Indentured

by Jeanie P Johnson

  Nat slapped the reins on the horses back. Leatrisha waved to Theodore, who was standing, watching them go with sad eyes. He always accompanied his mistress, and now she was going off with that man who taught them how to use a gun. He didn’t know if he could trust the man that much, but since he helped run away slaves, he must have some goodness in him, Theodore decided.

  “I almost didn’t recognize you in a dress,” Nat laughed, as they pulled out of the plantation drive and turned onto the road that lead down to the river. Before, Leatrisha had gone the back way to the river, through the woods, but this road was the one that all cargo wagons took to bring their goods to the river to have them hauled on barges to the buyers. Or they used it to go to the river to pick up loads of supplies, and other cargo brought to the shop owners and plantation owners alike.

  “Don’t let my appearance fool you,” she smiled.

  “You look very lovely, dressed like a lady, but I think I prefer you better in britches riding a black horse,” he chuckled.

  “I prefer to be dressed in britches, riding a black horse,” she admitted.

  “I thought you told me you merely told your father you were going to marry Rand, but actually was his indentured servant. He talks like you really are going to marry him,” Nat mumbled, turning to look at her, squinting his eyes, under the felt hat he had pulled over his brow. “I thought it was James you were really going to marry.”

  “It is a pretence to keep other women from trying to waylay him into marrying them. Really, I think he could take care of himself. I mean it’s the man who must ask the woman, right? So if he doesn’t want some woman trying to marry him, he just doesn’t have to ask her. Why I must pretend to be engaged to him, is beyond me!”

  “I think he really does want to marry you. The way he was looking at you, when you came up today, did not look like an act to me,” Nat pointed out.

  “He has told me several times he has no intention of ever marrying me. He says I am way too young, not to mention crazy, and I would never suit him as a wife. So I think you are mistaken.”

  “Maybe he has changed his mind since then,” Nat mumbled, giving her a long look. “You would be the perfect partner for him. Just look at you, all interested in everything that goes on at the plantation. I can tell how much your little slave worships you, and the way the other slaves treated you when you came up to the wagon, not just out of respect for their mistress, but because they genuinely seemed to respect you, tells me you fit in there pretty well. He would be crazy to say you don’t suit to be his wife.”

  “We don’t see things the same way. We are at each other’s throats all the time. It is a constant argument between us. He doesn’t approve of anything I do. He doesn’t even want to make love to me, he has a quadroon for that!”

  “But you loved James, and was going to marry him. If he knew that, he wouldn’t try to make love to you.”

  “Yes, but I had not decided to marry James until just before he got killed, so you must be mistaken. Besides he knows I would never marry him, even if he wanted me to. Too much has gone between us for me to change my mind, just because James is dead. I don’t think I could love anyone else the way I loved James anyway. We grew up together. James knew me so well, where Rand has never understood me. It has just been recently that he has started to allow me to breath. Just letting me ride out on Black Magic at night, took a lot of finagling to get him to agree to let me. I do not want him out hunting me down when I am helping you transport the cargo,” she insisted.

  “Then he seems to be bending. You know, you don’t have to love anyone the same way you loved James. But that doesn’t mean you can’t love someone in a different way,” Nat offered.

  “Well, if I love someone in a different way, it is not going to be Rand. He thinks he’s my father. I left home to get away from my father dictating who I would marry and when. Rand is not going to take over where my father left off. Not if I can help it. If he ever found out I was helping run away slaves again, he would probably be the first one to turn me in.”

  “Then it is silly to keep pretending to be promised to him,” Nat pointed out. “Make him admit you are his indentured servant and have done with it. Then your life will be more your own, as long as you serve him for the six years.”

  “That is just it. The only way he wants me to serve him is to pretend I am going to marry him. Otherwise, my life is pretty much my own. He may insist I become his mistress, if I back out of that agreement, since there is not much else I can do for him. He mentioned he was getting tired of his quadroon.”

  “I see,” Nat stated, and sat quiet, paying attention to the road.

  Leatrisha took in the countryside around her, as the road wound down towards the river. There was a lot of other wagons on the road, going in both directions, since it was the day the barges came up to transport goods.

  Scattered farms and Plantations dotted the landscape of rolling hills and clumps of woods. The largest wooded area which she had ridden through to the river before, separated the road from the river, but it slowly thinned out, the closer they got to the landing where the barges were moored.

  “After they unload the wagon, we can eat something,” Leatrisha, told Nat, holding up the basket. “Mama Liz made us a lunch.”

  “That sounds enjoyable. I know a little place, over looking the river, where we could spread a blanket.”

  “You have one?” she asked.

  “I keep it under the seat in case of bad weather,” he told her.

  An hour later, they were pulling up to the landing, but there was a long line of wagons, all waiting to get loaded or unloaded.

  “This is going to take us all day,” Nat grumbled. “By the time they get to our wagon, the day will be wasted. It will be dark before we get back.”

  “The horses can pull the wagon in the dark,” Leatrisha laughed. “You transport the cargo for the underground railroad at night, so why are you complaining?”

  “I had promised to meet this girl I’m sweet on when I got back. There’s someone else that is trying to horn in on her, and if I don’t show up, she will most likely turn to him instead,” he admitted.

  “Well, if she is that fickle, she is not worth paying attention to,” Leatrisha advised.

  “But she is the prettiest little blond headed girl, this side of heaven, and I have been trying for a month to get her to agree to let me call on her,” he complained.

  “Well we could save time by just eating lunch while we wait in the wagon for them to unload us,” Leatrisha offered.

  “You sure you don’t mind. I sort of wanted to show you the view from the river,” he smiled shyly.

  “Is it the view of the river, or the prettiest blond headed girl this side of heaven?” Leatrisha asked.

  Nat looked down at Leatrisha for a long moment, and then he finally said. “I think I would enjoy showing you the view of the river more.”

  “Really?” she asked, astonished.

  “If I’m going to go after some girl, she should want me as much as I want her. You are right about Nelly being fickle. Maybe she is not worth my time,” he mumbled.

  “Maybe she will be understanding about you being late,” Leatrisha consoled.

  “Maybe,” he smiled.

  “If we had a chess board, we could play chess while we wait,” Leatrisha murmured.

  “I have a deck of cards. I suppose we could play cards while we wait,” he offered.

  “That should pass the time,” she agreed.

  Nat pulled out the warn deck, and started dealing them out. “What shall we play for?” he asked.

  “How about pebbles?” Leatrisha giggled. “You can get down and get us some pebbles, and we will each have the same amount to play with.”

  “But what does the person who wins the most pebbles get in the end?” he wanted to know.

  “If you have the most, I will give you a kiss, and if I have the most, you won’t get a kiss,” Leatrisha smiled. “James and I used to play
cards that way all the time.”

  “Only I would get something of value if I won, and you wouldn’t get anything of value, if you won,” Nat insisted.

  “I wouldn’t lose any kisses if I won,” she giggled.

  “Very well, but I have to warn you, I am a good player, so if you want to back out now, you can. You will owe me a kiss for every pebble I win from you, and I will collect while I show you the view of the river.”

  “You under estimate me,” she laughed. “I beat Rand in chess all the time.”

  “But we are not playing chess,” he smiled back.

  Nathan got down and collected several pebbles, dividing them up between them and the two started to play cards. Leatrisha was feeling a little nervous when Nathan’s bragging about his ability to play cards, was proving to be true. Before she knew it, she had lost all her pebbles, and the wagon was ready to be unloaded.

  “I hope you are a person who stands by her promises,” Nat smiled, as he jumped down to talk with the barge owner, checking off the amount of bales, and getting a signed statement from him, to prove the amount he would be hauling to the buyers, so if bales mysteriously disappeared, the barge owner would have to take on the responsibility of the lost cargo.

  Leatrisha sat on the bench of the wagon, thinking of her impulsive offer to play cards for kisses. It hadn’t meant anything to her, when she was young and her and James would play for kisses. She had been better at cards than him, and she seldom lost any kisses, and they only kissed each other on the cheek. Now she was going to have to pay up, and she barely knew Nat. She would just have to insist it was kisses on the cheek, she decided. It was just a game, she told herself. Certainly he would only consider it in fun, and not insist on anything more. After all he was sweet on some blond headed angel.

  Nat, climbed up in the driver’s seat, and winked at Leatrisha as he drove away from the landing.

  “The place I want to take you, is about an hour’s drive from here, but we will have to follow the river road, and then turn back through the woods, towards the other road, going back. The road through the woods is passable, though, so don’t worry.”

  That was not what Leatrisha was worried about, but she smiled happily to him, determined to be a good sport about the card game.

  The road along the river, was breathtaking, and Leatrisha forgot about her future payment to Nat, as she looked down below them, while the wagon followed the road, which rose up to a higher part of the land, over looking the river. The days were starting to cool, getting closer to fall, and the trees were all starting to turn, presenting them with a view of warm orange, gold, brown, and greens, hugging the bank below in a dazzle of color that only God’s hand could paint.

  Boats that were starting to look smaller the farther they got from the river, floated languidly in both directions, doing business from one end of the Missouri river to the other, either hauling cargo, or passengers.

  The road wound up through the woods, and fingers of wind were knocking leaves out of the autumn turned trees, causing them to float down in a lazy dance, as they drifted through the branches, landing on the road ahead of them and some even tumbled into the wagon as they passed.

  “It seems to be raining leaves,” Leatrisha giggled.

  “The nicest kind of rain,” Nat added, as he turned the wagon, following a trail which came out into a clearing, which overlooked the river below.

  “This is a beautiful spot!” Leatrisha exclaimed, as Nat helped her down from the wagon.

  “I thought you would like it,” he said, grabbing the blanket and basket from the wagon, and bringing them over closer to the edge were they could enjoy the view below.

  Nat spread the blanket, and then went to stand beside Leatrisha who was looking down at the river below them. “How did you ever find this place?” she asked.

  “Probably the same way you found that cave,” he laughed.

  Nat put his arm on Leatrisha’s shoulder and turned her to him.

  “I think I would like to collect those kisses now,” he whispered.

  Leatrisha turned her head and looked up at his face. He was a nice looking man, and she didn’t dislike him. They would be working closely together helping the slaves in the future. She felt she could trust him.

  “Very well,” she murmured, “but you know it is only kisses on the cheek. That is the way James and I played the game.”

  Nat looked a little disappointed, but he shrugged.

  “You owe me ten kisses, which means you will be kissing my cheek. I will take them at my leisure,” he whispered, as he lowered his head, and placed his arms around her waist.

  Leatrisha, lifted her lips to his cheek, but just as she was about to kiss him, he turned his head, and her kiss landed on his lips instead.

  His lips felt soft, and firm at the same time, as they molded against Leatrisha’s lips, and what she had expected to be a short friendly kiss progressed into something she had not expected. Leatrisha found herself lifting her hands to his neck in order to hold herself steady. When he finally pulled away, he smiled down at her.

  “One down, and nine to go,” he chucked, as he brought her over to the blanket, pulling her down beside him.

  “That was not fair!” she complained. “I told you it was only supposed to be on the cheek.”

  “Then why didn’t you pull away?” he asked, eyeing her.

  “I…I really don’t know,” she said, a little breathless.

  “Which means you must have been enjoying the kiss,” he accused.

  “It doesn’t seem quite proper. I am supposed to be pretending to marry Rand, and I just lost the man I really loved, and now I am here, letting you kiss me.”

  “If you’d rather not, I will save the rest for when you feel more comfortable about it,” he offered.

  “That doesn’t seem fair, though. I promised you the kisses if you won, and I shouldn’t go back on my word.”

  “I am glad to hear that,” Nat whispered as he pushed Leatrisha onto her back, as he positioned himself for the second kiss, laying the top of his body over hers, pressing his strong chest against her soft breasts, as his mouth started to work over her mouth once again. This time she felt his tongue lightly lick over her lower lip. She started to open her mouth to tell him that she was only willing to give him casual kisses, but the moment she started to say the words, she found him deepening the kiss, and her words were muffled as he began to move his mouth against hers, gently and then passionately.

  Leatrisha fought against the sensations that were rising in her stomach, as she submitted to the kiss. Memories of her night with James, invaded her thoughts. If she closed her eyes, she could pretend, she thought. She could pretend it was James there with her, and it wouldn’t seem so bad. But it was only the second kiss, she thought, wildly.

  Eventually, Nat lifted his head from hers, and looked down into her eyes, as he pushed her hair back from her face with one hand.

  “I think I am enjoying the view here, much more than I would ever had enjoyed meeting Nelly,” he whispered.

  “Nat, you know this is only a game,” Leatrisha, breathed, as she found her voice.

  “Like the one you are playing with Rand?” he asked.

  “That is not what I meant. It is mere pay back for a silly card game. Nothing more,” she reminded.

  “But we never agreed upon where my kissed could land,” he said slowly, looking down at her mounded breasts above the low collar of her dress.

  “I thought I was supposed to be giving you the kisses, not you taking them from me,” she responded.

  “In that case, I will offer you kisses which you have not rightfully won, and you can pay me back with your own kisses,” he whispered, as his head lowered to her breast, kissing the top of the soft white mounds.

  “Oh,” she murmured, catching her breath. “I don’t think this was part of the bargain,”

  “If you truly do not want me to continue, I will be the gentleman, Lettie. I don’t believe in forc
ing myself on any woman.” He lifted his head, and looked at her.

  “It might be better if we…didn’t…”

  “Then pay me back with the kisses you owe me,” Nat said turning onto his back, “and I will let you do the kissing.”

  Leatrisha turned to hover over him, but as she did so, he buried his face against her alluring breasts, above the collar of her gown, causing Leatrisha to gasp the moment she felt his mouth on her again, and then he was turning her back onto her back, caressing her soft skin with his lips, seeking ever closer beneath her collar.

  “Nathan! You must stop this at once!” she cried.

  At her command, Nat pulled away. “The way you were hovering over me, like that, I could not help myself. I could see right down the top of your gown,” he mumbled.

  “I’ve lost a lot of weight, and my gown doesn’t fit me as tight as it used to,” she explained. “I think we should eat lunch,” she said, sitting up and pulling her collar up over her breasts. “We can’t afford to become acquainted like this. We will be working together, and it is too distracting to…to…well… think about each other in this manner, when we should be focusing on other things.”

  “But we are not working now,” Nat reminded her. “And you didn’t have any problem spending time with James this way, even though you were working together.”

  “It’s because I loved James. James is barely dead. And besides I do not love you, Nat. I never should have suggested we play for kisses.”

  “Why did you, if it wasn’t your secret desire to discover what it would be like to kiss me?” he asked.

  “It’s the devil in me,” she mumbled.

  “I like the devil in you,” Nat admitted. “I will collect the rest of your kisses some other day, if you wish.”

  “Perhaps that would be preferable.”

  “Then I suppose we had better have lunch, and then head back,” he suggested.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  The horses picked their way over the narrow path that led through the woods, back to the main road, as the wheels bumped over the out stretching roots that pushed up parts of the road.