Box Set: The ArringtonTrilogy (11 page)

“If I see you steal out to her again, I will
divorce you,” she said in a steely, unforgiving tone. “And then
what will you be left with? What then!” She spun around. “You can’t
run this plantation without me. You have seen what I can do; you
see what is possible. Those Negroes are finally realizing that if
they don’t work, they will be punished. An iron fist is what works,
Thomas. Unfortunately, you weren’t born with one.”

“I know. You are right in every way. You are
good for me, for the plantation. I need you!”

When Daddy said that, Eugenia’s eyes
softened, and her usually stiff, rigid shoulders lowered
dejectedly.

“Then why don’t you come to me,” she asked,
her eyes unable to look directly up at him. “Not since we’ve been
married have you loved me the way a man loves a woman.”

Daddy brought her in and held her close,
caressing her back, and he moved his hand up to her cheek. I
shuddered watching Daddy kiss her.

With a sickness in the pit of my stomach, I
faded into the shadows and closed the door, shutting off their
intimacy from my mind, telling myself I would have to speak with
Daddy about Hattie when Eugenia was on a day trip into Savannah.
Anything I needed to say to my father would have to be out of
earshot from his wife, for she knew how to seduce Daddy, in every
way.

While swimming in the alcove alone, I
reflected on what a dire situation I was in. Daddy had pulled away
from me and sought the companionship of an ugly, yet admittedly
clever older woman. She was what Daddy thought he needed. He gave
up Mammy, Hattie, and now me.

Was she really a witch in disguise, I
wondered. Did she cast a black-magic spell over him? Did she know
something called voodoo, the magic that some of the slaves often
used?

While in deep thought, floating on my back
and staring up into the canopy of emerald green leaves high above
me, I suddenly caught a glimpse of someone from the corner of my
eye.

Startled, I quickly turned over and knelt
down, using the dark river water to cover my naked body. There was
more than one person, and I could hear giggles behind the tree
trunks.

“Who’s there!” I called with a booming voice,
trying not to sound timid. My eyes scanned the forest. “I know
you’re there. Come out!”

In just a blink of an eye, I saw that it was
John Mason and Susannah, who had snatched my clothes and run off
with them, laughing hysterically until their laughter faded in the
distance.

“Come back! You can’t leave me here with no
clothes!” I cried. “Please come back!”

I waited and waited for what seemed like
hours, shivering in the water, surrounded only by familiar faint
forest sounds, trying to decide what to do.

The day was growing late, and I was turning
into a prune. My teeth couldn’t stop from chattering. Finally I
gave up hope of them returning my clothing and ending the cruel
prank, and I climbed out and hid behind a tree.

“How am I going to get home?” I cried to
myself.

John Mason was always mean to me, and now he
had just turned plain cruel.

After sitting and pondering my dilemma for
some time, I grew tired and hungry, and I knew I had to make my way
home. I took a deep breath, and started toward home, telling myself
that I was fully clothed, lying to myself and denying what a
humiliating situation it really was.

When I thought I heard a voice or footstep, I
jumped behind a tree to hide and slowly peeked around to see if
anyone was there. Every time, it was my imagination or just a
forest critter scurrying under a pile of leaves or a bird
fluttering in the branches of the tree above, until I was about
halfway home.

Eliza Sue was walking with two of her little
sisters. She was close enough for me to call out without exposing
myself.

“Eliza Sue! Over here!”

She stopped walking and looked for where the
voice was coming from.

“It’s me, Amelia. I’m behind the tree!”

“Amelia?”

“Yes, please come closer,” I begged.

She told her sisters to stay put and came
toward me and said curiously, “What are you doing hiding behind the
tree?”

“John Mason went and took all my clothes when
I was swimming down by the river,” I explained in a pitiful
whisper.

Eliza Sue was short and chubby. Her plump
face was pale and full of freckles around her nose and cheeks. She
wasn’t exactly a pretty girl, but her blonde hair was full and
shiny, with thick, wide streaks of platinum blonde highlights. I
always envied her hair. All of her sisters had dark-colored hair,
like Perry Montgomery and his wife. Eliza Sue once told me that she
had inherited the color of her hair from her paternal
great-grandmother, who was of Swedish decent, apparently.

Her sisters Edna and Martha approached with
curiosity.

“Tell them to stay back,” I ordered.

Eliza Sue instructed them to stay put.

“Go get me a dress, something to wear. I’ll
stay here until you return.”

“But Amelia, none of my clothes will fit
you,” she said.

“It doesn’t matter. Anything will do,” I
implored.

“All right, I’ll find something.”

“Hurry, please!” I cried.

Eliza Sue went off, with her sisters in
tow.

“Hurry!” I called again. She turned, waved,
and hurried along.

I clung to the tree as the only means to
shield my nakedness. My body was changing dramatically that summer.
It was strange to see my baby body transform into a new, womanly
figure. When I looked at the other girls my age at church, I could
see I was maturing earlier than most. I knew that’s why Daddy kept
his distance, but it was just the opposite with all other men.

That’s why when Perry Montgomery came into
the woods looking for me, I was frightened. Why hadn’t Eliza Sue
returned?

“Amelia, Eliza Sue explained what happened. I
brought you a dress. One of Myrna’s dresses that she can no longer
fit into,” he called out.

I closed my eyes and took deep breaths to try
and calm myself. No man had ever seen me naked, let alone a married
man whose eager eyes followed me whenever we were in the same room.
If Perry Montgomery could have undressed me with those eyes, I knew
he would have.

Since the night he came out onto the gallery
and told me how beautiful I was, he had been even more intrigued
with me. After formal suppers and heavy drinking with the men, he
would excuse himself and follow me, even to my own bedroom.

“Please, Mr. Montgomery,” I whispered when he
quickened his pace after me. I always managed to get to my room and
lock the door. I was a bundle of nerves around him. I no longer
imagined a lovers’ union with him. I grew too afraid of the way my
body reacted to my thoughts and fantasies about him. It was wrong,
and I feared his gaze, his chase, and most of all, his touch. All
those dreams, I soon realized, should have remained just that.

“Why didn’t Eliza Sue bring them?” I asked,
praying he would just drop the dress and leave me.

“After she told me what happened, I knew it
would be best if I took you home. I can explain everything to
Eugenia. I know how she is,” he said with great self assurance. “I
wouldn’t want you to get into trouble.”

He was right. If Eugenia found out I had gone
to the river, I would be punished. Even though she knew losing my
clothes wasn’t my fault, she would blame me, regardless.

I silently struggled with what to do. I had
never been in such a predicament. He must have sensed my
concern.

“I will drop the dress by the tree. I promise
to turn and not look while you are dressing. I am a gentleman,
Amelia. A married man with daughters of my own. I, of course, will
respect you.”

“All right,” I said, resigned, and listened
as he dismounted his horse and walked toward the tree. Then I heard
the plop of the dress falling into a small pile of leaves.

I reached around, felt for the dress, and as
soon as I had it in my hands, I snatched it up. I dressed as
quickly as I could. I heard him pat his horse several times, all
while he was whistling a tune. When I was done, I stepped out and
finally took a much-needed breath. As his gaze fell on me, my heart
suddenly began to beat out of control.

“You look lovely in that dress. Myrna could
never do it justice,” he said, and smiled.

“I should be getting home,” I said, nervously
looking away. Perhaps it was all those years I had gazed lovingly
at him. Maybe I was at fault because I was the one who instigated
his longing.

“Yes, let’s go.” He reached for my hand to
lift me onto his horse.

“I can walk,” I said, keeping a fair
distance.

“That’s nonsense. The faster we get you home,
the better. Now come, let me lift you.”

Perry Montgomery came to me, and I swallowed
hard while pleading with my eyes for him not to touch me. He
responded with an empathetic smile and offered me an apology before
lifting me up onto his horse.

“My dear Amelia, I have put you in a
compromising position more often than I care to admit. I am ashamed
of pursuing you, a young girl no older than my own daughter,” he
began in a soft voice. I stared up at him, trying hard to contain
my exasperation and fear of him being so close to me again. As he
continued, however, I realized he was offering a sincere apology
for all his inappropriate behavior.

“Lately I’ve been drinking a bit too much,
which causes me to do things I wouldn’t normally do. I, along with
your father, have a lot of financial pressures, and the constant
talk and threat of the abolition of slavery has us all in a
tailspin. Then there is my wife, whom I love dearly. She has been
having a difficult time and shuns me.”

His confession was much too personal, and it
made me very uncomfortable. I didn’t want to hear about all these
adult issues or to know how lonely he was without the company of
his wife.

“I have noticed you since you were a young
girl. You are stunning and so mature for your age.”

“Can’t we just get back, Mr. Montgomery?” I
choked out.

He sighed heavily and nodded.

“Yes, we should. But first, will you accept
my apology, Amelia? Will you forgive this nearly middle-aged man,
who at times can’t refrain from wanting a beautiful woman, even if
she isn’t quite a woman yet?”

I nodded as if I understood. But I didn’t.
Not at the time. I didn’t understand Daddy or Perry Montgomery. Did
grown men always chase after and violate things that didn’t belong
to them, only to beg for forgiveness in the end?

~ ~ ~

Eugenia was waiting for me as expected, with
a face full of rage and eyes that shot daggers through me. If it
weren’t for Perry Montgomery’s explanation, which to my surprise
was an outright lie, I certainly would have been banished to my
room for eternity.

“My dear aunt, Amelia was invited to help
prepare for the birthday festivities for tomorrow,” he explained
through his confident smile. He discretely winked at me, indicating
I should go along with his tall tale.

“Eliza Sue asked if Amelia could come. It is
going to be a huge party, with all the children and their families
from the surrounding plantations invited. Surely you have no qualms
about Amelia coming to help?”

Perry Montgomery carried me down from the
horse. I fretfully stood in his shadow, avoiding Eugenia’s
glare.

“Amelia did not ask permission to do such
thing, Perry,” she spat. “When she was called for supper and
discovered missing, well…”

Perry Montgomery interrupted. “All is well,
Aunt Eugenia. It was my fault she didn’t ask for permission.”

“Your fault?”

“You see, when Eliza Sue asked for Amelia, I
told her I would have to speak with you first, of course, and seek
your permission. I forgot, and I apologize, Aunt Eugenia, for such
a thoughtless oversight.”

His voice was smooth, and his hand gestures
flowed in the air as if he were waving a magic wand before him. And
perhaps there was some sort of invisible wand, for Eugenia’s glare
slowly vanished, and a tight, unnatural smile came to her face.

“I see. Well then, I accept your apology,
Perry. However, please don’t allow such an oversight to happen
again.”

“Of course,” he replied and tipped his hat to
go. “Until tomorrow, ladies.”

He gallantly climbed up onto his horse and
rode off, leaving me to face Eugenia alone.

“Get washed up for supper. You can eat in
your room while you make up for all the Bible studies you have
forsaken today,” she snapped and went inside.

When I was up in my room, I breathed a long
sign of relief, plopped onto my bed, took out my journal, and
wrote:

Today, July 25th, 1859, Perry Montgomery was
a true gentleman and apologized for his unseemly conduct. I am
relieved he will now see me as the young girl I am, though he
declared how beautiful I am. It is not easy to avoid falling madly
for a man who is so fine looking, however I am certain someday a
young, single gentleman will come into my life and sweep me off my
feet. Then all the tingles that run through my body will be
warranted. Then passion will be permitted, for the man I fall in
love with will be sent to me as my true, unadulterated one and
only.

The morning of Eliza Sue’s party was warm and
dewy; the heavy mist of a lingering evening storm had finally
passed.

Perry Montgomery wasn’t anywhere in sight as
we pulled up before his plantation house. Children were scattered
about, running and laughing as their mothers looked on while
conversing with the hostess and lady of the house, Myrna
Montgomery. I was hoping Perry Montgomery would stay indoors with
the other men, including Daddy, in the library, and stay far from
the women. But to my dismay, as I climbed out of the buggy, he
appeared. Eugenia was at my side, and for the first time I felt she
was a shield for me, a human shield to protect me from the
long-lasting stares and eager gazes I often received from men,
especially from one particular man.