The Abolitionist’s Secret (22 page)

David approached the young man. “Jericho, Mr. Fitzpatrick knows a livery owner in New York who is in need of a young, strong man who is good with horses.”

Jericho’s head swiveled from David to George. “I loves takin’ care of the horses in Master David’s stables, sir.”

“Yes, I’ve seen how you handle these horses,” George replied. “I think you might be exactly what my friend is looking for. I’m not a slave owner and I don’t want to tell you what to do. This has to be your decision. Would you like to come to New York with us?”

“You mean it?” He looked to David for approval, unsure of what to do.

“Because you risked your life to get the word to me about Miss Heather being in jail, Mr. Fitzpatrick and I both think you deserve to be rewarded. If your mother will allow you to leave the plantation, that is. Why don’t you go talk to her while I draw up your freedom papers?”

George Fitzpatrick smiled at the boy. “If you’d like, I can go with you to talk to your mother.”

Jericho’s eyes widened. “You mean, I’ze gonna be free? You don’ need to talk to her, Mr. Fitzpatrick. My momma won’t say no to dat!” He danced around in the red Georgian clay.

David got a small smile on his face. “Go, grab your stuff. You’re heading to New York with the Fitzpatricks as a free man.”

“Don’t y’all leave without me,” Jericho cried out as he dashed to the cabin where he lived. “I’ll be back in jez a minute.”

Several minutes later Jericho returned with his mother and some of the other slaves he had grown up with. He was carrying a bundle that contained what little possessions he owned. He tossed the small bag onto the wagon and turned to David, who handed him a document.

“You listen to Mr. Fitzpatrick, and do as he says now. You’ll work and live in the livery, but you will be paid wages. Mr. Fitzpatrick and Heather will help you all they can. Congratulations, Jericho. You’re now free. Make something of yourself.”

Jericho looked up into the eyes of his master. His former master. “Yes, sir. You bet I will.”

He hugged his mother and his closest friends one last time before he hopped into the wagon. Heather, Colleen, and Mr. Fitzpatrick climbed aboard the carriage for the drive to the train station.

Heather took one last look at the big white mansion, which impressed her on first sight, only weeks ago. Now she realized it for what it truly was — an oversized and run-down relic of the past that housed a woman desperately trying to hold on to the only life she had ever known. Try as she might, she couldn’t think of it as David’s home. Resolute, she turned her gaze from the house and began to discuss Jericho’s future with her father. She was eager to see New York again, and to embrace her mother and sister. That was, after she gave Jasmine a good dose of grief for causing the hell Heather had just endured.

New York City, Late May 1856

Charlotte Fitzpatrick met the train that carried her husband, daughter, and Colleen. Tears filled her eyes as her arms encircled Heather and drew her in.

“It’s so good to see you again, dear. I’ve missed you so. And when I think of what you endured at the hands of David’s wicked mother, my heart just breaks.”

“I’m home now, thankfully, and I can put all of Georgia behind me forever. Except, of course, for this rapscallion.” She pulled young Jericho into her mother’s line of sight.

Charlotte smiled at the eager light-skinned teenage boy in front of her. “And who is this?”

“This is Jericho, my first-ever student, and my hero. He was near the cottage and saw when Mrs. Whitman had me taken to jail. At great risk to his own safety, he saddled a horse and rode ten miles to the farm where David was visiting, and told him what had happened. David was not scheduled to return home until the next afternoon, so without Jericho’s intervention, I would have spent at least one more day in jail.”

“Well, then, you’re my hero, too, Jericho. Welcome to New York City.”

Jericho grinned at Charlotte. “I’ze happy to be here, and as a free man, ma’am.”

Charlotte glanced from Jericho to Heather, for an explanation. “Papa asked David to grant Jericho his freedom for helping me, and he agreed to do so. Papa’s going to inquire about a position for him in the livery, so Jericho will be able to stay in New York.”

“What wonderful news! New York can always use another enterprising young man.” Charlotte kissed her husband, embraced Colleen, and gave orders to the baggage handlers. While George and Jericho walked down the street to the livery, the ladies climbed into the carriage, which was loaded down with their luggage, for the ride to the Fitzpatrick brownstone.

“How is Jasmine’s ankle? Has she fully recovered yet?” Heather inquired.

“Physically, she’s better. Still in her cast for several more weeks, but she’s given up the crutches and now just thumps about the house. However, she is devastated over the part she played in your problems in Savannah. I hope you’ll go easy on her. She’s been beating herself up pretty well on her own.”

“I have no intentions of going easy on her. Jasmine handed Susan Whitman a loaded gun, and the woman pointed it right at me. No, I have every intention of making her squirm for quite some time.”

Charlotte shook her head. “How that woman who calls herself a mother could do such a thing is beyond me.” She gave Heather a long and caring look. “But you’re home now, and we won’t talk about Susan Whitman or jail again. I know you’ll want to take Jasmine to task, but remember her impetuous nature is part of what we love about her.”

Heather smiled. “I’ll make her suffer a little first, if you don’t mind. But she is my twin, after all, so I won’t do too much damage.”

“So how did you leave things between yourself and David?”

Heather’s smile faded. “David is no longer a part of my life. His place is in the south. His family has owned their land for over a hundred years. The family burial plot is there, and despite his feelings about slavery, which were changing to fall more in line with mine, he belongs in Savannah and on that plantation. He can’t find a buyer for it, so he will stay, and I canceled our engagement.” She turned away from her mother’s inquisitive face.

Charlotte reached over and embraced her daughter. “Oh, honey, I was afraid this would be the outcome, especially after his mother’s awful treatment of you.”

Colleen had been quiet up until this moment, allowing mother and daughter to share this time together. “Jaysus, that woman was a real wagon, she was.” Colleen grinned over at the Fitzpatrick women. “I’m so glad to leave that awful red earth behind me along with that terrible woman and to be back in New York.” They all shared a laugh.

Charlotte began to search the interior of the carriage. “Oh, Heather. I nearly forgot your homecoming present.” She pulled a package out from between the seats and handed it to Heather, who unwrapped it with eager abandon.

“Is it Rosemary’s latest book?”

“No, it’s even more precious.”

Heather tore off the last of the wrapping and looked at the copy of
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
. She looked up at her mother, with a question in her eyes.

“Open it to the title page.” Charlotte instructed.

“An autographed copy!” Heather exclaimed, as she ran her fingers lightly over Harriet Beecher Stowe’s signature. “Thank you, Mother. This is the most special gift I’ve ever received. Where did you find it?”

Charlotte basked in the glow of Heather’s pleasure. “Your father and I went to an anti-slavery fundraiser a week ago. You know your father. He didn’t want to be seen at a rally, since it might affect his relations with some of the bank’s clients. But when I insisted on going, with or without him, he relented and came along.”

Heather smiled. “Papa at a rally? I would like to have seen that. He got kind of roped into abolition by helping Sally and the baby, but to publicly declare it is something else again.”

“In any event, the book was being auctioned off as a fundraiser. The price kept going up and up, but I was determined to get it for you. We were going to wait until Christmas to give it to you, but I thought today was even more appropriate.”

Heather rubbed the cover of the book before clutching it close to her body. “Especially since we brought Jericho home with us. He’s such an intelligent boy. Would you mind if I continue my lessons with him?”

“Not at all. You can use the nursery at home as your classroom, if you’d like.”

“I think I’d like to look into teaching as a career, Mother. I want to be able to teach more students than just Jericho. I truly loved what I was doing with David’s slaves. Seeing their joy when they grasped math or spelling was so gratifying. And Jericho, especially, was an outstanding pupil.”

“I think that’s a wonderful plan, my dear. We can discuss it later, and maybe see about getting you into a teacher’s college. But for now, why don’t you just take some time to enjoy yourself? From the sounds of things, you certainly didn’t have much fun in the south, did you?”

Unbidden, thoughts of David and his nightly sensual visits to her cottage came into her mind. Her cheeks turned pink at the memory. “It had its moments, Mother,” she replied in a soft voice as she turned her gaze to the bustling streets of New York, which were in stark contrast to the laid-back lifestyle she had just come from.

• • •

Heather crept into the darkened room where her twin slept. She had taken her time coming up here, to the room they had shared since childhood. Heather had been planning what she would say to Jasmine since she boarded the train in Savannah. No, even before that. She began composing tirades to her during the long hours in the jail cell. She knew Jasmine’s personality better than her own, almost, and believed Jas would never intentionally commit an act that would hurt someone else. Jasmine was just angry at the world right now, since her fateful fall on the balcony the evening of their Cotillion ball.

Intentional or not, her sister’s foolish act had severe consequences, and Heather intended to make certain her sister didn’t brush this off as lightly as she did everything else. It was funny that Jasmine had always complained about Heather’s lack of urgency to grow up, but in actuality Jasmine was the one who was lagging behind. Heather’s well-formed arguments were ready for her to use the minute her sister woke from her nap.

Heather was glad she had some minutes of quiet reflection. She moved further into the room and went to the side of the bed. Jasmine’s face no longer looked like that of a girl. Rather, it resembled the face of a young woman. A subtle change, to be sure, but one that Heather had not seen before. She noticed Jasmine held a handkerchief in one clenched hand and wondered if she cried herself to sleep. A lock of her long brunette hair had fallen across her face while she slept.

Heather reached out and smoothed the hair back from Jasmine’s face. Jasmine’s eyes, the exact light brown color and shape as Heather’s, opened the moment Heather touched her, and she stared at her twin while Heather finished tucking the stray lock behind Jasmine’s ear. Tears formed as she launched up from her prone position and into Heather’s open arms.

“I’m so sorry,” Jasmine’s voice broke as hot tears dampened Heather’s shoulder.

“I know you are, but you must, at some point in time, learn there are consequences for your actions.”

“I regret that Mrs. Whitman got her hands on my stupid letter and put you into prison because of it. I never expected that to happen. I’ve been crying ever since we got Colleen’s telegram.”

“Why did you even write your ‘stupid’ letter in the first place? What were you hoping to accomplish?”

Jasmine squirmed beneath Heather’s intense gaze. “I, uh, I wanted to get David to lose interest in you, so you could come home where you belong.”

“So, you had no regard for my feelings for David? You just wanted me home, so we could go through the season together next year? Was that your line of reasoning? Are you so selfish? Was that why you destroyed my life?” Heather fumed.

Jasmine got a ghost of a smile on her face. “I didn’t say it was a good line of reasoning, but yes. You and I had always planned on having our season together, and I was, and am, angrier than you can ever imagine that things turned out as they have. After all, you were off on this grand adventure and I was stuck here in this room alone, not even able to walk downstairs for dinner.”

She glanced up at Heather, who had not changed her expression. “Come on, Sis,” she cajoled while she took one of Heather’s hands in hers. “You know it’s not right that you go through the season without me to lead the way, and by now you know that David is not the man for you. He will never fit in this family and you’ll never fit in his.”

Heather removed her hand from Jasmine’s grasp. “You are still the same selfish, spoiled girl you were when we were young. Your actions showed me how irresponsible you are and could have had caused serious consequences beyond me spending a night in jail. Do you not realize that any of the slaves who were in my cottage at the time Mrs. Whitman and the constable arrived could have lost their lives if they had been discovered?”

Heather sensed Jasmine’s intake of breath, and was gratified at the response. She knew her sister was not malicious, merely selfish. Jasmine’s eyes sought her own, and were round as saucers.

“I didn’t even think about the slaves you were teaching! I only wanted to get you and David to see you weren’t right for each other.”

Heather finally sat on the side of the bed, and took Jasmine’s hand. “Mrs. Whitman was doing a fine job of making me realize how unfit I was for plantation life on her own. She didn’t need any assistance from you. But you need to wake up to the fact that the world doesn’t revolve around you, and that you put many lives in danger with your stupidity. It’s time you grew up, Jas.”

Jasmine gulped under her sister’s harsh words, then looked over at her and smiled. “When did you get to be so smart? You sound more like Mother than you do my sister.”

Heather smiled. “I found two loves while in the south. Your treacherous letter may have ripped one of them from me, but not both. I’m going to become a teacher, Jas.”

Jasmine swung her legs over the side of the bed and embraced Heather again. “That’s wonderful! You’ll be a great teacher. You just taught me not to be so selfish. But what of David? Has he called off the engagement?”