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dis here plantation.”
Before I could reply, Lizzie had disappeared, leaving an inescapable chill behind her. Closing the door, I went to the safe and took out two small, sturdy boxes and proceeded to diligently count every coin and piece of paper I had. There was enough money to last me for several months, although the majority of the family fortune was tied up in Northern banks. As for the plantation, the recent figures were dwindling but I had expected that. The key to Bellevue’s success was slaves who were directly tied to productivity. No slaves, no profit, and I had sold many of them, along with most of the plantation’s heavy equipment. I had no intention of maintaining the land, especially if it meant helping the Confederates.
The plan had always been to dissolve the plantation, or sell it off to the highest bidder, even before I married my cousin, Elizabeth. And yet, I still couldn’t shake the ominous feeling of foreboding that seemed to constantly haunt me. What was I afraid of? It wasn’t wise to let these dark feelings consume me, especially when there was so much to do. A possible war between the states was indeed upon us all and one had to be ready for it, especially a Southern abolitionist -- or ‘nigra lover’ like me.
I was deep in thought when I heard Jeb’s knock at the door. “Come in.” Jeb stepped in and took off his hat, revealing smooth, dark skin.
“My God, man,” I said. “You had me worried.”
Jeb flashed a wide grin. “Now when have you ever had to worry about me?”
Jeb had been a trusted friend and confidante from the time we were children, having been, my father believed, about seven years old when he bought him in 1831. Jeb had vague memories of his parents who, according to the slave trader who sold him, had been killed in retaliation for the Nat Turner rebellion in Virginia that same year like so many other negroes in the area during that time.
“Other than this crazy business about secession, what’s been happening out there?”
“Things bein’ said about you sellin’ off the plantation.”
“They should be happy I’m leaving.”
“Some happy, some not,” Jeb replied, joining me at the fireplace. “Some said what a coincidence your fever came at the same time the vote did.”
“A man can’t even have be on this death bed around here.”
“For true. But I heard Rozier spoke up in your defense. Most feel you should stay. Ain’t many plantations big as yours.”
“That’s those Confederates talking,” I said wryly. “All they see is property and how much money it can make them.”
“Dis true. And now you got dem boys down in Belle Chasse promisin’ freedom to the negroes.”
“Again?”
Jeb shrugged his shoulders. “Dey determined…tryin’ to trick some of ‘em into talkin’. They wanna know how all these slaves disappearin’ in the night.”
I shook my head in disgust. “How are they going tell them anything if they haven’t taken the journey themselves?”
Jeb chuckled. “Common sense ain’t so common, mon homme.”
“So they promise freedom,” I said in disbelief.
“All dey want is us.”
I thought for a moment. “Some have started to talk already I take it.”
Jeb’s demeanor was calm and measured but his piercing eyes told the story. “Only ‘bout what deythinkthey know,” he said slowly. “But we ain’t got to worry ‘bout dem no more.”
I winced at the thought of more violence. “I know you don’t like it, but it’s always been necessary,” Jeb said, his voice deep with determination. “The Confederates…dey on the hunt for traitors, and dey not gon’ stop ‘til they find ‘em…blackandwhite. Dat’s why you cut ‘em at the knees before dey get to the head.”
The silence hung heavy in the air. “Let’s summon everyone,” I said finally. “It’s time. If nothing else but to protect ourselves.”
“Same place?”
“Yes, tomorrow night. At eight o’clock. They may want details but they’ll have to come to the meeting to get them.”
“I can’t tell ‘em what I don’t know,” Jeb retorted, jamming his hat back on his head and opening the door just as the clouds opened up and rain came down in heavy torrents.
My head began to ache as I sat behind my desk and sifted through the mounds of paperwork regarding the plantation’s various pieces of property for sale, including furniture, timber wheels, drays, carts and wheelbarrows. There was much to do before the planned auction. It was a daunting task but one that had to be done.
Chapter Four
