Wilhelmina A Novella (6 page)

I was informed by Thea that my hair was to be cut first thing in the morning. It gnawed at my stomach like a little monster chewing my innards. But what more could I do? What could I say?

I went to bed that night knowing that everything was over; the war, my life, and my connection in life to Mr. Abberdean. I was stuck here, learning how to be a southern belle, until I was set free or died of the shame.

I was dead certain that the latter would happen first.

However, I was awakened that night by a sharp click at the ward door. I sat up and nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw bodies moving in the darkness, shadows creeping through the rows of beds. I buried my head beneath my sheets and squeezed my eyes, praying that the intruders would leave me be if I was sound asleep.

‘Wilhelmina.’

I peeked and saw Thea at my bedside.‘Wilhelmina, it’s okay, it’s me.’

I crawled out of my sheets and saw Minus standing next to her, looking down at me with the same anxiety scribed along her eyes.

‘What are you doing in here?’ I asked.

‘We come to get you out of here,’ Thea said. ‘We’re running, making our way to Gretna where they say they can help us find the Underground Railroad. My aunt Abby told us to bring you with us if we ever made a run for it.’

‘Abby is your aunt?’ I asked.

‘Me and my husband Minus can’t stay here no longer, not with that witch up there in her tower. She’s a woman of the devil, I seen it myself!’ Thea said. ‘Please, come with us. We can be there by morning if we keep moving.’

‘I want to go! Take me with you!’ I said, gripping her hand. She brushed my hair and smiled, holding my hand as she pulled me out of bed. My legs were stronger now, almost strong enough to run, but I didn’t need to as Minus swept me up in his muscular arms again, and carried me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held on as Thea led us out of the mansion.

The path was easy enough without being noticed. We cut through the kitchen and went down into the wine cellar and out the back. We cut across the open field behind the estate and into the forest.

We were free, and I would never have to see that vile succubus again in my life. Most of all, I could keep my long hair,
Charles'
long hair that he loved so much. Thea and Minus ran and ran, and both of them were laughing, actually
laughing
. I had never heard Minus' laugh before, but I enjoyed its deep baritone bass as we all took in the fact that we were free.

After an hour of walking southeast on Thea’s map, and following the trees with white linen tied around the trunk to ensure that we were on the right path, we came to a clearing and sat down for a moment to rest. It was a meadow, a beautiful flower-filled opening to the sky that was flourishing and ripe with fauna.

My body ached, and my legs were sore, but as Minus sat me down, I couldn’t help but run and skip through the meadow. The moon was high, and the air was fresh. I ran in circles, in squares, and even in shaped that didn’t exist. Wherever I could run, I would. My hair flew freely.

‘Abby was right about you,’ Thea said with a smile as Minus tried to start a fire. Thea helped him gather odd pieces of bark and branches as Minus pulled out his matches. ‘You are a wild thing. She said you were free like the wind; you don’t care where you blow, as long as you ruffle some feathers along the way. I’ve never seen Elizabeth Bathory stood up to the way you did, Wilhelmina.’

‘Where is Abby? Is she okay?’ I asked.

‘Your step-mother sold her to Ol’ Lou Girthwright’s farm before she skipped town. But Lou’s been helping the railroad for a few months now, and he sent her along her way, telling her how to get to the cottage in Gretna,’ Thea said as she watched the fire grow. ‘She’s waiting for us there, you’ll see.’

I ran back to them as Thea pulled out a few sausages. She skewered them and held them over the fire, and they looked so mouth watering that I didn’t care whether they were warm or not. Minus handed me a leather canteen filled with water, and I drank eagerly.

‘You go ahead and drink up, Wilhelmina, we got more where that came from,’ Thea said. She handed me a biscuit and I thanked her as I began to work my way through the flaky sinews of bread and butter.

We sat there in the meadow, laughing while Thea talked about all of the plans she had when she made it to the North. Before she was sold to Elizabeth Bathory, she worked for a veterinarian, and she used to watch him work on horses and hunting dogs, sometimes wounded birds. Thea said that she wanted to learn how to help, how to heal.

Minus said that he didn’t care too much what sort of work he landed in, so long as Thea was there when he got home. He wanted children, and he hoped that they would have her smile. I agreed. Thea was so pretty whenever she smiled and her eyes were a light mahogany brown, lighter than her skin, and they glowed with absolute beauty in the firelight.

Our sanctuary was disrupted when he heard noises beyond the trees, all around us. Minus quickly put out the fire and Thea hurriedly shoved their belongings back into her satchel. I looked around, panicking, as Minus picked me up in his arms again, and quickly began to walk toward the south end of the meadow.

‘Minus, stop!’ Thea shouted.

Shadows emerged from the trees ahead of us, drenched in dark colors once they entered the full moon light.

They were confederate soldiers, most in blue uniforms but some were wearing grey. The man in the center was the only one mounted on a horse. He wore a long striped charcoal grey coat with a faded blue uniform underneath. He stepped down from his steed and told his men to lower their guns as they advanced.

‘You there,’ he pointed at Minus. ‘Put the girl down and step away.’ Minus did just that and I nearly stumbled as fear overtook my weak legs. When my legs finally did give out, the man caught me and held me steady. ‘You alright, ma’am?’

I said nothing as I looked around, afraid of what would happen to the three of us.

‘What are you three doing out here at this time of night?’ he asked. ‘Who is your owner?’

‘We ain’t got no owners.’ Thea said defiantly with her chin held high.

‘So you’re a group of runaways,’ he said in a low tone. His men raised their guns and began closing in on Thea and Minus, but once again the man holding me raised his hand to stop them. ‘I’m sorry, but if you don’t tell us where you came from, we’ll be forced to shoot you. But I promise you that if you do tell us where you escaped, we will take you back without harming you.’

‘Much,’ one of the other men added, and the man’s troupe began to snicker. I shook free of his hold, and struggled to stand on my own with Thea and Minus.

‘Why should we trust you? Who are you to promise something like that, huh?’ Thea demanded.

‘I’m a Major in the confederate army, I give you my word,’ he said. He took his hat off of his head and ran a hand through his blonde curls, and I was reminded of Mr. Abberdean, with his youth and mannerisms.

I could see the urge to flee, to run away, in Thea’s face. In her mind, being shot was probably the less frightening fate. To return to the governess’ estate would be worse than death. I grabbed her dress and shook my head when I saw her leg twitch, and she locked eyes with me. Within seconds we had our own private conversation that no one else would hear.

‘We’ll go willingly,’ Thea said. I knew the defeat in her face well; I had experienced it earlier that day. The walk back to the mansion was much shorter than the run because none of us wanted to see it again. The major was kind enough to let me ride with him because it was clear that I still couldn’t stand well.

When we arrived, the men were welcomed inside to wait in the dining room while the governess was fetched. Thea, Minus, and I stood next to each other, dreading what was to come. Thea had her eyes closed with one hand clasped over her crucifix, praying in whispers. Minus held her hand and stared ahead with a solid face of bravery.

When the governess’ boots clicked into the room, each soldier stood and took their hats off. She eyed each of us with her one visible eye beneath her veiled face, and her expression was smooth and composed.

‘We caught them about two miles from here in a meadow,’ said the young major.

‘And you brought the slaves back?’ The governess asked. ‘Isn’t there a law that states you must shoot runaway slaves on sight?’

‘It didn’t seem necessary, ma’am,’ the major said. ‘Besides, you would be losing out on good labor and money, wouldn’t you, miss?’

‘I have money, and an excess of help. These two would have been no toll on my conscience,’ the governess said coldly. ‘This one, however, I am grateful for.’

‘Ma’am, I was wondering if you might have enough room for twelve tired and hungry soldiers?’ The major asked politely.

‘Of course, I will have one my servants show you to the east ward, while the kitchen staff makes you something to hold you over until breakfast in the morning,’ she said.

He bowed with thanks, but she paid him no mind. She snatched my wrist and pulled me with her into one of the vast empty halls.

‘Running away now, are we? After everything I’ve done for you, after I was willing to forgive your discrepancies and continue your education, you still chose to spurn me,’ the governess said calmly. It was much scarier when she was calm; she was unpredictable when she wasn't screaming.

But I wasn't going to be so civil.

‘I don’t want your education or your luxuries!’ I screamed audaciously.

‘You’ve made that abundantly clear,’ the governess said, calculating something in her mind as she tapped her finger on her cheek with one of her wicked smiles.

‘Go ahead, put me back in the shed!’ I said stubbornly.

‘No, no, that would get us nowhere,’ the governess said. ‘Go back to your ward and go to sleep. We will discuss your future here in the morning.’

I was at an utter loss for words. I couldn’t believe that after everything I’d done, all of the insolence that I had thrown her way, she was still going to make me go through the lessons and become a debutant belle. I went to bed without argument, though I couldn’t sleep. I laid there for hours, wondering what was to happen to Thea and Minus.

The next morning, Rhoda, Yvette, and I went to breakfast. We were quiet as we sat with the table of noisy and messy soldiers. The only one with any form of manner and composition was the major. He would pass quick glances in my direction now and then from beneath his blonde curls while I stared.

After breakfast, the other girls were off to their own personal tutors, but I was held behind by the governess.

‘Come, let us go for a walk. We have your future to discuss,’ she said.

I complied without argument, mystified. We walked around in silence, and I tried to focus on the warm morning sun on my skin. We walked out into the garden, and I saw horror incarnate before me.

Thea and Minus were tied to two posts with their hands behind their backs. I wanted to run to them, to set them free, and my legs began to carry me, but the governess held my shoulder with bruising strength.

The horror intensified when I watched the soldiers file out of the kitchen and into the garden, each with their rifles in hand. The major walked toward us without enthusiasm, and there was a sadness in his eyes that dragged his pace down.

‘Ma’am, on your word,’ he said. ‘I’d like to make it a point to say one last time that it isn’t necessary to uphold the law in this case. No one would know if you let them live.’

‘I do not keep ungrateful slaves in my household, major, my mind is set,’ Governess Bathory said indifferently. ‘Tell your men to fire when ready.’

The major bowed and turned, lifting his arm. The troupe lifted their rifles as they knelt, taking aim and waiting. I kept glancing between Thea and Minus, and the firing squad of eleven men. Thea was staring up into the sky, crying, while Minus stared ahead of him, his resolve written clearly across his fearless expression.

‘Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,’ Thea began to pray out loud.

‘Please, stop!’ I screamed, fighting against the governess’ hold, but she squeezed my shoulder harder, and the pain brought me to my knees.

‘Ready!’ the major called out.

‘For you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.’ Thea continued.

‘Aim!’

‘Please, stop,’ I sobbed, much quieter this time as I heaved uncontrollably.

‘Mama, protect us,’ Thea cried out to the sky.

‘Please,’ I begged the major again. ‘Don’t do this.’

He glanced over his shoulder pitifully, his arm still raised in the air. I clutched his boot and begged him over and over again to stop, but all he offered was a silent apology.

‘It is the law, Major Hansen,’ The governess pressed.

He turned away, and I stared, powerless, as he dropped his arm. The silent command was instantaneous, and lightning cracked throughout the garden.

Of all the colors in the garden, blue, violet, yellow, white, and green, nothing stood out more than the streaks of crimson as the muskets tore violently through their bodies and sprayed nature with the gruesome sight of blood. Thea cried out in hair-raising agony, but Minus was silent as he had taken a few shots to the face; he died almost instantly.

I finally understood why the governess was going to allow me to stay in her home. In her eyes I had cost her two slaves, and I was to replace them. I was not going to live there with the hope of becoming a belle, a true lady; I was going to work off my debt to her as her salve.

I sat there for a while, even after the soldiers and the governess left the garden, watching as Thea's life slowly bled from her eyes. When the sun was at its highest peak, I ventured out into the blood garden at their feet and touched Thea to see if she was truly dead.

She was.

I took her crucifix to remember her, and offered my own silent prayer as I faced my life in servitude, never to see my home, my sisters, Abby, or Mr. Abberdean again. I had so much hope only one day ago, and my life held so much promise. Now I was staring into a void of black nothing.

My childhood died that day.