Antebellum BK 1 (31 page)

“
My mother’s always been able to judge other people and then apply a different standard to herself.”

“
My advice is to thrown her damned letter in the river and forget it. If you try to defend yourself by mail, it’ll go on forever. Fight it out with her face to face after her little New Orleans jaunt.”

Anna’s reply was drowned out by the shrill blast of the steam whistle. A moment later, the steady chug of the paddle wheels began to slow and the gurgle of resisting water rose to a roar.

Both women stood up and looked ahead to where the river was narrowed by a sandbar and a large number of mounted men were lining the right riverbank.

“
Trouble?” Nancy asked.

“
It doesn’t look good,” Anna replied.

A crewman came onto the deck and took Nancy’s glass. “You ladies must return to your cabin.”

“
Who are those men?” Anna asked.

“
Border Ruffians,” the man said. Then he hurried away.

“
Let’s go,” Nancy said, pulling Anna by the hand.

Anna followed reluctantly, still trying to see the goings-on up ahead of them. “They’ll come aboard, Nancy. What good does it do to go to our cabin?”

“
For one thing, it gives us time to think.” She continued to drag Anna down the stairs and through the narrow hallway to the tiny stateroom that they shared.

“
If you hadn’t been swilling down mint juleps you’d be thinking clearly.”

Nancy pushed Anna into the cabin and closed the door. “Take your dress off.” Nancy began unbuttoning her own sleeves.

“
What?”

“
If we’re not dressed, they’re less likely to take us off the boat, and it also gives us a better chance of surviving if we have to swim for it.”

“
Being partially dressed may make them less likely to take us off the boat but it could make them more likely to rape us and then throw our dead bodies in the river.”

“
If they want to rape us, a dress won’t make any difference.”

Anna shuddered. “I think I’d prefer being killed to being raped.”

“
That’s nonsense. If you see that you’re going to be raped just give in. Don’t fight, don’t rage or swear that you’re going to see them hang; just go limp and close your eyes.”

“
If I did that I wouldn’t be able to live with myself afterwards.”

“
Yes you could. Trust me.”

Anna looked at her for a long moment and began undressing. “How far should we undress?”

“
Just take your dress, your petticoats, your corset and shoes off.”

“
How do we explain our state of undress?”

“
It’s logical on a warm day like this to be wearing only undergarments in the privacy of our cabin.”

“
What if they open the crates?” Anna asked.

“
We’ll have to pray that the purser doesn’t tell them that the crates are ours.”

The boat had come to a stop and was bobbing in the current.

Anna was still watching Nancy. “Who raped you? Was it my brother William?”

“
The first time was several years before I got involved with William.”

“
The first time?”

“
I don’t want to talk about this right now, Anna.”

“
How could I not know?”

“
You were a child. If you think about it long enough, now that you’re an adult, you’ll probably figure it out. Although I wish you wouldn’t try.”

“
I remember when we were ten or twelve and you started spending more time at our house than you did at home.”

“
You’re on the right track. Now please stop.”

“
Tell me, Nancy.”

“
I’ve already told you more than I ever intended to, and this is no time for a lengthy discussion,” Nancy shouted angrily. “Let it go.”

Anna was about to reply when the boat lurched hard, then bumped against something solid, nearly knocking her off her feet. “They’ve grounded us on that sandbar at the bend in the river.”

“
Hang your clothes on the hooks, then sit down and read your magazine,” Nancy said, regaining her composure. “Everything has to look normal. When they open the door, we’ll both scream as loud as we can. That’ll unnerve almost any man.” She hung up her dress and lay down on the lower bunk.

“
Shouldn’t we lock the door?”

“
No. They’ll try it first. If it’s not locked, they’ll come in. If it’s locked, they’ll demand that we open it and we’ll lose the shock value of screaming.”

“
I’m not a good screamer,” Anna muttered.

“
You have to play the weak female, Anna,” Nancy insisted. “Challenging them will get you gang-raped and murdered. The only hope we have is that they pity us and leave us alone.”

Anna finished hanging her clothes on the rack, then sat down and opened the magazine she’d been reading on deck. “I’m glad you’re thinking clearly.”

“
I always think clearly when I’m terrified.”

“
That’s a gift. I’m about to wet my pants.”

“
Good. If those men start to manhandle you, pee all over yourself. If you can vomit, do that too.”

Anna stared at the magazine for some time without reading. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“
It would have hurt you and it wouldn’t have helped me.”

“
I could have told my father.”

Nancy sat up and looked at her. “And then what would have happened?” She lay back down at the sound of heavy treads on the stairs. “Wait until I start to scream, then join in when I’m about out of breath. It’ll last longer that way.”

~

The passengers and crew of the
Kansas Belle
were crowded together on a muddy sandbar while a dozen raggedy men aimed an assortment of weapons at them from the riverbank. “I’m gonna start killin’ folks if somebody don’t tell me who them cases of Sharps rifles belongs to,” the spokesman warned.

Nancy leaned closer to Anna. “Start backing toward the water and moving to our left toward the center of the crowd when I have their attention,” she whispered.

“
What?” Anna looked at her as if she was crazy.

“
Just do it.” Nancy waved her hand in the air and bounced up and down to see over the heads of the men who were lined up in front of the women and children. “Hallo, sir. The rifles are mine. Hello, sir. Hallo.”

Anna stared at her wide-eyed.

“
Come here, woman,” the leader shouted, gesturing for Nancy to come forward.

Nancy, who was wearing only muddy stockings, pantaloons and a shift, tiptoed daintily through the mud then stopped at the edge of the water and knelt down, clasping her hands as if in prayer. “I confess that I own those sharp rifles, sir.” She looked up at him through her eyelashes and showed him her most repentant face.

He cocked his head at her. “What did you say? Sharp rifles?”

“
Isn’t that what you said?”

“
How many rifles are there?” he asked suspiciously.

“
Several,” she said after a brief pause.

“
How many cases?”

“
I don’t recall, exactly. I think it was quite a few.”

“
How many rifles in a case.”

“
I don’t know.” Nancy hung her head and sobbed. “Please don’t kill anyone. If you must kill someone, kill me and send me to the bosom of my Lord. These men all have families.”

“
Get back there with the other women,” the man shouted angrily.

Nancy stood up, turned around and trudged back toward Anna.

“
Damn bible thumpers. Always lookin’ for a quick way to Heaven.” He glared at the male passengers and crew. “Guess we’ll just kill y’all unless somebody confesses that knows what a Sharps rifle is.”

Silently Nancy took Anna’s hand and led her into the river, then she sank down in the water with just her face above the surface. “Now or never, Anna,” she hissed. “The purser is going to give us up now.”

Anna lay back beside her and they began floating with the current.

April 10, 1853

Lawrence, Kansas

C
olonel Robert Van Buskirk dismounted, threw his reins toward the junior officer beside him and stomped into the lobby of the Free-State Hotel. “Did two middle-aged women check in here earlier today?” he shouted at the desk clerk.

“
Middle-aged?” Anna was standing in the dining room doorway. “Bite your tongue.”

Robert walked toward her and stopped at arm’s length. “I’ve been looking for you for three whole days and nights.”

“
I sent you a wire this morning.”

“
I know,” he said angrily. “That’s why I’m here.”

“
Would you like to come into the dining room and stop making such a scene?” Anna pointed to a table where Nancy was sitting.

Nancy raised her hand and wiggled her fingers at him.

“
God damn it,” Robert said.

“
Oh, my. Mr. Pure-as-the-drifted-snow has taken the Lord’s name in vain.” Anna took her brother’s arm and guided him into the roughly furnished little eating place. “Nancy and I just finished lunch. If you’re hungry, we should go somewhere else. The food here is just dreadful.”

“
I’m not hungry and this is the best place in town.” He bent and kissed Nancy’s offered cheek, then pulled out Anna’s chair for her. “The riverboat captain reported that you drowned.”

“
Now why would he do that?” Nancy asked, looking at Anna.

“
He probably didn’t want to admit that he left the scene without searching for us,” Anna said, sitting down in the chair.

“
You were smuggling rifles to the Free-Staters in crates marked as bibles?” Robert asked.

Anna shrugged. “It’s worked, up until now.”

“
Damn it, Anna,” Robert said. “Don’t you realize that you’re just adding to the violence by arming these abolitionist Free-Staters?”

Nancy raised her eyebrows. “He said ‘damn it’, Anna.”

“
He said ‘God damn it’ when he was in the lobby,” Anna replied.

“
No.” Nancy put her fingertips to her lips in mock horror.

“
We’re not children any more,” Robert grumbled. “You could have been killed. Or worse.”

“
Worse?” Nancy giggled. “What’s worse than being killed?”

“
There are much worse things,” Robert replied seriously. “I’ve seen dozens.”

Anna took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Robert, you’ve chosen a profession that puts your life at risk because you believe that it’s right. Nancy and I believe that what we’re doing’s right. Try to understand that, please.”

He took off his hat and sat down. “Why can’t someone in our family just be normal?”

Anna looked from Nancy back to Robert. “You know something? That’s a really good question.”

April 15
, 1853

New Orleans, Louisiana

I
n response to thunderous applause, Adelina Patti parted the curtains and bowed to her adoring audience. Josiah Whipple came to his feet. “Brava.” He pounded his hands together. “Brava.”

Marina, who was also clapping, stood up beside him and smiled. “Do you forgive me for dragging you here?”

“
For everything except this silly monkey suit,” he said, continuing to applaud.

The diva on stage waved, vanished through the curtains and the house began to quiet and move toward the exit.

Josiah was on the aisle and he stepped out to block the exiting patrons so that Marina could walk out of the row into the aisle. “What was the name of this opera again? Gilda?”

“
No, Rigoletto,” Marina replied. “Didn’t you understand any of it?”