River

Thomas

“I’m going to Homochitto this morning,” I tell Gregor. I have been waiting for him to pass by my office on his way Under-the-hill. “It’s been a few days since I got back from Ellis Cliffs, and if I don’t get out there soon Stephen will arrive before me and chide me for having utterly neglected my promise to take care of his plantation.”

Gregor responds, “Well, to be fair, you’ve been busy.”

I laugh. “No kidding. Still, I want to spend at least some time there, look everything over and make sure the plantation is running smoothly before they get back from their honeymoon.”

He looks contemplative, then says, “Would you mind waiting an hour or so? I’d like to come along. And I’ll bet Rosalind would as well. We could take our carriage, ride alongside your horse. It would be nice to see their new home. Would that suit you?”

I grin at him. “You just want to hear your little best friend calling you Woosh again, don’t you?”

This is the whole reason I was waiting for him to pass by. I figured he’d want to come. I’ve long since stopped thinking about how peculiar it is for him to care so much about a couple of slaves. It’s just who he is.

He lifts his hands into the air in surrender, laughing. “You have found me out. Yes, I want to see how Dalila and Ayola are doing in their new home. Will you wait for me?”

“Sure. I wasn’t quite ready to leave anyway.”

“Thank you. I just need to pop down to the dock to talk to my manager quickly. Then I’ll get my carriage ready. Meet you at the stables in an hour?”

Moses

Gregor has only been gone a few minutes when he returns. I wonder if he forgot something. I’m carrying some used bedding down the stairs for Nadine, while she is setting Jake up in the parlor. It’s been a few days and he is already seeming much better, but Nadine and Rosalind are pampering him and insisting that he must relax and stay quiet. At least they are letting him lie on the sofa in the parlor rather than making him stay up in bed all day. I give him a smile as I carry the linens towards the kitchen to put them in the washtub.

Gregor comes in the door, and Rosalind looks up with some surprise. “Back so soon?” she asks him.

“How would you like to go to Homochitto today, darling?” he asks her. “I just ran into Thomas, and he told me he is finally heading out there. I thought we could go along, in the carriage, and visit Dalila and Ayola, see how the plantation is shaping up.”

I somehow run straight into the wall next to the kitchen doorway, as I walk down the hall with my arms full and my vision partially obscured by the bundle I am holding. I hear everyone burst into laughter. “Hey!” I protest. “I couldn’t see over the sheets!”

But I’m sure they all realize that it was because I was so distracted by his mention of Dalila that I lost track of where I was. Nobody can keep any secrets in this house.

I drop my burden in the kitchen then return to the parlor. “Moses,” Gregor asks, obviously straightening his face to stop himself from laughing, “would you be willing to drive the carriage for us?”

“Yes, sir,” is all I say, but I’m sure that the giant smile I can’t stop from appearing on my face tells him just what he wants to know.

Dalila

I think about Margaret a lot, waiting for her to arrive here, to her new home. Miss Margaret, I used to call her, but that is no longer who she truly is, is it? She is Mrs. Stephen Duncan now. I think, though, that for me she will always be, simply, Margaret.

I wonder how long it will be before she arrives. It has been nearly three weeks since her wedding. I think she might be coming home soon.

I wonder if she will know anything of the events at Ellis Cliffs that occurred the day after her wedding. I imagine not. She has always been very innocent. I know that she had no idea of what her father had done to me, the babies he had got on me. Definitely not the second one, the little girl now forever lost to me. I wonder if she would be shocked to know that he whipped me.

I will never mention any of it. I would just as soon she never knows. I want to leave it all in the past.

I have finished arranging all of her belongings in her room, the room she will be sharing with her new husband. Ayola and I have a little room downstairs next to the kitchen that we share with Hester. Now that Margaret is married her maid is no longer expected to sleep at her doorway. I have little to do now, waiting for her to arrive. I am her maid, and until Mr. and Mrs. Duncan take up residence at Homochitto, I have no other assigned duties.

So Ayola and I are outside in the garden at the side of the house. I have not been told to do it, but I have begun tending the plants here, making sure weeds are not growing, checking to see the progress of the vegetables. I have always enjoyed growing things, because it reminds me of my mother. And of another gardener who has been much on my mind lately. Ayola is amusing me by pointing to the plants and telling me the names of some of the vegetables that are growing. I believe that Gregor had taught her some of these words while we were staying at his house.

I hear the hooves of horses approaching, and look up to see what is happening. A rider on a horse is first, a man I do not recognize immediately, but soon see is Mr. Thomas Butler, a friend of Dr. Duncan’s. Then, behind him is a carriage, and I cannot see who is riding within, but my heart leaps when I see the driver.

It is Moses, the gardener I had just been thinking of so fondly. I rise to my feet.

Suddenly, Ayola cries out joyfully, “Woosh!”

Samuel Duncan

I can’t stop feeling constantly bleak. How long does it take to mend a broken heart? That wasn’t one of the lessons at medical school. It’s been days, you would think that the wound would start closing, but it doesn’t. The hole that it left in my heart, to know that Ben never really loved me, that he never could have deceived me in that way if he did, refuses to close. It is open, aching, a constant pain. I am doing my work, tending my patients, but that is all I can do. I can’t eat. I can’t sleep. I work and hurt. It’s all that is left to me.

I’m trying to concentrate at my desk, filling out charts between appointments, and hear another patient walk in the door. I put down my pen and walk out from my little office, and am very surprised to see my brother has arrived.

“Stephen!” I say. “What are you - isn’t this awfully early? We expected you to be gone another week or so at least.” Then I realize that he is alone, without Margaret, and furthermore that he looks tired and unhappy.

“Oh no,” I say, “what is wrong?”

He slumps down into one of the chairs at the front of the office. Nobody else is here, so we can talk in private.

“We left New Orleans early, to get back to Ellis Cliffs.”

I wait, perplexed.

“Margaret had an instinct that something was wrong.”

Oh. I suddenly realize what must have happened. “Mrs. Ellis?” I ask.

He nods, fatigue in his eyes. “She was obviously just waiting to see Margaret again. She died minutes after we arrived.”

I sit down heavily in the chair next to him. “Did she… was she able to see Margaret at least?”

“Yes.” He sighs. “She rallied at the end. They often do. She had enough strength to hold her hand, say a few words to her family, tell them that she loved them. Then she was gone.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t help her, Stephen. I did try, but there wasn’t anything to do.”

“I know. Nancy told us everything that you and Thomas did. I knew that she was ill, but apparently nobody realized how bad it was.”

I nod. That much was clear. She had hidden it from everyone. “What will happen now?” I ask him.

“Abraham is destroyed. He can barely function, much less plan a funeral. Margaret and Nancy have decided to just have a private family burial on the grounds at Ellis Cliffs. I’m here to order a coffin, hopefully one can be ready today or tomorrow.” He looks exhausted. I reach over and pat his shoulder.

“How is Margaret?” I ask him.

He looks up at me. “She is good. She is remarkable. She knew, somehow, when we were in New Orleans that something was wrong at home, and we spent more than two days in a stagecoach racing north. I had to believe her, it was obvious that she was in a panic, but even she didn’t know why. I’m so glad that we did it. Being able to see her mother one more time, even for just a few minutes, meant everything to her. She has been so strong for her father and siblings.”

He leans up in his seat and looks out the window. I glance out, and realize he is looking at Thomas’s office. It’s closed. “Where is Thomas?” he asks.

“He’s at Homochitto. He just left this morning.”

He leans back, saying, “Ohhhhh. Right, I had actually forgotten about that. I know you were both at Ellis Cliffs for a week, taking care of the family down there. I forgot all about the fact that Thomas was planning to supervise Homochitto for me.”

“Better late than never?” I say, trying to lighten the mood a little.

He huffs, not quite a laugh. “Well, he won’t get the chance to do much if he just left this morning. I have to go get him.”

I look at him, questioningly. “Nancy asked me if I could bring Thomas back for the family burial,” he explains.

I must look a bit surprised, for he goes on, “I do think they will end up with each other. He has always been quite taken with her, and she told me very seriously yesterday that they have an understanding. She’s too young yet, but I finally believe him that it is going to work out. Anyway, it’s a family event and she wants him there.”

It makes sense. It was obvious during the week that we were at Ellis Cliffs that Nancy and Thomas have settled on each other.

He meets my eyes, and for the first time seems to actually look at me. “You look like hell, Samuel, what’s going on with you?”

“We’ve had some drama around here too. I’m just tired. I’ll tell you later, though, I know you’ll need to get going, and I have more patients arriving soon.”

He nods, and looks around the office. “Thank you, brother, for taking over here. And for what you did for Margaret’s family. I don’t think you have any idea how much we all appreciate you.”

I glance away, because I fear that tears are about to spring into my eyes. It will always be a secret, the one person whose appreciation I would most value, but could never trust again.