by Ginny Dye
Hobbs shrugged. “He said the lower race of the human beings that made up the slave population of the South elevated every white man in our community. That it was a necessary part of our social order.”
Marietta stared at him. “So white men need to enslave a whole people in order to feel good about themselves? That certainly doesn’t say much for them.”
Hobbs flushed. “There has to be an order of things,” he insisted, refusing to back down. “I don’t hate black people, but they shouldn’t have the right to vote. They gonna take over the South and destroy it for the whites. I didn’t fight the war for slavery – I fought it to protect my home. Now them Yankees aim to destroy it again by taking everything away from us, and giving it to the blacks. What are people like me supposed to do?”
“Work?” Marietta asked. Her simple question hung in the air for a long moment. “Why should anyone have to look down on someone else to create what they want for their own lives?” She looked at Hobbs’ angry face thoughtfully. “I can understand why you are angry and afraid. It’s only natural that everyone wants the best they can have for themselves. It just seems to me that if everyone was to focus on everybody getting what they need and want, that the combined energy of that would be more useful than trying to destroy another group’s hopes and possibilities.”
Hobbs stared at her, his face revealing he had absolutely no idea how to refute her simple logic.
********
Abby snuggled up close to Thomas as soon as they got into bed. “I’m very proud of you,” she said tenderly.
“I might have just made a grave error,” Thomas replied, wishing he could push away the dread of looming trouble.
“Perhaps,” Abby replied thoughtfully, “but we can know we made the right choice. In times like this, sometimes that’s the only thing that makes the rest of it bearable.” She paused. “Besides, I believe it will actually be helpful. Once he realized we weren’t telling him to leave, he seemed more willing to voice his opinions. I find I would much rather know what my enemy is thinking, rather than make mistakes because of ignorance. I don’t believe Hobbs is our enemy, but I suspect he knows more about the Klan than he is telling us. The Ku Klux Klan seems to thrive on secrecy. Having Hobbs here might help us beat them at their own game.”
Thomas grinned, his eyes filled with admiration. “You are as smart as you are beautiful.”
“And, don’t ever forget it,” Abby said smugly before she kissed him, and then cuddled into his side and went to sleep.
Chapter Seven
Carrie was already on the porch when Rose stepped out the door to go to school.
“Eager?” Rose asked teasingly.
Carrie nodded, a glowing smile on her face. “I’m so excited to meet Dr. Hobson today, but I’m just as excited to see everyone else. It’s hard to believe it’s been almost two months. And Hobbs! I can’t believe he is in Richmond. It will be so good to see him…” Her voice trailed off as she thought of the letter she had received a few days earlier from Abby.
Rose looked at her sharply. “What aren’t you saying?”
Carrie sighed. “Sometimes I wish I could hide things from you.”
“No, you don’t,” Rose replied confidently. “But don’t try and change the subject. What are you trying to hide? Other than telling us Hobbs is there, you haven’t seemed to have much more to say.”
“How could I since I haven’t even seen him?” Carrie protested.
Rose just looked at her, and waited quietly.
“I really don’t know very much,” Carrie finally said. “It seems Hobbs has changed a great deal. Abby didn’t expound, but she did tell me I shouldn’t expect him to be the same.”
“Lots of people changed from the war,” Rose replied. “There is nothing odd about that.”
“Perhaps,” Carrie answered, and then shrugged. “Wondering won’t accomplish anything. I’ll know more when I see him today.” She looked up as Jeb and Andy walked from the barn with their horses. “I’m glad there has been no more trouble at the school.”
“It’s been quiet,” Rose answered with relief. “I wish I could say the tension between the students is better, but at least the vigilantes have not returned.”
Carrie frowned. “No change at all?”
Rose shook her head with a sigh. “Oh, I’m sure there is some. I’m probably just not seeing it.”
Carrie nodded. “Your mama told me one time that most changes take place like roots. You can’t see them, but they are there, spreading out just beneath the surface. Then all of a sudden a plant pops up and surprises you.” She smiled. “You’re doing the right thing. I bet there are roots growing like wildfire right beneath the surface.”
Rose smiled back. “I’m going to choose to believe you are right,” she said cheerfully. She walked down the stairs, and then stepped into the carriage Clint had brought around earlier. “Have a wonderful time in Richmond. I’ll see you in a few days.”
********
Carrie leaned back against the carriage seat and drank in the fresh air. There was still a nip in the winter air, but she could feel the promise of spring in the soft breeze. Buds hung thick on the trees lining the road. Her favorite were the thick red buds of the maple trees, dangling their promise as if to tease her. In less than a month they would all break free into the verdant green that never ceased to thrill her. The red bud trees would bloom a vivid purple, and then the dogwoods dotting the woods would follow.
The first hour had passed with easy conversation between her and Delbert, one of the plantation hands Robert had asked to take her to Richmond. She knew he was excited about being in town for a few days, but now both of them were content to ride in silence with their thoughts.
Carrie was grateful for the quiet. Four and a half months pregnant, she could feel the changes happening in her body. The idea of being pregnant had finally settled within her, filling her with constant thoughts of the baby coming to life within her womb. She laid her hand on her stomach, awash with love for the child she and Robert had created. The morning sickness had completely abated, and now she felt more alive than she ever had. Awe consumed her every time she pondered the miracle growing within her. Birth happened every day, but the idea that it was happening to her made her truly aware of the sheer wonder of it for the first time.
A deer bounding across the road in front of them distracted her thoughts. She heard the shrill call of a red-tailed hawk as she watched the clouds dancing around the sun. She snuggled deeper beneath the blankets, and let the easy rock of the carriage lull her to sleep.
********
Carrie had spent a wonderful few hours with Abby, talking and laughing, before the men came in from the factory. She was thrilled her stepmother had come home early to be with her, but she had not been able to get her to say anything about Hobbs – except to reiterate that Carrie needed to talk to him and draw her own conclusions. It was the troubled look in Abby’s eyes that bothered her most, but once the older woman made up her mind about something, nothing could change it. She had quit asking questions about Hobbs, and focused on all the other things going on in their lives.
They were in the kitchen with May when they heard the men enter the house. Thomas had insisted Hobbs ride in the carriage with him and Jeremy when they went in to work. After dropping them off, Jeremy would be on his way to the Black Quarters to pick up Marietta from the school. Dinner would be served when they returned.
Carrie hurried out to the foyer, and caught Hobbs in a hug as soon as he hung his coat. “Hobbs! It is so wonderful to see you!”
Hobbs laughed and hugged her back. “You are a sight for sore eyes, Carrie Borden!”
Carrie saw nothing of the changed man Abby had warned her about. Hobbs’ brown eyes snapped with life and joy as he gazed at her. “I wasn’t sure I would ever see you again,” she continued. “When you took off for the hills of West Virginia, I thought you would never come out of them.”
The life and joy drained in se
conds, replaced with a weary bitterness. “Life don’t always go the way you think it should, Carrie.”
Carrie gazed at her old friend, realizing she was looking into the eyes of someone far older than his years – someone who had known more pain than he should have. “I know you’re right,” she said gently. “I’m so sorry about your parents. And about Bridger,” she added.
Hobbs looked down, his face a mask of defeat and grief.
“Come into the library with me,” Carrie said in an effort to relieve his pain. “I have so much I want to talk to you about. Annie has put some hot tea and biscuits in there for us. She knew you would be starving when you came in.”
Hobbs nodded, forcing a smile to his face. “That sounds real good, Carrie.” He walked into the library, sank into a chair next to the fire, and then turned to her. “How is Robert?”
“Very disappointed he couldn’t get away to come see you right now,” Carrie answered. “He is thrilled you’re in Richmond. He had planned on coming, but then one of his prize mares showed signs of foaling early. Clint is a very capable stable manager, but Robert wasn’t willing to risk something going wrong.”
“I would have done the same thing,” Hobbs said, and then smiled. “I hear that horse is not the only thing going to give birth.”
Carrie laughed. “That’s true. I’m due in July. I can still hardly believe it.”
“You’ll make a great mother,” Hobbs replied. “You got more caring in you than two other people combined.”
“I hope so,” Carrie answered wistfully, her thoughts focused for a moment on the reality that she had never been close to her mother. She didn’t want that same kind of relationship with her own child. She pushed the thoughts away. “How are things going at the factory?”
Hobbs hesitated before he answered. “I’m real grateful to have a job, Carrie. And I’m real grateful for a warm place to live.”
“But you would really rather be back in your mountains,” Carrie finished for him, knowing he wouldn’t give voice to his true feelings. “I felt that way every moment I was in Philadelphia. I was so happy to be at medical school, but I missed the plantation with every breath I took.”
“Yep, it’s that way,” Hobbs agreed with relief, his eyes showing he appreciated the fact she understood. “I don’t want to appear ungrateful.”
“I know it must be hard to have to leave your home and come to the city,” Carrie replied.
“There ain’t many men in the South doing what they want to be doing,” Hobbs said in a hard voice. “Ain’t nothing ever gonna be the same again.”
“I think you’re right about that,” Carrie agreed. “The South will never be the way it was before.”
“And you’re real glad about that,” Hobbs said with an edge to his voice.
Carrie gazed at him, seeing again the man she had been warned about lurking in his eyes. “I can’t be anything but glad that slavery is dead,” she said evenly, “but my heart aches every day for the veterans who have returned from war to find everything they knew has been destroyed or changed. I treat many of them in my clinic. They are angry, but mostly they just seem confused. They have no idea how to live in the new South.”
Anger flashed over Hobbs’ face, and then he sighed. “I know how they feel,” he said slowly. “I’m angry every single day, but mostly I just can’t make sense of anything.”
“Like what?” Carrie asked. She hoped getting him to talk would help him sort out some of his feelings.
Hobbs looked away from her probing eyes, and stared into the flames. He was silent for several minutes, only his tense shoulders revealing the struggle he was enduring.
Carrie waited, knowing she had to give him time to reveal what was churning in his mind.
“My mama taught me it was wrong to hate,” he finally said, his voice halting and slow.
Carrie continued to remain silent. The years she had spent with Hobbs had taught her that pressing him would only cause him to shut down even more.
“I made it through the war without hating,” he added, “even with all the killing. Maybe it was because it was war, and killing was just part of it.” He clenched his fists. “But now? I got a lot of hate inside me,” he admitted. He looked up at her with a mixture of rage and desperation, before he turned to stare back into the fire.
“Who do you hate?”
“Most everybody,” Hobbs replied. “But mostly the blacks and the Yankees who have come down here to take control of my country.”
Carrie decided to not point out that the South was not a country – the war had decided that. “Because you believe they have taken away everything that matters to you.”
Hobbs glanced at her again. “They have,” he stated simply.
“Was it them, or was it the consequences of the men who ignited the war?”
Hobbs opened his mouth to respond, and then hesitated. He finally shrugged. “I guess it was everyone,” he admitted. “All I know is that one day I had a life.”
“And then people made decisions that stole that life from you,” Carrie said sympathetically.
“They did!” Hobbs insisted.
“I’m agreeing with you,” Carrie said gently.
Hobbs took a deep breath. “So you understand why I got hate.”
Carrie paused. “I understand there is much to be angry about, but the choice to hate is up to you.”
“And you think you wouldn’t?” Hobbs retorted. “Because you’re the high and mighty Carrie Borden?” He looked ashamed for a moment, but then he plunged ahead, not able to stop the torrent of words once they were released. “You ain’t never had nothing really bad happen to you, Carrie. Oh, you worked real hard during the war, and I know you were hungry sometimes, but nobody you loved died. Robert got real sick, but he’s better now. You ain’t never lost anyone during that war, Carrie. You don’t know what it’s like to suffer!”
Carrie thought about Sarah’s comment that wisdom came from suffering. “You’re right,” she acknowledged.
Hobbs flushed. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said those things.”
“Why not? They are true.” Carrie thought about her next words. She knew the levels of suffering all around the country for those who had lost loved ones must be unbearable. She had also learned, however, that it wasn’t always necessary to experience a particular situation in order to understand it. Suffering, no matter how it materialized in your life, could produce bitterness. She had fought that reality all during the war. Would she feel differently if Robert had actually died? She had no way of actually knowing that, but…
“The hate is eating me up,” Hobbs added sadly. “One minute I’m so angry I think I will explode. Then, the next minute I’m so sad I reckon I’ll never be able to breathe again.”
Carrie finally found words. “It’s true I haven’t experienced all you have, Hobbs, but it’s not true that I haven’t suffered. And I certainly have people around me that have lost so much in the last six years. They have chosen to not hate simply because the hate ends up hurting them more than anyone. I’ve made the same choice. I may not like something that is going on, but I will not hate the people who I believe may be responsible, and I don’t try and blame my life on someone who has absolutely nothing to do it with just to make myself feel better.”
“Then what do you do?” Hobbs demanded impatiently, his words laced with a yearning to understand, even while his flashing eyes said he didn’t want to hear it.
“I try to change things,” Carrie said calmly.
Hobbs’ face filled with triumph. “That’s what they’re gonna do.”
Carrie took a deep breath. “The Ku Klux Klan?”
“Them and all the other groups,” Hobbs declared belligerently. “They plan on changing things.”
“With terror and violence?” Carrie demanded, not caring that contempt showed in her voice. “Is that the kind of country you want to live in? One where anything that is different is killed or terrorized? After years of whit
e people enslaving black people, now you believe the best way to handle it is to kill them, rape them, and cause them to be afraid every moment of their lives?” She stared at him with disbelief. “You couldn’t have changed that much, Hobbs!”
Hobbs flushed, but glared back at her. “You don’t know the kind of country we’re living in now, Carrie. Somebody has to do something.”
“Somebody is doing something,” Carrie snapped. “The Congress is enacting laws that will give equal rights to everyone – no matter their race. They are trying to help the South rebuild after the war. The vigilante groups are doing nothing but hurting the South!” Her anger built as she thought of all that was being done. “All they are doing is showing the rest of the country how truly ignorant Southerners are.”
Carrie took a deep breath when she saw Hobbs’ face tighten even more. She knew better than to fight anger with anger, but when she thought of the fear Rose and her students lived with every day, she could only feel contempt for the ones that caused it. Even though Hobbs insisted he wasn’t a Klan member, he clearly supported them. In her eyes, that made him just as guilty. Groups like this were allowed to thrive by the masses of people simply turning away. She searched her mind for a way to free Hobbs from his bitterness. “Did Robert ever tell you how his father died?”
Hobbs’ angry look turned to confusion. “What?”
“Did Robert ever tell you how his father died?” Carrie repeated.
“A nigger killed him,” Hobbs growled.
“Do you remember me telling you about Moses?”
The look on Hobbs’ face said he had no clue why she was asking him these questions. “The fella who got you off the plantation when the Yankees came through – before you got shot getting away?”
“That’s the one,” Carrie agreed. “His father was the one who killed Robert’s father.” Her words hung in the air as Hobbs’ eyes widened. She had his full attention now. “He is also running Cromwell Plantation, and he and Robert have become like brothers.”
