Tender Betrayal

by Rosanne Bittner

  “My father is very busy with the plantation this time of year, so he could not stay. He has gone back to Louisiana and will come for me in September.” She paused, then added, “Father owns one of the biggest plantations in Louisiana, and he dares not be gone for too long at a time. Brennan Manor takes a great deal of supervision, you know, especially with hundreds of Negroes running about.”

  Lee frowned. Pompous little brat, he thought. She spoke the words as though her father were the most important man ever born. And they owned slaves! God, he hated the concept of slavery. This girl apparently thought nothing of it. He’d like to have a damn good talk with her and her father about that.

  “I met Audra’s father at the opera in New York City the winter before last,” Lee’s mother spoke up quickly. She gave Lee a chastising look, as though to warn him not to start arguing with the girl. “Mr. Brennan was there on business. He is not only a farmer, but a cotton broker. He had brought Audra with him that year as an adventure for her, to let her see a bit of the world beyond their plantation, and because he misses her so when he travels.”

  Audra forced a smile as Anna Jeffreys spoke. Did the woman realize how she still suffered from a terrible homesickness? She had hated New York. It was cold and dirty and ugly. It made Brennan Manor seem like a piece of heaven.

  Anna moved around the bench to stand near Audra. She put an arm around her. “Mr. Brennan wanted his daughter to see a real opera, because of her own lovely voice and love for singing,” Anna Jeffreys continued. “When he discovered I had trained the lead female singer, he asked if it would be possible for Audra to spend a summer with me. He thought it might be a nice experience for her. Her voice has great possibilities.”

  “I heard,” Lee answered. “Very beautiful.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Jeffreys,” Audra answered.

  “Audra was only fifteen then,” his mother was saying. “Mr. Brennan wanted to wait until she was a little older to send her so far from home. He refused to send her north again in winter, as she hates our cold weather. Sending her in summer meant he could not stay with her, as that is his busiest time on the plantation, so he allowed her brother to come with her, as well as her personal…servant.”

  Lee noticed her hesitation at the word “servant.” Did the girl have a Negro slave along? He saw the look in his mother’s eyes and knew it must be so. The woman knew how adamant he and his brothers and father were that slavery must be ended in this country. What a disgrace America was to the rest of the world, preaching freedom but owning slaves! He had himself helped the governor of New York, who was a personal friend of the family, work on creating new legislation designed to eradicate the practice.

  “I am afraid our poor Audra has been quite homesick,” his mother said. Anna Jeffreys had a way of loving and accepting all people, no matter what their way of life, especially if they were interested in music. Music rises above all prejudice and hatred, she had told him once. It is a common ground shared by everyone and can bring people of all walks of life together in joy.

  “Maple Shadows is almost as pretty as Brennan Manor,” Audra spoke up.

  Almost? Was she trying to be nice, Lee wondered, or did she intend the remark as an insult? Probably an insult. He had worked a few times with southern businessmen and aristocrats and found them a proud, pompous bunch who seemed to think their South was the most beautiful place in the world.

  “I did not at all like the bit of winter I experienced two years ago in New York,” Audra continued. “I am not accustomed to such harsh weather. My father feared I might take ill, and being so far from home…” Her eyes teared, and Anna Jeffreys gave her a squeeze.

  Lee felt a glimmer of sympathy for the girl at the look in her eyes, but her attitude still irritated him, as though she were doing them a favor by her mere presence. He bowed slightly. “Well, welcome to Connecticut, and what I am sure will be a very pleasant summer for you,” he said as he straightened.

  Audra was convinced both the bow and the remark were in jest and not out of respect. Lee Jeffreys was indeed Anna’s handsomest son, with the bluest eyes she had ever seen; but the way he looked at her right now did not make him terribly likable. He was laughing at her behind those eyes, she was sure.

  “I think I’ll go to my room and change,” he told his mother. “I’d like to go for a swim before supper.”

  “Oh, Lee, the water is still very cold!”

  “That’s the way I like it.” Lee turned and walked over to the young man who sat near the door. He put out his hand. “Lee Jeffreys. You must be Audra’s brother. What’s your name, son?”

  The boy rose and grasped Lee’s hand. He nodded, his face growing a little red as he glanced then at his sister, who was rushing to his side. “This is Joey,” she answered for him.

  Lee smiled and squeezed the young man’s hand slightly. “Well, nice to meet you, Joey.”

  Joey smiled in return, but he still did not speak. The three of them stood there rather awkwardly for a moment, and Lee let go of the boy’s hand, mystified by the embarrassing moment.

  “You go right up and change,” Anna told her son. “I’ll tell Helen to begin preparing supper for you, Lee. How long will you be staying?”

  Lee was grateful for her intervention. He turned to her and put an arm around her, sweeping her into the hallway. “A whole month,” he announced. “How do you like that?”

  “Oh, Lee, that’s wonderful!”

  “Well, it’s my own law firm, so I guess if I want to take off for a month and leave everyone else in charge, it’s my right.”

  “I just wish your father would look at things that way sometimes. He’s not coming until late August this time, and I have a feeling he’ll stay only a week or so. Carl and David aren’t coming until then, either. I do so wish I could get you all together at once. Do you see each other very often in New York?”

  Lee reached down to pick up his bags. “You know how it is, Mother. New York is a big city, and I’m not anywhere close to the factories. All of us are so damn busy, we have to come here to Connecticut to see each other, only this year it looks like we won’t even accomplish that.” He kissed her cheek. “It doesn’t matter. What’s important is being able to spend some time with you. What’s this about gallivanting off to Florida and then to Europe? Usually you stay in the city with Father in the winter. My God, it’s been a whole year since I saw you last right here at Maple Shadows.”

  Anna put a hand to her forehead. “Yes, well, you know how I have always hated the city. This is the place where I always feel the best, but I’ve gotten so I can’t bear the cold winters, either in New York or Connecticut. I can’t get your father to leave, so I spent part of the winter in Florida with your Aunt Grace. The two of us sailed on to England for a holiday. I truly enjoyed it, and I had only two of the really bad headaches. Mostly they’re quite bearable.”

  She turned and headed for the stairway, and Lee suspected she didn’t want to talk about her health, which worried him even more. “Come on up,” she told him. “I’ll show you which room to take. I’ve given Audra your room because it has such a wonderful view. I thought it would be nice for her.”

  The stairway curved past the parlor door, and Lee turned to glance down at Audra. She and her brother were both staring at him, but Audra quickly looked away again. Lee could not get over how beautiful she was, in spite of her haughty air. She wore a ruffled pale-pink muslin dress with tiers of white linen cascading in a V shape down the front and back. It fit her tiny waist invitingly, and he had already noticed earlier that it also fit her bosom perfectly, a bosom that looked very generous for a young woman so small otherwise. Too bad such a brat had to be so pretty.

  A young Negro woman came down the stairway then, hesitating when she saw Lee. Lee felt instant irritation, realizing she must be the “personal servant” his mother had mentioned. She nodded to him, and he saw gentleness and intelligence in her dark eyes. What a waste of human life, he thought. She was a beautiful woman, he
r creamy brown skin clean and smooth. She moved past him then, looking over the railing at Audra. “Shall I prepare your change of clothes for supper now, Miss Audra?” she asked.

  “Yes, Toosie, but we are not finished here. Mrs. Jeffreys is just taking her son to his room first. We have another half hour of lessons yet.”

  Lee could not help staring. The woman surely carried white blood, for her skin was much paler than any Negro he had ever seen. He had heard stories about some white men in the South having literal harems of Negro women, with dozens of mulatto babies running about. Were the stories true, or just exaggerated by people who didn’t know what they were talking about? “Hello,” he spoke up. “I’m Lee Jeffreys. I take it you came here with Audra.”

  The woman glanced down, appearing suddenly nervous. “Yes, sir.”

  “How do you like it here in Connecticut?”

  “Just fine, sir. I—”

  “Toosie, don’t be rattling on to the owner of this house,” Audra called out sternly to the woman. “It’s not your place.”

  The woman twisted her apron in her hands, still not having met Lee’s eyes. “Yes, ma’am,” she answered quietly. “I will go help the kitchen maid until you are ready to change, Miss Audra.” She hurried past Lee and on down the stairs. When she walked past Audra, she kept her eyes averted, and Audra gave her a scowl. Lee noticed Audra’s arrogant posture, and it annoyed him. He had never spoken to a servant the way she had just spoken to hers.

  Audra looked up at him then, seeing his anger. “Toosie has been my personal servant since I was six years old,” she explained. “She was thirteen when father gave her to me. You have to understand, Mr. Jeffreys, that slaves cannot be treated the way you people treat your help here in the North. If you are too easy with them, my father says they become cocky and belligerent. Please do not try to make idle conversation with her. I have already explained to your mother.”

  Lee felt his temper rising. “Look here, young lady, this is my house, and I’ll speak with whomever I want, whenever I want, be it idle conversation or discussing important issues, one of which is slavery, I might add.” He frowned in disgust. “And I don’t like the idea of having a Negro slave in my house!” How dare this young female tell him what to do and say! She had spoken to him as though he were some ignorant idiot who didn’t know how to conduct himself. He was, by God, a grown man, a successful attorney in New York City, and his family was probably ten times wealthier than this little snob’s slave-owning, arrogant, southern bastard of a father! What the hell was wrong with these people from the South, still dealing in the abhorrent practice of slavery, talking about separating from the Union?

  He glanced at her brother again, who just stood watching him. The young man still had not spoken a word. He turned his attention back to Audra. “I’ll see you at supper, Miss Brennan,” he said, a strong note of authority in the words.

  He glanced at his mother then, who looked distraught, then stormed past her and on up the stairs. He was anxious now to change and let the ocean water cool his anger. It irritated him to no end to think that Miss Audra Brennan would be here the whole length of his own visit. He would rather have found just his mother here. If the girl had not brought her own damn personal slave along, it wouldn’t be so bad. He’d by God talk to that poor Negro woman if he felt like it. Slavery was wrong, and he didn’t like the idea of someone who believed in such things staying in his house. He gave his mother an angry glare as she hurried to catch up with him.

  “I’ll not go treating that slave woman like she’s something to be squashed under a man’s heel!” he told her, his blue eyes flashing with indignation.

  “Calm down, Lee. You always did have the worst temper of you three boys. Please remember that Audra and her brother are our guests, and try to be more open-minded.” Anna led him to the room he was to use and urged him inside, closing the door. “Owning slaves is all Audra has ever known,” she continued. “If you want to talk to her about the right and wrong of it, you’ve got to approach the whole thing gently, calmly. She’s only seventeen, son! She was brought up in that culture. It’s as natural to her as breathing is to you.”

  She patted his arm and walked to a window to draw the curtains aside. “Audra is actually a very sweet young lady, and immensely talented. This is her first time so far from home by herself, and I think she is a little bit intimidated about being in the North, surrounded by people who think it’s horrible that she has a slave with her. She’s actually scared and very lonely, so be kind to her.”

  “Well, she’s not by herself! She’s got her brother with her, for whatever he’s worth. What’s the problem with him? He hasn’t said a word since I got here!” Lee dropped his bags and walked over to help her open a window that was stuck. His irritation was enhanced by the fact that he had to give up his room with a view of the ocean. This room looked out on the front lawn, away from the sea.

  “The boy stutters, Lee. I’m sure being in the presence of a successful lawyer like you, he feels very embarrassed for you to hear him talk. I think part of his trouble is his father. The boy seems to be very close to his sister, but his father did not treat him very nicely when he first brought them here. I noticed the man gives Audra all his attention and almost none to the boy.”

  Lee sighed, feeling like a bit of a heel. He shook his head in resignation. “Ever patient and understanding, aren’t you? What would this family do without you, Mother?” He gave her a faint smile. “I’m sorry. I just don’t like a woman I don’t even know giving me orders in my own house, especially when she’s more girl than woman!”

  “I’ll talk to her. Just remember she was raised by a very wealthy, slave-owning plantation owner. That’s the only life she’s known, and on top of that her mother died ten years ago. She’s had no mother since she was seven years old, so she has grown up being trained to give her own orders and run the household.”

  “Yes, yes, don’t worry. I won’t cause a scene at supper.” He picked up a bag and threw it on the bed. “Go on back downstairs and finish the lessons.” The poor girl had no mother. He felt like an ass, and he had probably embarrassed her brother, who could not readily speak up in his sister’s defense. “I guess I’m just tired from the long trip here. It takes a while to wind down from life in Manhattan.”

  “I know, son. It’s the same way for your father and brothers when they first get here.” Anna stepped back and looked him over. “Lee, every time I see you, you’re handsomer than before.”

  He laughed lightly, feeling some of the steam going out of him. He removed his gray waistcoat. “Your sons could be the ugliest things that walked the face of the earth, and you’d still say they were handsome. Go on with you. I want to change.”

  Anna breathed deeply, looking him over lovingly. “I’m glad you came, Lee.” She wished she could tell him how frightened she was by her headaches. She carried a deep fear she could not name, fought the suspicion that the cause was something more than any doctor had been able to detect. She turned away so that he could not see the tears that suddenly filled her eyes. “I’ll see you at supper.”

  Anna left the room, and Lee removed his clothes, putting on a cotton robe. He had always swum naked, and he damn well would today, guests or no guests. He went to the doorway and again heard his mother’s lovely piano playing, joined by the incredible singing of Audra Brennan. He went down the back stairs and through a rear entrance, out to the beach. Soon the sound of the waves nearly drowned out the music. He threw off the robe and jumped into the cold water.

  He swam out far enough that he could no longer hear the piano or the singing, but the icy wetness did little to cool his continued irritation at having an unexpected guest at the house when he had planned on being alone.

  He came out of the water shivering. He quickly picked up the towel he had brought along and briskly rubbed his hair with it, then put on his robe. He stood watching the house for a moment, began to catch bits and pieces of Audra’s singing again. He was su
rprised at how easily the girl had riled him. It was true he had a temper, but his years as a lawyer had taught him to control it, especially in the courtroom. He was a grown man who normally did not get upset so easily, especially at pretty young women.

  He rubbed the towel at his hair some more as he headed toward the house. He told himself that Audra Brennan simply did not understand the folly of her own ways. She didn’t know any better than to be rude to the help and give orders to others. She had been brought up that way, by a domineering father, and with no mother to teach her the gentler side of life.

  He hated to admit it, but he knew his anger did not come so much from her bringing her personal slave here with her, but more from the fact that she was so damned beautiful, and he had no right thinking of her that way. She was just a kid, and a mighty spoiled one at that.

  “The hell with her,” he muttered. He had come here for a badly needed vacation, and he would enjoy it as much as possible, in spite of the unwanted company. As long as Audra Brennan stayed out of his way and didn’t try to tell him again what to do in his own house, everything would be fine.

  2

  Audra opened the French doors that led to the balcony outside her room. She breathed deeply of the sea air and walked past an array of lawn furniture and plants to the wrought-iron railing. She gazed at the water, glittering from the light of a full moon. She liked it here at Maple Shadows well enough, but it was not Brennan Manor. At home she was the one in charge, adored by her own father, and by Richard Potter, the fine southern gentleman who, it was more or less understood, she would marry in another year.