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His father sat on the bench. “Fingers a bit sore from all the sketching, but other than that I’ve no complaints. I didn’t realize how much I’ve missed New Orleans though. Been away far too long.”
“What have you missed?”
“The food, the atmosphere, the way the people move through life. There’s a joy here you don’t find in other places.”
“Had my first taste of gumbo earlier, and I have to agree with you about the food. There’s certainly nothing like it in Massachusetts.”
His father nodded and smiled. “You and Hazel’s daughter getting along better?”
He shrugged. “I suppose you can call it that. We’ve agreed to set aside our differences to get the job done, but she’s quite a handful.”
“So was her mother. Still is.”
“Have you two reconciled?”
“No. Not sure we will, but she’s worth the chase.”
“A chase that ends where?”
“I’m hoping she’ll allow me back into her life.”
Brax wasn’t surprised by that. He’d seen the light in his father’s eyes when the two were together. “And if she does?”
“Then I’d move here, more than likely. There’s no way she’d consider leaving New Orleans, especially not for Boston, of all places.”
“You’d abandon your son for a pretty face?”
“The second she agrees.”
They laughed. Brax didn’t begrudge his father’s pursuit. His parents’ marriage had been arranged but they’d gotten along well, and he knew his da had been lonely since his mother’s death. As his son, Brax of course had concerns about the Moreaux, but his father didn’t need or want advice, so he remained silent on that, and hoped the quest for a second chance at happiness would be successful. “I have a question about something that’s been bothering me.”
“What is it?”
“Why is Raven working as a domestic if the family is so good at what they do? No one here looks like they’re living lavishly.”
“The money isn’t spent on luxuries.”
“What’s it spent on?”
“Lifting the family out of poverty.”
That was confusing. “Explain that.”
“It’s something they call Fanny’s Plan. Fanny was Hazel’s mother. Her plan was to use whatever methods she could to give the younger generation the means to start businesses and schooling, which in turn would guarantee they and their children would never face the challenges Fanny and her children faced growingup. And she didn’t care if she had to beg, borrow, or steal to accomplish that. Hazel marrying into the family of that rich Creole had been part of that plan. All the money made off the swindling, the gambling, and the other enterprises are ensuring the young have a future.”
“Welch accused the family of masquerading as priests and royalty and other things. That has to take skill. Did Fanny teach them, and if so, who’d she learn from? Or was she clever enough to learn the skills on her own?”
“According to Hazel, Fanny was owned by a family of actors and musicians who traveled all over the South. They played at fairs, revivals, theaters, but the shows were a cover for the cons and swindles they pulled off in the places where they performed. Fanny grew up helping maintain the costumes, mixing and applying the face paints, and anything else that needed doing. She was taught to read and play the piano—also had a nice singing voice so they sometimes gave her small roles. Hazel said they called Fanny the Singing Pickaninny. At some point they freed her, and she took all she’d learned, and her two oldest boys fathered by one of the owner’s sons, and started a family troupe of her own. When the boys grew older, she used the connections she’d made through her owners to have them apprentice with some of the best counterfeiters, forgers,and con men around. They in turn passed that knowledge to their siblings and then down to their children.”
Braxton was impressed. Life had to have been incredibly difficult for her and her children. In truth, things hadn’t changed very much. The percentage of the race possessing enough wealth and prestige to deem themselves comfortable was small. In some parts of the country, the numbers were rising but certainly not with anything akin to speed.
His father continued. “You have to tip your hat to Miss Fanny for setting her mind on success in the face of the bigotry, barriers, and injustice the race has to fight just to breathe sometimes.”
“And you derailed her plan for Hazel by your actions on Hazel’s wedding day.”
“Yes.”
“Did you know about the plan back then?”
