he had the plantation. There were more books that went back to the very first slave ever bought by her grandfather. As the three friends begin to pore over the books, Carrie’s mind was spinning. Now she understood why there had never been much talk about her grandfather—how different her father was from him. That must be why Thomas had always been willing to understand her and accept her, even when her mother was ready to despair of her. He had at one time been where she was.

She blinked away tears as she flipped pages looking for the information they sought. How hard it must have been for her father to sell John and the little baby. She knew it went against everything he believed about taking good care of his slaves, but he had done it to protect a man he probably never understood. Her father suddenly became more human to her than he had ever been.

The chimes on the clock were striking midnight when Rose finally looked up from the book she was poring over.

“I found it,” she whispered in an awed voice.

Carrie and Moses leaned forward eagerly.

Rose’s voice was low and hushed. “He was only one day old when he was sold. They got two hundred dollars for him.” She paused, trying to control her voice. “A man by the name of Walker bought him. Came and got him and took him away.”

“Where was Walker from?” Carrie asked. “Is there an address there? Any more information?”

Rose shook her head, looking disappointed. “A name’s not very much to go on,” she said.

Carrie sat quietly, not wanting to admit Rose was right. There must be a hundred Walkers in the Richmond

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area. How would they go about finding the one who had adopted an infant nineteen years ago?

Rose put down the book with a heavy sigh. “I didn’t really think we would find him.”

Carrie reached for the book and began to flip pages absently. She was surprised when a single envelope fell out. Her father kept his correspondence somewhere else.

What was this doing in there? More for something to do while she tried to figure out how to make Rose feel better, she opened the envelope and pulled out the single sheet.

Suddenly she gasped. “Listen to this.”

Dear Mr. Cromwell,

I have no idea that you will wish to know what became of the tiny baby you sold three months ago, but I felt the need to write and tell you anyhow.

Maybe someday someone will want to know. The little mulatto baby was sold by you to a man named Walker. He took it back to his plantation, planning on having a slave woman take it as her son, thus adding to his number. However, his wife would have nothing of it, saying she didn’t want a white baby on her plantation. Said it would start bad stories.

She also felt sorry for the wee thing.

Mrs. Walker brought the baby to me. Actually, to the steps of my orphanage. Little Marsh has become a true joy to us here. He is being adopted tomorrow by a family who knows nothing of his black heritage.

They are thrilled to be taking home their blond-haired, blue-eyed baby boy. I am confident they will give him a good home.

Sincerely,

Margaret Cramer

Rose stared at Carrie, her eyes wide with disbelief. “My twin brother was raised in a white family?”

“Evidently. It will take some time, but we may be able to track down the family that adopted him.”

“I ain’t so sure that’s a good idea,” Moses said.

“Why not?” Rose asked.

“Think about it. Somewhere out there is a man who has been raised in the white world all his life. What’s he

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going to think when a black woman comes and tells him she’s his twin sister?”

“I see what you mean.” Rose’s face twisted with sadness and frustration.

Carrie felt the tears well in her eyes again. “I’m sorry.

I should have thought of that. All I did was build your hopes up,” she said remorsefully.

Rose shook her head. “Someday, when the world isn’t so crazy, I’m going to find my brother. He may not want to have anything to do with me, but he’s at least going to hear the truth about where he came from. I’m going to tell him he had a mama who loved him with all her heart.

Whether he believes it or not is up to him.” Her smile this time was genuine. “I’m glad I know what happened to him. May I have that letter, Carrie? Someday I’ll use that information.”

Moses spoke again. “We need to talk about the letter Carrie got from her daddy tonight. I don’t intend to go work on defenses for Richmond.”

“Of course not,” Rose said calmly. “We’ll have to escape before then.”

Carrie gave a huge sigh of relief and sagged back against her chair. “Finally. What changed your mind?”

Rose shrugged. “I for sure won’t be able to find my brother if I’m a slave. As a free person, I’ll have more of a chance.”

“You’ll be nothing but a runaway around here,” Moses reminded her.

“For a while,” Rose agreed. “But that Mr. Riddle from Ohio was right. Slavery is doomed to die. Every sensible person knows it. God isn’t going to continue to let it go on. When that time comes, I’ll come back and find my brother. And I’ll spend time with my niece,” she said with a grin.

Laughter rang through the house for a long while, and then the three settled down to business.

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It was very late when Carrie crawled into bed, but sleep wouldn’t come. Finally, she got up and pulled her chair next to the window so she could catch the slight breeze wafting in. Her heart felt like it had been rolled on by several heavy wagons. The last week had been an endless assault on her emotions.

Losing Sarah... Finding out the truth about her grandfather... Realizing Rose truly was related to her...

Making the decision it was time for Rose and Moses to leave…

She was content with her decision, but seldom had her heart felt so heavy. For a brief moment, she regretted her new position on slavery. It was taking from her everything she loved. First, she had turned down Robert’s proposal of marriage, even though she was sure he would be the only man who would ever capture her heart. Now, she was about to lose her best friends.

So that they can have the freedom they so richly deserve, her heart reminded her. Carrie laid her head back on the chair with a sigh. She wouldn’t undo any of her decisions, but she sure wished they didn’t have to hurt so much.

She didn’t know how long she sat there, quietly rocking, before peace began to steal into her heart. It was up to her to make the right decisions, and it was up to God to be responsible for the results. She saw anew that that was what trusting God was all about. You had to leave the results to him and trust he would do what was best.

A voice floated in on the breeze. Do you believe I love you?

Carrie stilled as the question poured into her soul.

Wasn’t that what it was all about? If she believed God loved her, couldn’t she also believe God had only the best in mind for her, no matter how rocky and twisted the path to get there might be?

Carrie laid her head back against the chair and finally slept.

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