by Ginny Dye
Carrie was out of the carriage before it had rolled to a complete stop. Seconds later she was wrapped in the old butler’s arms. “Sam! It’s so good to see you. I was afraid you were going to be gone.”
“Don’t figure I got nowhere to go better than here,” Sam said, smiling. He held her out and looked her over. “I been wondering every day if you was able to get away from them Yankee soldiers. I reckon you did, sure nuff.”
Carrie laughed and pulled away. “I have so much to tell you. But first...” Carrie beckoned to Janie and Spencer. “This is my dear friend, Janie Winthrop. And this is Spencer. Please make sure he has a nice room.”
“I reckon there be plenty of rooms, Miss Carrie. We don’t seem to have a whole lot of company now-a-days,” Sam grinned “You here to stay for good?”
Carrie shook her head. “Just for a few days. I have to get back to the hospital.” She saw the question in Sam’s eyes. “I’ll tell you everything. Just give me time.”
Laughing and talking, all of them moved into the house. Carrie had just reached to unbutton her coat when a shriek of delight sounded from the back of the house. “Miss Carrie! I did hear Sam right. I thought I’s imagining things. You’re home. You’re all right. Those soldiers didn’t get you!” Opal dashed into the hallway and gave her a fierce hug.
Carrie hugged her hard then stepped back. “I’m so glad to see you, Opal. I was afraid you would have taken the children and gone to the contraband camps.”
Opal shook her head firmly. “The children and I are staying right here. We aren’t leaving until this war ends and Eddie gets out of that prison. Besides, we’re doing fine here. We’re keeping the house nice, and we got plenty to eat. From what I hear, we got a lot more than those folks in the camps. I know we can go free anytime we want. Living here like this is like being free. It’s fine for now. I’ve got the children to think about.”
“The children are all right?”
“They’re doing real fine. They still miss their mama and daddy, but they’re growing like weeds with all this good food, and we’re putting all your daddy’s books to good use. Those are some mighty smart kids.”
Carrie looked around. “Where are they?”
“I sent them out to tend to the pigs. Ain’t too many, but the herd is growing again.”
Carrie finally held up her hand. “I have a thousand questions, but I think we’d better bring our things in first.”
“Spencer done went out to get them. You and Miss Winthrop just get yourselves warm,” Sam said easily. “I know that had to be a mighty cold ride.”
“Carrie, your home is so beautiful!” Janie exclaimed, walking over to caress the baby grand piano in the parlor. “Everything has been kept so nice.”
Carrie turned to Sam. “Y’all have done a wonderful job taking care of the place. Thank you.” Her words were inadequate, but Sam would know how full her heart was. She gazed around. They had indeed done a splendid job. The house was just like she remembered it. Even the crystal chandelier was gleaming.
“Ain’t nothing much to do around here,” Sam said with a shrug. “Opal and the kids do a fine job keeping the place up.”
“I was so afraid the Union soldiers would destroy it.”
“They talked about it,” Sam admitted. “They knows all about your daddy working with the gov’ment. That didn’t sit too good with them. I heard ‘em talking about what they planning on doing to that Ruffin fella’s place.”
“They completely destroyed it. Even salted the fields,” Carrie said sadly.
Sam grimaced. “Some of them soldiers mighty mad when you got away from them. They come back in here snortin’ and stompin’. Couldn’t believe a girl outwitted them!” He laughed. “A few of them be all for torching the place. I was plenty scared, I’s can tell you that.”
“What stopped them?”
“Not what - it was who. That captain fellow. They called him Captain Jones. He said he ain’t never see nothing like you flying over that fence on Granite. That he was sure he saw blood on your shoulder, but still you just flew over that fence like a bird.” He stopped for a moment. “They didn’t shoot you did they, Miss Carrie?”
“It was nothing,” Carrie said casually. “Just a surface wound.” She ignored Janie’s look of disbelief. It was over. There was no reason to dwell on it.
“That’s good. Anyway,” he continued, “that fella was so impressed he tell his soldiers they couldn’t touch one thing in the house. Say it a tribute to your bravery. Them soldiers snorted and stomped some more, but all they done was take food. They didn’t hurt one building on the place.”
Carrie sagged in relief, suddenly realizing how tired she was from the long, cold ride.
Sam noticed it immediately. “You go upstairs. I’ll send one of the kids up with some hot water. I bet you and Miss Winthrop could use a hot bath.”
“That would be wonderful,” Janie sighed. “I think even my blood is almost frozen.”
Carrie led the way up the stairs and collapsed onto the bed as soon as she reached her room. “It feels so good to be home.”
Janie was gazing around the room curiously. “How did you get away from the Union soldiers? I’ve heard you tell the story a million times, but you never explain how you did it. There’s no way out of this room.” She walked to the window and looked out. “Surely you didn’t climb out the window.”
Carrie merely smiled mysteriously. “It’s a Cromwell secret,” she said in a hushed whisper.
“You won’t even tell me?” Janie asked pleadingly. Then she laughed. “That’s okay. Far be it from me to pry into family secrets. I’m simply glad you escaped unharmed.”
Carrie knew she meant it. “I want to show you a special mirror,” she said, jumping up from the bed. “My great-great-grandfather brought it over on the boat when he and my great-great-grandmother came to America. It stayed in its box until he had carved a home out of the wilderness. It’s been in this exact spot ever since.”
“How beautiful,” Janie murmured. “It seems odd, though.”
“What?”
“That a mirror like this should be in a bedroom. You would think something this beautiful and elaborate would be in a prominent place downstairs.”
“That’s what my mother thought, too,” Carrie chuckled. “She tried to get my father to move it for years. He refused.”
“Because of tradition?”
“Well, it was a little more than that,” Carrie teased.
Janie looked confused. “I’m afraid I don’t understand.”
“I didn’t either. Not for a long time. The mirror was simply a beautiful thing I confided my secrets to. I didn’t realize it held a secret all of its own.” She leaned over and ran her fingers along the edge of the frame lightly. Finally she found what she was looking for - a slender handle completely concealed by the frame - and tugged. Slowly the mirror swung out to reveal a gaping hole.
“Oh, my!” Janie gasped, her eyes wide as the moon just rising to cast its silvery light over the snowy landscape. She moved forward slowly to peer into the dark hole. “This is how you got away from the soldiers.”
Carrie grinned and told her the actual, detailed version of her escape. “Moses saved my life,” she finished. “Or at least my honor,” she added in a grim voice.
Janie was still staring at the hole and shaking her head in disbelief. “What an incredible place! It’s like something you’d read about in a book - only it’s real.”
Carrie heard approaching footsteps and quickly closed the mirror door.
“Thank you for sharing your secret,” Janie said quietly. “You can trust me to keep it.”
“I know,” Carrie said calmly as she moved toward the door. She flung it open before whoever it was could knock. “Susie,” she said warmly. “It’s so good to see you again.” Fannie’s oldest daughter had become a beautiful young woman.
“Thank you, Miss Cromwell. It’s nice to see you, too.” Susie spoke with quiet confidence. She nodd
ed to Janie. “It’s good to have you, Miss Winthrop.” She turned back to Carrie. “I’ve brought you some hot water. There’s more on the way.” She paused. “It’s good to have you back. This has been a wonderful home for us until our daddy gets out of prison.”
“The war has to end sometime,” Carrie said encouragingly.
“Yes, ma’am. I just hope the North wins this war. If the South wins my daddy could spend the rest of his life in prison.” Nodding slightly, she turned away and retreated down the hall.
Carrie watched her go, knowing she carried burdens much too heavy for her young shoulders. Of course, most of the country was carrying heavy burdens.
“She’s a very beautiful girl,” Janie said admiringly.
“Yes. She has been through so much. I’m glad to see no bitterness in her eyes. She just seems to have matured.”
“Hard times can either make you or break you,” Janie said thoughtfully. “I’ve seen some people come through hard times so much stronger and wiser - and more compassionate. I’ve seen other people become hardened and bitter.”
“I pray every day I won’t let that happen,” Carrie whispered.
“Your heart is too tender to ever become hardened,” Janie said firmly.
“I hope so,” Carrie responded. Sometimes she wasn’t so sure. There were so many times she yearned for her heart to grow hard so she wouldn’t feel any more hurt. “I hope so,” she repeated, wondering if she really meant it. She had discovered in the last week or so that she was trying to push pictures of Robert out of her mind. If she didn’t think about him so much, surely she wouldn’t hurt so badly. Thoughts and memories were being pushed aside to make room for the present. Carrie felt herself clutching at the wall forming around her heart.
Sam knocked at the door and unknowingly offered her yet another escape from her thoughts. Carrie hauled in the second bucket of hot water. Soon both she and Janie were luxuriating in the warm baths and allowing the hours of cold travel to be soothed away. A crackling fire sent fingers of warmth into the room and wrapped Carrie in a blanket of comfort. With a contented sigh, she laid her head back against the tub and watched the glow of golden flames chase black shadows across the ceiling. Outside, the gentle breeze had turned into a stiff wind, making the window panes rattle in protest. Carrie sank deeper into the water and closed her eyes.
“Opal, you’ve prepared a feast,” Janie cried.
“She’s right,” Carrie said gratefully. “How did you pull this off so quickly?”
“It’s not anything like you’re used to eating around here,” Opal protested, laughing.
“You don’t know how fortunate you are to be on the farm,” Carrie said seriously. “The food shortages in the city are becoming quite severe. Many people are going hungry, and there is still a lot of winter left.”
“You going hungry in there, Miss Carrie?” Sam asked, frowning.
“No,” she hastened to assure him. “Our diet is repetitive, but we have plenty. Thankfully, my father still has enough money to pay the exorbitant prices. I just hurt for the other people.”
“I wonder how Pastor Anthony is,” Opal said. “I hate to think of that good man suffering.”
“Pastor Anthony is doing extremely well,” Carrie smiled at Opal’s look of astonishment; then Carrie told about her and Janie’s work in his hospital.
“I declare,” Opal said wonderingly. “The Lord do know how to make all the pieces fit together, don’t he?”
“That he do,” Sam interjected. “And I bet the piece he’s interested in right now is getting this meal et while it’s still hot.”
Carrie laughed and slipped into her seat. “I won’t argue with that bit of wisdom.” She gazed hungrily at the ham and sweet potatoes. Mounds of cornbread were piled on a platter, with a pitcher of buttermilk resting beside it. A bowl of hot green beans was still sending wafts of steam into the air. “I haven’t eaten like this in a long time.”
“If I’d known we could eat like this, I’d have made you bring me out here months ago,” Janie laughed.
Carrie was eating her last piece of cornbread before she was willing to interrupt her meal with a question. “How are you doing this? I thought the Yankees took everything. The vegetables I can understand, but what about the ham and milk?”
Sam grinned. “Them soldiers done took everything, but they had a harder time controlling it all. Some of them pigs and cows they took just plumb didn’t want to cooperate. I’s out in the woods a couple weeks after them soldiers come through and found two pigs and a good-sized heifer roaming around. I didn’t recognize ‘em as Cromwell stock, but I didn’t reckon nobody else gonna find ‘em. Them pigs already give us a good-sized litter, and that cow turn out to be a mama.”
“He even found a bull roaming around out there,” Opal laughed. “Not nobody around here eating ham on a regular basis, but we put one aside for when you or your daddy come home.” She paused. “He know about what you’ve done yet?”
“With all his people? He knows.” Carrie grew thoughtful. “I’m sorry I lied to him as long as I did, but I don’t regret my actions. He’s grateful to all of you who have chosen to stay and keep the place up, but he knows I’ve told everyone they can go.”
“And he ain’t real mad?” Sam asked incredulously.
“Well,” Carrie smiled. “He wasn’t real happy, but he realizes more and more slaves are simply walking off from plantations all over the South.”
“Especially since the Emancipation Proclamation,” Sam said proudly.
“You know about that?” Janie asked in astonishment.
“Yes, ma’am,” Sam replied. “The grapevine works real good out here. It be the only way we had to communicate for a long time.”
“And yet you choose to remain?” Janie asked.
“Yes, ma’am,” Sam said firmly. “Now that my people be free I reckon we can do whatever we wants. I wants to be a butler and I likes being here just fine. I reckon when this war be over Mr. Cromwell still gonna need a butler. I just be paid for it then - that’s all.”
“How are the slaves in the area feeling about it?” Carrie asked.
“Oh, they’s feeling different things. Some are just crazy with happiness - making all kinds of plans for what they gonna do. Others be plenty scared. They ain’t never knowed nothing but somebody takin’ care of them. They’ve got real used to it. The idea of being on they own is makin’ them right nervous. And I guess some just ain’t feelin’ nothing. They figures they ain’t free till this war be over - they ain’t gonna get in a tizzy about it now.”
“What are you going to do, Opal?”
“I’m going to take care of these children, Miss Carrie. Least till Eddie gets out of prison. Even then I figure he’ll need some help with them. And I aim to start a restaurant,” she said firmly.
Susie walked in with a warm sweet potato pie. “Opal is one of the best cooks I’ve ever seen. I think she’ll do real good.”
Opal reddened. “I’m hoping I’ll do all right. I don’t reckon there’s nothing else I want to do.”
“Do you want your restaurant in Richmond?” Janie asked.
Opal shrugged. “I’ve always dreamed about going north, but the South is my home. I’m just not so sure I want to stay down here. That paper Lincoln signed may make all the slaves free, but that don’t mean white people won’t see us as anything but niggers,” she said contemptuously. Her voice grew thoughtful. “I reckon I want to live where I got the greatest chance of other folks just seeing me as a person. Just a woman who wants to make a living cooking. I guess I’ll figure it out when that time comes.”
“How you think your daddy going to take not having a passel of slaves?” Sam asked.
Carrie shook her head. “I don’t know, Sam. It’s all he’s ever known. I know owning slaves is wrong, but my father is not a bad man.”
“I know that for sure,” Sam said quickly.
Carrie smiled. “There’s no telling what the South will be like when
this war is over. So much has already changed. I don’t think my father holds much hope he’ll be coming back to the way things were before the war started. She paused, “Sometimes people are so caught up in what is happening right now, they simply have no time to worry about the future. And then sometimes the future looks so grim, you convince yourself what you imagine could never really happen. The only way to know how you’ll respond is to be in the middle of it with nothing to do but respond.” She laughed shortly. “Am I making any sense at all?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Sam answered. “The future be too dark for your daddy to see too clear, so he just ain’t looking too hard right now.”
Carrie laughed. “I wish I could see things as perceptively as you.”
“It always easier to see other folks’ lives clear. What’s hard be trying to figure out your own. That’s when the seein’ gets hard.”
“Amen,” Janie said softly. “It’s easy to think you’d know how you would respond to a certain situation - being in the middle of it is a different story.”
“I reckon it be like living in this house,” Sam said slowly, almost reluctantly. “I’s always think white people’s evil for wantin’ to own slaves. Now, I don’t own any slaves,” he said quickly, “but I’s kinda the head slave around here. I gets to live in this here house. I gets to tell all the other slaves what to do. I’s always warm and dry and I eats whatever I wants to. I’s don’t got to answer to nobody when it’s just me and the slaves here.” He paused for a long moment.
Carrie gazed at him thoughtfully. It took a lot of courage for Sam to be so honest.
“I’s reckon if I’s a white man,” he continued, “I’d be a slave owner. I hates to think that way, but I sees how much I likes being in control. I guess it’s just a human thing to want to have power over other folks.” He shook his head heavily. “I reckon what I’s trying to say be that it real easy to judge folks when you ain’t in the position to do the same sin. But all of a sudden, when you there, you realizes you’d do the same thing.” He sighed. “I ain’t proud of it, but it be the truth. It makes me understand Marse Cromwell a whole lot better.”
