On to Richmond (12 page)

             
Carrie knew he had probably heard every word that had passed between them.  Voices carried easily from the parlor.  Slowly, she nodded her head.  “I know...  You’re right,” she said halfheartedly.   Then her face tightened.  “Do you think she’ll tell my father?”

             
Sam shrugged his shoulders.  “Your daddy gonna find out what’s goin’ on ‘round here sooner or later.   But I don’t reckon he be findin’ out from her.  People like dat girl... well, they just like to cause trouble and make other people squirm.  They’s too busy takin’ care of demselves, though, to think much ‘bout other people when they ain’t close enough to pester.”

             
Carrie nodded thoughtfully and then managed to smile.  “I’ll take that food now, Sam.” 

             
Louisa was furious as she rolled away from the Cromwell Plantation.  Her cheeks were flushed red, and her blue eyes were shooting sparks.  “You’ll be sorry for that, Carrie Cromwell,” she muttered under her breath.  She would never think of talking loud enough for her driver to hear.  She was still mortified that Carrie had as much as ordered her out of her home within hearing distance of her butler. 

             
She was busily calculating her revenge, a mile or so from the house, when a lone figure on horseback moved into the road from the surrounding woods.   The man looked up as the carriage drew nearer and then moved over to the side of the road to let them pass easily.   Louisa barely glanced at him as her driver slowed.  She was far more interested in her thoughts than in a strange man. 

             
“Miss Blackwell.”

             
Louisa looked up sharply as the slight, wiry man lifted his hat in greeting.  There was something familiar about him, but she couldn’t place him.

             
“Ike Adams, ma’am.”

             
Still she couldn’t place him.  She moved forward to tell her driver to continue on.  His next words erased her thoughts. 

             
“The old overseer at Cromwell Plantation, ma’am.”

             
“Stop the carriage,” she ordered quickly then looked at him with new interest as the carriage rolled to a halt under the spreading arms of an oak tree.  She didn’t particularly like what she saw.  Something about him was rather unsettling.  Maybe it was the cruel slant of his eyes.  Or the cocky bearing as he looked down at her.  “Mr. Adams,” she murmured, feeling slightly uneasy but angry enough at Carrie to pursue the conversation.

             
“I see you’ve been to visit our Miss Cromwell,” Adams observed.

             
Louisa’s face flushed with renewed anger as she thought of Carrie.  “She is certainly not
my
Miss Cromwell,” she said sharply. 

             
Adams seemed to eye her with greater interest, and then he moved his horse closer to the carriage. 

             
“I take it it wasn’t a pleasant visit,” he said smoothly, an oily smile on his face. 

             
Louisa didn’t usually lower herself to bother conversing with strange overseers, but she was eager to vent her frustration to anyone who would listen. “Carrie Cromwell can be quite unreasonable,” she said crisply then sighed heavily as she cast her eyes down.  She was quite experienced with the effect she could have on men.

             
“So I have seen,” Adams remarked dryly.

             
“Of course,” Louisa said even though she had no idea why Carrie had thrown the man off of her plantation.  It would be best to be cautious.  “I have heard you are no longer employed by Cromwell Plantation.”

             
Adams barked a laugh.  “I imagine you’ve heard a lot more than just that.  I reckon I’m the talk of the area.  It ain’t everyone that gets tossed out on their ear by a girl,” he said bitterly. 

             
“No, I suppose not,” Louisa agreed.  She was intrigued to see where this conversation could lead.  She waited for him to continue.

             
Adams was happy to vent.  “She was wrong, you know.  I was just doing my job.  If her daddy knew what she had done, I’d have my job back in a heartbeat!”

             
Something in Adams’ face said he was lying, but Louisa didn’t really care.  She was feeling no sense of loyalty to her old time friend. 

             
“How’s everything going on the plantation now, Miss Blackwell?”  Adams voice had taken on a wheedling, yet vulnerable tone.  “I sure do miss that place.”

             
“I suppose everything is going all right.  I wasn’t there for very long.  The house was certainly in fine shape.”  When Adams flushed in anger, she sensed she had not given him the answer he wanted.  An idea began to take shape.  “What are you doing now, Mr. Adams?”  Her voice was more pleasant.

             
“Trying to help slave owners like yourself hold onto their valuable property.  I am  at anyone’s service any time of the day or night.”

             
“You’re a slave hunter,” Louisa commented flatly.  She could not imagine a more repulsive life than one spent hunting down runaway slaves, but she knew someone had to do it. 

             
“That’s right, Miss Blackwell.  I’m a slave hunter.”  Adams said coldly as if he detected the disdain in her voice. 

             
Louisa realized quickly that she had not responded in the best way.  Obviously the man’s pride had been battered by Carrie’s actions.  She batted her eyes at him as she gazed up.  “You misunderstand,” she said quickly. “I think it’s wonderful what you do.  I’m sure many people appreciate your services.” 

             
Adams appeared somewhat mollified.  A half smile formed on his lips as he looked at her. 

             
Louisa’s plan had taken form while they talked.  She was ready.  “I’ve heard some of the Cromwell slaves are missing from the plantation again,” she said casually, watching him carefully.  When Adams’ face tightened, she knew he was thinking about the slaves that had escaped when he was still overseer.  “Not the ones who ran away last summer.  I’m talking about more recently.”

             
Adams’ eyes narrowed as he shifted in his saddle.  “Miss Cromwell tell you that?” he asked sharply.

             
“No,” Louisa admitted.  “But talk gets around, you know.” 

             
Adams’ lips tightened, but he didn’t say anything.

             
Louisa knew she was getting somewhere by the bright calculating gleam in his eye.  She had him thinking.  “I imagine those slaves are worth a lot of money.”

             
“All Cromwell slaves are worth a lot of money,” he stated flatly.  “Worth more every day now that the war is going on.  Their value just keeps going up.  People know niggers are gonna be harder to come by.”

             
Good
,   Louisa thought.  She tried to keep her voice nonchalant.  “I imagine Mr. Cromwell would be extremely eager to recoup his investment.”

             
“Possibly.” 

             
She knew Adams was watching her more closely, wondering where she was headed.  Taking a deep breath, she laid her cards on the table.  “I imagine Mr. Cromwell would be very appreciative to the man who told him about his missing slaves and then recaptured them.  Probably would want to see that man as overseer, even if his darling daughter didn’t.”

             
Adams peered even harder at her.  “What you got against Carrie Cromwell, ma’am?” 

             
Louisa shrugged.  “I’m merely suggesting that Thomas Cromwell might appreciate your services.  You can do with that information what you want.”  She knew by the cold gleam in his eyes that she had planted an idea he would at least think about.  As she looked at the cruel twist to his lips, she felt a twinge of remorse and then shoved it aside.  Carrie could act high and mighty if she wanted to, but at some point she would have to learn that her actions were simply unacceptable.  She had tried going in friendship to warn her, but it had done no good.  It was time her father knew the truth about what was really going on at Cromwell Plantation.

             
Adams lifted his hat, smiled briefly, and said, “Thank you for the information, Miss Blackwell.  Have a nice day.”  Touching his hand to his hat, he broke into a gentle canter and moved down the road away from the carriage. 

             
Louisa looked after him with a satisfied smile and then spoke sharply to her driver.  “Move ahead.” 

Carrie’s heart was still pounding furiously when Granite broke out of the woods into the small clearing along the James.  She had been so upset by Louisa’s visit that all she could think to do was come to her place.  Swinging down from Granite, she strode over to her log and settled onto it.  Her mind raced as she looked out over the placid water of the river.  She almost resented its serene surface.  She would have liked it better if it was being rolled and tossed by a savage wind.  Then it would more clearly match her emotions.

              She didn’t know how long she had sat there before she took any notice of her surroundings.  The tiny clearing was like a green palace.  Low hanging limbs of oak and maple reached down to embrace the flower-laden grass.  Water lapped gently at the bank a few feet from where she sat.  It bore no evidence of the flood that had covered it weeks before.  Mother Nature had reclaimed it as soon as the water had receded.

             
It had been months since she had had time to escape to her haven.  She longed for the carefree days of youth when she had spent endless hours hidden away from the world in her secret place.  She had only brought one person here...

             
At the thought of Robert, her cheeks burned anew.  She could imagine him and Louisa together laughing about her - talking about her - making fun of her.

             
You don’t know how much of what she said was truth...
  The thought that had flitted through her mind came back to her as she stared out over the river.   Carrie knew Louisa was capable of saying anything.  For all she knew, the girl had never even seen Robert.  She could have made it all up to make her angry.

             
For a long while, Carrie allowed her thoughts to be occupied by Robert.  Here, protected by the trees that had watched her grow up, she allowed the memories and special moments to spill through her mind.  She felt relieved when tears rolled up and then spilled down her cheeks.  She knew she was nearing the breaking point, or Louisa’s visit and caustic words wouldn’t have bothered her so much. She would have simply gotten rid of the troublesome girl and then laughed about it.   There was no laughter in her now. 

Gradually the peace of her sanctuary worked its magic.  As the sun began to sink beyond the horizon
, she could think clearly again.  Louisa might very well have seen Robert.  They might have laughed together about her.  Their actions now had nothing to do with the action she had taken two months ago.  She would do the same thing again.  Carrie sighed as she settled back against a log and let the soft breeze blow over her hot face.  She knew she had done the right thing.  She could only be responsible for her own actions - she couldn’t mandate what other people did or how they perceived her.  Once she came to that conclusion, she regained her sense of peace.