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Time went by. Barbara's passion was reciprocated and fueled by her encounters with James. She lived in the captain's city house while James divided his times between the house and the mill.
One day they were informed that James had to go to the port to speak to a captain of a newly arrived English ship, who had news for him.
" Captain John, I am James. I was told to find you. Do you have a message from captain Edward?"
"Pleased to make your acquaintance, Mr. James. Please sit. The news is not pleasant."
"What happened?"
"I was commissioned by captain Edward's wife to inform you that on his trip back to England, the captain had the misfortune of being caught in a storm. He attempted to seek shelter on the island of Funchal, but his ship was thrown into the rocks. The ship went down."
"And the captain? Is he alright?"
"No one survived Mr. James. This is the sad news I have to give you!"
James sat down. He collapsed into a chair. He liked the captain very much and had a lot of respect for him, mostly because the captain had made him his partner regardless of his skin tone. He had never looked down on him and had always treated him as an equal.
He lifted his hands to his face and realized that a tear was starting to squeeze out of the corner of one of his eyes. He wiped it away to spare himself the embarrassment of crying in front of a person he had never met before.
"Is there no hope that he may have saved himself?"
"No boat reached the beach and if anyone tried to swim, those waters are shark-infested. No, there is not the slightest chance anyone escaped."
"How are his wife and daughter? Are they taken care of?"
"They will receive part of his wages for the rest of their lives as compensation from the company and it is my duty to ask you to sell the property he had in this region, take a ten percent commission and surrender the rest to them, through me. Here, it's all in this letter written by the lady herself."
James took the letter and read it. The woman thanked him and all the help he had given his late husband, regretted not having ever met him in person and told him that Edward admired him very much. She also wrote that he said that if God were to have given him a son, it would have been him. James could not hold back his tears. The captain touched his shoulder in support. James folded the letter and put it away. He stood up and assured the captain he would get all the matters resolved as requested. They arranged to settle the accounts next time the captain came to New Orleans.
"Don't worry, I'll always be here. I will take on the trips that were Edward's, may he rest in peace."
The men said goodbye to each other and James left, walking aimlessly. He did not have the money to buy the captain's part in the mill. He would have to sell it and keep half the money. He would not be able to use the house in the city anymore. And then, what would he do? He was lucky to have worked with the captain, but he did not think he could get the same position with any other person in the city.
He returned home only at night.
"What happened? Did you go to the mill? Why did you take so long?" asked Barbara.
James asked her to sit down and told her what happened to the captain, what he was asked to and his lack of funds. She once again shed tears for the death of someone who was near her. She remembered Vidal.
Marie entered the room and saw Barbara in tears.
"What happened, ma'am?"
James informed her of the death of captain Edward. Marie ran and knelt at Barbara’s feet, held her hands and sobbed.
"Calm yourself, Miss Barbara. I'm sure captain Edward and your husband are in a better place!" She then she realized her situation. "What about me? "What will happen to me without the captain, Mr. James!"
"That's what I'm thinking about right now, Marie. Leave us alone, please."
Marie retreated in tears. When Barbara had calmed down, James said.
"I've been thinking about a way out of this all day, but I have not found a solution. If I could at least stay with the house, the loss would be less.”
Barbara took James's hand asked him to sit next to her.
"Don't worry, my love. I have enough money with me to buy the house and the mill. Remember what the captain told you about the Diamonds. Although I gave him a diamond, which now must be at the bottom of the ocean, I still have a few more. We can stay with both, the house and the mill."
"You carry that much money? What about Mr. Vidal's possessions, do you have access to them?"
Barbara is saddened to hear the name of her husband murdered in a moment of madness.
"He had only himself and me. Nothing more. All the money we have is in my possession. I'll tell you the whole story."
She told him her life story, the torment she had to endure in the hands of her adoptive father, her relationship with the archbishop, and finally how she connected with Vidal. But she did not tell him how the archbishop died, or rather, how he was killed.
He looked at her and comforted her in his arms. Marie suddenly entered the room and the couple let go of each other in embarrassment. She asked if they wanted anything else and if she should continue serving the house.
"Don't worry, Marie, we know what to do. Everything will continue as before, except for the presence of the captain. We will miss him for the rest of our lives."
Barbara looked at her and noticed a dot on her ear lobe.
"Marie, your mark has made me curious. Is it a birthmark?"
Marie brought her hand up to her earlobe. "Here in the ear? No, it's a tattoo. My people tattoo all babies, it's a tradition of ours. I'm going to bed, if you need anything, just wake me up. Good night."
The couple bade her good night. They waited for her to leave and went up to Barbara's room. She sat on the bed and looked at him with a serious expression. "What are those tattoos, James? Can you explain them to me now?"
He closed the door and locked it. We went to her.
"Since you told me your story, I will continue mine. My grandparents, before being captured in a war with a neighboring tribe and being sold as slaves were kings of our people. They were able to buy their freedom in Haiti with donations from other slaves of our people. That was when they vowed to free everyone. This vow became my father's and now it is mine.
The farm we had was not only ours, it was of all my people. It is our custom to tattoo children with a dot on the earlobe and royals are tattooed on both ears. Whenever there were slave auctions, my father bought ours. They were then freed by us, working to help us make more money to free the rest. When the revolution came to our doorstep, we defended ourselves as best as we could. Before they arrived, my father ordered me to be locked in the cellar. He wanted to preserve the bloodline of the family if we were ever invaded, which is what happened." He stopped the story, his eyes were glazed, he looked at Barbara, but in fact he was looking through her. What was filling his mind was the image of his family's last moments.
Barbara was fascinated. She had no idea that African society was organized into kings and nobles.
"After you told us where you came from, Vidal suspected something was wrong. He found it strange that you managed to escape the invaders, because we thought the slaves had also rebelled. If so, it would be impossible for you not to be recognized.”
"Yes, there were no slaves on our property. When I managed to knock down the door to the kitchen, I found the bodies of five brothers who died defending me. They died so I could survive. All of them!" He raised his hands to his face and wept. Barbara hugged him.
"When I arrived here, I made sure the vow would not be broken. It was part of my agreement with the captain. We bought everyone who had marks on their ears and immediately freed them. Everyone who works with us is not a slave, Barbara, they are my brothers! I need you to agree to continue doing this, do you agree? I cannot allow my brothers to be tortured by madmen and I have to fulfill my promise!"
She did not answer, only kissed him and they both lay down to rest.
