Promise Bridge (31 page)

“I must find a way to protect Livie and Jameson. Let’s go talk to your father.”

Colt shook his head. “It’s to our advantage that he doesn’t know we are aware of his vindictive scheme. Though it sickens me, he is closer in moral fiber to Twitch than he is to me. If he plans to take James and Livetta’s child, it is not solely to appease Twitch. I am certain it is in response to the slave disappearance. Father knows there is a threat from within, and he could be ruined if he is labeled a slave rustler who lines his pockets with ill-gotten ransom squeezed from fellow planters. He is using the child as a display of power and sending the message that he will strike out if challenged again.”

“I will never forgive myself,” I said with a sickened heart. “I left Livie vulnerable in the worst possible way. I would tell her to run, but childbirth has drained her strength. Without sufficient knowledge of the mountain terrain, Livie would have little chance of escape, especially with a newborn to keep content and quiet. My God, Colt, what can we do?”

“I think we should talk to Augusta.”

“Have you gone mad?” I huffed in outraged amusement. “Aunt Augusta hates Livie as much as she does me. The two of us are an abomination in her eyes. After the argument we had inside, Aunt Augusta would garner great satisfaction in seeing me punished at Livie’s expense. She is not going to help us.”

“Well, we are not going to solve this tonight,” he sighed. “But I beg you not to exacerbate the situation by going down into Mud Run. Livetta is settled in for some much-needed rest, and she will surely sense your anxiety.”

“How much time do we have?”

“Probably not much time at all. I suspect they have already made some preliminary inquiries through Twitch’s contacts. For the right price, any slave trader would take the child and sell him downriver. They could make it happen quite suddenly, although I hope they would have the sense to give the child a couple of weeks for healthy growth.”

“Good sense is not Twitch’s forte.”

“True,” Colt said with disconcerting frankness. “For now, allow me to take you back inside. You look exhausted. With a night’s rest, our thoughts and alternatives will be clearer in the morning.”

Colt bid me good night when we entered the house. His words were tired and resigned with foreboding expression, leaving me chilled as I ascended the stairs. I did not hear him make his leave by way of the front door. He may have thought it wise to smooth Aunt Augusta’s ruffled feathers on my behalf. It was of no use. Aunt Augusta and I had reached a parting of the ways. I no longer planned on living in contrite obedience to her rule. She, on the other hand, commanded compliance or expulsion. I believed we both recognized the impasse between us, but ever the peacekeeper, Colt would attempt to negotiate a truce. I loved him and pitied him for wanting it to be so.

I battled my way through a fitful sleep marred by night terrors. Livie crept into my dozing thoughts, the sight of her bringing me comfort, then heartbreak as the shadows of my mind transformed into the menacing image of Twitch. His vile presence in my dreams chased Livie into the darkness. I called out to her, but my voice echoed through the emptiness surrounding me. My hands trembled as I felt my way through the blank surroundings, not fearful of being alone, but terrified of not finding my way back to Livie. A distant cry heightened my urgency, but the darkness swallowed me deeper. My footsteps took me closer to the restless whimper, yet I could not locate it in the night. I spun round and round until a hand jerked me from my nightmare.

The soft flame shimmering from my bedside lamp cascaded a warm glow across my bed. Livie stood over me, one hand on my shoulder, the other cradling her son. Jameson squirmed and fussed while she swayed to comfort him. I recognized his intermittent cries as those heard in my dream. Livie must have entered my room and was watching me sleep. Dawn had not yet lifted from the shadows, so her presence startled me.

“What is it, Liv?” I said, shifting upward on my pillow. “You should be resting. I am not experienced with the ways of birthing, but Esther Mae says the lying-in period is important to your health.”

“Jameson was fussin’, so I walked the floor fo’ a spell, then decided to walk your way.”

“You look troubled.”

“So much is happening,” she said, easing onto the edge of my bed with the now-dozing baby. “Too much . . . too fast. Can’t rightly get my thoughts straight in my head.”

I was certain she was not aware of Willy Jack’s warning. However, I understood her dismay. In barely two days’ time, she had given up her dream of leaving with Marcus, her husband was severely beaten, she gave birth to her first child, and now James was snatched away, leaving her alone and unsure of their future. Guilt coursed through me. I leaned over to kiss Jameson on the forehead, then did the same to Livie’s cheek.

“I am so sorry for the heartache my naïveté has brought on you, Liv. You have suffered great loss on so many levels, and I bear responsibility for the pain you are harboring in your soul.”

“Don’t wanna hear none o’ that talk, girl,” she interjected, not knowing she had yet another blow to endure. “You been good to me. You care about me with the heart of a friend, same as I do you. Don’t never forget that.”

“I promise you I will find a way to bring James back to Mud Run.”

Livie snuggled Jameson into my arms. He opened his eyes and stared up at me, and then he wriggled his body with a sleepy stretch. One arm broke free of his blanket, allowing me to touch his tiny hand and raise it to my lips to kiss each finger. When I looked up to smile at Livie, her eyes were brimming with heavy tears.

“Look at my beautiful boy.” She sniffled with a mother’s pride. “He is makin’ a promise bridge with you. He’s givin’ thanks and sayin’ the goodness we shared will live in him too.”

Livie slipped her arms around me as I cradled Jameson and wept on my shoulder. I nestled my head against hers and rocked; however, neither she nor I could be comforted as easily as Jameson, who blinked wearily, then drifted off to sleep.

“You must get some rest, Livie. Stay here with me until morning.”

Livie wiped the tears from her cheeks and lifted Jameson from my arms. “I best be leavin’ now. Don’t wanna cause no more ruckus. I just felt the need to come to you. I will always be grateful to you, my friend.”

“I will come to the cabin in the morning with a plate of Granny’s griddle cakes.”

Livie walked across the room, pausing at the door. “Don’t come too early. Wait till midday or so.”

I dozed off, feeling calmer and more determined to derail Uncle Mooney’s revenge on James. Livie’s visit reminded me of all we had overcome to this point, and I could not let it be for naught. The first glint of sunrise sparked me awake. My mind pondered ways to protect Jameson from being sold away, each hopeful thought dashed by the knowledge that Uncle Mooney’s motives were not driven by sensibility or even business gain. His intent was solely to inflict heartless emotional punishment where his whip fell short. No reasoning or plea for reconsideration would be entertained. More likely, it would feed his hunger for revenge. My stomach clenched as every idea forming in my mind fell apart and left me with nothing but the promise of Twitch’s vicious cackle taunting me, as it did all those years ago when he snapped the wings of his captured crows.

Hushed voices near the porch coaxed me from my bed. At this hour, only Runians would be stirring and moving toward the fields, so I went to the window to see who was in our front yard so early. There, in the soft pink glow of the new day, stood Winston helping Aunt Augusta into her carriage. I had not known Aunt Augusta was leaving for the day, but I could not deny feeling relief. Any confrontation with her would be delayed until her return. Generally when she left at an early hour, she was traveling a long distance, so I hoped the reprieve would stretch into a day or two. Esther Mae looked to be in the carriage as well, so perhaps Aunt Augusta was traveling to Cumberland Gap.

I dressed quickly, wanting to make the most of the day. When I entered the kitchen, I was met by Esther Mae’s startled face. A pan of corn muffins flipped from her hands when I walked in. She dropped to her knees, fumbling to pick up the muffins scattered across the floor.

“What you doin’ up already, chile? You shouldn’t be fussin’ about this time o’ day. Go on, now,” she said without taking a breath between sentences. “I will bring you breakfast on a tray. Hot and in yo’ bed. That’s right. No need to be fussin’ about.”

I had never seen Esther Mae so flustered. Her jabbering put me on edge. Immediately, the figure I assumed to be Esther Mae in the carriage sprung into my mind.

“Esther Mae, who was in the carriage with Aunt Augusta?”

Still on her knees, Esther Mae refused to look up at me. “Nobody wit’ Miz ’Gusta,” she babbled. “Don’t know nothin’ about nothin’. I gots’ta clean this here mess I done made. You shouldn’t be fussin’ about, now, girl. Go on upstairs so Granny and me can fix you a fine—”

Panic struck me. I bolted across the room and out the pantry door. Esther Mae called after me, “Leave it be, miz! Don’t go down there. It ain’t no place fo’ you!”

Plunging down the hill into Mud Run, I could barely keep my frenzied feet beneath me.
No, no. Aunt Augusta would not do it. Not without telling me. Her heartlessness had to have limits.
I burst into Livie’s cabin, and there sat Tessie in a rocker, humming softly with Jameson bundled tightly in her arms. She looked up without expression, as if expecting my arrival.

“Where’s Livie?” I cried out.

Tessie shrugged. “Miz ’Gusta sent fo’ her. Esther Mae say fo’ me to watch over de baby.”

I gasped in horror, realizing what Aunt Augusta had done. I tore back the way I had come, leaving several perplexed Runians in my wake. I was a fool to think I could lash out at Aunt Augusta and not have her squash me back under her thumb. Now she was cutting me where she knew I would bleed most.

She took my precious Livie!

Chapter 31

M
y thoughts dashed swifter than my feet as I stumbled up the hill. Livie’s papers were kept in Aunt Augusta’s room with the other household documents. With her reputation and contacts, she would have no trouble selling Livie so far south, she would be impossible to find. My heart twisted with pain, realizing Livie’s predawn appearance in my room was a touchstone to farewell. Her sad eyes now haunted me. Why hadn’t I seen that she was protecting me from the truth?

As I crested the hill, I saw Colt’s saddled horse hitched at a post next to the stables. I would attempt to catch Aunt Augusta’s carriage even though I had much ground to gain. Having a horse standing ready for chase was my only stroke of fortune in this dreadful betrayal. I loosened the reins from the post and lifted my foot to the stirrup.

“What on earth are you doing, Hannah?” Colt said, stepping from the barn.

“I must reach Aunt Augusta before it is too late,” I shouted, my face wet with tears.

Colt did not react to my outburst. There was no look of surprise or plea for explanation. He calmly walked over and took the reins from my hands. “Compose yourself before your shrieking brings everyone from their cabins.”

I grabbed the lapels of his jacket. “You don’t understand. She’s taken Livie!”

“Perhaps the compromise was necessary and in your best interest,” he said with rehearsed dispassion.

“How can you say that, Colt?” I pounded my fists against his chest in frustration, then spun around to secure another horse from the barn. I walked two steps when a thought halted me and whirled me back to him.

“You knew!” I ran at him and flung my fists again.

“It’s not a simple situation, Hannah.” He grabbed my wrists and wrestled them behind my back. Fury raised my emotions to new heights.

“You knew what she was doing and said nothing! Why are you here so early in the morning if not to help her with her plan?”

Colt pulled me tight to him. “It was out of control, Hannah. You were putting your life in danger. Your judgment is clouded because you are thinking with your heart instead of your mind. The currents you are treading against are dangerous, and without intervention, you would soon be swept away.”

“Damn you for thinking you can make decisions for me! You are nothing more than Aunt Augusta’s dim-witted puppet. Have you no honor?”

“You may not believe it now,” he said, trying to calm me with a tightly harnessed voice, “but it’s for the best. You must trust my experience in these matters.”

“I shall never trust you again. You are no different from Aunt Augusta. In fact, you are worse! Because at least she does not hide what she is. But you profess to be my friend, even a potential suitor, only to betray me in the cruelest manner. I despise you for your weakness.”

“You foolish, hardheaded girl!” Colt’s face bulged red with rage. I no longer recognized the icy eyes flashing at me with unleashed fury. He lifted me from the ground and tossed me up on his horse, then swung his leg up over the saddle behind me. He leaned heavily against me, his arms around my waist as he snapped the reins. The horse bolted into a full sprint.

“Colt, you are acting like a brute,” I cried out. “Let me go!”

“Swallow your wretched venom,” he shouted in my ear. “I have heard all I want to hear from you.”

I hung on to the racing horse as it sprinted down the plantation lane. When I finally caught my breath, I implored for Colt to stop, but my words flew unheeded into the wind. We kicked up a cloud of dust along the road through town and clambered across the planks of the bridge stretching across the river. Soon after, Colt directed us on a road bending north from town. Colt’s body eventually eased, suggesting his anger may have ebbed.

“Colt, please take me home.”

He did not answer, but my plea was forgotten when I saw dust swirling over the next hill. “Is it them?”

When we barreled over the hill, Aunt Augusta’s carriage with Winston perched at its helm rolled in the distance. Colt let out a ferocious, “H’yaa . . . h’yaa!” The horse kicked harder, and I could see Winston turn and look over his shoulder. He appeared to bend and say something toward the interior of the coach, then pulled the horses to a standstill. We did not break stride until we reached them, Colt wrestling our enraged horse to a halt as it reared up with a snort, kicking its front legs and nearly throwing us.

“What is the meaning of this, Colton?” Aunt Augusta snapped as she peered through the carriage window. Livie leaned forward into view, her eyes wide in amazement.

“Livie!” I slid from Colt’s arms onto the ground and ran to the coach. Livie opened the door and fell into my arms.

“I is sorry fo’ not tellin’ you. I wanted to say good-bye, but they tol’ me it can’t be done.”

“Colton, what do you mean by bringing her here?” Aunt Augusta glared from the carriage as Colt dismounted and walked toward us.

“I begged you to tell her, Augusta. Did you think she would allow it without a fight?”

I stepped between them to speak my own mind. “I don’t think a more horrible person has ever walked the face of the earth. I will rejoice the day you are dead and gone, because you will be damned to hell for eternity.”

“Hannah,” Livie said, squeezing my arm.

“Don’t be afraid, Liv. I will not let her take you.”

“Listen to Livetta,” Colt said ominously. “Hold your tongue, or you will regret it.” He turned to Aunt Augusta. “It’s time she knew the truth.”

Aunt Augusta’s face hardened. “Not another word from any of you.”

When I looked at Aunt Augusta, she turned away. This was between her and me, and the subtle flinch in her brow let me know my arrowed words had pricked her thick skin. Believing the consequences could get no worse, I began my next assault.

“You are a disgrace to the memory of my mother, and I despise—”

“Don’t say no more,” Livie whispered in my ear. “Not until you know the whole of it.” Livie climbed back up through the open carriage door. She looked at me oddly, then looked over at Aunt Augusta. Aunt Augusta’s chin quivered. After a brief pause, she nodded to Livie. Livie smiled, then lifted the top of the bench seat she had been sitting on inside the carriage. She reached inside and pulled Jameson up into her arms.

“But how . . .” I sputtered. “I just saw the baby with Tessie at the cabin.”

Colt stepped alongside me. “Tessie was holding an empty bundle. So no one would get suspicious, especially if Twitch goes to the cabin looking for James.”

A hand came up out of the hidden compartment, and with Livie’s help, James squeezed upright in the box and lifted himself onto his knees. Aunt Augusta handed him a jug of water and cool rag as he stretched his stiff, sore body. Sensing I had been knocked unsteady, Colt put his hand on my shoulder. I could not look in his eyes after the cruel things I had said, but so many questions were rushing through my mind.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I wanted to tell you,” he said, still reeling from my attack. “Truly I did. I believed it was time for you to know.”

“I forbade him to involve you,” Aunt Augusta said with resigned ease. “Our purpose cost your mother her life. I vowed you would be kept safe. It is vital to maintain a certain appearance, a stance at such extreme odds with the abolitionist movement, it would never be questioned. I wanted to protect you from a life filled with lies and hidden activities; however, in doing so, I denied you the truth. Amazingly, you found truth of your own seeded within you. Perhaps a piece of your mother and father unearthed and nurtured. You are so much like them, strong and committed to your beliefs.”

I was shocked by what she was saying, yet her eyes reflected genuine warmth where before I had seen only ice. Winston smiled and nodded, confirming all she said. She was not selling Livie to punish me. Aunt Augusta was attempting to save Livie and her family. Livie handed the baby to Aunt Augusta, then climbed down from the carriage.

“I am glad you came after us,” she said, touching my cheek. “Now we can have a proper good-bye.”

“Where are they taking you?”

“Same place as Fatima,” she said. “You and me didn’t know it then, but when Miz ’Gusta found out about what Massa Reynolds was doin’ to Fatima, she took her up near Cumberland Gap and give her to a man folks think is a slave trader, but instead of takin’ slaves south, he moves ’em north to settlements where slaves ain’t slaves no more. Dey livin’ free.”

“Fatima is free?” I said, turning to Aunt Augusta.

“We believe so,” Aunt Augusta said with humble satisfaction. “I don’t always know where their journey leads them after my role is complete. But I do know she made safe passage with the friend I left her with.”

With my arm around Livie, I stepped closer to the carriage to face Aunt Augusta. “How could I have been so wrong about you?”

“No mo’ blind than me,” Livie said with reassurance. “Imagine what I was thinkin’ when Mista Colt come to get me last night. After him and Miz ’Gusta revealed what needed doin’, I almost fainted flat out.”

“All this time you have been moving runaways through Hillcrest?” Meaningless moments reshuffled in my mind. I remembered Marcus telling me the “welcome light” was glowing from the window when he boldly approached our back door that first night. I thought of Winston keeping the lanterns snuffed on Christmas Eve when we had a house full of guests. Now all the nights when Aunt Augusta’s lamp burned continually or was darkened for weeks at a time made sense. Even Winston’s
we’ve got a secret
grin had new meaning.

Aunt Augusta smiled, taking my outstretched hand in hers. “We have a great deal to talk about. But it will have to wait until I return. We must play out this scene to ensure Livetta’s safe exodus. You and Colton must return at once.”

I turned to Livie, whose eyes were moist with emotion but now had the unmistakable glimmer of hope. I was not prepared to say good-bye, but her journey to freedom could not be achieved until our path together came to an end. She reached inside her collar and pulled out the rawhide securing the gift I had given her for Christmas.

“Soon I’ll be able to wear this ring fo’ all the world to see it. Won’t have to keep it out o’ sight underneath my clothes, same as you hide the one I made fo’ you.”

I pressed my hand to my chest and felt the ring hanging from my neck, hidden from view for months. She gathered me into a farewell embrace. Accompanied by tears and kisses, I whispered, “I love you, Livie, and shall never forget you.”

“I love you too,” she said, stepping back, but not letting go of my hands. She raised them to the arch of our promise bridge. “We will always be friends. Our bond is everlasting and will be passed onto our children, and through us they will be connected too. Maybe not face-to-face, but it will be in their hearts, where the seeds of love and respect are sown. They will know the possibility and it will bridge them, as it did us.”

I clutched Livie’s hands. “I am so happy you are on your way to freedom, because you must find a new path to keep moving forward. You are on your way, Liv.”

“You must not view this as an ending,” Aunt Augusta interjected gently. “We are part of a momentous beginning. We are sowing seeds that will grow and be harvested for years to come. There will always be weeds and varmints threatening its abundance, and perhaps stormy weather damaging its root from time to time. But even within this plague of slavery, we have found a way to seed a promising crop. Each of us has nurtured it in our own way, and the fruit born of this new field of opportunity will feed generations to come. If tended to properly, the harvest will never end.”

There was so much I wanted to say, but Colt abruptly stepped between us and pointed toward the top of the hill. “Someone’s coming!” The rumble of approaching horses was unmistakable, although they had not yet crested the hill.

“Get back in the carriage, Livetta,” Aunt Augusta instructed. “Hurry, before we are seen.”

Colt lifted Livie into the carriage as James wedged himself back into the small compartment. Aunt Augusta handed Jameson back to Livie, who settled him in with James. The lid was then closed and Livie sat down on top of it. Colt swept me back in place on his horse and leapt up behind me. “Go, Winston! We’ll try to delay them.”

Winston raised his reins, but Aunt Augusta called to him, “No, Winston. If we run, we are declaring our guilt. We must remain calm and look them in the eye. It is the only way to maintain the system.”

Her words sealed our fate, but it was too late for any alternative. Two horsemen roared up over the hill and into sight. As was everyone’s dreadful expectation, the pursuing riders were Twitch and Willy Jack. Dust twisted like a cyclone as they closed the distance. Seeing we remained at a standstill, they eased their gallop. Willy Jack circled and positioned himself in front of the carriage horses, blocking them from any movement. Twitch swung in around Colt and me, his dead eye caked with dirt and the other flashing bitter vengeance. He yanked his horse toward the carriage, bending from his saddle far enough to level his glare on Livie.

“You playin’ me fo’ a fool?” Twitch stared down at Aunt Augusta. “Where you all goin’ with this wench?”

Aunt Augusta’s face had transformed back into the cool, hard mask I was used to seeing. She did not waver at the deadly threat Twitch posed. She snapped at him with icy impatience. “What business do any of you have in chasing me down and delaying my trip? First Colton and my hysterical niece ride out to challenge me. Now you? There better be good reason, or I shall level quick consequence.”

“James is missin’. He broke free of his chains and ran off.”

“That is no concern of mine,” she said, waving him off. “James and the child are Mooney’s investment. I am sure you will have no trouble tracking your errant buck. He could not have gone far in his condition.”

Twitch paced his horse close to the carriage, scanning the interior. “Went to find out what this uppity slave knows about it, and found her gone too. Don’t need no schoolin’ to put two and two together. The slave girl tendin’ the child didn’t want to say where Livetta had gone, but a glimpse of my whip had her flappin’ her tongue about you ridin’ off quick and secretlike.”