The Deepest Waters, A Novel (23 page)

Micah was plum wore out with all this walking. He was feeling his age all up in his hips, his back, even down in his knees. Long time ago, he remembered walking this far for days on end, never had any trouble. But there it was, finally. The Foster mansion. Just like that shoe-shinin’ fellow Obadiah said, someone at Union Square set him straight to it.

It was quite the place. Like someone took a plantation house down South and put it smack-dab in the middle of this big city.

Sure could use a glass of water.

As he got closer, he saw this fancy-dressed old fellow, older than he was anyway, peek his head out the front door. Then he walked down these fancy winding steps to the sidewalk. Held his hand over his eyes to block the light from a nearby lamppost as he looked down the street. He looked right at Micah but didn’t see him. He turned around, did the same thing the other way.

“Excuse me, suh,” said Micah. Man didn’t seem to hear him, so he said it again a bit louder. Old man turned around, looked Micah over. Had a nice face but didn’t smile.

“Can I help you?” he said.

“I hope so,” said Micah. “This be the Foster place?”

“It is, but I’m quite sure the family has all the help it needs at the moment.”

“I’m not here lookin’ for work, suh. I actually come bringing somethin’ for Mrs. Foster. I mean, Mrs. Laura Foster.”

The old man’s face lit up bright. “You do? What might that be, may I ask?”

“Is she here?” Micah asked.

“Not at the moment. I was just looking for the carriage she might be riding in just now. So what is it that you have for Mrs. Foster?”

“I have a note.” Micah pulled it out of his pocket. He had worked it real hard, trying to smooth out all the wrinkles. “She leave it on the ship. That’s where I come from. Thought it was mighty important, and the cap’n agreed she should have it. Even let me come all this way just to make sure she get it.”

“May I see it?”

“Yessuh.”

The man held it, then stepped back to see it better in the light. “My goodness,” he said. “It’s from John.”

“Yessuh. Mrs. Foster’s husband. Cap’n say it be the last words he say to her.” Then Micah saw something strange. The man’s eyes got all teary. Just then, the front door swung open.

“Beryl, are they here?”

Micah looked up and saw this woman in a fancy dress looking down at them both.

“Is the carriage here? Who is this?” she asked, looking right at him.

The man, Beryl, blinked his tears away. “No, Mrs. Foster. It’s not here yet. But this man just walked up to me, said he was from the ship that brought John’s wife here.”

“What?” she said loudly.

“I’m holding in my hand,” said Beryl, “a most remarkable thing. A note written by John to his wife, Laura, just before they parted at sea. These are his last words.”

Micah saw the tears come back to his eyes. The woman looked like she gonna fall straight down them steps.

Both men ran up to catch her. They helped her back inside. In a moment, she was standing again. Beryl helped her to a big chair nearby. Then he walked back and closed the door. Micah had never been inside such a place before. He couldn’t keep his eyes from roaming all about.

“A note from John?” she asked.

It looked to Micah like all the wind was suddenly out of her sails. Beryl handed the note to her. Micah stood by just off to the side.

She looked right at Micah. “Thank you so much for bringing this. How did you get here?”

“I walked, ma’am.”

“You must be exhausted. Beryl, would you please get him a large glass of water?”

“Right away, Mrs. Foster.”

She held the note so she could read it better by the lamp. Micah wasn’t sure what he should do. Felt like he should excuse himself, let her read in peace. But she wasn’t paying attention to him.

She began talking out loud, as if John were in the room. “How hard this must have been for you!” Then Mrs. Foster pulled out a white handkerchief and dabbed her eyes. She turned to Micah and said, “Look how much he loved her.”

Now Micah saw that white cloth catching lots of tears, and felt even more unsure of himself.

As she continued to read she said loudly, “Oh no. I’m so sorry. But you were right.” She dropped the note then, and it fell to the rug. John’s mother put her head down into her hands and cried all the more.

Beryl walked in, not seeming the least distressed. He handed Micah the water, walked over and picked up the note, set it on a little table beside her. Then stood back. He looked up at Micah as she cried. Micah saw all kinds of care in his eyes. He could tell this man was a servant, though not a slave. But he been here a long time, like he almost a part of the family.

Micah drank the whole glass down. It surely helped.

After she was through crying, or at least get to where she could talk, she looked up at Micah. “What is Laura like? Did you know her?”

Now Micah didn’t know why, and he surely didn’t see it coming. But tears rushed up from inside as he said, “She may be the finest woman I ever know.”

No one said anything for a moment. Then Mrs. Foster said, “I am not at all surprised.”

Micah felt he should say more. “She so brave. Care for others way more than herself. Treat me and . . . my dog better than we ever been treated.”

Mrs. Foster looked up at Beryl. “I so hope Joel was able to persuade her.”

Beryl nodded.

“Would you like another glass of water?” Mrs. Foster asked.

“Maybe just a little,” Micah said. “Help me on my way back to the ship.”

“You’re going back tonight?”

“Well, Cap’n say we might be leavin’ tomorrow. Gave him my word I be back before then.”

“Beryl, could you give him something, some money? To thank him for all his trouble.” Then she stood up, came right over, and shook Micah’s hand. “Thank you, Mr. . . .”

“The name’s Micah, ma’am.” He didn’t want to shake her hand, his hand being so dirty. But he did.

Beryl came back and handed Micah some gold coins. “No need for this, Mrs. Foster. I’m happy to come, do anything I could for Mrs. Foster. Well, the other Mrs. Foster.”

“I insist,” she said. “Perhaps you could find yourself a hotel or at least a decent meal.”

“Thank you kindly, ma’am. I guess I best be going.” She looked like she wanted to give him a hug, but she just patted him on the shoulder. He nodded, put his hat back on, and headed for the door.

Beryl walked him out, all the way to the street. “Do you know your way back to the ship all right?”

“I ’spect so. Just head back to that Union Square, then follow that big wide street south.”

“Very good,” said Beryl. “You’ve got the idea. Thank you for taking the time to come, and bringing the note.” He leaned forward. “Mrs. Foster has had a troubling day, but I could tell, she was very grateful.”

“Thank you for sayin’ so, suh. I best be on my way.”

Well, things did work out all right, he thought, making his way down the steps. But he was sad he come all this way and didn’t get to give Miz Laura the note himself or say a proper good-bye.

He thought surely she had been his friend. Felt quite sure it was so.

Ayden Maul could not believe what he saw through blurred eyes. It was that Foster woman, coming right out the front door of that uppity hotel across the street. He had just finished his last beer of the evening and was settling up his tab with the barkeep when he glanced out the front window. “Gotta go,” he said. “Keep the change.”

God or the devil, one had opened up a window of opportunity, and he was jumping through. He’d already figured the woman must have gone down for the night. He was just about to go out and refill his pockets with some dandy man’s cash down some dark alley.

That would have to wait. He had another tab to pay.

He walked outside and stayed in the shadows until a carriage came around the corner and stopped by the front doors. It was different from the one that brought her here, bigger, much nicer. His horse was tied to a rail not twenty feet away. As soon as the lady and her two companions got in the carriage, he jumped on the horse.

It seemed late for a woman of her status to be venturing out. She didn’t load any luggage, but he saw a few shopping bags. Maybe she was going out for a little while, maybe leaving for good. He didn’t have a plan made up just yet. The main thing was not to lose her, to keep her in his sights.

He found opportunities had a way of presenting themselves if you just paid attention. He followed behind just enough to stay out of sight. The carriage headed north on Broadway. Wasn’t hard to keep track of them now, streets were almost clear of traffic. All the stores were closed and most of the restaurants.

About fifteen minutes down the road, it was clear they had left the business district. He was starting to see more homes than shops and, he noticed, more trees.

More trees was good; it meant more shadows.

For Laura, the carriage ride was taxing. She barely had the energy to keep her eyes blinking, let alone discern and satisfy expectations Joel and Allison had of her, not to mention what awaited her at the Foster home. It was at least a relief to find they were not hostile as she’d feared. Allison continued to be warm and congenial. Under better circumstances, Laura felt sure she would even enjoy her company.

For the most part, Joel said nothing. Allison talked occasionally. Thankfully, she hadn’t asked the kind of questions Laura was certain she’d wanted to, about John. Laura could tell they both sat upon a mountain of tears, ready to release with the littlest prodding.

Joel sat up and looked out the window. “We’re just three blocks away now.”

“Does this remind you at all of San Francisco?” Allison asked. “I’ve read so much about it.”

“Hard for me to compare,” said Laura. “I’ve only seen a fraction of this city before dark. Maybe tomorrow I could answer better. I will say . . . it’s a much larger city, with much taller—”

The carriage stopped abruptly. Everyone fell forward in their seats.

“Did we hit something?” Joel said.

Lot nicer to walk in the cool of the night, thought Micah. Quiet too, now, almost no one out on the street. And Laura’s kin treated him very kindly. Didn’t know exactly what to do with the money she give him, never stayed in a hotel before nor ate a meal in a restaurant. He figured he best just keep walking all the way back to the ship.

But he figured, he saw someplace that sold food to colored folk, any kind of food, he could be talked into stopping a spell. No hurry to get back to eatin’ what ole Smitty made. Barely right to call it food.

A big carriage came down the road just up ahead. Micah saw this young colored man dressed like a fancy dancer holding the reins. Now what kind of life he must have, they let him dress like that every day.

The carriage stopped suddenly. Micah looked around the wheels, like maybe something broke or it hit some animal. He looked up at the young man, who just staring at him like he seen a ghost.

“Daddy?” the young driver said.

Micah looked behind him, wondering who he was talking to.

“Daddy?” he said again, louder, tying up the reins on a hook. Still looking right at Micah.

“It’s you, Lord Almighty. It is you,” the driver said.

A man from inside the carriage spoke up. “What’s going on, Eli? Why’d we stop?”

“Daddy,” the driver said again, crying, coming down quick off that carriage.

Eli? Did he say . . . Eli?

Micah looked at the young man as he jumped to the street. “Eli? That you, son?” Tears falling down his face like rain, ’cause Micah knew it now.

His boy Eli.

Eli rushed on him, hugged him so hard his fancy hat tumbled off his head into the street. “Daddy, I thought I’d never see you again.”

“Eli . . .” Micah couldn’t talk, couldn’t think. Joy was comin’ out of him every which way. He held Eli so tight. They both crying so hard, neither one ever wanting to let go.

“Something strange is going on,” said Joel. He opened the carriage door.

Laura looked out the window. She could see in the shadows the colored driver was holding another colored man in a strong embrace. Both men were crying. Joel stood by on the sidewalk.

“Let’s go see,” said Allison.

They both stepped out and carefully made their way to the sidewalk. A moment later, the two men, still holding each other at the shoulders, separated slightly.

“Look at you,” the older man said. “You all growed up and dressed so fine.”

Laura recognized the voice. It couldn’t be.

“Micah!” she yelled. “Is that you?”

“Mrs. Foster?” he asked. “God be praised. How you be . . . you know my boy Eli?”

She looked at the young man, his face awash with tears and a smile wider than she’d ever seen. “Is this your son?”

Micah nodded.

But of course it was. Laura ran over and wrapped her arms around Micah; she didn’t care how improper it might look. She pulled back a little. “I thought I’d never see you again. I’m sorry I didn’t say good-bye.” She turned to Eli and held out her hand. “Your father has told me so many things about you. Mostly about how much he missed you.”

“I missed him too, ma’am,” he said. He looked back at his father, then hugged him again.

“How wonderful,” Allison shouted. “So this just happened?”

“Eli, this is your father?” Joel asked.

Eli nodded. “Yes, sir, Mr. Foster. Sorry for stopping so suddenly. I couldn’t believe my eyes. There he was, just walking down the street.”

“Extraordinary,” Joel said.

“How did you get here?” Laura asked.

“Walked all the way from the ship,” Micah said. “Cap’n let me go to bring you that note, the one your husband give you.”

“My note? John’s note? You have it?” she asked.

“Just give it to Mrs. Foster . . . the other Mrs. Foster. The mother,” he said.

“You’ve just come from our house?” Joel asked, sounding concerned.

“Yessuh, your man let me in. Said your mother want to read it.”

“What did it say?”

“Don’t know exactly. Can’t read. But my son Eli can, right, Eli?” Eli nodded. “Whatever it say, she cried a good spell but then seemed real happy. Thanked me all kinds of ways.”

“I can’t believe you’re here,” said Eli. “You said you came from a ship?”

“That’s right. Been on it the last three years.”

“This is quite amazing,” Joel said. “Thank you for taking the trouble to deliver the note all the way here, and on foot. Is there anywhere we can take you? Eli can drop us off at the house then take you anywhere you need to go.”

“And you can tell me all about what you’ve been doing, Daddy.”

“Joel,” said Allison. “You can’t do that. They’ve just seen each other again after years of being apart. When do you have to be back to your ship, Mr. Micah?”

“Tomorrow.”

“There, then it’s settled,” she said. “He can stay with Eli tonight, and Eli can bring him there in the morning, after a good breakfast.”

“I suppose that would be fine,” Joel said. “Well, then, shall we get back to the house?”

Eli walked to the front of the carriage. “You can sit up here with me, Daddy.” He thought a moment, smiled, and said, “Got another surprise for you too. When we get back to the house.”

“Don’t think I can take too much more,” said Micah.

Laura stood back by the carriage door. “This is so amazing,” she said. For the moment, it had taken all her sadness away.

Ayden Maul hung back about thirty yards, in between two lampposts, under a large elm. He wasn’t sure what all was happening with the carriage. But everyone was out, standing around on the sidewalk.

He might never get a better chance. The Foster woman was by herself, near the back of the carriage, in the shadows.

He silently got off his horse and pulled out his knife.