| |
City of New Orleans 1826
Every evening, since arriving in New Orleans almost two full months ago, Marda ate alone. When she sat down at the table that could comfortably seat ten, in the richly decorated dining room, there was no reason for her to think this night would be any different.
Dressed in a long white newly purchased cotton nightdress that originally had a high lace neckline that she unstitched and redesigned to her liking, she ate quietly until she heard the front door being unlocked.
Marda got up from the table and hurried to the kitchen, returning to the table with a warmed plate of food and a glass. As she readied his place at the table she tracked his steps in her mind, having seen him act them out on several occasions. She imagined that he was removing his coverings and was now making his way to the dining room. When he physically entered the dining room, she was placing his silverware next to his plate at the head of the table.
He walked around the table to where she sat and grabbed the back of her chair. Marda looked at him as he waved his hand over her seat. She walked over and sat down in her seat as he instructed. She wanted to ask him where he was the last three days but she didn’t. She came here with him of her own free will and that meant she wouldn’t make demands of his time.
The home he bought was beautiful and so were all the clothing and jewelry, but it wasn’t her. Marda felt the women here wore too many layers, the sleeves were too puffy and the fabric wasn’t breathable. Seeing free people of color, the Creole people, and the whites doing business with each other like their skin color meant nothing was refreshing. But none of it made her happy.
***
CALEB didn’t sit at the head of the table where Marda placed his dish. Once he scooted her chair under the table, he sat beside her. Formalities always bothered him. So much so that he once told himself that when he became a man, he would do away with such etiquette when in the comfort of his own home, unless he was entertaining of course.
“Has Lisette retired for the evening?”
“I had no use for her today,” Marda said quietly as she moved her food around her dish.
Caleb stared at Marda for a moment. When she didn’t look at him, he lowered his head to meet her eyes. “Marda, I pay Lisette to mind your needs but you have to allow her to do so.” He looked over her nightdress. “Do you dislike the clothing I had commissioned for you?” Then he asked, “Marda, do you not like it here?”
Marda looked up at him. “I am not sure what it is you wish me to say, sir.”
“I wish you to speak your mind, Marda. Tell me what I must do to make you happy.”
“I feel lost here. Is this dwelling, the new garments, Lisette and Pierre, all to appease me?” Marda whispered, “I can never be happy here—”
“Forgive me, Marda,” Caleb cut her off. He pulled her chair from under the table and was on his knees with his head lowered on her lap before she noticed he moved. “I had wished that time would soften you. That you would grow to love me. That by leaving Maiden Hall we would have a chance at a life together. My selfish heart wants to hold you hostage but my mind screams a logic I can no longer ignore. I have tried to let you go but I do not think I can live without you.”
Marda’s eyes glossed over. Her chest rose and fell with every breath she took as she raised her hand over his head, but lowered it without touching him. “When I was taken from my home I was determined to only speak the language of my people. I hated this country and everyone with pale skin until your mother.”
She smiled when he looked up at her. “Then you came. With you, I wanted to talk. To say something to you, and I waited for the day you spoke to me again. But when you did, my anger with my situation prevented me from doing so. I did not know it then, but that day you put your lips to my hand was the day my heart tied to you. But I cannot be happy here if you are not here with me...Caleb.”
Caleb repeated what she just said to him in his head twice before clearing his throat to speak. “You want me?” he asked.
She nodded.
Elated, he placed his hands on either side of Marda’s face. He moved in to kiss her but stopped and pulled back when the familiar sensation rolled through him. All the air in the room seemed to thicken.
Caleb’s eyes widened. “But, you are afraid?”
“I fear what will become of us. In this place, it is common for a white man to share a bed and keep his Creole or woman of color comfortable. I fear that if I give you my heart that one day you will one day marry and abandon me. You haven’t lain with me again. I fear you have another and that the fire you once felt for me has burned away.”
Caleb took Marda’s hands in his and laughed. “My God, Marda, you must know how greatly I hunger for you. I stay away because I struggle to leash that hunger. You need not fear any of those things. I have not known any other woman since the day I lay with you. I vowed to love and honor you as my wife. That is why I brought you here, to make a life with you where we can be together. I was only waiting for you to show a sign that you want me as I want you.” He waited until his words sunk in. When he saw the light in her eyes, Caleb kissed Marda’s lips with a fierce possessiveness.
Marda weaved her fingers through his hair and returned the kiss with all the passion he gave her. She was breathless when he broke away. “I vow to love and honor you and to make the time you spend here enjoyable.”
Caleb shook his head. “I will have no other home or woman anywhere else. I will reside here with you.” The way of it was common here, but should a problem arise he would handle it. “You are mine and I am yours. I will die before I let anyone ever take you from me, Marda. I promise you that.”
Present Day
Caleb sighed. His mood was shifting, but he couldn’t help that if he told his story the way it happened. “Later that same night, I asked Marda if she wanted me to take her home. I told her that I would stay with her no matter where we were.”
Caleb closed his eyes.
“She told me that she had forfeited her right to be with her people. When I asked her what she meant, all she said was that she was not the same girl she once was and her life was now on a different path. A path that she believed led her to me.” He sat back and exhaled as he looked up at the ceiling.
When Caleb lowered his head back down he felt hollow, empty.
“Looking back, I should have asked her more questions about her people. But the truth was, I didn’t care about them or anything else for that matter. All I cared about was her. We were happy,” Caleb sighed. “For a few years, I was happy.”
New Orléans 1830
Caleb patted then rubbed his hand over the boy’s tightly curled golden hair. “Samuel, dire à ta mère à que le repas était parfait.”
“You cook well mamma,” Samuel said. His bottom was half on the chair and half off as his foot swung anxiously back and forth. He looked at Caleb with his large blue eyes. “May I now, papa?” he asked excitedly.
Caleb looked at his son then through the window to the courtyard where two boys about the same age waited, both bubbling over with the same energy Samuel was trying to contain.
“You may,” Caleb said, then laughed after making his son wait another agonizing minute.
“Do not leave the courtyard Samuel,” Marda said as she frowned at Caleb.
Caleb always gave in, making him favored in their son’s eyes. He stood and began helping Lisette gather the dinner dishes. The feisty Haitian cut her eyes at him, placed the dishes she had in her hands back on the table and said something under her breath before throwing her hands in the air and going into the kitchen. Caleb laughed again, this time louder, as he called out his apologies.
“I told you she hates it when we help,” Marda whispered. “She is already ill tempered due to me preparing the meals.” Marda turned, exposing her small bulging belly.
Caleb came around the table and took one of her hands and brought it to his mouth. “I can meet Lanier some other time. You can read to me tonight. Perhaps one of those fairy tales you love so much.”
“It makes no sense you missing an engagement. I will be fine, Caleb.” She placed her hand on his chest, smoothing out his shirt. “Lisette will be in her quarters if I need her. I will be fine.”
Later that night Caleb entered his home feeling more joy than a man should be allowed. Marda’s love gave him purpose. Then she gave birth to Samuel, which made life perfect.
Caleb made his way to his son’s room. The boy was asleep with his fingers tightly grasping a carved horse that resembled Caleb’s steed. Caleb gently removed the wooden horse Pierre had carved from his son’s hand. He placed the horse on the side table then kissed his son goodnight. He would make sure to give Pierre his gratitude for such a gift. Maybe even a raise in wage.
He cracked his son’s door then silently made his way to his own room. He quickly undressed then slid into bed with Marda, placing his arm protectively over her stomach, which held Samuel’s soon to be baby sister or brother. Within minutes he was sound asleep.
Caleb slept peacefully, the way a man does when he has no worries. His life was not the way of a seasoned Protector. So, when five men entered his home, he didn’t hear what his ears would have picked up if he was properly trained. He did not wake until he felt a waterfall of fear wash over him.
“Marda,” Caleb called as he got to his feet. A brief glance around the room told him she was not there. It took him only a second to get down the stairs and in the sitting room, only to freeze in confusion as he looked around the room.
In his home were four smartly dressed black men with their eyes fixed on him. Caleb ignored their scrutiny and used that moment to search the room for Marda. She sat on the sofa with her back to him so he couldn’t see her tears but he knew the sound of her cries. What he did see was that each of the strangers had a mark branded on their necks. The same mark that Jai and Marda also had.
“Marda?” he called to her but no one moved.
The man standing over Marda huffed as he glanced at Caleb, but continued speaking to her. His language was foreign to Caleb but it sounded as if this person had authority over Marda...and the others. As the man spoke, his steely eyes moved to Caleb several times. When he was finished speaking he gestured to Caleb with a closed fist.
This can’t be good.
Marda stood and turned to face Caleb but turned back to look at the man. She called him Arie, and spoke in the same foreign tongue. She was begging. Caleb stood silent as Arie’s hard eyes bore into Marda until the weight of his stare seemed to be too much and she looked away to face him.
She was so upset that Caleb was having a time trying to understand her. Caleb took a step toward his wife but one of the men blocked his path. Without hesitation Caleb pushed the man out of his way, launching the stranger across the room and into some furniture.
Each of the men turned to look at Arie, who shouted what sounded like a command.
Mistake.
One of the men moved faster than Caleb could track, landing blows that Caleb couldn’t stop, let alone see. Before he knew it, he was on the floor, blood spilling from somewhere on his head and into his eye.
Two of the men grabbed him under his arms and raised him up.
Marda ran to him as he virtually hung forward with the men supporting his weight. She wiped the blood from his eyes and mouth with her night shirt and kissed his face several times before Arie spoke again.
Marda held onto Caleb’s face but turned her head to look at Arie, “Jai is dead. She died several years earlier, protecting me.” Her gaze swept back to Caleb, imploring him to keep her lie. Caleb gave her a discrete nod. When Arie frowned then looked away, she spoke again. “I used my magic so they found me. A man called Bill sent them here.” Her eyes grew sad as her tears continued to fall. “If we go with them,” she said sobbing, “my brother has sworn that no harm will come to you.”
Caleb’s head felt heavy but he managed to shake it. No! his mind screamed. What is happening? Shocked and confused, he tried to wiggle his arms free of his captors’ grip. But he was unable to shake them.
Finding his voice, he began to scream out the word “No!” But no one paid attention. Once he realized he wasn’t able to get the man’s attention he focused on Marda. “Don’t do this!” he yelled, “Don’t leave me!” He repeated his pleas even as Marda covered her mouth and stood. “Take me with you!” he screamed to Arie. But the man only regarded him coldly.
“Papa?”
Samuel.
Caleb whipped his head around to see another of the men carrying Samuel into the room. “Samuel, tout va bien.” He looked at Marda, “Please my love, don’t.”
She didn’t respond in words but her sobbing became more and more frantic. And as she reached for a sleep dazed Samuel, she was close to hysterical.
The man who carried Samuel waited for Arie to nod before he placed the boy on the floor next to his mother. But Samuel didn’t go to Marda. Instead the boy ran to Caleb, wrapping his arms around his father’s neck.
“Ecoutez votre mère.” Caleb told Samuel. “Listen to your mother,” Caleb said again in English as he kissed his son repeatedly. Samuel rubbed his now wet eyes and sobbed as Marda pulled him away and walked toward Arie.
“I. Will. Come. For. Them.” Caleb said angrily, making sure Arie got every word.
Caleb saw hate and intent grow in Arie’s eyes but there was nothing he could do other than brace himself. He watched helplessly as Arie raised his hands toward him. He waited for whatever came as he glanced over at his family.
He saw the decision in Marda’s eyes and fought with all his might to break free.
Marda spun to shield him as she embraced Samuel to her chest, taking the blast in her back. The force in which she was hit, with whatever it was that hit her, was so great that the repercussions knocked Caleb and the two men holding him to the floor.
Shaken and in immense pain, Caleb managed to crawl over to Marda and Samuel. She was still clutching their son in her arms when he rolled her over.
“No...no,” he said as he shook them. He gently touched Samuel’s hot face but kept his eyes on Marda. “Please...Marda,” he begged as he rubbed her protruding belly.
An agonizing scream erupted from his gut and out of his mouth as tears trailed down his face. His attention moved to the little arm that fell limply away from Marda’s neck. Caleb covered his mouth with his hand, keeping his shocked pain inside as he focused on his son.
“Samuel,” he cried as he pulled his boy from Marda’s death grip. “Samuel, please God not my son!” he screamed as he clutched the motionless body to his chest.
Caleb didn’t hear it when the man named Arie told the two men to restrain him, but when they pried Samuel from his arms he was face to face with the men who just murdered his family. He struggled for a while but it didn’t do any good. His strength and speed expired the moment Marda had. Grief-stricken and numb, Caleb looked at his enemy with fire in his eyes and a promise in his heart.
“Marda chose her fate,” Arie said in English and lacking remorse. “Leaving me to choose yours.” He looked at his companions and spoke in his native language again.
What he said translated to, “Hang the devil from his tree.”
Present Day
Tristan sat on the edge of his chair. He sighed, wiping his hand over his face. He couldn’t believe what he just heard. But somehow, he knew it was true.
“I was hung from the tree in the courtyard. A fitting death for the son of a planter, I suppose.” Caleb stared off, focusing on the sky. “Or it would have been if Lisette hadn’t come to me. You see, to the Coesen warriors she was a slave who needed to be freed, not my employee. Lisette did leave but she returned with my friend Lenier, and a few others. I don’t have to tell you, Arie and his band of brothers were nowhere to be found at that point. They murdered my family and disappeared and I wasn’t able to do a damn thing to stop them.”
“I didn’t know something so horrible happened. I just...I’m sorry.”
A dull ache built in Tristan’s chest as he listened to Caleb recount the final moments of his wife and son’s life. The ache was now a throbbing pain.
“I don’t know what to say. They were trained Guards,” Tristan whispered. “But, Marda was his own sister. Why would he—”
“For weeks, that’s all I asked myself. Why would he murder his own sister, his nephew, our unborn child? Jai tried to explain it all to me later when Fredrick brought her to New Orleans after they received Lenier’s letter. The consensus around the city was that I was targeted because of some situation I mishandled badly during my days in Dominion. No one except Jai knew that this in fact was my first lesson in Coesen justice.
“Arie had spent years searching for Marda and Jai, only to find that his sister, a princess of his tribe, had willingly given herself to one of the devils who had enslaved them. He was to take her to stand before their King but when they discovered that I was also her Protector... As you know, it is a death sentence for any Protector and Coesen who should fall in love.
“But Arie had given Marda a choice. She could take me to her father which would mean a death sentence or she could go with them willingly and I would be spared. Marda decided to save me. She agreed to go but had asked her brother to spare our children’s lives; that they were still Coesen. Because I was a Middling and would be once more when her sentence was carried out, Arie agreed to Marda’s last request. To let me and Samuel and our unborn baby live, but...it didn’t work out that way.” Caleb exhaled as he stood.
Tristan didn’t say anything as Caleb walked to his room and shut the door. He closed his eyes and tried to picture his family as they were when he last saw them. His memory was fading. Not of them, but of the clear image he once had of them. He remembered events, clothing, Cianne’s hair and the way she smelled, but it was just a shadow image now.
It was as if he was eating his favorite food but wasn’t able to taste it.
The desire to get home just hit crucial. Tristan got up, went to the front door and stuck his foot out over the threshold. He held it there until the pain was so bad that he felt himself passing out.
He pulled his foot in back, breathed, then waited until his heart stopped pounding. Then he raised his foot over the threshold again. He repeated this over dozen times, extending his resolve on each try before his body succumbed and his eyes fluttered closed.
