The Price of Freedom (6 page)

An hour later, feeling much
refreshed, they continued on their way.  The driver soon pointed out St.
James parish church which he said was the oldest church on the island.

“The original building was
destroyed by a hurricane in 1675 but a few years ago they replaced the wooden
building with this stone one.  It stands on God’s acre, you know.” 
Richard nodded in response, humoring him. 

“Do you all have many churches in
Carolina?” the driver asked.

“Yes, attending church is quite a
social event. People go every Sunday and spend almost the whole day
there.  There are usually picnics and that kind of thing after the
service.”

“Here too.”

His driver flicked the reins and
turned the horse onto a narrower road which was bordered by bushes. 
Houses became sparse and the vegetation increased, giving much needed shade to
the travelers and Richard was happy that the air was also cooler.

“Soon be there now,” the driver
announced.  Richard was looking forward to reaching the plantation.
Looking at his pocket watch he saw that it was near five o’clock and they had
left Town around one.

“The Acreage begins somewhere
around here,” he said a few minutes later and Richard could see rows and rows
of tall sugar cane plants in the distance. Majestic Royal palms, lined the road
as they got closer to the house, towering over thirty feet in the air.

“Here it is,” the driver informed
him as the horses strained to go up a slight incline and pulled into the
driveway of a beautiful plantation house made of stone and painted in a warm
yellow. Upstairs the windows were flanked by moss green shutters and covered by
hoods of the same color while downstairs a patio ran the full length of the
house with more windows and several pairs of wooden doors thrown open as if in
welcome. 

Three ladies, who he assumed were
his aunt and cousins, were sitting in rocking chairs on the patio with a young
slave girl in attendance.  On seeing the carriage the older of the ladies
hurriedly got up and ran towards the carriage as Richard made his way down from
his seat.

“Richard?” she asked excitedly.

“Yes. Aunt Elizabeth?”

“Yes, my dear,” she confirmed
hugging him tightly.  She pulled back, looking quite a way up into his
face saying, “You look so much like my dear brother and you’re even taller than
I remember him being!  I’m so glad that you’re here. Come in and meet the
girls.” 

She gave instruction to the driver
to take the carriage around the back and she told the child to get someone
called Jethro to deal with the trunks and to get one of the girls to bring them
something to drink.

“These are your cousins Rachel and
Mary.  Mary is named after your mother. Girls this is your cousin,
Richard.”

Richard greeted each girl with a
brief kiss on their pale cheeks. He noted that they were quite pretty and
looked very much like their mother.

“I’m pleased to meet you. 
I’ve heard much about all of you from my mother.  She’s sent you some
gifts which I will find when my trunks are unpacked.”

“Thank you,” they said shyly,
eyeing him from beneath long lashes.

“Do come and sit down
Richard.  You must be exhausted from your journey.”

“Yes, it was rather long but I
enjoyed it. The driver shared a lot of the history of Barbados with me so now I
feel I know the island already.”

“I’ve so looked forward to your
coming,” she replied. “Oh good, here’s Hattie with our drinks.”

Richard took the drink that was
offered by the brown skinned slave girl who kept her eyes respectfully cast
down but he could sense her appraising him from beneath her lashes.  He
noted that she had beautiful smooth skin and a very nice figure.  He
wondered if it was true that planters really offered guests the use of their
slave girls and thought that he wouldn’t mind if she was offered to him. 

“Thomas is out on the plantation
but he should soon be in and you can meet him at dinner after you freshen up.”

“I’m looking forward to both.”

From the comfortable rocking
chair, he looked around in appreciation.  Everywhere there were bursts of
color from the tropical flowers, large trees offered shade and in the distance
he could see fields of sugar cane and other crops in every direction. 
Barbados! She was certainly beautiful. He wondered what she had in store for him.

Richard felt like a new man as he
stepped from the tub of lukewarm water in his bedroom. He had never been so
glad to see bath water and was most grateful to his aunt for providing it,
especially as the driver had told him that water was a precious commodity in
Barbados. The existence of few rivers on the island meant they had to collect
rain water in cisterns on the roof and in ponds that most of the plantations
created.

His aunt had been delighted to
show him around the house once he had relaxed for a bit. He was amazed at the
lavish furnishings that adorned the house which were even more impressive than
most of the estates he had visited in England and definitely more than their
house in Carolina. The mahogany dining room table that could seat eighteen was
polished to a high sheen and flanked by oval backed chairs caned for comfort.
An elaborate arrangement of white and red lilies in a silver vase held the
place of honor in the centre of the table.

A beautifully carved oak
sideboard, a clock in a tall case and a Chippendale cabinet filled with silver
hugged the walls and the Persian carpets that graced the floors in the sitting
room between beautifully styled couches and arm chairs were more luxurious than
any he had seen before. He had sincerely complimented his aunt on the
loveliness of her home, much to her delight.

His uncle had come in just before
the bell rang to announce the end of the day for the slaves and he had taken an
immediate liking to the tall, good looking man. From the strength and roughness
of the hand that shook his he could tell that, like himself, his uncle was
intimately involved in the running of his plantation and was not a gentleman
farmer.

He dried himself off with the
large towel provided and donned clean clothes that had been unpacked by one of
the slaves and draped across the huge four poster bed which was flanked by two
sturdy looking bedside tables. He had not had the chance to lie down but he was
very much looking forward to testing its comfort. The room was well adorned
with a writing desk and chair made of mahogany, a massive oak closet and an
elaborately carved chest of drawers with brass handles. A wash stand stood
separately but his aunt had told him that there was a bath house and a separate
outhouse in the yard.

With the rumbling of his stomach
reminding him that it had been several hours since his meal in Jamestown, he
quickly headed for the door and made his way down to the dining room. His aunt
had said that they usually ate around seven since the slaves' day ended at six
and that gave her husband time to ready
himself
for
dinner after he came in.

"Richard, my boy, come and
join us," invited his uncle as he entered the room, gesturing to the chair
next to him.

"Thank you. Good evening Aunt
Elizabeth, Rachel, Mary," he added taking his place. The girls greeted him
shyly, obviously still in awe of their tall, good looking cousin.

"You look much refreshed,
Richard," observed his aunt.

"Thank you so much for the
bath, Aunt. I feel like a new man." She laughed delightedly.

"I look forward to spoiling
you while you're here,” she promised. “Tomorrow Jethro can show you the bath
house and the outhouse.” 

“That will be fine.”

“Now you must be starving. The
girls should be in to serve dinner any time now. "

As if on cue, another brown
skinned slave in a long skirt with a handkerchief on her head came in offering
drinks from two jugs, which she said, were
mobbie
and
Beveridge
. His aunt explained that
mobbie
was an alcoholic drink made from sweet potatoes
while
Beveridge
was a refreshing drink made of water,
white sugar and the juice of oranges. Not desiring to drink spirits that night,
he chose the orange juice drink.

The slave who offered the drinks
was not the one who had served his drink earlier; she looked a few years older
than her. He noticed that she kept her eyes respectfully lowered even as she
greeted them cheerfully and poured their drinks.

"How was the voyage from
Carolina, Richard?" asked Thomas.

"It was quite pleasant if
rather long as we had to avoid French warships in the Leeward Islands. I
couldn't wait to get dry land under my feet again," he admitted.

"I know what you mean. At
least it's not as bad as travelling to England." Richard agreed readily,
having made that trip himself.

"Speaking of England, when is
William due to return?" he asked. The answer to his question was
interrupted by the loud clatter of the dishes on the trolley that was being
pushed into the room.

"Do be careful,
Deborah!" scolded his aunt sharply. Richard looked at her in surprise and
his eyes sought out the recipient of her sharp tone. Streaks of red appeared on
the well sculptured cheekbones of the girl, who was dressed similarly to the
first slave, and if he wasn't mistaken, her chin lifted a notch.

At first glance he thought that
she was white but then noticed that her complexion had an attractive olive cast
to it, however it was her startling resemblance to his aunt's husband that
arrested him. He looked at Thomas quickly but discreetly and then looked back
at the girl. There was no mistaking it. He glanced at his aunt to find her
looking at him with an expression of shame on her face before she looked away
and picked up her glass.

"...
before
next year I would think." Richard only caught the last part of his uncle's
sentence as he was still grappling with the blatant evidence of his uncle's
infidelity with a slave woman, possibly one of the house slaves.

The girl was now transferring
dishes from the trolley to the table. He observed that she had offered no greeting
and although she did not make eye contact with any of them, she did not lower
her gaze demurely as the others had done.

As she focused on her task, he
couldn't help but notice the grace of her movements, the slenderness of her
neck and the smoothness of her olive skin. Even with her hair concealed by a
handkerchief, she was beautiful, even more beautiful than Anise. The plain
garments she was wearing could not disguise her feminine curves and the proud
thrust of her breasts. Richard felt a stirring in his body and forced his eyes
away from her.

"How did your fiancée bear to
part from you?" his aunt asked him. He wondered if she had noticed his
interest in the girl and had deliberately asked the question to remind him that
he had a fiancée.

Richard smiled, even as his eyes
were drawn almost against his will to the girl's retreating backside that
swayed gracefully as she walked unhurriedly from the room.

"She made me promise not to
fall in love with any beautiful Barbadian women before she would let me get on
the boat." His aunt laughed.

"I'm almost sorry that you're
already betrothed because I would love to find you a Barbadian girl and keep
you here."

"I agree," added his
uncle. Richard smiled but the lure of running the Carlisle's plantation was
strong.

"I've heard that land is
scarce in Barbados anyway, so I doubt that I'd be able to find a plantation to
buy if I could afford it and I was inclined to stay."

"You never know," his
uncle said enigmatically as he gestured Richard to begin serving himself.

Richard enjoyed the meal
immensely, especially after the food he'd endured on the ship for the last
three weeks. However he found himself looking forward to the end of the meal
and the girl's return to clear the table so he was disappointed when she was replaced
by the one who had served him his drink when he arrived. While this one was
attractive, for some reason, she certainly didn't stir him as the other one had
done.

"Come to my office tomorrow
morning after you've had a good rest and we can talk about the plantation and
then I'll take you around to see how things work," his uncle invited.

"Thank you. I'm looking
forward to that but I must confess that right now I'm longing for a good
night's sleep in a real bed even more."

"I'm sure you'll find William's
bed very comfortable," his aunt remarked. "If you need anything,
please let me know."

"Thank you, Aunt Elizabeth
and you Uncle Thomas for your hospitality."

"You are very welcome,
Richard. I want you to make yourself at home. What is ours is yours," Thomas
added generously.

I wonder if that includes the
delectable girl who served dinner, he thought silently.

Deborah escaped to her sanctuary,
the kitchen. The mistress' scolding had humiliated her, but she hadn't been
able to help the shaking of her hands when she heard the nephew ask when
William was coming back.

She had felt his eyes on her,
initially out of curiosity she knew, for she had seen the same look on the
faces of many visitors when they noticed her resemblance to the master. But as
she had put out the dishes, she continued to feel his eyes on her until she
left the room. It was only immense self control that enabled her to walk calmly
from the room when she had wanted to run from his disturbing gaze.

She took several deep breaths to
control the beating of her heart. Not again! She couldn't go back in there
tonight. His penetrating gaze disturbed her and she didn't care to find out
why. She hoped that he was not like William, but then again they shared the
same blood.

"Hattie, would you clear the
dishes for me? I'll wash up for you."

"You would do that?
Thank you Deborah.
I will be able to get an eyeful of the
mistress' nephew again. I
goin
' dream 'bout him
tonight," she sighed. Cassie smiled and shook her head indulgently at
Hattie.

"The
mistress' nephew real handsome,
nuh
Deborah?"
Cassie asked.

"I really didn't notice,"
she lied.

"You didn't notice?"
Cassie replied disbelievingly. "You must be blind then. I know that Hattie
not sorry to clear the table for you though."

Although Deborah would never admit
it to Cassie, she was honest enough with herself to grudgingly agree that
Hattie and Cassie were right; the nephew was very handsome. Not that she cared.
As long as he kept his distance from her she would be happy.

"I better go and carry out
this desert quick. Poor man must be tired enough after travelling all the way
from Town today," said Cassie carrying a tray with plates of dessert out
of the kitchen.

That reminded Deborah that the
mistress had said he had a fiancée in Carolina. Good. Maybe he would keep his
hands to himself. Then again, the master had a wife and that didn't make any
difference. Nothing seemed to stop these people from using slaves to serve
their needs.

She couldn't help the little
shiver than ran over her as she remembered the nephew’s eyes on her. Even
sitting down she could see that he was bigger than William and she knew that it
would take little effort for him to overpower her if he so desired.  From
the little she had seen of him, he didn’t seem cruel, like William was or
perhaps he was yet to show his true colors. She could only hope that he and his
cousin were not cut from the same cloth.