Indentured

by Jeanie P Johnson

  “I’m sure it is.”

  “Why should you care anyway? I notice you take your quadroon to your room, almost every night,” she spat. “You can make her feel the way, you refused to make me feel that day. It should give you a sense of accomplishment.”

  “It does,” Rand lied.

  He tried forgetting about Leatrisha by taking Mazy to his bed, but Mazy could tell that he was always distracted, and sometimes he would have her leave, before anything happened. All he could think about was James with Leatrisha, and he would lose his desire.

  “Please be sweet tonight,” he begged.

  “Of course,” Leatrisha smiled, as the carriage slowed and came to a stop in front of the Huffington’s door.

  As Rand helped Leatrisha down from the carriage, she hugged against his arm, and looked up lovingly into his face. He was such a handsome man, she liked looking at him. His talking about what James had done with her, made her start to compare how Rand had touched her, it seemed so long ago, and she longed to have that feeling again. But the way she felt about Rand now, she would never allow him to get near her again. She wondered if James even understood how to do those things? Perhaps she could teach him, she decided.

  Monica came to greet them as soon as the butler admitted them.

  “So nice of you to come,” she murmured. “Let me introduce you to everyone. Rand knows everyone, but they are all anxious to meet his future bride.”

  The group had gathered in the drawing room, or what Leatrisha assumed was the drawing room. She wasn’t certain if Americans called their room by the same name as they did in England. As Monica introduced her to each person, Leatrisha had a hard time remembering anyone’s names. She just wanted the night to be over. All she could think of was getting back so she could go to the abandoned shack and leave supplies there for James and the escaping slaves.

  “It is outrageous,” someone was saying.

  Leatrisha, turned and recognized the man whom Rand had sold Theodore to. She was trying to remember his name. Mr. Stone? No…Smith? Oh what was it? Staples, that was it!

  “Slaves keep escaping and our best slave hunters are given the slip. Just a few days ago a whole family escaped together. Someone is out tracking them, as we speak. If we ever discover who is helping them, they will be shot on the spot!”

  “Did any of your slaves escape?” Monica was asking.

  “Luckily not. I have posted guards out every night,” he responded.

  “How about you, Rand? Are all your slaves safe and sound?”

  “My slaves don’t have the desire to escape, or the need to. Unlike others I can mention, my slaves enjoy their treatment. On top of that, Leatrisha has endeared herself to them all. They would remain solely because she is to become my wife.”

  What he said, he knew was the truth, but when the slaves discovered that Leatrisha would never become his wife, they would be sorely disappointed.

  “You are too kind, dear,” Leatrisha, smiled. “If what you say is true, though, it is merely because I treat them as human beings, not beasts of labor,” she informed them.

  “Slaves are meant to be kept in their place,” Mr. Staples insisted.

  “And what methods do you use, Mr. Staples?” Leatrisha asked.

  “A firm hand, and a far reaching whip,” he smiled.

  “I don’t think our overseer even owns a whip,” Leatrisha purred. “And yet we have not had an uprising, or a disobedient slave since I have been there. I’m afraid I am the only one that is disobedient on Rand’s plantation, and Rand knows exactly how to persuade me not to be,” she said, smiling at Rand. “Isn’t that right, darling?” she asked, kissing his cheek.

  “I’m learning, anyway,” he returned. “Beside, your disobedience is usually unintentional, isn’t it darling?”

  “That is what I have been trying to tell you,” she laughed.

  “Leatrisha is a very independent young lady. She comes from a well established family in England. My darling is a little heiress, you know. Quite blue blood, if you know what I mean.”

  “Really?” Monica murmured.

  “She was about to be presented to the queen, before I stepped in and stole her heart away,” he added.

  “Yes, Rand is quite the charmer, as I am sure you know, Monica,” Leatrisha, smiled.

  “You are a lucky young lady to have snagged him. No one else has ever had any luck with him the way you have,” Monica praised.

  “It’s because I am so exciting to be around,” Leatrisha laughed.

  “Yes, we all have heard about how you go riding bareback, in britches. I wonder what the queen would think of that?” Monica tittered.

  “My father was trying to break me of it,” Leatrisha informed her. “But Rand humors me. That is what I love about him. He allows me my independence.”

  “As long as it doesn’t get out of hand,” Mr. Staples mumbled. “Rand you are going to spoil the girl, and when you finally marry her, she will be hard to keep in line.”

  “I will just have to find a way to do it,” Rand promised.

  The dinner bell rang, and the group repaired to the dinning room. Leatrisha, picked at her food, as the dinning room clock ticked the minutes away. Rand noticed that she kept glancing at the clock, and wondered why she was keeping track of the time? It appeared she couldn’t wait to be able to escape the dinner, and get back to the plantation. He just wondered why. She had seemed reluctant to come in the first place. Finally the meal was over and Leatrisha, leaned against Rand’s shoulder.

  “I do believe I am developing a headache,” she murmured. “Do you mind if we leave early?” she said to Monica as they got up from the table.

  “Poor dear, has this been too much for you?” Rand asked, suspecting it was just a ruse to leave. But if truth be known, he wasn’t very anxious to remain either.

  “If you don’t mind leaving, I would really like to return home,” Leatrisha murmured, as she looked up at him.

  If he refused her, she would start pouting, he thought. “I am afraid I will have to return, Lettie home,” Rand said apologetically. “Sorry, Monica,” he mumbled, and then put his arm over Leatrisha’s shoulder. “Good girl,” he whispered in her ear, once they were outside the door. “Monica wasn’t pleased, though. She was hoping to get me cornered sometime tonight, I am sure.”

  His praise of her was genuine, even though he did not believe she was crying off to help him in any way.

  “Anything I could do to help,” she smiled back. “I think I am getting a headache, though,” she admitted. She had been so worried all night, she was starting to feel stressed.

  “Then we shall get you home with all haste,” he told her as he helped her up in the carriage. “Lay your head against my chest and rest, on the way back,” he suggested, pulling her up to him.

  The feel of her next to him gave him hope that perhaps she would forget his treatment of her. He continued to wonder what had gotten into him, to have over reacted in such a manner. Leatrisha did look a little worn, though, he thought, as he glanced down at her, and that worried him as well. Her avoidance of him for the last two weeks, was heavily felt, but he had expected it. He just wondered how long it would take her to let the incident pass. She seemed contented to lay against him, so he felt that was a good thing.

  Leatrisha could hear Rand’s heart beating under her ear, as she leaned against his chest, with his arm around her shoulder. She knew her heart was beating fast as well, but it had nothing to do with the fact that she was leaning against Rand. She was thinking about how she would have to sneak out to the shack, as soon as she was sure Rand had retired. Maybe he would take Mazy to bed with him and become occupied with her, she hoped. She wondered why, the thought of Rand making love to Mazy still bothered her, though. Why should she care? She had practically agreed to marry James, by giving her body to him, even though the words were never mentioned. But that was a long way off, yet, she reminded herself.

  As the carriage drew up, Rand helped Leatris
ha down, and kept his arm around her, as he ushered her into the house.

  “Would you like some warm milk?” he asked, seeing the pained look on her face.

  “I will be fine. I just need to get in bed,” she assured him.

  He helped her to her room, and she closed the door, and started removing her clothes. She did not want to call for the maid, because, she intended to put on her boy’s clothes, so she could ride Black Magic out to the shack, once she collected the things she needed to take with her.

  Leatrisha waited restlessly until the house sounded quiet, the whole time wondering if she should risk it. But she had promised James. He would never forgive her, if she backed out.

  Finally, her heart beating wildly, she tiptoed down the hall and down the back stairs, which led out by the kitchen. When she got there, she rummaged for a flour sack, from a shelf, where Mama Liz kept them to use as clean up rags, and started putting food from the pantry into it. The bag, heavily laden with a ham leg, bread, cheese, fruit, and what ever else she thought could be used, she went out the back kitchen door, and headed for the stables.

  The sound of a door closing caught Rand’s ear. He paused to listen. Who was up at this time of night? He crossed to his window straining his eyes against the darkness, just in time to see a shadow crossing over the yard towards the Stable.

  When Black Magic appeared with a rider heading down the road between the cotton fields, it wasn’t difficult to guess who was out there. What was Lettie up to now?

  “Headache, my behind,” he muttered.

  He pulled on his trousers, and headed out to get his bay.

  “Oh! You frightened me,” Leatrisha cried, as James came from the shadows of the shack.

  The tall figure put his arms around her, and gave her a quick kiss.

  “Where have you been? I have been waiting here most of the night to discover if you were going to come through or not.”

  “I thought you would be coming here in the morning.” she exclaimed, feeling anxious about the whole thing.

  “I will, but I rode ahead, to make sure everything was set. I will wait here for the others to bring the group, to make sure the coast is clear before they lead them down here,” he explained.

  Leatrisha took out a small candle and lit it.

  “I’ll put the stuff in the cellar,” she offered. “I had to go into town to a dinner, or I would have come sooner. I had to wait until Rand went to bed before I could get away, and we didn’t get back until late.”

  She headed down the steps of the cellar, and made a little shriek as cobwebs hit her face. The candle light flickered, but she knew her way around, since she had gone to check on the place earlier.

  “I brought the candle, to use for light,” she told him, “but we better not waist it now.”

  She came back up the stairs, blowing out the candle, and placing it on a table that was up against the wall.

  “We don’t need any light,” he whispered, pulling Leatrisha, to him. “Stay with me for awhile,” he begged, and then he placed his mouth on hers. “We rushed that time in the carriage. I want to take my time with you, Lettie. I don’t think you enjoyed it as much as I did.”

  He started to unbutton the buttons on her shirt, opening it, and lowering his head to her breast.

  “Come lay with me, Lettie. I brought a blanket.”

  Leatrisha hesitated. She wasn’t sure she wanted to remain with James, but James pulled her down beside him on the blanket, pushing her shirt free, and softly touching her skin. The feel of his hand caused her to closed her eyes as familiar tingles started invading her stomach. Impatient hands began to unfasten her trousers, pulling them away, and then laying down beside her, as he found those hidden places he had been longing to touch with his hands and mouth. What he was doing started bringing back memories of when Rand had touched her that night in the hotel.

  Leatrisha surrendered to his touch, and began to remove his clothes as well. Rand had never let her touch him, when he had touched her, but James welcomed it. Her breath caught, as James found those same sensitive places on her body as Rand had found, and when James finally lowered himself over her, she was craving that ending, and she whimpered and cried in pleasure as he brought her into a whole new world.

  Rand’s eyes narrowed, as he saw Leatrisha’s horse, tied up outside that old abandon shack at the end of the cotton field. What in the hell was she doing there? He hesitated as he saw another horse. An unfamiliar horse. She was meeting someone! As he got closer, he could hear the heavy breathing, and the murmurs, and then Leatrisha, crying out in pleasure, and he knew what she was doing.

  She was meeting James, in order to make love with him. No wonder she wanted to return home. He didn’t want to listen. Instead he got on his horse and rode away. At least she was doing it where no one would ever discover them, he told himself, but it didn’t make him feel any better about it. He couldn’t blame her for wanting to be with the man she loved, though, even though it was breaking his heart.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  “I thought we were going to have ham for dinner tonight,” Rand said to Mama Liz when she put the serving dish of stew before them.

  “Strangest thing, Master, the ham, along with several other things just disappeared,” she said putting her hands on her hips and shaking her head.

  “How could food just disappear?” Rand wanted to know. “Aren’t the field workers getting enough to eat? We haven’t had any food stolen before.”

  “I was going to look into it,” Mama Liz told him. “You know, ask around, before accusing anyone.”

  “The stew tastes great,” Leatrisha, piped up. “I think I prefer it over ham.”

  “Do you?” Rand asked. And then he suddenly got up from the table.

  “Where are you going?” Leatrisha called after him.

  Rand didn’t answer, his strides were moving him across the yard to the stables, where he lit a lantern and then pulled the bay out of his stall, swinging up easily onto its back. When he reached the shack, he jumped down and went inside. There were more than just two sets of foot prints in the dust on the floor. He jerked the door to the cellar open, and went down the stairs. A half burned candle sat on a shelf, and the cobwebs had been cleared away. The dust was disturbed, and it didn’t take much imagination to figure out where the food had gone to. There was more to Leatrisha’s meeting with James than met the eye.

  Rand could feel the fire of anger rising up through his chest. His fist clenched against the handle of the lantern, as the other hand clenched at his side. The little imp was helping slaves escape, and keeping them on his own property! If anyone found out, they could both get hung!

  Several minutes later, Rand stormed into the dining room, where Leatrisha was still eating. Without a word, he jerked her up by her arm and drug her outside, throwing her up on his horse and then swinging up behind her.

  “What ever is the matter with you, Rand?” She wailed.

  Still he did not say anything. He was too angry to even speak, and he was trying to figure out how he was going to punish her for this. He certainly couldn’t spank her again, or she may just run away.

  When they reached the shack, he could feel Leatrisha start to tremble against his arms that were reaching around her to hold the reins.

  “Cold?” he asked, in such a low menacing sounding voice, it made Leatrisha tremble all the more. “You know why we’re here, don’t you?” he growled.

  Leatrisha did not answer.

  “What in the blazes did you think you were doing, Lettie? You have put us all in jeopardy! If anyone discovers you have been helping escaped slaves, and on my plantation, they would hang both you and me! Have you lost your senses? That young man of yours put you up to it, didn’t he?” Rand assumed the obvious.

  Still Leatrisha could not bring herself to speak.

  “What am I going to do with you, Lettie? Am I going to have to send you back to your father? Is that what you want? You won’t listen to reason. Every ti
me I turn around you are doing something that demands I spank your bare bottom. Only apparently that doesn’t work either, does it?”

  Leatrisha could feel the tears spill over her lids. She knew she had been taking a big risk, but from what James told her of the treatment of slaves, she wasn’t sorry she had done it. She was just sorry she had gotten caught by Rand.

  “I don’t want you seeing that boy again, you hear? If you want to marry someone who is going to end up in prison, or dead, you can just well wait until your indenture is over. But I am telling you this, Lettie. One more misbehavior, and I am putting you on the first ship leaving for England. Do you hear me?”

  Now he could feel her body shaking with tears, and all he wanted to do was just hold her up against him and kiss away her tears, but at the same time he wanted to strangle her.

  “We will not speak of this. It has not happened. The food you took was given to a needy family, and you failed to mention it to me.”

  Then he turned his horse and headed back to the house. Leatrisha slid down from the horse, and went into the house without a word, going up to her room and closing the door, throwing herself on her bed, as a new flood of tears erupted.

  Rand paced back and forth in front of Leatrisha’s door, listening to her weeping, until he couldn’t stand it a moment longer, and finally opened the door, and came to her bed. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he gathered her up in his arms and started to rock her.

  “Lettie, Lettie,” he mumbled in her hair. “You are so young and impulsive. You need to put a rein on your own emotions, the way you handle that horse of yours. I don’t want to see you get hung, Lettie. You are far too pretty to be dangling from a rope, and what would your father think if he discovered it, which he would in the end. Don’t frighten me like that again darling. Promise me you won’t do any more risky tricks.”

  “But the slaves are so mistreated by their owners. I know you treat your slaves well, but others are treated horribly,” she moaned.