The Long Road Home Romance Collection

by Judi Ann Ehresman

  “Jeremiah, that is a splendid idea. Alexander takes instruction well and has certainly shown good leadership with the young ones. But would the older Negroes accept him as their leader? Would any be offended to be led by one so young?”

  Jeremiah rubbed his hands through his hair to hide his smile. Many would be surprised to find a lady like this who cared how her Negroes felt about the leadership.

  “Miss Sue Ellen, all the Negroes know that if they don’t like what’s goin’ on here, they are free to leave. I don’t think any of them would argue. We’re all thankful to you for treatin’ us with respect. ’Sides, if there’s a problem, we’ll know of it soon enough and can handle it ’fore it becomes a bigger problem.”

  There was silence for several minutes except for the gentle whoosh, whoosh of her fan as it slapped back and forth slowly in front of her face. “Yes, yes, I guess you’re right. We won’t know if we don’t try. I’ll keep Alexander after classes tomorrow and ask him how he feels about this plan. If you’ll come to the house again tomorrow evening, I’ll let you know what he says. Will that be all right with you?”

  “Yes, that’ll be fine.”

  They sat still for a while enjoying the peaceful afternoon breeze. They could hear some distant voices from the Negro Quarters. At this plantation it was not called a slave camp because they were not considered slaves. Jeremiah thought about the little “town” in which all the Negroes lived here at Rose Hill Plantation. There were neat little whitewashed cottages in straight rows on either side of pebbled paths. Each person who worked here was given a wage, which made it possible for them to keep their homes up the way they each preferred. Each home was supplied with some furniture and dishes and was quite comfortable and nicely kept. Everyone was encouraged to learn to read and cipher. Jeremiah prayed with all his heart that, as the Traehdnik children grew up and inherited the plantation, the traditions of the past two generations would be continued.

  Yes, Jeremiah knew he must stay on for a while. He would have to trust God to watch after his family while he was gone. And somehow, in his heart, he felt that if he could talk with Deidre, she would tell him the same thing. They would be patient. Yes, they would wait.

  Chapter 10

  Delaney sat by the open window enjoying the slight breeze that moved the summer curtains lazily now and again. The fragrance of the climbing roses on the trellis below the window was heady and sweet. The sound of bees hovering over the red velvety flowers blended with the laughter and voices of children playing somewhere in the large yard under the watchful care of Mammy.

  Delaney sighed. Life was good here at Rose Hill Plantation, and she was thankful. Where else were the slaves not only taught to read but welcomed into the library? She caressed the leather cover of the volume in her hands. Oh, how she loved this place! How she adored these people!

  She glanced over at the big draped bed. Mr. Wally was sound asleep. Ever since his illness began, they had not left him unattended. She had known he would be sleeping and had volunteered to sit with him while Miss Sue Ellen enjoyed some fresh air. What she hadn’t known was that Miss Sue Ellen would bring Jeremiah onto the veranda beneath the window to talk to him about managing the plantation.

  Delaney knew that Jeremiah longed to be with his wife. She had heard that he and his wife had a child that Jeremiah had never even seen. He was such a good man. He had become the backbone of the plantation in the past four years, and she knew that the Traehdniks would sorely miss him if he ever left. Her heart ached for them all. She didn’t want Rose Hill to lose the leadership of Jeremiah, yet she wanted him to be able to be with his wife and child. Delaney knew God could work it all out, so she resolved to pray about it all.

  Mr. Wally snored softly, and then his breathing returned to the deep breaths of one who sleeps peacefully. Delaney watched him for several minutes before she opened the book she held in her hands. Caressing the pages gently, she once again thanked God that she could read and enjoy good literature.

  That was another good thing about this plantation. All of the Negroes were encouraged to learn, and education was made available to them if they would work at it. Delaney had studied and worked very hard to fine-tune her speech and to learn all that Miss Sue Ellen could teach her; she hoped that someday she herself could be the teacher for the Negroes on the plantation. Miss Sue Ellen encouraged her to be a teacher and already had her overseeing some of the younger children. But Delaney longed to get more education and someday return to the plantation to teach the other Negroes who wanted to learn. She had already been saving her earnings, but so far had not had the courage to mention her idea to Miss Sue Ellen. Perhaps if she mentioned her dream to Jeremiah…

  Delaney was still thinking about teaching when she heard a step in the hallway just before the door opened quietly. She looked up to see Miss Sue Ellen smiling at her husband as he rested on the bed. His eyes were open, and Delaney wondered how long he had been awake.

  “It’s beautiful outside today. Would you like Delaney and me to help you out to the veranda?”

  “Yes, yes.” Mr. Wally smiled his lopsided smile at his wife and tried to rise. The two women assisted him immediately, and the trio made their way out of the room.

  When they had settled Mr. Wally in the shade of the porch where a breeze would keep him comfortable, Miss Sue Ellen sat in the swing that was not too far from where he sat. She patted the seat beside her. “What are you reading, Delaney?”

  “Actually, I haven’t even started the book.” Delaney smiled as she sat beside the lady of the plantation. “I meant to read while I sat with Mr. Wally, but I guess my mind was wandering instead.”

  “What’s on your mind? Anything in particular you’ve been thinking about?”

  Was this her opportunity? Delaney dropped her gaze to the book, then glanced at Miss Sue Ellen’s face and then out across the land in front of the plantation house. In her heart was a prayer as she answered, “Been dreaming, that’s all. Been dreaming.”

  The ropes on the side of the swing made a tight, rhythmic rubbing as they moved the swing with their feet. Mr. Wally had turned his head to study Delaney also. They waited a couple of minutes before Miss Sue Ellen asked quietly, “What are you dreaming of, Delaney? Or should I ask who?”

  Miss Sue Ellen was so gentle and kind that no one ever thought of her questions as prying. The slaves knew she was genuinely interested in them and that her motives in asking were of the purest kind.

  “No, not who.” She answered from her heart. “I was thinking how much I love teaching the children and how good you are to allow us all to learn and be taught.”

  There was another brief silence, then Miss Sue Ellen said thoughtfully, “You are really good with the children, and you have some great ideas to keep their interest. I’m afraid I am depending on you more and more to teach them, now that I am not having as much free time as I once had.”

  Again they pushed the swing lazily while they enjoyed their individual thoughts. Then Mr. Wally said, “Sue-awn, Miz Noe-man.”

  They didn’t understand what he was trying to say. “What?” Miss Sue Ellen looked at him questioningly. “Who?”

  He tried again. “Miz Noe-man. Ball-mo.”

  “Ball-mo?”

  “Ball-tt-mo-rrr.” He was trying very hard to say the word clearly.

  “Baltimore?” Miss Sue Ellen said.

  Mr. Wally smiled and dipped his head in a nodding motion.

  “Mrs. Norman? Our friend in Baltimore?”

  He nodded more enthusiastically.

  “What about her, Wally?”

  “T-T-cheech-ah.” He worked very hard to make his tongue obey his bidding. He looked at them expectantly.

  “Teacher. Yes, she was a good teacher.” Miss Sue Ellen turned her head to Delaney and explained. “She was a friend of our family when I was growing up. She was a teacher in a girl’s college and helped many young women become teachers. She and her husband had only one daughter, and after the daughter moved We
st with her husband, Mrs. Norman went back to teaching at the college. I wonder if she is still living. My, she must be nearly sixty years old by now. I wish you could have known her, Delaney. With your heart to teach you would have enjoyed her immensely.”

  “That would have been wonderful, Miss Sue Ellen. But you’re a right good teacher yourself.”

  As Delaney walked back to her home in the Quarters that evening she smiled to herself as she thought of the conversation. It seemed like Mr. Wally was trying to say something, but neither she nor Miss Sue Ellen could quite grasp what he meant. At any rate, it was nice that she had made him think of their friend who was a real teacher. Was he saying he thought she could be a teacher also? Well, she’d think on it some more and pray.

  Chapter 11

  The cotton had all been harvested for the final time, and the Negro children were now expected to be in attendance in the brick school in the Quarters. It was a cheery place, and Miss Sue Ellen checked their lessons herself, with the help of Delaney. Delaney was spending more and more time instructing the children with the assistance of a couple of the other young women and one of the young men named Jacob. Jacob loved to learn, and Delaney knew he could be a great teacher himself if the cotton fields didn’t demand all his time.

  It was a rainy November morning when Miss Sue Ellen sent a note to Delaney to come to the manor when she finished teaching for the day. All day long Delaney wondered what it was about. The rain had stopped by afternoon, and the dry soil looked as though there hadn’t been rain for months. But the dust had settled somewhat and the evening was a little cooler as she walked across the fields, taking a shortcut to the big house.

  As she entered through the back door, Mariah bustled into the hallway to tell her that Miss Sue Ellen was watching for her. “Go to the library. She’s waitin’ for you in there.”

  “Do you know why she sent for me?” Delaney asked nervously.

  “Don’ know. But Miss Sue Ellen got a letter delivered today, an’ as soon as she read it, she been smilin’ an’ askin’ fer you. Hurry up, girl. You don’ want t’ keep that good woman waitin’ now, do ya?”

  Miss Sue Ellen and Mr. Wally were both sitting in the library having tea when Delaney stood at the doorway and knocked gently on the doorframe. Miss Sue Ellen jumped to her feet and hurried over to bring Delaney into the room personally.

  “Sit down, Delaney. Would you like some tea?”

  Delaney knew the offer was sincere, so she said, “Thank you. That would taste very good.”

  While Miss Sue Ellen poured the tea herself, she smiled. She handed Delaney the cup of tea along with a sweet biscuit on a small plate. Then she sat down and looked at her husband, who glowed with pride.

  “How did the schoolwork go today? Are the children working hard at learning still?”

  “Yes, Miss Sue Ellen. We all want them to appreciate what a privilege it is for them to live here and have the opportunity to learn. Sometimes I think they should spend a week on another plantation so they can appreciate how good we have it here.”

  “Well, I pray they never have to know how cruel the world can be. If they can spend all their days sheltered from the evil in this world, that’s all the better.”

  They sipped tea for a minute until Miss Sue Ellen continued. “Delaney, do you remember last summer when Mr. Wally reminded me of our friend in Baltimore named Mrs. Norman?”

  “The lady who taught at a teachers’ college?”

  “Yes, that’s the one. Well, he continued to press me until I understood that Wally wanted me to ask her to teach you.” Mr. Wally grinned and kept bobbing his head. “I wrote to her soon after and have received a letter this very day in return. She no longer teaches at the college, but she has volunteered to teach you if we can take you to Baltimore to stay with her for a while. She has invited you to come live with her and her husband for a year or so, and she will teach you. Are you interested in doing that?”

  Delaney sat very still. She looked first at Miss Sue Ellen and then at Mr. Wally. So many questions flew through her head that she didn’t know quite what to say. Finally she said soberly, “Oh, I would love to have that opportunity, but I don’t think I’ve been able to save enough to pay for an education yet.”

  “No, no, she has invited you to be her guest. She will teach you because she loves to teach and because I told her your heart’s desire is to teach the Negroes here. Her husband is a minister, and they both have giving hearts that would look at this as an opportunity to help us out. I told her how quickly you learn and how smart you are. She was excited to have the chance to help you.

  “Perhaps if it would help you to feel better about it, you could offer to help her with some housework in exchange for your lessons and room and board. She’s getting on in years now. Their daughter and her husband moved out West a number of years ago, so she might welcome some help. What do you think?”

  Delaney couldn’t stop her slowly spreading smile. “I have so many questions, but I am excited about it. How would I get there? Who would teach the children here? Do I need to buy my freedom first?”

  Miss Sue Ellen got up and paced back and forth across the room before looking briefly at her husband. She walked a few more steps, then stopped to look at Delaney. “We can give you your papers—” Mr. Wally nodded happily—“but the way the world is right now, if you truly plan to return, it might be safer for you if you tell folks that you belong to us in case you would be questioned along the way. I believe you will be plenty safe at the Normans’ home, but traveling might go easier if you belong to us. If you should decide not to return to us, we can get your papers of freedom to you when you let us know.” She turned to her husband. “Don’t you think so, Wally?”

  He thought soberly for a short time and then nodded. He looked at Delaney. “What you think, D’aney?”

  “I don’t know what to say. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your willingness to free me, but I honestly believe God wants me to spend my life teaching here at Rose Hill. That’s all I ask—that I can teach the children here at this plantation if you will let me return and live here.”

  “Delaney, you are as much a part of our family as our own children. We would love to have you spend your days here with us all. You have already given us a great gift, and we are glad this will help you in your endeavor. Now, while you’re gone, Jacob and I will do our best to keep the children learning, and then you can take over the school when you return.”

  Miss Sue Ellen’s brother, Bartholomew Kendall, had business in Baltimore at the beginning of the year, so it was decided that he would personally escort Delaney to the Norman home. Miss Sue Ellen fussed as though she were sending one of her own children away. And everyone at the plantation, both in the house or in the Quarters, helped in every way they could. Delaney promised to send regular letters to be read aloud in the school. Many of the children made little gifts to be tucked into Delaney’s carpetbag and trunk.

  Delaney was anxious and had to admit that she spent many a night praying for safe travels. She wished they could travel by buggy instead of that loud, fast train, but she knew God could protect them and tried not to worry.

  Mr. Kendall was as kind as his sister. He was older and of a larger build, but he possessed the same reddish hair and sky blue eyes, and their smiles were quite similar. He visited the plantation from time to time, and all the Negroes called him “Mr. Bart” with fondness.

  Delaney didn’t mind making the long trip knowing she was in the care of Mr. Bart. However, she was terrified when she was told upon boarding the train that she could not ride in the same car with Mr. Bart. He insisted they needed to stay together, but the conductor would not hear of it. Since the Negroes could ride only in the last car, Mr. Bart asked if he could ride there with her. It was not to be allowed, but finally he was given permission to ride in the car that was second from the end.

  When they finally arrived in Baltimore, Mr. Bart was waiting for her right outside the door of her car w
hen she left the train. Delaney was thankful she had not encountered any problems.

  They rode in a carriage to the Norman home. Mr. Bart and Delaney had a jolly time together as they chatted about the plantations they had left behind.

  “Your sister and her husband are some of the kindest people I have ever known. All of us enjoy working for them and will probably spend all our days with them. Oh, except Jeremiah, of course.”

  “And why not Jeremiah?” Mr. Bart asked curiously. “Does he not enjoy working at Rose Hill?”

  “Oh, I think he enjoys it plenty. But he has a wife and child at a place called Devil’s Bend, and it grieves him terribly that they cannot be together. He has never even seen his child. He was taken away and sold before the child was born.”

  “Does my sister know this? Does Wally know that Jeremiah’s wife and son are in someone else’s possession?”

  “I don’t rightly know. I assume Jeremiah has mentioned it to Mr. Wally, but I don’t know that for sure.”

  Mr. Bart seemed to be in deep thought after that, and the conversation waned until they approached their destination.

  Chapter 12

  The Norman house was a lovely home that sat within shouting distance of the houses on either side. Across the cobblestone street were more houses arranged in a tidy row just like on this side. The homes were large, and all of them had a small front yard with large trees that reached out to shade much of the street. The Normans had a white picket fence around their property with an arch filled with a rose vine. Delaney could imagine how beautiful it would be draped with summer roses.