Darkness

Gregor

Rosalind and Vernon are more or less ready to go. Nadine comes out to see us all off.

“Nadine, I hate to think of you here all alone all day,” Rosalind tells her.

She shrugs. “It’s the perfect opportunity to get some cleaning done that I’ve been putting off. There’s some dusty shelves and things that need attention.”

I smile at her. “Well, Nadine, why don’t you head on home after a couple of hours of tidying whatever you need. Don’t worry about our dinner. If we get home before we’ve eaten, I’ll whip something up.”

She stands with her hands on her hips, as outraged as if I had just told the most egregious falsehood. It makes me laugh. “No, really! Rosalind, back me up here!”

My wife laughs in her darling way, and says, “Believe it or not, it’s true. He’s made me some very fine omelets.”

Nadine cocks one eyebrow, clearly thinking that Rosalind must not have very discriminating taste. Ha!

Well, now is not the time to get into a culinary debate. Maybe I’ll make something for Nadine someday. In the meantime, my crew is already on the road and we need to get going. Rosalind climbs into the carriage cab, then Sarah hands her the baby and climbs in after her.

“Up you go, Jake,” I tell him, and am prepared to give him a hand up to the driver’s bench, but instead he gets himself up there just fine. He’s grown some, I realize. I move up onto the bench beside him, the reins in my hands, and lean down to ask the ladies, “Ready to go?”

“Yep,” Rosalind says, and I smile to hear Vernon cooing.

I get the horse moving with a flick of the reins, then look down at Jake sitting next to me, a towhead with a snub nose and freckles. He seems very pleased to be here.

“How old are you now, Jake?” I ask him.

He shrugs. “Don’t know. But I figure I can be eleven, like Jack is now.” That makes sense. I know that Beverly found him a few years ago as an abandoned street urchin and took him in, putting him to work with chores and errands.

“He has no memory of his family or his earlier life,” Wolk contributes.

“Fair enough,” I tell him, “you’re eleven. I think that’s about old enough to learn how to drive a carriage, don’t you?”

His mouth hangs open while he stares up at me excitedly. “Really?”

“Sure,” I say. We’re on a clear road, the weather is fine, I anticipate no troubles. “I don’t see why not.” I start teaching him a little lesson. “It’s a light carriage, and although normally five people would be too much weight for one horse to pull, most of you are very small.”

“I’m not that small,” he says, not quite indignantly.

“No, I can see that,” I say, “that’s why I think you can hold the reins. You need to have enough strength to pull them back to stop the horse when needed, and a younger child wouldn’t be able to do it.”

He puffs out his chest importantly, and is extremely attentive when I show him how to hold the reins, loosely when moving forward, how to pull on them to signal to the horse to turn, or slow, or stop. We don’t need to get much more complicated than that for today.

By the time we get to Homochitto, he is confidently guiding the horse along, and is able to stop the carriage smoothly at the front of the house. He did a good job, I might have him do this more often. I’m not sure I’d trust him to handle a horse and carriage alone yet, but as he grows he should be able to do it soon.

“Well done, Jake,” I tell him, clapping my hand on his back before I jump down off the driver’s bench. I don’t insult him by offering to help him down, instead I go to take Vernon from the ladies while they get out. I watch as Jake proudly hands the reins off to the groom from the stable.

Homochitto

Margaret

Stephen and I greet them from the porch. “Rosalind!” I exclaim happily. “Look at that baby! He has grown so much!”

She comes over with a smile, her nursemaid behind her. The baby is big enough now to be held upright, resting against her hip, and I smooth my fingers over Vernon’s dark hair, already growing in thickly, while he looks up at me with huge eyes and an adorably drooly grin.

“Oh, I want to hold him!” I say.

Stephen places his hand against the small of my back, and says, “Let’s go sit in the parlor first, my dear.” He doesn’t say it, but he’s probably thinking that I’ve gotten so big and ungainly that I shouldn’t be lifting the child in my condition. He has been so solicitous, so careful to ensure that I am not overexerting myself.

When we enter the parlor, Dalila is waiting within, Ayola smiling by her side, and I realize that the child had not gone running out, shrieking like a banshee when Gregor arrived. I think she might be growing up a little, starting to get a sense of proper behavior. I’m very glad about that. As young as she is, I still intend for her to help out with my baby when it arrives in a couple of months. I’m pleased to know that she is learning.

Gregor moves over to her, and picks her up, and whispers something into her ear, a proud expression on his face. I think he’s pleased about her learning, too.

Soon enough Rosalind and I are settled on the sofa, while Sarah goes to stand in the back of the room with Dalila. Rosalind hands me the baby, and I let him play with a ball of yarn I have been using to crochet a little baby blanket. Gregor and Stephen sit on chairs nearby, and begin talking about the plan for the day with the cabin. I see that Gregor has brought his houseboy, who stands behind Gregor’s chair, looking like he feels somewhat awkward in this setting, poor little thing. Hester starts bringing in refreshments, and the other women help her with service.

After the men have had some tea, Gregor pats Ayola’s little back and stands, sliding her back off his lap. She looks a bit sad, but then she silently climbs onto the sofa with us and snuggles against Rosy’s side. How sweet.

“Well,” Gregor says, “Jake and I need to get down to the cabin. I wouldn’t want my crew to think I’m slacking off while they do all the work.”

Stephen smiles at him and shakes his head. “I’ll walk down there with you. I’d like to see the worksite. Also hear about how my brother is doing with the outbreak.” He comes over and takes my free hand, the one not clasped around the baby, and lifts it for a kiss. “I’ll be back soon, darling,” he assures me. “Send James out if you need me.”

I only nod and smile. I wouldn’t dream of disturbing him in such a way unless it was a true emergency. The moment the gentlemen close the front door behind them, I turn to Dalila and Sarah and Hester. “Have a seat,” I say, gesturing to the chairs that were just vacated. “We’ve got some planning to do!”

Gregor

“Ayola requests that you visit Marcus and ‘hand’ him, as she puts it,” Wolk informs me.

Ah yes. It makes me smile, my little Seer friend already understanding that she and I can both use our hands to help others “feel better”. She has been engaged in the project with Marcus for months, making sure to hold his hand or find some other way to touch him whenever possible, and apparently the symptoms of his strange anemia, caused by a deformation in his blood, have been greatly alleviated. Stephen and Samuel have been tracking his progress with the mineral water experiment, and attribute it to that, and I am sure it is helping too. Along with the improved nutrition that comes along with Moses’ project to provide garden produce to all of the plantation’s slaves. I am glad that Stephen particularly is invested in the health of his slaves. It’s a long, slow project to bring him around to recognizing the humanity of these people, but it is working.

I whisper into Ayola’s ear, “I’ll hand Marcus, and maybe even bring him out to the cabin with me, so I can do it several times today. You are doing very well to help him so much, sweetheart.”

Stephen asks, as soon as we get out onto the porch to make our way to the cabin, “How is Samuel getting along?”

“Quite well,” I tell him, striding forward together under the warm May sunshine. It’s a beautiful day. “He will be discharging several patients who have recovered sufficiently, including both Ben and your little cousin Matilda.”

“Huh,” he says, “they recovered so quickly. Is he sure they’re well?”

Poor Samuel, always having his big brother wondering if he is doing the right thing. “Yes,” I reply, “I’m also sure that they are. I helped again overnight, and they seemed to be well on the road to recovery.”

He nods.

“Stephen,” I ask, before we get too far, “I’d like to swing by the garden on the way. I understand that Moses is planning to plant some flowers and vegetables near the cabin, and I’d like to see if they’re ready to take out there yet.”

He shrugs. “Of course.”

“Let Ayola know I’m on the way to the garden,” I tell Wolk, knowing that he’ll relay that to Misty, who will inform the child.

When we arrive at the garden, Marcus is in the process of arranging little pots of flower seedlings into small pallets, to be carried to the cabin. I move to him at once, put my hand on his shoulder, and feel the energy flow. “Good morning, Marcus,” I tell him, “are those for Moses?”

“Yes, sir,” he says, smiling up at me.

“He is much improved,” Wolk informs me. “He has no open wounds, minimal joint pain, and feels quite energetic.”

I turn to the side, not taking my hand off, and say, “Marcus, this is my friend Jake. He works for me at my house.” The boys are about the same size, although I know Marcus is a couple of years older. I suspect his condition has stunted his growth. They nod at each other.

I look at the seedlings. “Are those ready to go?” I ask.

“Yes, sir.”

“Well, there’s two pallets. Jake, why don’t you and Marcus each grab one and carry them out to the cabin for us?” I don’t think they’ll be too heavy, and Marcus seems strong enough now to do it.

The boys lift the pallets, and after I watch for a moment to make sure that they have a good hold on them, I turn to Stephen, and resume our conversation as we continue down the path to the cabin. “Let me know if I should carry one of them,” I tell Wolk, knowing he’ll monitor the boys for me.

“So,” Stephen says, “tell me more about the patients,” and we have a pleasant chat for the remainder of our little journey.