The Price of Freedom (16 page)

“This is quite an investment in
machinery," Richard noted looking around.

His uncle nodded. "That's why
only the biggest plantations can do the processing. It is definitely a
significant investment. Seen enough?"

Richard nodded and they were
almost at the door when a slave came running from the mill house.

"Master Thomas, Master Thomas
come quick! Jacko
hand get
catch in the rollers and
Sambo had to cut it off."

"Oh,
God!"
Thomas took off running. "Send one of the stable boys
for the doctor in Jamestown."

Richard followed him, unsure of
what he would find. There was chaos in the room, with all the slaves recounting
to his uncle what had happened at once. Fortunately Jacko had passed out from
the shock and someone had wrapped his hand, or the stump, in a dirty looking
sack. It appeared that his hand had only been cut off at the wrist, thanks to
the quick action of Sambo. Blood was all over the floor and more seeped through
the sack.

"Get him to his hut and clean
up this blood," instructed Thomas. "Throw out that batch of juice.
What a waste of good cane juice.”

"Does this happen often?"
Richard asked shaken, as they walked into the yard, taking several deep
breaths.

"Not very,
thankfully.
But that's why we have Sambo standing by. At least he only
lost the hand and not the whole arm but what’s the use of a slave with one
hand? I’ll have to decide what to do with him when he recovers."

"I had no idea that
cultivating sugar was this hard."

"Make no mistake, it is a
very rewarding business but it is one of the hardest ways to make money. There
are a lot of problems to deal with: pests, weeds, diseases, fires and now we
have, added to those, competition from Jamaica.  Because of its size it
can produce sugar in volumes that we can’t and the soil there is virgin whereas
our soil is wearing out and we have to constantly manure it to put back in the
nutrients.”

Business was a constant challenge,
especially starting something new like rice cultivation. Richard knew that not
only would he have to invest significantly to drain the land so that rice could
be planted and to buy slaves to cultivate it but there was no guarantee that it
would pay off. Anything could happen to the slaves, like the accident today or
they could succumb to diseases and die.  Then again business was always a
risk, so he had to be certain that this was in fact the course he wanted to
take. After all he was giving up his own freedom to pursue it.

When the house slaves heard that
they were to move out of their huts and into the house there was much
rejoicing, never mind that the rooms that were to be given to them were by no
means large and would have to be cleaned out. Just to be under a roof that was
not made of plantain leaves and to have a floor under their feet that was not
dirt was pure luxury for them.

Sarah and Deborah were to share a
room at the end of the hallway that was being used as a store room, while the
others were to share a larger room near to the door that led to the kitchen.
When Sarah had lived inside the house, she had a room just off the nursery,
before the mistress ordered her to move into a hut in the yard when she was no
longer needed as a nanny. She had never complained to the master and he didn’t
seem to realize that she was no longer in the house.  The only time he saw
her was in his room anyway. 

The room they were to occupy was
not as big or as nice as the one upstairs but it was an improvement on the hut
they lived in and it had a sizeable window which overlooked the drying yard and
was breezy.

“Isn’t it strange that we are to
move back into the house after all these years?” Deborah remarked to her
mother. “I wonder if it has anything to do with Master Richard’s visit to our
hut?” she mused.

“You think he said something to
shame the master about how we were living?”

“If he said anything, I don’t
think he would have said it in a way to shame the master, but he may have
pointed out the benefits of having us under the same roof.”

“All I know is that I am glad to
be living in the big house again so that we won’t have to run through the rain
to do our work and I won’t have to leave you in the hut alone at night when the
master calls for me.”

Deborah didn’t even realize that
her mother had worried about that since she had never felt unsafe in the hut.
Nevertheless she much preferred to be living in the house, even if it put her
in closer proximity to Master Richard.

Jethro was given orders to make
simple cots for them and Sarah was to make mattresses to fit them which she
would stuff with cotton that was not good enough to sell. Although far from
luxurious, the beds would be a welcome change from the pallets that they slept
on.

Deborah reflected on how Richard’s
presence was changing their lives, and she had to admit for the better. She had
no idea how much more hers was about to change because of him.

Richard’s conversation with his
uncle about buying Deborah dug in like a stubborn mule and refused to leave his
head. Questions kept him awake at night.  Should he buy Deborah? Would she
resent him if he did? She had told him more than once that she did not want to
be owned by anyone, especially him. Did he really need to buy her to get her
into his bed?  Would it be worth it? She might turn out to be as cold as
she acted sometimes. Although in spite of her coldness he sensed that she was
not as immune to him as she pretended.

He remembered the last time he had
found her by the grove and buried his fingers in her hair.  She had pulled
back with a look of panic on her face but he had sensed that it wasn’t fear of
him as such, so perhaps it was more fear of the feelings he had stirred in her.
He hoped so.

If he was staying longer in
Barbados he could take his time and break down her resistance but he barely had
two months left and he wanted her badly.  He wasn’t even interested in
calling Hattie to his room anymore, he only wanted Deborah.

He had to get this girl out of his
system. Thoughts of Carolina, his fiancée and Anise were far from his
mind.  All he could think of was Deborah. Every time he closed his eyes
before he went to sleep, the picture of long wavy brown hair and green eyes
seemed to be stamped on the inside of his eyelids and the image of her as he
untied her from the whipping post was implanted firmly in his mind.

So if his uncle was willing to
sell her to him, and he seemed on the verge of doing so, then she would be
his.  But that did not mean she would come to him willingly and he wanted
her to be willing.  What would be an incentive to her?  What did she
want more than anything? 
Her freedom.
  He
knew that he couldn’t take her back to Carolina with him so he would agree to
free her when he left.  That would probably be the worse business decision
he had ever made. 

The girl must have totally
bewitched him for him to even consider that.  His uncle would probably
think he was crazy and if his father found out he would surely be convinced
that he was right not to let him have the full run of the business or to buy a
plantation. Richard smiled.  He didn’t care. Right now he couldn’t think
of anything he could buy that would give him as much pleasure as owning
Deborah.

Thomas lay back against pillows
replete as he watched Sarah put back on her plain skirt and blouse that were by
no means attractive.  He wondered at that.  His wife wore the latest
fashions from England but he was unmoved by her.  Sarah wore cheap, drab
clothes and she stirred his blood.  How was he to let her go?  Who
could he sell her to and be assured that they would treat her well? He didn’t
see how he could ever sell Sarah. And did it make sense to sell Deborah to Richard
when he was going back soon? Not only that but it wouldn’t really appease
Elizabeth.

As if she read his thoughts Sarah
said: “Master, I’m afraid for Deborah.  After what happened this week I
don’t know what else the mistress will try to do.”

“Don’t worry about Deborah. She
will be fine. I have spoken to the mistress.”

“What about Master Richard? He
seem
to have his eyes on her.  I don’t want anything
happening to her again like what happened with Master William.”

“Richard is not like William,
Sarah.”  Sarah knew that but she also knew that lust could sometimes drive
men to do things that they would not normally do.

Sarah took a breath to give
herself
courage.  It was now or never. She went and sat
on the bed resting her thigh against his. “Master Thomas, would you ever think
about freeing Deborah and me?”

“I have thought about freeing you
in my will and leaving you a little money to buy some property.” Even as he
said it, he knew that he should amend his will to make sure that happened even
if he sold Deborah to Richard.

“Thank you, Master but suppose
Master William don’t carry out your wishes?” 

“Sarah, you worry too much,” he
dismissed her fears but Thomas knew that she had real cause to worry about
William.

Should he consider freeing them
before he died? He could count the number of slaves who had been freed in wills
on one hand, far less while their masters were still alive. That was just not
done. That didn’t mean it could not be done.  He would have to give it
some more thought.

Maybe if he freed Sarah, he could
set her up in Town and see her whenever he went to town. That way he would
still have her and not have to put up with Elizabeth’s nagging. He would not
see her as often, but if he needed relief in between his visits he could always
call Cassie or Hattie.

“I will think on it, Sarah.”

“Thank you Master Thomas.” 
Impulsively she grabbed his hand and rested it against her cheek.

“Good night, Sarah.”  He
smiled at the gesture.

“Good night, Master Thomas.” 
Sarah let herself out of the room quietly with a hopeful smile on her face. At
least he had not said no.

Elizabeth heard the door of
Thomas’ room closing and gritted her teeth. The slave woman was leaving her
husband’s bed which she had not been invited to share in years. The pain of
rejection surprised her for surely it should have diminished by now.

She wondered what she could do to
hurt him as he hurt her. Although he had never struck her, as some husbands
were known to do, that didn’t make her pain any less real.  Even though
she knew that the slaves he had bedded over the years were just for physical
relief and to show that he was lord of all he owned, she still resented it,
especially his relationship with Sarah. Was it more than physical?  Could
he possibly love the slave?

She hated the fact that Thomas had
the freedom to do whatever he wanted while she had no control over her own
life.  She was just as much a chattel as the slaves that he owned. First
William had been sent away and she had no say in the matter.  Then Richard
had stopped Jethro from whipping Deborah when she had ordered him to do
so.  He even had Richard as his ally rather than hers, even though he was
her nephew.

The two of them were growing very
close, spending hours shut away in Thomas’ study, discussing who knew what, and
she could see that Thomas had become very fond of Richard.  Would he take
William’s place in Thomas’ affections?  Would Thomas try to persuade him
to stay in Barbados and help run the plantation?  What would that mean for
William?

Now Thomas was bringing the slaves
into the house after all these years and she felt certain that it might be due
to Richard’s influence.  Her title as mistress was a farce, for even the
house slaves defied her and did what they wanted. Well Sarah and Deborah
anyway. That was why she had to get rid of them.

Thomas had said he would give some
thought to it but she wondered if he was to be believed or if he was just
pacifying her. Well she would make his life unbearable if he didn’t get rid of
them soon. For when they were gone, she would regain control of her household
and maybe even win her husband’s affections once again.

Sarah hurried out to her hut,
thankful that she would not have to leave the house in the darkness for much
longer.  She hoped that Deborah was still awake because she was eager to
tell her what the master has said.