Broken Feather

by Jeanie P Johnson

  “Yes, Broken Feather also saved my husband and his ranch hands from the Comanche. Texas is a dangerous place to live, at present, which is one of the reasons I was happy to return to Louisiana. For now, though, since there is nothing we can do about my father’s passing, you need to contact the lawyer, and I wish to finish my meal with my friends. Later, we will discuss what will happen after the will is read.”

  “Very well,” Chandler muttered, staring daggers at Broken Feather, who had one arm around Vanessa’s waist.

  He turned and left the house, closing the door behind him, as the rest of the group looked expectantly at Vanessa.

  “What will you do if the will states you must be married in order to inherit the plantation?” Broken Feather asked, feeling uncertain about the whole situation.

  “Why, I will get married, of course,” Vanessa smiled slyly. “Only it will depend on a few things first.”

  “What few things?” Broken Feather asked.

  “If the person I choose to marry will agree to it, for one,” she told him.

  “You have already decided who that is to be?” Broken Feather asked in shock, fearing it would turn out to be Chandler after all.

  “Yes. It is someone I have always wished I could marry but circumstances were in the way, holding me back. Now, I think it will be possible, because between you and me, I doubt that Chandler will ever insist I marry him, once I tell him the truth.”

  “Truth? What truth?”

  “I don’t think Chandler will wish to have a wife who has black blood in her veins. Besides it is against the law for a white person to marry someone who is part black. Broken Feather, meet my father, Seth Smith.”

  Broken Feather looked from Seth to Vanessa, his face unbelieving.

  “What are you talking about?” he gasped.

  “Seth is my real father, which my mother had a love affair with. My stepfather never knew who my true father was, as he stated when he sent me back here. If he knew I had black blood, he may have disowned me altogether. However, now he will never learn. That is the reason I had to keep it secret. If the will stipulates I should be married before inheriting the plantation, I will choose you as my husband.”

  Broken Feather drew in his breath with surprise.

  Vanessa ignored him and continued. “Chandler would never agree to marry me once he discovers who my father really is, and I wouldn’t wish to marry him even if he did insist I choose him. I doubt that my so-called father would stipulate who I must marry since he would never dream I would choose any other but a white man, considering it is against the law to marry into other dark-skinned nationalities, and he didn’t know I had black blood in me. Only if I am part black, society is not going to accept me anyway, so now it doesn’t matter who I marry. A lot of black people are buying up some of the old plantations in this area, I will just have to be accepted by my own kind instead,” she laughed.

  “The problem is, I don’t know if you want to marry me or not, after the way I have treated you and refused to go to Mexico with you, staying with Jason instead of leaving with you. I really don’t deserve you, Broken Feather, so it is up to you if you accept me along with my apology.” She looked up hopefully at his face.

  “I told you I would never leave you, Vanessa, and that still holds. I have always loved you, in spite of your treatment of me.”

  “I will try to make it up to you, Broken Feather. It seems I too have been prejudice against my own people, fearing what society would do to me if I got emotionally involved with them. I know better now. I can understand why I always felt close to the slaves. Maybe on some level I knew all along they were related to me in some way. That must be why my mother never minded that I played with Zack.” She glanced over at Zack and smiled.

  “I want to be there to see the look on Chandler’s face when he discovers the truth,” Broken Feather smiled.

  “Yes, but if what he says is true about me having to be married before I can receive the plantation, maybe we should get married before the Lawyer even shows up!”

  “Is that possible?” Broken Feather asked, in surprise.

  “I can get a preacher to come here to my house,” Seth offered. “And even if Vanessa does not get the plantation, she is welcome to move here with me, and we will run this side of the plantation together.”

  Vanessa threw her arms around Seth’s neck and kissed him on the cheek. “You have always been kind to me,” she murmured.

  “Because you are part of my flesh and blood, and I love you,” he told her.

  “Then why don’t you go find that preacher and we will make this a wedding dinner instead,” she suggested.

  Seth laughed. “He doesn’t live far from here, it should take no time at all,” he said as he gave Vanessa a squeeze and then left out the door.

  Broken Feather turned and crushed Vanessa to him, covering her mouth with a kiss. “I never dreamed this could ever happen,” he murmured against her lips. “I have wanted this since the first moment I saw you, but felt it was an impossible fantasy.”

  “I have felt the same way, but the social law was always holding me back. Now they can’t do anything to me, considering I am also part black.”

  Vanessa paused, and looked into Broken Feather’s eyes. “Only now I don’t even know if my daughter is part yours, since it may have been my own black blood showing up in her features,” she murmured.

  “It doesn’t matter. As far as I am concerned she is our daughter and always will be.”

  Tears sprang to Vanessa’s eyes, as she kissed Broken Feather again, while Zack and Mammy Sue clapped.

  When Seth returned with the preacher, he read the rites, pronouncing Vanessa and Broken Feather man and wife. When Broken Feather kissed his new bride, he suddenly felt reborn. Everything he had ever dreamed about him and Vanessa was finally coming true, and nothing but happiness was promised in their future. When the short ceremony was finished being performed, they all sat down to enjoy their meal, everyone was laughing and talking together as they planned their individual futures together. By the end of the meal, there was a knock on the door, and Chandler was there, looking impatient.

  “The lawyer is scheduled to come first thing in the morning,” he told the group. “I believe that Vanessa should return to the plantation house with me so we can discuss what is going to happen after the will is read.”

  “Very well,” Vanessa smiled.

  She kissed all of men on the cheek, before parting, as Chandler frowned at her, and then Mammy Sue stood up and followed Vanessa and Chandler back to the plantation house.

  “You know, of course, things are going to have to change around here, once we discover the details of the will,” he said as they walked back to the house together.”

  “I don’t know what you are referring to,” Vanessa said lightly. “So far, the plantation has been succeeding rather nicely. And Seth is going to get his portion of the plantation running again.”

  “That will have nothing to do with us. Like you say, he owns that part of the plantation now. It is your side that you need to preserve. If getting married becomes a part of that, you won’t be able to put it off any longer. I don’t know how much time your father has given you before you must take a husband, if you didn’t have one when he died.”

  “Certainly, he would have to give me enough time to actually find one. His last choice for me was a disaster. I would never marry someone I barely knew.”

  “You know me well enough,” he murmured.

  “I was certain you were going to say that, but I think there is someone else I have known a lot longer than you. Besides, while you were contacting the Lawyer, I decided to take care of the situation myself. Seth got a preacher, and he married me and Broken Feather. I don’t have a ring yet, but I am now Broken Feather’s wife,” she smiled.

  “What! What were you thinking? You married a Black Seminole Indian? You will have to get the marriage annulled! You will be thrown in jail. He can’t receive ownership of the p
lantation even if you died, because the marriage would be considered illegal. Besides, no one will give you any business in this area if you are married to a black Indian. The Plantation will go under, and you with it!”

  “I am not selling my crops to people in this area. I can ship them to anyplace I wish, and if it depends on the color of the person someone buys crops from, then all the sharecroppers are wasting their time! It is sugarcane the buyers want, not a social acquaintance with the owner of the plantation.”

  “Your father will roll over in his grave over this,” Chandler grumbled.

  “He is going to roll over in his grave anyway. Remember I told you I was illegitimate? Well, it turns out, Seth was my father. I am actually part black myself, so I doubt you would be asking for my hand, even if I did get my marriage to Broken Feather annulled. If you are right about the stipulations of the will being I must take a husband, then that has been accomplished, unless my father names a certain husband for me, which I doubt he would do since he did not know when he was going to die, and his first choice for me did not quite turn out well. He told me himself I could choose my own husband this time.

  “Actually, I suppose I should tell you, my husband did not die. He divorced me because I had Broken Feather’s baby. Glenda is actually my daughter as well as Broken Feather’s daughter. Even if she’s not, Broken Feather is claiming she is.”

  Chandler merely stood and stared at her. “Tell me this is not true and I am just having a bad dream,” he said in shock.

  “I didn’t even know I wasn’t the daughter of Sam Renton until he told me, just before he sent me back here. He assumed Glenda belonged to Broken Feather, and sent him with me to take responsibility for his child. Now, Broken Feather plans to take responsibility for me too.”

  “You will just be handing the plantation over to Broken Feather. You know that, don’t you? A husband owns all of his wife’s holdings once they marry.”

  “Perhaps Broken Feather deserves that. The Government sure won’t give him any land to call his own, and he did save my life when we were traveling together. Besides, I love Broken Feather and I know he will do a good job running the plantation. If you wish, we will keep you on as overseer,” she smiled.

  “There is no way you can prove Seth is your father. You are considered white. There are laws against intermarriage with whites and all other nationalities, including, American Indians, Chinese, Hawaiians, Blacks and other non-white people. I doubt the state would recognize your marriage, whether it was to a black or an Indian. If your father claimed you as his own, I am sure your birth certificate claims that Sam Renton is your father.”

  “Only I am not white, no matter what my birth certificate may say. Even though I look white, I have about an eighth Negro blood in me, so I am still considered black. Therefore, I am not breaking any law! Seth can vouch for me being his daughter. Mammy Sue knew Same Renton was not my real father. I even think my Great Aunt knew it as well. And since the laws have changed concerning black people owning property, they could not deny Broken Feather ownership to the plantation, once he becomes my husband, which he has already become.”

  “You will end up regretting this, Vanessa. No one had to know you had black blood in you. You look like a white woman.”

  “However, there is no guarantee that my children would look white. I am not even sure if my daughter does belong to Broken Feather. She may belong to Jason and could be a throwback from the black part of me. So it is just as well that Broken Feather and I were lovers, or I would have been accused of it anyway since I didn’t find out about my father being a quadroon until he came around to buy part of the plantation land.”

  “This is all preposterous! I can’t believe it is happening,” Chandler groaned.

  “Probably because you had your heart set on me and my plantation,” Vanessa accused.

  “I can’t deny it crossed my mind several times, but it was because I have always been fond of you, Vanessa, and you needed a husband. I asked your father permission for your hand when he first set me up as overseer. He gave it, but said you had to agree to marry me. I was hoping…”

  “Well, it’s too late now. I already have a husband, so you do not have to offer me your services in that department any longer. When the will is read tomorrow, we will all discover what the conditions are. I suppose I am not out of the woods yet.”

  By this time they had arrived at the house, and Mammy Sue went upstairs with Glenda, while Vanessa followed her.

  “I will see you later, Chandler,” Vanessa promised. “For now, I think I will take a nap. This has been a very eventful day for me, and I need to take a relaxed breath before I discover what is in my stepfather’s will.”

  Mr. Gifford, the family lawyer, arrived the next morning to find both Vanessa and Chandler anxiously awaiting his arrival. Even though Chandler was not a member of the family, since he was overseeing the plantation, Vanessa allowed him to attend the meeting. She also had her father, Seth, and Broken Feather there, which made Mr. Gifford look puzzled.

  “These are members of my family,” Vanessa explained. “This is Seth Smith, my father, and Broken Feather, my husband.”

  Mr. Gifford raised his eyebrows but said nothing. He was a well-dressed southern gentleman of distinction with his top hat held in his hand, which had gone out of style, wearing striped suit trousers and a coat with tails. His bushy, gray mustache twitched, as he cleared his throat, when Vanessa led him into the study, followed by the others. He ceremoniously put his hat on the top of the desk and sat himself behind the large desk, then started fumbling with papers he withdrew from his satchel, looking through them before looking up at the small group gathered with expectant stares.

  “There really isn’t much here,” he said, at last as he looked at Vanessa. “Your father left you his worldly belongings, much of which will be sent to you from Fort Clark, and the rest, which is stored at the plantation either in his old room or attic, I assume.”

  Vanessa looked unbelieving at Mr. Gifford. “What about the plantation? Is that part of his worldly belongings that you mention?”

  Mr. Gifford looked up, a little puzzled and then his face brightened. “Oh, I am sorry. I thought that was all explained in your Great Aunt’s will. You never stayed for the reading of her will. I sent the papers to your father. Hadn’t he received them?”

  “I have no idea. He never mentioned them. I just assumed that the plantation was left to him, to either pass it on to me, since he did not want to be here, or be left to me when he died.”

  “Quite the contrary, I had intended on coming here sooner, right after your twenty-first birthday, to bring you the papers, but I was called out of town, and then I discovered your father had died. So I was going to take care of everything today instead.”

  “What do you mean by papers? What papers?”

  “The deed to the plantation and a letter your Aunt wrote you before she died, only to be opened when you received the plantation deed. The plantation was left to you, to be held in trust by your father until you turned twenty-one, or got married, whichever came first.”

  “Only I did get married, and my father never mentioned the will to me,” she complained.

  “I see you are married to this man,” Mr. Gifford murmured, glancing at Broken Feather, and shaking his head in disbelief.

  “Actually, I was married to someone else first. We got a divorce and Broken Feather is my new husband. We were married yesterday.”

  “Then, I suppose that is lucky, because had I been informed about your first marriage, I would have transferred the plantation into your name at the time, and it would have become your husband’s property. After your divorce he would not have had to return it to you. However, since it was not transferred into your name, since no one informed me of the marriage, he has no claim on it. I have transferred the deed into your name now, since you have just turned twenty-one, and even if you hadn’t, you getting married now would have been sufficient enough to have transferred
it.”

  “I just don’t understand why Aunt Mildred left the plantation to me instead of my father.”

  “Perhaps her letter will explain it to you. However, I have performed my duty by bringing your father’s will, along with a copy of your aunt’s will, and all the proper papers to the plantation, which you should put in a safe place. If you don’t have any further questions, I will take my leave.”

  He put out his hand and Vanessa shook it, still looking confused, as she watched him leave with Chandler showing him out. Vanessa turned and looked at Broken Feather.

  “Chandler said my father was not going to turn the plantation over to me until I got married. He was determined to run my life, even when it was not necessary. He knew all along I would receive the plantation when I turned twenty-one or got married. I wonder why he didn’t tell me about it when I married Jason?”

  “Maybe he was afraid you wouldn’t marry Jason if you found out about the will, or have the marriage annulled when you discovered the truth. Besides, Jason had the ranch to run. He couldn’t very well run both, and there was a chance he would just sell the plantation. Sam told me once that the planation had been in his family for a long time. On the other hand, if the ranch had problems, Jason had once been a southern gentleman and may have been willing to go back to Louisiana to run the plantation, long after it was too late to get an annulment, once it was discovered you owned it. Or maybe, he just never got your aunt’s will. After all, he never got your letter, and there had been a lot of raids on stages, bringing the mail through, around that time.”

  “Only Chandler told me that my father had inherited the property, but he was thinking of letting me have it, eventually.”

  “Maybe he was just waiting to see how you dealt with Jason and ranch life, before he was going to let you know about it. Unless he never got the will and just assumed his aunt left him the property since he was her only relative, other than you. And you weren’t even his real daughter.”