The Immortelles (2 page)

“What is that?”

“He said I could have a maid of my very own.” Damita laughed at Chantel's shocked expression. “Well, I
need
one. Monica can't take care of Mother and me both, can she? So, Papa said I could have one.”

“Are you going to hire someone?”

“No, we're going to buy one. That will be good economy in the long run. We'll buy a young girl, one who will bring a high price when we decide to sell her.”

Chantel bit her lower lip thoughtfully, and then commented, “I never liked the idea of buying human beings.”

Damita stared at her friend. “What are you talking about?”

“It just doesn't seem right, Damita, for one human being to own another one.”

“Of course it's all right! They're not like we are, Chantel. They're inferior.”

This was, of course, the standard position of Southerners and some Northerners, too, at the time. Some in the country were beginning to protest. The Abolition movement was picking up steam, but, in New Orleans, an abolitionist would not last very long!

At Chantel's silence, Damita said, “Come on. Let's go get something to eat.”

“All right, but I didn't bring much money.”

“I've got plenty.”

The two girls stepped quickly up the street. Damita was well aware of the glances she drew as they made their progress along the crowded walkways. She enjoyed the women's glares. Many of them, she knew, envied her beauty and her figure. This amused her, and she met their glances with a self-satisfied smile.

She was also aware of the men, both young and old, who turned to watch her stroll by. Damita de Salvedo y Madariaga was accustomed to the admiration of men. In some respects, she had led a sheltered life, being confined in the convent classrooms, but she had also been able to participate in the social life of New Orleans. The Creole gentry had a world of its own there, and she had found it exciting to flirt with the dashing young men who sought her out eagerly at the balls and parties that took place regularly in the city.

Damita suddenly stopped. “There's the auction!”

Chantel stopped and looked at the red-brick building to her right. Men were coming and going, but she saw no women. “I've never been in there,” she said nervously.

“Neither have I, but I'm going now.”

“Damita, we can't go in there! Women never go unescorted into a place like that.”

“Well, I'm going. Papa said I could have a maid, and I want to see what's available. Come along.”

Against her better judgment, Chantel accompanied Damita up the steps and entered through the door. She murmured, “I don't like this, Damita.”

“We won't stay long. I just want to look over what they have for sale.”

The main room of the auction was a large, spacious area with a high ceiling. Cigar smoke created a purple haze, and a hum of talk sounded as the prospective buyers mingled. They studied the black people who were up on a slightly raised platform.

Damita ran her eyes around the room, and for one moment, she was almost tempted to fall in with Chantel's mood. It was somehow a place that deadened the spirit. Despite the loud talk and laughter of the buyers, the black men, women, and young people who lined the platform along the wall gave her a start. She was accustomed to slaves, of course; her father owned many who operated the family's cotton plantation just outside of New Orleans. There were house slaves also, but Damita was used to them. Something was different about those who stood against the wall.

“Miss Madariaga, what a pleasure to see you.”

Damita turned to face Lewis Depard, a slender young man dressed in the latest fashion. Bright brown eyes shone from a friendly, olive-complected face. He bowed and said, “I don't believe you've met my friend Philip Moreau. Philip, may I introduce you to Miss Damita Madariaga.”

“I am happy to know you,” Moreau said with a smile. He was a larger man than Lewis, somewhat overweight, and well-dressed.

“This is my friend, Miss Fontaine.”

“A pleasure, Miss Fontaine,” the young man greeted her.

“Have you fought any duels today, Lewis?” Damita asked, arching her eyebrows.

“Not yet, but the day is young.”

“Mr. Depard is a famous duelist, Chantel,” Damita said. “If a man wears a coat that doesn't suit him, he challenges him.”

“Oh, come now! It's not that bad, Miss Madariaga.” Lewis Depard had indeed fought in two duels and had won both of them easily. He was an expert swordsman, as well as an expert shot with dueling pistols. Dueling was so common among the young Creole gentlemen of New Orleans that it had become something of a fine art. Men fought duels over the most inconsequential of affairs.

“Are you here to make a purchase, Miss Madariaga?” Lewis asked curiously.

“My father promised me a maid for my graduation. I thought I'd look over the wares.”

“There doesn't seem to be much along that line,” Depard said, shrugging. “Except for a few strong-looking young slaves, this group happens to be pretty well picked over. Look, the auctioneer is starting the action. His name is Saul Lebeaux. He's made a fortune selling slaves.”

Damita turned and watched with the others. The auctioneer, a short, muscular man wearing a dark brown suit, had stepped up beside an elderly dark woman. He said, “Now, then, we have a fine specimen here. This is Irene. She's a clever house servant and an excellent cook.” He winked and added, “She does have one fault: she's always pretending to be sick. Nothing wrong with her, I assure you. She's healthy.”

“She doesn't look well at all, does she?” Chantel whispered.

“But the man says she's faking.”

“I don't think so. She looks sick to me.”

Damita watched as several prospective buyers approached. One of them put his hand under the old woman's chin and raised her head.

“Open your mouth,” he said, then looked inside. “Not many teeth left.”

“No,” another buyer said. “Nothing but skin and bones.”

Lebeaux tried to work up some interest. “Gentlemen, who'll bid a hundred?”

“Why, she'll be in the ground in a week.”

“No, I tell you, she's fooling you. Just full of humbug. You give her a touch or two of the cowhide, and you can get plenty of work out of her.” Despite all his efforts, the auctioneer could arouse no bids, and finally a voice said, “Let's get on with some of the better stock, Saul.”

The auctioneer shrugged and moved along to a large and powerful-looking black man. “Now, here is just what you're looking for.” He poked the man in the ribs with the stick he carried and said, “Look at those muscles. Why, he can work eighteen hours a day in the fields.”

Damita listened, and her eyes went to the face of the black man. He appeared to be in his mid-thirties. He was black as a human being could be, and she saw that his eyes were dull. An air of hopelessness hung about him. He sold for $450, and his purchaser led him away.

“Do we have to stay, Damita?” Chantel whispered.

Damita hesitated. At that instant, a woman holding a baby was brought forward, and the auctioneer began his pitch. “We've got a fine house slave here, and a picaninny. Two for the price of one.”

“I'll bid on the woman but not the picaninny,” a voice called.

The auctioneer argued, but a burly man with a shock of coarse, black hair finally bought the woman. He stepped up to pay the fee and take possession forward. He ordered the woman, “Get rid of that baby. You won't be needing her to pick cotton.”

Damita and Chantel watched as the woman clung to the baby and shook her head, but the auctioneer pulled the child from her arms. “Go along, now,” he said.

The woman cried out something in a language that was not French and not English. She reached for the baby, but her new owner grabbed her by the arm and said roughly, “None of that! You'll have plenty to do without taking care of a baby.” He led the woman away crying, and the auctioneer handed the baby to one of his helpers.

“That's awful!” Chantel whispered.

Damita had not liked the scene herself. “I don't see why he couldn't have let the slave take the baby.” She started to say more, but, at that moment, the auctioneer said, “I've got
something very special for you gentlemen.” He called, “Bring that girl out, Al.”

Damita turned to see, emerging from the door, a young woman being pushed forward by a white man. The girl was apparently in her teens and looked as different from the rest of the slaves as was possible. As Al brought her to the front, a buzz of talk sounded, and Lewis exclaimed, “By heaven, there's a different sort of property!”

Despite the plain dress she wore, the young woman was a beauty in every way. She had raven-black hair, and her skin was smooth and of a faint olive tint. She kept her eyes down, for the most part, but when she lifted them, Chantel saw they were a pale green, large, and striking.

“She'll fetch a pretty penny,” Lewis whispered to his friend. “I wouldn't mind owning her myself.”

The auctioneer let the audience peer at the woman for a moment, then said, “This is a prize, gentlemen. Only sixteen years old. Make a perfect house servant. She's healthy, and she'll dress out fine. Come, look her over.”

Damita watched as a number of men moved closer. One at a time, they squeezed the girl's arms and looked at her teeth.

“That's shameful,” Chantel hissed.

Damita was staring at the girl. She was an impulsive young woman, and in that instant, she made up her mind. “That's the girl I want for my maid.”

“You can't mean it!” Chantel exclaimed.

“She's pretty enough. I can dress her up. And she looks strong and healthy. I'm going to bid on her.”

“You can't do that!”

Damita loved a challenge, and when the bidding started, she did not speak until the price rose to eight hundred dollars. Then Lebeaux cried, “Come along, gentlemen! Any more bids?” He waited expectantly and said, “If there are no more bids—”

“Nine hundred dollars!”

Every man's eyes turned to Damita. Lewis's face showed shock. “Miss Madariaga, you can't mean that!”

The auctioneer also was nonplussed. It was uncommon for a woman even to attend the auction. But he was there for profit. “The bid is nine hundred dollars. Do I hear another?”

A hum filled the room, and the bidding rose to twelve hundred dollars. Damita calmly raised it to thirteen.

One of the men asked, “Lebeaux, how do you know she's got the money to pay for that girl?”

The auctioneer swallowed hard. He was in a difficult position. He needed to make the money, but indeed, no young girl like this had ever bid on a slave. “May I ask how you intend to pay for this, mademoiselle?”

“My father is Señor Alfredo Madariaga. He will pay the money.”

The auctioneer obviously knew Damita's father. Still he said, “Your father is not here.”

“No, but he's buying me a maid, and that's the one I want.”

For a moment the auctioneer wavered, then nodded. He tried to get the bid raised, but no one was willing, for it was clear that the young woman was going to pay whatever was necessary. “Mademoiselle, your bid is accepted. Come forward and take your property!”

Lewis stayed close beside Damita while she looked the slave girl over carefully. “Your father's very generous,” he commented.

A man slid some papers over a small table to Damita.

“He always has been,” Damita said. She signed the papers, turned to the young woman, and asked, “What's your name, girl?”

The woman stood straight as an arrow. She faced Damita and said in an even tone, “My name is Charissa Desjardin.”

“That's some name. We'll just call you Rissa. You belong to me now. If you do as you're told, you'll be well treated.” Damita waited for the girl to answer. When she only stood silently, Damita added, “If you misbehave, you'll be whipped.”

A light blazed in the girl's green eyes. “I've been whipped before!” she said defiantly.

“I believe you've got a rebellious servant on your hands,” Lewis said. “She may require a touch of the stick.”

“Get your things,” Damita said.

The girl said in the same tone, “I don't have any things.”

“Come with me, then.”

“I hope she turns out well,” Lewis said.

“Thank you, I'm sure she will. Come along, Rissa.”

Damita turned and left the auction, aware that every eye was upon her. As soon as she stepped outside, she turned to Chantel and said, “I'm going to take my new maid home. Do you want to go with me?”

“No, I think I'd better go back.” Chantel had had enough adventure for one afternoon.

“All right. If the sisters ask about me, tell them I won't be back for the rest of the day. I'll be there tomorrow.”

Chantel left hurriedly, and Damita turned to the girl, who still stood without speaking, and said, “Rissa, I won't put up with sullen behavior.” She waited for the girl to say something. When she got no response, she said, “Answer me when I speak to you.”

The words came reluctantly. “Yes, ma'am.”

Damita looked into the eyes of the young woman and shook her head. “This is a bad beginning, but we'll do better, I'm sure. You just have to learn some manners, and I'll teach you. Come along.” As they walked toward the Madariaga home, she was already thinking about how to approach her father. He was lenient and had spoiled her, but she had taken a big step. She began to feel nervous. She wondered if she had done the right thing.

It will be all right,
she reassured herself.
I'll smooth it over somehow.

Chapter two

Charissa walked quickly down the street, holding a basket in her right hand and a wrapped parcel in the other. The afternoon sunlight of New Orleans illuminated the houses on both sides. Smooth plaster covered most of them, and the Madariaga house had been painted a warm peach shade. It was one of a line of similar structures rising directly from the
banquettes,
as dwellers of the city called the sidewalks. Other homes were blue, some a faint purple, each fitted to the desire and artistic temperament of the owner.