by Ginny Dye
“Your horse is doing extremely well, young lady. He’s put on weight since he won the heart of the innkeeper where I stayed. I’m quite certain she fed him more than she fed me,” he said with a smile.
Carrie grabbed his hand and pulled him around the corner. “There’s only one person you need to actually meet,” she said quickly. “The rest you know.”
Thomas hesitated when he entered the dining room and saw Rose and Moses gazing at him, but for only a moment. He smiled, strode forward, took Rose’s hands and pulled her to her feet. “Hello, Rose,” he said warmly. When she opened her mouth to say something, he put a finger to his lips. “I’ve waited a long time to say this.”
Rose closed her mouth and waited.
Thomas took a deep breath. “I’m so sorry for what my father did to your mother, but I’m just as sorry that I kept you a slave and sent Jeremy away. I did what I thought was the best thing at the time, but I know now that it was wrong.” He squeezed her hands. “I know we have a lot of history to overcome, but I want you to know I’m proud to have you as my half-sister. If even half of what Carrie says is true, you are an amazing woman. I saw you grow up, but I realize I don’t know you at all. I want that to change.”
Rose gaped at him, her eyes wide with disbelief. Finally she found her voice. “Carrie said you had changed,” she murmured.
Thomas laughed, his lined face relaxing to reveal how handsome he still was. “Yes, that would be putting it mildly,” he said ruefully.
He swung around to grip Moses’s hand. “Hello, Moses.” His eyes swept Moses’s strong, confident face.
“Hello, sir,” Moses said gravely.
Thomas’s eyes suddenly filled with tears. “Thank you,” he said softly. “Thank you for saving Carrie at the plantation. I so hoped the day would come when I could thank you in person. You saved the most precious thing in the world to me. I will never be able to repay you. And now you’re my brother-in-law. Welcome.”
Carrie stared at her father, her eyes glazed with joyful tears. Yes, he had already changed, but evidently the month away from home and the end of the war had changed him even more. She knew he would be welcoming to Moses and Rose, but she had not envisioned this warm meeting.
“You’re welcome, sir,” Moses said, his eyes shining with surprise. “I love your daughter. I would do anything for her.”
Carrie stepped forward. “He also saved Robert, Father, but that is a story for later.” She turned to where Aunt Abby was sitting quietly, a sheen of happy tears in her eyes. “And this beautiful woman is Abigail Livingston.”
Thomas turned and gazed down. “Abigail Livingston,” he said quietly. Then his eyes widened. “You’re Aunt Abby?”
Aunt Abby laughed. “Right with just one guess,” she said, rising to extend her hand. “It is such a pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Cromwell.”
“Likewise, Mrs. Livingston, but please call me Thomas. We’re all family here.”
Aunt Abby smiled. “Certainly, but only if you call me Abby.”
Carrie understood when a small shadow appeared in his eyes behind the smile.
So, evidently, did Aunt Abby. “I’m so sorry,” she said softly. “I had forgotten for a moment that Abigail was your dear wife’s name. I understand it might be painful to call me that.”
Thomas shook his head, his smile genuine when it came forth again. “Nonsense, Abby. It’s wonderful to have you here.” He peered around the room. “Any more surprises?”
Just then June swung down the stairs singing. She had been sitting with Robert after putting John and Simon down for the night.
“That newest surprise is June,” Carrie replied. “She is Moses’s sister.” She smiled at June. “And this is my father. He just arrived home.”
June grinned broadly. “Welcome home, Mr. Cromwell. Carrie has been real worried about you.”
Thomas swung around to gaze at Moses for a moment and then turned back to smile at June. “Hello, June. It’s wonderful to meet you.” He eyed Carrie with a question on his face.
“Robert is upstairs,” she said quietly, anticipating his question. “He can’t come down because he is still too ill.”
“How long?” Thomas asked quietly, his expression saying he had seen far too many consequences of the war.
“He’s been here since two days after Appomattox. We found him in the hospital and brought him home.” Carrie briefly explained his condition, knowing her father would be aware of how hard this was — a potential repeat of her mother’s slow death. She stepped forward and took her father’s hand. “Robert is getting stronger physically, but his spirit seems to have shut down.”
Thomas nodded. “I understand.” His simple words rang through the room, somehow conveying just how much he truly did understand. “He needs the plantation,” he said firmly.
Carrie nodded. “You’re so right. I’m just waiting for him to get strong enough to move.”
“You were going out there on your own?” Thomas asked.
Carrie smiled. “Only if on your own means with Jeremy, Rose, Moses, and Aunt Abby.”
Thomas stared around the room and sank down in front of his bowl of soup. “I guess it’s time to start hearing the stories,” he said simply.
“Don’t you be touchin’ that soup, Mr. Cromwell,” May called. “Y’all done talked so long that it done got cold. I’m bringing out some fresh right now.”
Thomas smiled when she appeared with a hot bowl of soup and a plate of steaming cornbread. “That looks wonderful,” he said, inhaling the aroma and closing his eyes in delight when he took the first bite. “I missed you, May,” he murmured. Everyone was laughing when he opened his eyes. “I seem to remember a condition,” he said, looking at Carrie.
Carrie laughed with delight. “Gladly! You eat dinner. When I get back we’ll have dessert.”
“Unless I eat your piece,” Moses said playfully.
“You do, and I’ll make sure May doesn’t feed you for a week!” Carrie threatened, and then answered the question in everyone’s eyes. “I have a horse to welcome home!”
May was standing at the kitchen door with several carrots when she walked into the kitchen. “I’m thinkin’ these will make that ole horse happy.”
Carrie laughed and hugged her. “You’re the absolute best, May! He will love them.” She was singing as she strode out to the barn and laughed when excited whinnies exploded from the interior. She ran the last several yards, flung open the door and wrapped her arms around Granite’s solid neck. “Granite!”
Granite’s frantic whinnies turned into contented snorts as he nuzzled Carrie’s shoulder, his massive gray head bent to receive her embrace.
“I’m so glad you’re home,” Carrie murmured. “There are no more battles to be fought. You don’t have to leave again. You’re home.”
Granite sighed, seeming to understand what she was saying. He reached one leg out to paw the ground and snorted again before he began to nose her pockets.
Carrie’s laughter rang out through the still air as she dug into her pocket and pulled out the carrots. “I’m going to plant a whole garden of carrots just for you,” she cried, wiping at the tears in her eyes.
Granite nodded his head solemnly as he munched his carrots, his great eyes never leaving her.
“Well, if I ever wondered if an animal could be in love, I guess I have my answer.”
Carrie whirled around. “Aunt Abby, this is Granite!”
“I figured that one out all by myself.” Aunt Abby moved forward to stroke Granite’s neck. “You two are quite the pair. I’ve heard so much about him that I just had to come see him for myself.” She gazed admiringly at the towering, gray Thoroughbred. “You weren’t exaggerating how beautiful he is.”
“He’s the best horse in the world,” Carrie said fervently, throwing her arms around his neck again. “We’re going home to the plantation soon, Granite,” she promised. “No more being stuck in a stall all the time. Soon you’ll be running free again
.”
Granite snorted and whinnied loudly.
“I do believe he knows what you’re saying,” Aunt Abby said.
“Of course he does,” Carrie replied. “I don’t know why people have decided that humans are the only ones that can understand human talk. Granite knows exactly what I just said. He’s probably wondering why I’m not smart enough to understand what he just said.”
“Oh, I have you covered there,” Aunt Abby said lightly. “He said he’s glad, he can hardly wait, and it’s certainly about time.”
Carrie laughed joyfully, gave Granite a final pat, and took Aunt Abby’s arm to lead her out of the barn. “I’ll be back in the morning,” she called over her shoulder. “Get some rest.”
Chapter Thirteen
Thomas was just finishing his meal when Carrie and Aunt Abby walked in from the barn. He sighed and settled back in his chair. He let his eyes sweep the simple elegance of his home.
Carrie’s heart ached as she glimpsed the lost look in his eyes. She saw the exhaustion lurking there and the sorrow that was eating at the core of his being. She settled down in the chair beside him. “I’m so glad you’re home.”
Thomas stopped his perusal of the house and looked down at her. “I’m not home yet,” he said simply.
Carrie understood. “Will you keep this house when we return to the plantation?”
Thomas shrugged. “Permanently? I don’t know. I have absolutely no desire to remain in politics, so I can’t imagine I will need it. For the present time? Now is not the time to sell, so I will keep it. At least as long as I can afford it.” He sighed heavily. “I’m afraid I don’t have many answers right now,” he admitted. “Life as I’ve always known it is over.”
Silence hung over the room. The Old South was indeed dead. Gone were the glory days of huge plantations run by slaves.
“I believe the future can be just as bright,” Carrie ventured.
Thomas gazed at her. “Perhaps,” he murmured. “All I know right now is that I have a plantation with no one to work it. It was time for slavery to die, but I don’t know if I have enough to buy everything that will be needed and also hire field workers.”
Carrie was glad to hear the absence of bitterness in his voice. Her father had indeed changed. She also thought about the cache of gold upstairs. Would it be enough to let her father start over? She knew it was so much more than most Southerners had right now, but it might be far from enough. “The economy is bad, I know.”
“Bad?” Thomas snorted. “It’s a debacle. Our government issued bonds to finance the war, but the simple truth is that the investment from the public never met the demands. Southern taxes were lower and we collected them with less efficiency. European investment was insufficient to bridge the gap. Davis’s wonderful solution was to continue to print more and more paper money. Inflation increased from sixty percent in 1861, to three hundred percent in 1863, and six hundred percent in 1864. Davis never seemed to grasp the enormity of the problem.”
“And now you’re left to rectify his mistakes and try to rebuild,” Aunt Abby observed.
“Yes,” Thomas said dully. “I have some resources, but I fear they are not enough to meet the need.”
“But you have the plantation and this house as collateral,” Aunt Abby protested. “Surely that will make a difference.”
“Will it?” Thomas asked. “I rode through town on the way here,” he said, his voice thick with grief. “I saw the destruction from the fires. The business district has been destroyed. All the banks are gone. The focus must first go to rebuilding Richmond.”
“But it’s also necessary to re-establish agriculture,” Aunt Abby argued. “In order to truly rebuild Virginia, there must be job opportunities on the plantations.”
Carrie hid her grin when Thomas eyed Aunt Abby more closely. She was quite sure he had never had a financial discussion with a woman his own age.
“You seem to know quite a bit about it,” Thomas finally said.
Carrie didn’t bother to hide her grin this time. “Aunt Abby is quite a businesswoman,” she said proudly. “She owns several factories in Philadelphia. She has also just become an investor in the First Bank of Richmond.”
Thomas settled back in his chair and stared at Aunt Abby. “Well,” he managed.
Aunt Abby laughed. “I inherited the businesses from my late husband. They have done well.” She leaned forward. “I know this is premature since you have just arrived home, but I feel confident I can arrange for financing for the plantation. It was hugely successful in the past. There is no reason it can’t be again.”
Carrie saw the spark of hope ignite in her father’s eyes.
“That would be wonderful,” Thomas murmured. “I look forward to the discussion.”
“There’s something else, Father,” Carrie said. She hadn’t been sure when she would find the right time to broach the topic she and Moses had discussed, but now seemed to be the perfect opportunity.
When Thomas turned to her, she nodded to Moses. “Go ahead and tell Father what we talked about. He knows you ran the plantation after I kicked Ike Adams off.”
Moses shifted and cleared his throat but met Thomas’s eyes squarely. “I have an idea that could help get the plantation on its feet again, and also help some people I care deeply about.”
Thomas nodded, his eyes fixed on Moses intently. “I’m listening,” he encouraged.
Moses straightened his shoulders. “I love farming. It’s all I’ve ever really wanted to do, and I’m good at it,” he said confidently.
Thomas nodded. “I saw the figures from the plantation while you were running it. They were quite impressive. What do you have in mind?”
Moses relaxed noticeably. “I headed up a unit in the Union Army, sir. Most of my men were field hands from Southern plantations. They want their freedom, but they also want to work doing what they know best. I propose hiring them to work at Cromwell. They are good men, sir.”
Thomas gazed at him. “I don’t know how much I can pay them,” he responded honestly. “Things are going to be tight until we get a crop in, and it’s already late in the year.”
“Yes, sir. It’s too late for tobacco,” Moses responded. “The seedlings should have been started in February. But if we can get started soon, I think we can still get a good crop of oats and wheat in. Then next year we put the tobacco back in. We’ll have this winter to work the fields and get them ready.” He paused. “We’ll figure out how much you can pay the men now, and then we can give them a percentage of the crops once they are sold.”
“And you believe they’ll be okay with that?” Thomas asked, disbelief warring with hope on his face.
“They will be if I am,” Moses said firmly.
“And you’ll run everything?” Thomas asked.
“With your permission, sir.”
Thomas frowned. “You’ve got to stop saying that,” he said abruptly.
“Excuse me?” Moses was clearly confused.
Thomas smiled. “You are my brother-in-law. You may act as my overseer, but you are still my brother-in-law. You must call me Thomas.”
Moses smiled. “That might take a little getting used to, but I’ll do my best.” He paused. “I have my own conditions.”
Thomas eyed him. “And they would be?”
“One, I won’t be called an overseer.” His eyes were dark with memories. “That’s not a word any of us take too kindly to. I prefer to be called a manager.”
Thomas nodded. “Of course. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”
Moses shook his head. “No reason to apologize. There have been a lot of changes. There are going to be a lot more. It’s going to take a while for everyone to get used to them.”
“Yes.”
“The other thing is that I won’t be able to start working until I go find my mama and sister.”
“Where are they?”
Moses shook his head. “I don’t know. The last I knew they were on a plantation a couple ho
urs north of the city on the James, but I have no idea if they are still there. I have to try,” he said a little desperately.
“I remember them,” Thomas said softly. “All of you were separated the day I bought you.” His voice was thick with regret. “I am so sorry.”
“Thank you,” Moses replied, knowing there was no way Thomas could truly understand the pain he had endured when they had been ripped apart on the auction block. It was enough that he was sorry.
“Take as long as you need,” Thomas said. “When you return, you can come out to the plantation with your men.”
Moses turned to Rose and Carrie. “I want to leave tomorrow,” he said simply. “Now that Mr. Cromwell — I mean Thomas — has returned, you will be safe here, Rose. When they go out to the plantation, you can go with them.”
Rose nodded quickly. “Of course. You must go find your family.”
Moses hesitated and then asked Thomas the other question on his mind. “Do you know how other plantation owners are feeling about rebuilding their plantations?”
Thomas frowned. “Like you said, it’s going to take a while for everyone to get used to the changes. Right now I think people are just floundering. There is a lot of fear and uncertainty. Many of the plantations are destroyed. It will take years for them to ever produce again. The ones that are workable…” he shrugged his shoulders and hesitated a long moment.
“The truth is always best,” Aunt Abby said gently.
Thomas gazed at her for a moment and swung his eyes back to Moses. “Too many plantation owners don’t see a reason for things to change,” he said flatly.
“We’re free now,” Moses protested.
“Yes, but you’re still a slave to them,” Thomas said honestly. “A piece of paper doesn’t change more than a hundred years of belief and conditioning.” He paused and then pushed on. “I believe they will make it as hard on the freed slaves as possible. They want to be able to treat them the same way, no matter what the law says.”
“Which is why military governments are being set up,” Aunt Abby observed. “And why the Freedmen’s Bureau is being established. Someone has to stand up for the rights of the freed slaves.”
