The Song of the Wild Geese

by India Millar

  “If it hadn’t been for William, I would have been dead.” Callum’s voice made me jump. “I’m so sorry to do this to you, Terue-chan. It wasn’t in the plan, I promise you.”

  I stared at Callum dazedly. I felt dizzy and sick. I put my hand out to stop myself from falling over and William grabbed my shoulders and shook me.

  “Breathe deep,” he instructed in a whisper. “Don’t you go getting foolish on me. I can’t cope with two invalids at once!”

  “I’m all right,” I said, although I wasn’t. “What’s happened? What’s going on? Why were you both out together in the middle of the night? Tell me!”

  I stared from William to Callum, watching as they glanced at each other. William shrugged finally and sat back on his heels. It was Callum who spoke.

  “I’m sorry. I told William not to bring me here, but he wouldn’t listen.” He shivered and I wondered again how much blood he had lost.

  “What happened to you? Tell me. Everything!” I demanded.

  “It’s a long story, but I’ll cut it short.” Callum paused for a moment and I waited anxiously as he dealt with his pain. “You called me a slave trader once. I am, but not like you thought. I don’t buy slaves. I set them free.”

  His voice died in his throat and his eyes closed. I stared at William in horror. He pulled down Callum’s eyelid with a gentle finger and shook his head.

  “He’s passed out. Let him be still for a while. I think he’ll be all right.”

  I wanted to throw my arms around Callum, give him the strength and warmth of my body. But even more did I need to make sense of his words.

  “What does he mean, William? What’s he talking about? What’s happened?”

  “He done told you already. Everybody ‘round here thinks he’s a slave trader.” William sounded pleased. “Best story in the world to hide the fact that he’s part of the Underground Railroad. If he got caught, wouldn’t make no difference if he was king of England, he’d still be strung up.”

  My head was pounding with pain. I rubbed my forehead, trying to make sense of William’s words. I remembered, vaguely, Simon talking to a neighbor about something called the Underground Railroad. Both men had been contemptuous, our neighbor going so far as to say that all the “colored lovers” who were involved in it ought to be rounded up and hung.

  “Callum? He’s been helping slaves escape?”

  “Dozens of ’em.” William grinned. “Oh, he bought a few as well, and then had them shipped out. But most of them he set their feet on the road to freedom without their masters even knowing they had gone before it was way too late.”

  I caught my breath. Suddenly, I knew. I asked anyway.

  “Shula? He helped her get away?”

  “Certain did. We both did. And the other slaves that got away from High Grove and hereabouts.”

  I was bitterly ashamed. All these months, I had thought Callum was simply amusing himself by dealing in human flesh, and now it turned out he had been risking his own life to save others. I should have known! How could I have believed him capable of such wickedness?

  “What happened tonight?” I demanded.

  “We nearly got caught. We knew the planters were closing in. They all speak freely in front of old William. Been here forever. He might be half-white, but he’s just another slave who knows nothing. Safe to talk in front of William!” His voice had taken on a subservient whine and I felt a stab of hurt. “Not you, ma’am. Never you. I knew we could trust you, and so did he.” He nodded down at Callum. “He knew it right enough, but he wasn’t prepared to put you in danger, no matter what.”

  “Thank you.” I had no idea what I was thanking William for. He grinned at me and nodded before he went on.

  “Well, tonight’s was going to be the last batch we got out for a while. We knew things were getting just too dangerous to go on. Still, this time looked as if it was going to be good. We took half a dozen out of Mr. Sydney’s compound, sweet as a nut. Got them to the river and away on a raft.” Ah, so that was how the slaves were getting away without a trace! William paused as if I had spoken and I nodded quickly, urging him to go on. “We thought we’d got clean away with it. We had horses waiting and were ready to go ourselves when we heard the dogs. The horses spooked and were off before we could mount. Don’t blame ’em. Them dogs sounded like all the hounds of hell on our trail. Wasn’t nothing for it, but we had to take to the river ourselves. I can swim well enough, and Master Callum better still. We took ourselves far enough downstream to be sure we were well away. Would have worked out fine it if hadn’t been for that trap getting him by the leg. Master Tom must have set it without me knowing.”

  My own overseer had set a trap on my property and I hadn’t known?

  “I didn’t know either. I’m sorry,” I added absurdly.

  “’Course you weren’t to know. He’ll have been told to do it by the other planters. Daresay Tom didn’t want to worry you ‘bout it. Anyway, it snapped shut on his leg. I managed to get him out and back here. And that’s it. You know the rest.”

  “No. No, I don’t. William, why didn’t either of you trust me enough to tell me what was going on? Did you think I’d ever betray you?”

  “We both trusted you.” William frowned at me. “I told you that. Weren’t a question of trust. Callum insisted he didn’t want you involved. He said that if we got caught it was way better that you didn’t know anything at all. Besides, that’s how it works in the Underground Railroad. Nobody knows more than the next link in the chain, so if you do get taken, there ain’t much to tell. In any event, I told you this was the last time. After this lot, he was going away, back to his home. Back to looking after his own people. Before he went, he was going to come see you and make you listen to him. The man told me he was going to make everything right for you, but he couldn’t do it until it was real safe.”

  “I see.” And not only did I see, but I was intensely grateful. It wasn’t only Papa Sydney’s slaves that had been freed that night! “What will happen to him if he’s found?”

  “Right thing to do would be to put him on trial. Let the law deal with him. But that ain’t going to happen. My guess is that he would just disappear. Plenty of hungry hogs round about to deal with the leavings.”

  I swallowed nausea. “We have to get him away, William.”

  He looked at me approvingly. “The man told me I wasn’t to bring him to High Grove no matter what. Said he would rather die than put you in danger. All the time we were staggering here, he said it. Time and time again. But if you’re telling me different, nothing I can do about it, is there?”

  “Can we get him into the landau and away?” I was half on my feet, but William shook his head.

  “Landau’s a fine idea. Better than you know. But not until it’s well light. They’ll have found our horses by now, and Mr. Sydney’s going to know he’s lost more slaves. Probably found the trap sprung and bloody. Every road around here going to have men watching it. We go now and we going to get stopped for sure. Less suspicious if we wait until mid-morning. Even then, there’s a good chance they going to stop us and ask our business. We need to get to the other side of town, to the Reverend Smallbone. If we can get to him, the reverend will get him safely away to the next station on the Railroad.”

  I had heard of the Reverend Smallbone. Even though he was not a Catholic priest, Mama Simone thoroughly approved of his hell-fire sermons. I wondered wryly how she would feel if she knew of his other activities! I glanced at Callum. He seemed to have passed into something nearer sleep than unconsciousness. I decided William was right. The rest would do him good, and in the meantime, we could make our plans. My mind was suddenly focused.

  “If they stop us, the hounds will pick up on his scent.” I thought of the bloody trap and shivered. “If they smell him, we’re lost. I’ve already washed him thoroughly. That will help. But it’s not enough. We need to change the way he smells. William, go to the wardrobe. All Simon’s clothes are in there. Fetch me a p
air of trousers, and a shirt and coat. And shoes and Simon’s leather gloves.”

  William stared at me for a moment and then his face broke into a grin.

  Callum slept like a baby, only half waking when I took the towel from his leg and helped William pull on Simon’s trousers. I sniffed him carefully when we finally wrapped him in the coat, but I could smell nothing but clean clothes. But that didn’t mean the hounds would be deceived. A well-meaning neighbor had given me a large bottle of violet perfume as a wedding present. I had never used it, but I was grateful for it now. I unstoppered it and sprinkled it liberally over Callum, even rubbing it into his hair. A thought struck me and I quickly patted some on my own neck and wrists. William looked at me approvingly.

  “I smell like a tart’s bedroom,” Callum muttered sleepily. “What are you trying to do to me, Terue-chan? Suffocate me?”

  “Shut up,” I said firmly. “I’m trying to save your life.”

  “What for? It’s no good to me if you’re not with me.”

  William turned his back discreetly. I thought of Mama Simone’s tears and Olders’ beefy face and huge hands and swallowed hard. What was the phrase I had heard so often and never—until this moment—really understood? Ah, yes. “You’ve made your bed, so now you must lie in it.”

  “You’re getting away from here. To safety. That’s all that matters. Don’t worry about anything else at all.”

  “Silly woman.” Callum winced. “What do you think you’re doing? If they catch us, you’ll hang alongside me and I’m not having that. Where are you going?”

  I nodded at William to keep Callum still and slipped out of my bedroom along to the end of the corridor. I waited, listening for a moment, and then turned the knob on Mama Simone’s door as slowly as I could. The door swung open silently, and I crept across the room, one foot in front of the other like a cat stalking a bird. She coughed quietly before I reached her bureau and I froze.

  “Simon? Is that you?”

  I waited, sure she must hear my blood pulsing. I thought she was going to sit up, but at last she slipped back into full sleep and I lowered the top of the bureau, inch by slow inch. I grabbed her bottle of tonic and left as silently as I had entered. I held Callum’s nose until he was forced to swallow a healthy mouthful of laudanum. He tried to speak, but in his weakened state the drug took him and held him in its arms like an ardent lover.

  Between William and me, we folded Callum into my quilt. We half dragged, half carried him out of the house and to the stable. I was doubled up, panting for breath by the time William opened the landau door. I stared at the plush interior and confidence drained away. We could get Callum in, easily. But the floor was bare. Anybody who so much as glanced in would see him. Even bent in two, we couldn’t hope to push him out of sight beneath the twin seats.

  William was rubbing his hands together cheerfully. He leaned into the carriage’s interior and pushed down with the heel of his hand on the floor. I stared in astonishment as the entire center of the floor pivoted and swung smoothly up.

  “The old master didn’t think much to paying what he called ‘undue taxes.’” William grinned. “There’s many a parcel of fine brandy and tea come to the plantation this way with no duty paid. I daresay the old man would turn in his grave if he knew what kind of package was making the return trip tonight. Think you can help me get him in? I’ll leave the floor open a slant so he gets plenty of air. Come morning, I’ll harness up the horses myself.”

  I hated the idea of leaving Callum alone, but when I hesitated, William tugged me briskly by the hand and took me back into the house. I sat in a chair in my bedroom, waiting for morning. I thought about how the planters would react if they did find Callum. How would they behave if they discovered he had made fools of them all? That the man they would have welcomed with delight as a son-in-law was also the hated phantom who had spirited away so many of their slaves? Their vengeance would be cruel, and the thought made me cringe.

  Oscar was curled on my feet, keeping me company. I stroked his head gently.

  “It’s not going to happen,” I promised him. “Not if I have anything to do with it.”

  Thirty-Seven

  Even a broken reed

  Is precious to the grasp

  Of a drowning man.

  I felt every jolt of the carriage. Moving Callum’s dead weight had taken a toll. My ribs felt as if they were broken, and my back was so rigid that every breath was agony. I sat stiffly, propped like a child’s doll.

  We were well outside the plantation boundary, almost into town. After the trauma of the night, it had all been so very easy. Mama Simone had not woken for breakfast, and I had simply left a message with Suzanna to tell her I had gone to see Mr. March. Was I being unduly suspicious, I wondered, or did I see a glint of interest in Suzanne’s normally impassive face? No matter.

  We were gone!

  I heard the dogs before I saw them. Heard William mutter a prayer and guessed he thought that we were done for. When Mr. Sydney stepped into the middle of the road with his hand raised for us to stop, I was sure of it as well. Even more so when his bloodhounds went mad on their leashes, baying and struggling to get to us.

  “Mrs. Beaumont.” His eyebrows rose so far toward his bald head, it looked ridiculously like his hair had miraculously grown again. “Sorry to have to stop you. I guess you won’t have heard, but last night we nearly had the bastard—pardon my French—who’s been making away with all our slaves. He just slipped through our fingers, but we guess he’s still round about, so we’re checking all the traffic. Don’t suppose you seen anybody at all about your place, have you? Shut up, you stupid mutts.”

  He yanked viciously on the leashes in his hand. The hounds still milled around, but aimlessly now. One began to howl and then sat back on its haunches and scratched vigorously behind its ear.

  “Haven’t seen a soul. Except William here.” I managed a laugh.

  “Thought not. Mind if I just take a look in your carriage anyway, ma’am? Ain’t gonna be nothing there, of course, but I did say I would look in every vehicle. You’re up and about early this morning.”

  “I have to visit with Mr. March, my attorney.” My voice was trembling like a leaf shivering in the wind. He would notice, I was sure. He would make me get out. Let the dogs in the carriage. The game would be up for all of us. I smiled and fluttered my hand nervously. “Please, do look. I understand you have to do your duty. Those dogs are properly under control, aren’t they? They look terribly fierce to me. I was bitten by a dog once and I’ve always been a little afraid of big dogs since.” I improvised wildly.

  Sydney grinned widely, tugging on the hound’s leashes in a show of bravado.

  “I’ll make sure they ain’t gonna hurt you, Mrs. Beaumont. Well, I can see the carriage is stone empty except for you, so I’ll let you go on your way. Give my regards to Jim March.”

  And that was it. William tipped his hat courteously and we drove off at a sedate pace. Somehow, I stopped myself from screaming at him to hurry.

  The Reverend Smallbone belied his name. He was a big man, every bit as red-faced and beefy as Abe Olders. I shrank from him instinctively, but his touch was as gentle as a child’s as he helped me down from the landau.

  “I thank you, Mrs. Beaumont.” William worked his magic with the floor and the preacher leaned inside. “Together, William. One, two, three and hup! There he goes. Can you take him into the house on your own? Good man. I’ll put the carriage together again and then you can take the lady here into town.” I watched silently as William draped Callum’s arm over his shoulder and shuffled him through a side door into the minister’s home. “God will bless you for today’s work, my dear.”

  Even speaking quietly, Reverend Smallbone’s voice was a subdued boom. I stared at him uncomprehendingly.

  “What’s going to happen to Callum now? His leg is badly torn. He needs to be seen by a doctor.”

  “I’ll arrange that. I have a good friend in the medical p
rofession who shares my distaste of making men into beasts of burden. He’ll be patched up well and truly. And then later on today, I’ll find it necessary to make a trip northward. I have a carriage with a similar arrangement to your own. I’ll leave Lord Kyle in safe hands, and from there he can move further northward when he’s recovered. I don’t actually know what route he’ll take, but I imagine he’ll end up in Canada. I think myself the further north from here the better. There are a lot of landowners around here who would be delighted to get their hands on the phantom who has been spiriting away their slaves. And if they realized they had been made utter fools of by somebody each of their wives had hoped to snare for their daughters, it would be very bad for him. Once he’s across the border, he’ll be safe. He can go back to his own country as and when he wants. Scotland, I believe. If you know where that is?” he added dubiously.

  “It’s next to England,” I said automatically. “Thank you for looking after him. If he comes around before you leave him, please…Please tell him I’m sorry.”

  Not what I meant at all. But I prayed Callum would understand.

  William came back then, and the Reverend helped me into my carriage. As we set off, I turned my head and looked behind me, certain that I would somehow catch a last glimpse of Callum. But there was nothing but Reverend Smallbone, waving until we turned the bend heading back into town and he was hidden from my view.

  “Ma’am.” William spoke quietly. “I know you want to get back home, but I really think you should go visit Mr. March. If the planters get to discussing things later and it comes out somehow you never went to see him, questions gonna be asked.”

  I agreed. He was right, of course. We jolted along in silence until I spoke again.

  “Why have you stayed, William? You could have gone with Callum, couldn’t you? Got away?”