19

The mistress punished Bett. She would not let her away from the place day or night. With all the leaves and roots of the herbs mixed together, there was no medicine for Bett to use, and being watched so closely, she could not go into the forest to collect what she needed. Although the mistress was angry, and refused to let Bett see others, she still had Bett do the most personal things: comb her hair, help her dress for her outings, and serve her meals when she ate alone.

It was Bett’s duty to go through the mistress’s clothes to find what needed mending or restyling. Mistress Anna Ashley gave away few clothes. Of course, neither Bett, Nance, nor I could wear her things. Sarah could, and often Sarah was called to do the mending and restyling for a small fee and a worn garment.

We had not seen Sarah for a long time. With the shortages of men and of food and other supplies, we had few get-togethers on our rare days off. There had been no Christmas parties, and the one day off for the New Year had been spent on the place. So when Sarah came to sew for the mistress, we were all very happy to see her.

When Josiah chose Bett for his wife, Sarah was jealous. But soon after Sarah was married, her feelings of jealousy had disappeared. She became a friend again. We were all having breakfast together the morning she arrived. Brom greeted her politely, but the rest of us shouted and laughed, hugged her, and set a place for her at the table.

We felt lucky to have someone bring us news from the free Africans in the area. Sarah told us that many of the men had gone to war, many for the British. Bett told Sarah about the letter from Josiah and seemed proud that he had decided to fight on the side of the Colonials. When Sarah heard that the mistress had destroyed all of Bett’s herbs, she told us about an Indian woman who might be willing to share some that she had.

“How will I get to her? I can’t go anywhere. Not even to my house and farm.”

“Oh, you would have to go. She would have to see you and talk with you to be sure you were the right person. Not just anybody is trusted with their medicines.”

“The invisible spirits will find uh way tuh wing you dere,” Nance said. “Will it, and de way’ll be dere.”

Bett, Brom, and I went with the others to the field, leaving Nance and Little Bett to their house chores and Sarah to her sewing. We sang along the way passing the cobble, the rocks that seemed all the more white under the blue skies. Ashley Falls roared in the valley, which was carpeted with flowers in bloom.

We worked on the far end of the farm near the dense forest. With the shortage of men, there was no one to supervise our work. Sometimes the master appeared late in the day and sometimes Little John might ride through with his friends to see how things were going. Suddenly, I had an idea. “Bett, why don’t you go and gather herbs?”

“You know I can’t do that.”

“How will the mistress know? Who’s there to tell? We’ll do enough work so that you’ll not be missed.”

In the middle of the day we took little time to eat our bread and berries and to drink from the pail, for we wanted to make sure we did Bett’s work and ours. When the darkness from the forest spread outward and made shadows on the hills, my sister returned. She carried a bark basket on her head with one hand and in the other she held her head scarf tied around leaves and roots.

“How did you ever gather so many in such a short time?” I asked.

“You’ll not believe this. The forest was so peaceful that my mind didn’t stray from my purpose. My eyes saw everything clearly, and I was busy digging when suddenly right upon me was this tall bronze man as straight as a strong young spruce. He wore white leather pants and shirt and a band of beads around his head. Strangely, I had no fear and I smiled at him and said, ‘The peace here is still undisturbed.’

“He knows Josiah and was pleased to hear I’m his wife. Then, as if out of nowhere, this woman appears. She, too, is tall and straight as an arrow. Her wrinkled skin, brown as a walnut, and her round black eyes marked her as one with wisdom. Immediately, I thought of Olubunmi.”

Suddenly my chest and throat filled with the tears that would not flow, and I was glad that my sister did not notice as she went on with her story.

“She spoke her native tongue to her son and he asked me who was I and why was I in the forest. I told her my name and to whom I belong. I assured them I was alone. That I was there to gather herbs for healing. She asked questions of me through her son. What was I looking for? How did I use it? She always smiled when her son responded. Where had I learned? I told her all about Olubunmi and how she had taught me all I know.”

“Did she show you anything new?”

From the bark basket Bett took a yellow-brown rooted plant with hollow stems that held about fourteen leaflets with sawlike notches along the edges. The rose-colored flowers were small, close together in a flat-topped cluster. The fragrance? I could not describe how wonderful.

“She told me how to use it, but her son had no way to tell me the name in our language. Then she helped me gather all of the things I needed to replace my supply. That’s why I was able to get so much in such a short time.”

I looked at the well-made basket and knew it was a gift from one healer to another, and I felt a bit ashamed that I had not given the right respect to my sister.

Finally the mistress forgot about the letter, and Bett and I were able to go to the farm. We had expected the place to be overgrown, the animals to be either dead or lost, but to our surprise, things were not as bad as we had thought they would be.

We found the goats in the woods, the chickens thinner but in place, and the weeds not unbearable. So, in time, things were back to normal. If only the master would grant us just one day to work for ourselves.