The Courier of Caswell Hall (10 page)

Mother poured him another cup of tea. “We will rely on you, Major Reed, to protect our affairs.”

Major Reed nodded slowly, brushing his hands over his breeches. “Most assuredly.”

Father leaned forward. “You may stay with us however long you would like.”

Major Reed studied the contents of the drawing room as if he were noting the details of a fine painting. “Some of my officers are in need of shelter.”

Mother glanced over at Father, and Lydia knew precisely what she was thinking. They couldn’t refuse the man, though. There might be trouble if they didn’t offer their hospitality.

“With a bit of notice,” Mother said, “we will do our best to accommodate your officers.”

“Splendid! I need accommodations for at least six of them.” There was no request in his tone.

Clearly he was used to commanding.

“You would be welcomed as a guest in our home, and we could house your men in our other buildings, so that . . .” Father’s voice trailed off as if he were searching for a reason the men couldn’t stay inside Caswell Hall.

Mother finished his sentence. “So that we might prepare the house for your meetings and recreation.”

“Of course,” Major Reed said.

Lydia’s heart began to race. “But what about our Negroes?”

“They could all stay on the top floor. Temporarily.” Father turned back toward the major. “We have a dozen beds in our servants’ quarters and can offer you fresh linens and food. You will find it much more accommodating than our attic.”

“That would be more than acceptable.”

Mother smiled with relief. “When should we expect your men?”

“Actually—” Major Reed began, but he was interrupted by Joshua opening the doors again.

He cleared his throat. “Master Caswell.”

“Yes, Joshua?”

“We have some additional—” He hesitated. “We have more visitors on the front lawn.”

Major Reed stood. “Perhaps my men have already arrived.”

After the major departed, silence permeated the room as the Caswell family collectively tried to contemplate the turn of events. Then Hannah hopped out of her chair and raced toward the window.

She clapped her hands. “Come look at this.”

Lydia’s legs shook as she stood. It would be hard enough to try to hide Nathan from Major Reed, but to have a half dozen of his men snooping around their grounds as well . . .

One of them would surely discover him.

Nathan swigged water from Elisha’s canteen and brushed his mouth with his sleeve. He handed the canteen back to the man who had shared so much with him. “I thank you.”

Elisha screwed on the lid and then handed Nathan a small package wrapped in brown paper and knotted with twine.

“What is it?” Nathan asked.

“Some fruit leather and nuts and a corn cake for your journey.” Elisha brushed his hands over his legs. “If you hike east about a half mile along the bank, you’ll come to a stream that snakes back onto the Hammonds’ land. About twenty paces north from the mouth, you’ll find a canoe hidden in the trees.”

Nathan pulled the package closer to him as he repeated his thanks.

The window was covered with a blanket, and Elisha opened the door to retrieve something else outside. It was a cane, carved and polished.

Nathan gripped the head of the cane. With his foot bandaged tight and the cane, he might actually have a chance of stealing away tonight. “Did you make this?”

Elisha nodded. “I used to carve toys for Master Grayson when he was a boy.”

“I am sure he admired you.”

“Perhaps he did . . . until he was thirteen.” Elisha seemed to contemplate his words. “Then Master Caswell made him whip me.”

The thought of anyone beating this man—a friend who had helped save him—made Nathan’s gut clench. “Why would he do that?”

Elisha shrugged. “It was long ago.”

“If only—” He couldn’t remedy what had happened then, but perhaps there was something he could do now. He lifted the cane. “I wish I could repay you for your kindness.”

Elisha lowered his voice when he spoke again. “I’ve caught wind of a rumor.”

“Rumors can be dangerous.”

“But this one—” He glanced over at the door and then back at Nathan. “I’m told the British will free any Negro who arrives in their camp.”

“’Tis not a rumor.”

Elisha’s eyes grew wider.

“They will free you, but they will require you to fight alongside them.”

“I am willing to fight for my freedom, as the Americans are.”

Nathan brushed lint off his trousers. It was a strange world. The Americans purported freedom for some men while the British talked only of freedom for the Negro slaves. “If the British take you along with the plantation, though, they’ll sell you as property.”

“Aye.” Elisha nodded and sighed heavily as he sat on the stool. “It is what I feared.”

Nathan had considered many arguments and approaches for freeing the colonists from the tyranny of the Crown, but he hadn’t thought much about the freedom of slaves from their masters. His uncle owned more than a hundred slaves, but unlike many slaveholders, Uncle George treated his Negroes well. In fact, he recently vowed to never again buy or sell another man or woman.

Looking at this man beside him, the man who’d cared for him along with Miss Caswell and her maid, Nathan understood his uncle’s decision. He couldn’t imagine buying or selling someone like Elisha, a man as dignified as any he’d known. His uncle might vow never to buy or sell another slave, but Nathan vowed to himself right there never to own one.

He leaned back against the wall. “What would you do if you were free, Elisha?”

“After I fought?”

Nathan nodded. “After the war.”

“I’d free my wife and son.”

Nathan shook his head. It was indeed a cruel world. “Where is your family?”

Elisha put his hands on his thick legs and stood. “They are due east of here, at the Hammond plantation. Every Sunday night, I sneak up to see them. Miss Sarah knows about my visits, but Lord Caswell would whip me if he found out I left his property.”

“Maybe you could take your wife and son to the British camp. Then you’d all be free.”

He shook his head. “Alden is crippled. We would surely be caught if we tried to escape with him.”

“Someday, perhaps, you will be reunited.”

“Someday I will take them to a place where all men and women are free.”

Nathan couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be torn away from those he loved. He understood why Elisha would be willing to risk his very life to rescue them, and he admired him for it. “Those are good aspirations, my friend.”

“Aspirations worth dying for.” Elisha plucked his coat off a peg. “What will you do after the war?”

“I do not remember much of what I did before the war.”

Elisha buttoned his coat. “Surely you had a life. A family.”

“Most of my family lives north.”

“What was your occupation before the war?”

“I managed my uncle’s business affairs,” Nathan said. Much had changed since those days of sitting safely at his secretary, pouring over accounts.

“The war seems to change everyone.”

“Indeed.” It would be difficult for him to return to that occupation now. At the time the work had seemed exciting, but now it would be drudgery.

“Lydia said you were on one of the British ships.” Elisha spoke slowly, as if he were counting each word.

“I was.”

“Could you—” He cleared his throat, his strong hands fidgeting with the lid of his canteen. “Could you direct me to their army?”

Nathan shook his head. “Last I knew, the British were in Richmond, but I do not know their exact position.”

Elisha’s eyes implored him. “When you leave, can you take me with you?”

“I am afraid my services are no longer needed in Richmond.”

Elisha looked away. “I see.”

Nathan hated to see such disappointment on the Elisha’s face. He was fighting for the freedom of all men, black and white. “You do not need me to take you. If you desire independence, then you must find the army on your own. Perhaps after you find them, you could secure freedom for your family.”

Elisha’s eyes sparked. “Of course.”

“I believe you can do it.”

“If Master Caswell finds me . . .”

“If Lord Caswell is a true Loyalist, then he should be glad of your freedom.”

“My master is more concerned about what is best for his plantation, not his country.”

Nathan heard the
clip-clop
of horses outside, and he stood and walked toward the window. Inching aside the blanket, he saw a flood of redcoats on the lawn. “It appears you won’t have to search for the British army.”

Nathan lifted the blanket high so Elisha could see, and Elisha joined him by the window. “Master Caswell won’t resist their company.”

“They will not give him a chance to resist.”

Elisha reached for the door latch. “You must leave.”

Nathan nodded. “When the time is right.”

The soldiers outside slapped each other on the backs, pointing up at the mighty house.

Elisha cracked open the door. “I believe the right time is now.”

The man was correct, but he was sure to be caught—and probably shot—if he tried to escape in the daylight.

Nathan sat down on the bed and put his head in his hands. What would his uncle do if he found out Nathan was again trapped among British soldiers? Even after his swim in the river, the leather pouch hidden in his waistcoat had kept his letter dry. Now he needed to steal away to the Hammond plantation before the British found him.

“Please thank Miss Caswell for her kindness.”

Elisha opened the door. “Perhaps one day you will be able to thank her as well.”

The courtyard in front of the plantation looked like it was ablaze, red uniforms sparking like flames against the white oyster shells that lined the drive. At least twenty of the King’s Men stood in neat rows, a haversack and a canteen attached to each of their backs. Six of them held the reins of horses in their hands.

Lydia tapped gently on the leaded glass. “Major Reed must be poor at arithmetic.”

Mother leaned against the windowsill. “Indeed.”

What else had the major neglected to tell them?

Hannah’s smile stretched wide. “Is it not marvelous?”

“We must greet them.” Mother turned from the window. “Let us hope we can accommodate all of them outside the house.”

“This is good news, Dotty.” Father buttoned his jacket. “The men will protect us.”

Lydia’s heart raced. What if they found Nathan? They would suspect Father of harboring the enemy, and the consequence of that . . .

She couldn’t allow herself to think about the possibilities.

Father escorted them into the main hall, but Lydia turned toward the back of the house.

Father stopped her. “Where are you going?”

“To find Elisha,” she said. “He needs to help with their horses.”

Father shook his head. “Elisha will come to us.”

She swallowed. “Of course.”

Prudence wrapped a shawl around Lady Caswell’s shoulders and then helped Lydia and Hannah with their cloaks. Joshua opened the door, and Father led the family outside onto the portico. The sky was
a pale gray, and the crisp air stunk of stale beer, manure, and sweat. The men might have looked like gentlemen in their uniforms, but they smelled as if they’d been working in the fields all day.

Major Reed and another man stood on the portico above the rest of the soldiers.

“Welcome,” Father said, shaking the hand of an officer named Captain Moore.

Captain Moore nodded his head. “We are very glad to be here.”

Mother turned toward Major Reed, a forced smile on her face. “You have brought quite an entourage.”

He didn’t acknowledge the strain in her voice. “These are my best men.”

“You are all welcome on our plantation,” Father spoke loudly. “Where is Elisha?”

Lydia hoped he was helping Nathan escape.

“I am here, sir,” Elisha said, taking the lead rope of the first horse and guiding him toward the stable.

Lydia tried to catch Elisha’s gaze, to see if there was any hope in his eyes, but he didn’t look her way. Elisha would suffer the most, she feared, if Nathan was discovered.

Oh, why hadn’t she found another place to hide him? Perhaps in one of the cabins of their field slaves, far from the house. Mother would never think to house the British officers there.

Hannah curtsied toward the audience of men. “We are delighted you are here.”

Mother’s smile remained intact, but Lydia watched her reach for Hannah’s hand, a silent warning for Hannah to maintain her dignity. If Hannah wasn’t careful, her foolishness would make fools of them all.

Father remained on the top step of the stairs that led up to the front door. “We are all glad you are here. We will show you to your accommodations.”

Even though her father was glad to host these men, her mother’s lips pressed together in an unseemly way. She hadn’t even extended an invitation for refreshment.

Lydia leaned toward Father, whispering in his ear, “Perhaps we should offer them tea and biscuits after their long journey.”

He continued speaking. “After you settle, we would like you to join us for refreshments.”