by Londyn Skye
“Did you find Lily?” Julia whispered, after quietly sliding the window open.
“I did, but they won’t let me retrieve ’er without her papers. Mr. Sampson told me that MJ has them. Do you happen to know where she might keep important documents?”
“She has a desk in her room. Maybe she keeps them in there, but I’m not sure.”
“Julia, you’ve done so much for me already, so I hate to burden you any furtha’, but is there any possible way you can go up and check for me? You know I can’t ask MJ for those documents without her unleashin’ hell in this house.”
“I know. It’s no burden at all. I’d be glad to check for you.”
“Thank you,” James said, feeling truly grateful.
“Gimme a few minutes.”
Julia quietly tiptoed upstairs and set her oil lamp just outside of Mary Jo’s room. Her heart was erratic when she turned the knob. Once the door was open, she let her eyes adjust to the light from the fireplace and then began to tiptoe inside. It seemed everywhere she stepped there was a creaky floorboard threatening to wake her cousin up, which indeed ended up being the case. Mary Jo stirred to life the moment Julia opened her desk drawer. “What’re you doin’, Julia?” she grumbled, still in a sleepy fog.
“I-I’m just gettin’ a book to read. I-I can’t sleep,” she quickly thought to say as her heart pounded against her ribcage.
Mary Jo mumbled something incoherent before turning her head and immediately falling back into a deep sleep.
To Julia’s surprise, the documents James needed were in the very first drawer she looked in, along with something else she figured James might appreciate having. Julia then made a quick exit from her cousin’s room and made her way back to the guest bedroom window. She opened it all the way and her presence finally made James stop his incessant pacing. “I think this is what you’re lookin’ for,” Julia smiled as she handed over Lily’s ownership document.
“Julia, I can’t thank you enough for this!”
“I thought you might want these too,” she said after climbing out of the window and handing James another stack of papers.
James began rifling through the pile and realized that she had just handed him back every single one of the letters that Mary Jo had confiscated, as well as the drawing of him and Lily dancing together. He then looked up at Julia, feeling unsure what to say.
“Is that why Mary Jo’s been treatin’ Lily so bad?” she asked, eluding to the picture and some of the content in the letters that she had skimmed through.
James nodded. “It is.”
“I figured there had to be somethin’ makin’ her more devilish than usual.”
“There’s so much more to it. I wish I had time to explain, but I have to get this paperwork back to Mr. Sampson.”
“I completely unda’stand.”
“As much as I hate to trouble you anymore, I have one otha’ favor to ask.”
“Sure, what is it?”
“Before Mr. Sampson will let me have Lily, I have to pay ’em fifty dollars for breakin’ the contract Mary Jo signed. But I only had twenty dollars on me. So, I was wonderin’ if …”
“Say no more!” Julia climbed back through the window and retrieved thirty dollars from her purse. She climbed back out and handed it to James.
“Julia, I can’t thank you enough for this. I promise to pay you back.”
“No worries. It’s for a great cause,” she smiled.
James nodded and turned to leave.
“James,” Julia suddenly called out.
He turned back around.
“You neva’ really wanted to marry Mary Jo, did you?”
James shamefully shook his head.
“Thank God! I was beginnin’ to wonda’ if you were just as crazy as she is,” Julia teased. “I don’t see how any man would wanna marry that woman.”
James let out a light laugh. “Perhaps if she were more like you, I wouldn’t mind so much.” He put his hand on her shoulder. “Your cousin could stand to learn a lot from you, Julia,” he sincerely expressed.
“Thank you,” she blushed. “And I just wanna say, I think it’s beautiful that you love Lily so much. You deserve each otha’, and I wish you both well.”
“Thank you, Julia. I truly wish the same for you,” he told her before he departed in a rush.
Lily had succumbed to exhaustion and had been asleep for hours by the time James left Mary Jo’s house. She was startled awake, though, after a sudden cold breeze whipped through the open door of the shack she was imprisioned in. In unison, everyone woke up and looked toward the opened door to find two figures standing in the doorway.
“She’s ova’ there!” Mr. Sampson barked, pointing at Lily.
After satisfying Mr. Sampson’s requests, James was finally able to lay his eyes on the woman he had missed dearly for nearly two days. Refusing to blink, he gazed at Lily like he had not seen her in twenty years. The sight of her alleviated the tightness he had been feeling in his chest during her absence. Still unable to take his eyes off her, James exhaled sharply, finally feeling as though he could breathe normally again.
Aggravated about being out in the cold in his pajamas in the middle of the night, Mr. Sampson plodded over to unlock Lily’s leg shackles with a sneer on his face. He grabbed Lily by the arm, forcefully lifted her up, and lightly shoved her out the door toward James. “Now, you and her get off my damn property and don’t ya’ come back! That goes for y’ur fiancé too, ya’ hear?!”
James simply nodded, feeling completely unaffected by Mr. Sampson’s annoyance while staring at Lily. “Are you okay?” he asked, caressing her face after Mr. Sampson stormed away.
“I’m fine,” she replied, visibly shivering.
James took off his jacket and wrapped it around her. “I’ve got some blankets in the back ‘a the wagon,” he explained as he helped her inside.
“Thank you,” she said after settling in. “For comin’ to get me.”
“You know I’d neva’ leave you in a place like this alone. I’m sorry you were eva’ here in the first place.” He placed his hand gently on her face again. “Truly sorry about all ‘a this mess I’ve caused.”
Lily nodded.
“Go on and lie down.” James climbed in the back of the covered wagon and secured the blankets over her. When he was finished, he stopped and just stared at her for a moment. “I’s scared outta my mind that I wouldn’t find you,” he said, stealing a moment while she was vulnerable to place a lingering kiss on her forehead. “Truly scared,” he said as he continued to caress her face.
Lily accepted his affections for a change without any objections.
“There’s food in this satchel if you get hungry,” James informed her, placing the bag near her. “Now, lemme get you outta here, Miss Lily.” He got out, closed the makeshift curtain on his covered wagon, climbed up front, took the reins, and guided them off the Sampson property with a truly special destination in mind.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Slave Code
Article III Section II
Slaves are forbidden from leaving their owner’s property, unless accompanied by a white person, or carrying a license, or letter showing he has authority from his master. If any be without either, they shall be considered as a runaway, and to suffer such penalties provided against runaways.
Lily had eaten a little and was fast asleep by the time James reached his destination. He stopped in what seemed like the middle of nowhere, then climbed into the back of the wagon. “Lily,” he said, shaking her lightly. She opened her eyes to see his blurred figure squatting over her. “Lily, wake up.”
“Are we home already?” she asked, still in a sleepy fog.
“No, just come with me.”
Lily took a moment to let her sleepy haze clear and then allowed James to help her down from the wagon. The light of a campfire burning nearby immediately caught her attention. She left James’s side and stepped closer to the fire to get a better look at t
he man who was sitting next to it. When her eyes finally adjusted, she gasped. “What’s he doin’ here?!” she asked with venom in her tone as she took a step backward.
James looked at Lily in confusion and glanced back over at the man sitting there. James did not understand her sudden anger, but the man sitting there understood full well why she was glaring at him through a set of angry eyes. Even years later, Lily had not forgotten the very man who had whipped and beaten her mother into oblivion for fighting to keep her from being sold. The memory of him pummeling her mother into unconsciousness came scorching back to the forefront of Lily’s mind the very second she laid eyes on her eldest half-brother, Wyatt Collins. Her rage came scorching back along with it.
“You’re late!” Wyatt barked at James. “Anotha’ ten minutes and I would’ve been outta here!”
“I’m sorry. I’s dealin’ with unforeseen circumstances. I appreciate your patience. I’d neva’ intentionally waste your time,” James calmly explained, despite his deep desire to tell Wyatt to shut the hell up after the intense day he had just had.
“W-why is he here?!” Lily asked again, this time visibly shaking with anger.
Trying to calm her, James walked up beside her and put his arm around her.
“Bein’ kind enough to bring me to see you again.”
Lily finally pulled her eyes away from Wyatt and turned toward the darkness after hearing the familiar voice of the person who had just uttered those words. She immediately left James’s side and stepped closer to the firelight. When she was convinced that her eyes were not deceiving her, Lily instantly broke down into heavy sobs. “Ma-maaama!” she erupted, approaching her in rush. Through her blur of tears, Lily could hardly see. She nearly burned herself in the fire in her haste to embrace her mother and further convince herself that she was no illusion. “Maaama!” she cried repeatedly after snuggling into her mother’s arms again for the first time in fifteen years. Maya felt as though she could not hold her child tight enough in such a precious moment. The strength of her mother’s embrace easily proved to Lily that she was no mirage. Maya’s tears flowed just as heavily as Lily’s as she held onto her daughter for dear life. For a few minutes, there were no words, just an unending sea of happiness flowing from their eyes as mother and daughter expressed themselves silently in the warmth of each other’s embrace.
James and Wyatt stood nearby silently watching on. Despite being two manly men, they found it hard not to get a little emotional over the moment they were witnessing. James offered Wyatt a beer over near his wagon to give the ladies privacy and to help diffuse the chance of their own tears making an appearance. Wyatt refused the offer and stomped off into the woods to be alone, glaring at Lily with hatred in his eyes as he breezed by. If it were up to him, Lily would not be holding onto her mother right now. Had it not been for Maya crying and begging him to stay, Wyatt would have long since left. Despite Wyatt’s nastiness, James was grateful that he bothered to show up and that he had stayed long past their promised meeting time.
This was actually the second meeting between James and Wyatt. The first time, James had also rubbed Wyatt the wrong way and vice versa …
During one of his daily searches for the money his father had confiscated from Lily, James had stumbled across the bill of sale from Lily’s purchase. It listed the first and last name of Lily’s father, as well as his address. James had stolen the valuable knowledge and hid it in his room for future reference. After his fight with Duke in Gideon’s office, James had dashed home to retrieve his bet winnings and that bill of sale; he suddenly had a very important reason to put them both to good use. Right after pouring his heart out to Lily on his knees in the slave quarters, James had gotten up and retrieved his money and the bill of sale from his room. Unbeknownst to Lily, James then began making his way to the last known address of her father, Levi Collins.
Much like with William Werthington, James was on his way to make an uninvited visit to a man’s home, hoping he would help fulfill a magnanimous request for Lily’s sake. Yet again, James knew the chance of having his request rejected was high, but he was brave enough to knock on the door anyway. “I’m James Adams. I’d like to speak to Levi Collins,” he had said boldly after Wyatt answered the door.
“What can I help you with?” Wyatt barked back.
“Are you Levi?”
“I’m his son. Now, what can I help you with?” he asked just as coldly as before.
“With all due respect, I’d much prefer to speak with your fatha’.”
“I take up matta’s on my fatha’s behalf. If you don’t wanna speak to me about what it is you want then I’ma have to ask you to get off ‘a this here property.”
James looked over Wyatt’s shoulder and saw a middle-aged woman glaring at him. “Can I speak to you outside then? In private?”
Wyatt shut the door and they descended the porch steps and stopped out in the middle of the dirt path that led up to the house. “I don’t have much time, so what is it that you want?” Wyatt rudely asked.
“Do you still have a slave here by the name of Maya?” James asked.
“What the hell you wanna know for?”
“Her daughta’ is a house slave on my plantation. I made a promise to her…”
“What the hell’s she got to do with Maya?!”
James paused and looked at Wyatt in frustration, wondering why it seemed like he was mad at the world. “I’m sorry but I didn’t catch your first name.”
“I didn’t throw it,” Wyatt said smugly.
“Look, Mr. Collins, I didn’t mean to come here to cause any trouble…”
“Well, you have! Now, hurry up and get to the reason for your visit. I’ve got things to do!”
“Forgive me. I’ll get right to the point then,” James replied, trying his best to remain calm during the tense situation. “I’m here because I’d like to give you fifty dolla’s in exchange for you lettin’ me take Maya for two days.” James pulled some of the money out that he had won from his bet at the engagement party. He was willing to surrender all his winnings but figured he would start low first. He also asked for two days with Maya but was hoping for at least one.
Wyatt looked down at the money and then back up at James with skeptical eyes. “What kind ‘a scam you runnin’ here?”
“No scam. Fifty dolla’s for forty-eight hours. I just wanna take Maya to see her daughta’ for a little while. Nothin’ more.”
“How do I know you ain’t just gonna run off with ’er?”
“You can write up a contract if ya’ want. Whateva’ it would take to ease your worries.”
“One hundred dolla’s, three hours, and I escort Maya whereva’ you need. That’ll ease my worries.” Wyatt didn’t give a damn about the sentiment of James’s story. He was dealing with serious debt. Normally, he would have instantly denied his request, but an easy hundred dollars would ease his current financial strains.
“Deal,” James agreed. He realized he was dealing with a very rigid man and was ready to accept something over nothing at all. He quickly sifted the rest of the money out of his wallet and laid it in Wyatt’s hand before he could change his mind. “Can I speak with Maya before we finalize the meetin’ time?”
Wyatt counted his money first. “Follow me.” He escorted James to a little cottage in the distance. Immediately, many of the stories Lily had told him came racing back to his mind as he began walking into the home that she had lived in for the first nine years of her life. He noticed it was far more well-kept than where Lily was now.
“Maya’s in here,” Wyatt said, pointing to her room.
James looked inside and could not believe the woman sitting in there was Lily’s mother, or anybody’s mother for that matter. Maya looked young enough to be Lily’s sister. She had aged gracefully. She had not a single wrinkle and her hair was free of gray. Startled by the strange person entering her room, Maya abruptly stood up from where she sat sewing. Once she was standing, James could easily see that
Lily had inherited her mother’s body structure. Maya was tall and slender, but with perfectly proportioned curves. Even in such a plain dress, James immediately understood why Lily spoke so highly of her mother’s beauty. She was absolutely stunning.
Maya did not know what to expect from the strange man in front of her, but the way he was staring at her made her nervous.
“You got ten minutes,” Wyatt informed James and then stomped off to leave them alone.
“Please, no need to stand on my account,” James told Maya once Wyatt was gone.
She sat back down at her sewing table and nervously directed her eyes at the garment she was stitching.
“May I sit next to you?” James asked.
“Yessa’.”
James pulled out the chair next to her and sat close to her.
“It’s such an honor to finally meet you.”
“W-who are you, if I may ask?” she asked, briefly glancing at him.
“My name is James Adams.” He took hold of her hand. “I’m in love with your daughta’,” he said bluntly.
Maya gasped and finally locked eyes with him. Her disbelief was clear to see on her face. “M-my Lily?” she questioned.
James squeezed her hand even tighter. “Your Lily is the best thing that’s eva’ happened to me.”
