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“Oh, Thomas, I’d go anywhere with you,” she said. “You know that. I’m just afraid, that’s all.”
“I am, too,” I admitted. “But we can’t avoid to act just because there’s a risk of danger. Danger is everywhere.”
She continued to lean against the tree, lost in thought. She closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. She appeared to be concentrating on some invisible scene in her head.
“All right,” she said finally. “Tell me what to do.”
I took her in my arms and held her tight, not ever wanting to let go. I had never felt so close to her as I did in that moment. We held each other for a long time before finalizing our plan to leave Bellevue forever.
The letter I wrote to Uncle David came out fluently and with minimal effort, mainly because there was more hanging in the balance.
September 2, 1838
Dear Uncle David,
I trust this letter finds you well and that you, Aunt Catherine and Haydon continue to find inspiration in your northern activities, none of which require a name. I am forever your supporter in that regard which is why I write this letter with the utmost of urgency. Never before did Isee myself embarking on a similar journey such as yours, but recent developments have made it clear that I have nochoice but to act.There are two slaves that need to be added to the “list”, one of whom I’ve told you about before. The other is also very dear to me and it would pain me to leave him behind. Since you have much experience in these matters, I call on you for immediate guidance and assistance. I have some money to carry us through but am unsure as to how much is required. I would greatly appreciate your assistance and even impose upon you to take us all in, at least on a temporary basis. Your advice on this matter would be appreciated threefold.
Your loving nephew,
Thomas
Chapter Fourteen
Lizzie was impatient as she folded a set of white linen towels into perfect squares.
“Get me some more water,” she said to Jeyne. “Dey got dat big dinner comin’ up and we only got tonight to clean this place up.”
“But mama, I cleaned early this morning,” Jeyne said as she piled a fresh stack of linens onto the table.
Lizzie gave her a hard look. “Not to my liking. What? You too tired from lyin’ under that tree to do some work ‘round here?”
What Jeyne was tired of was being a slave and working until she passed out. “I wasn’t gone long.”
“You was gone long enough for that hen Josephine to notice and tell everybody.”
“A body needs a chance to breathe.”
“There ain’t no breathing when you us,” Lizzie shot back. “Just ‘cause you half yella’ don’t make you half slave.”
“I don’t know why we can’t live in the main house,” Jeyne said, a bit of defiance in her tone. “Life would be easier.”
Lizzie twisted her mouth. “You think livin’ in somebody else’s house is gon’ make your life better? You a slave. At least out here we have some privacy. Miss Mary gave me the choice and I took it. Besides, the further you are away from that boy’s bed the better.”
“It’s not like that mama.”
“It ain’t nothin’ but. How you think you got here?”
“But you were in love.”
“And look what it got me.”
“Slavery got you here, not love.”
“Dammit girl, I ain’t got all night to argue with you. Just go get dat water.”
Jeyne tied her hair back and picked up the empty bucket. Lizzie had been in a foul mood the whole day and it was a relief just to get away from her for a while.
Outside, the night air was refreshingly cool. On her way to the well, she saw several oil lamps burning from inside the ramshackle cabins of the slave quarters. Many of the old folks were sitting outside and she thought she heard her name a couple of times. She was polite and waved but she really wasn’t in a mood to talk. All she wanted to do was be left alone to think of her future with Thomas. Their plan seemed like a solid one and the more they went over the details, the more she saw her days of endless drudgery coming to end.
