Chapter Thirty-Three

Barbados

Hannah took the extended hand of Sir Frederick Morton, Her Majesty’s Administrator of the Island of Barbados.

“Allow me to offer my congratulations, Miss Winstead.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Accompanied by Gunther Helm the Elder, Hannah left the lofty rooms of the island administrator and stepped into the bright sunlight of the tropical morning. Helm had been holding her parasol, and he snapped it open and handed it to her. They walked across the lawn to the pool and sat on the wall. Hannah unfolded a paper and read:

“According to the powers vested in me by Her Majesty Queen Victoria, I hereby declare and decree that the property known as Highland Plantation and all attendant properties and accounts be made over to the bearer of this letter, Miss Hannah Winstead, daughter of Cassandra and Edward Winstead.”

Helm smiled in delight. “You have Annie and Helena to thank for this outcome. Without them to remember your papa’s jokes about your birthmark, we would have had a great deal more difficulty in convincing Sir Frederick.”

“Indeed!”

“Shall we now go and face the irascible Mr. Smythe the Younger and reclaim your property?”

“Yes, but first—Herr Helm, I want to tell you I owe you a great debt of gratitude, you and your son.”

“Nein, you owe me nothing. I was well paid for the work I performed, and my son has been also.”

“Perhaps you were, but you’ve become my friend, and that’s worth a great deal more.”

He patted her hand. “Your mother was very good to my wife. For her sake alone, I would be your friend and ally. But as it happens, liebchen, I am fond of you for yourself!”

“You might change your view of me when I tell you what I plan to do.”

“Nein, I would not! But tell me, what do you plan to do?”

“I’m going to start a school at Highland—a school for the freed slaves.”

“Ach! That will rile the other owners on the island!”

“That’s what I feared, but I’m going to do it anyway.”

Helm looked at her eager, earnest face and smiled. “And how did this scheme enter your mind?”

“From listening to Annie and Helena.” Hannah paused, looking for the right words to explain. “Herr Helm, I’ve had great difficulties in my life. I was reared by a man who most likely murdered my father, and I was very nearly hanged for a murder I did not commit. Also, I—well, suffice it to say whatever terrible things happened to me, the acts committed against slaves have been far, far more terrible. However good my parents may have been, they were slave owners, and because of this, I owe a debt of compensation to the plantation workers.”

Helm nodded.

“As Annie and Helena spoke to me throughout our days together, I heard one recurring theme: schooling. They want to learn to read and write, and they want the children of all the workers—indeed, the workers themselves—to learn also.”

“You’re entering dangerous ground, Miss Hannah—”

“But Herr Helm, you yourself have told me the sugar market is down. What if it does not recover? How will all these thousands of men and women earn their bread? If they learn to read and write, they can become clerks and shopkeepers…even someday proprietors and landowners!”

“Ja, I am not disagreeing with you. In principle, you are right, of course. But the other owners will be angry, for it will sow discontent among their own workers.”

“I don’t want to create disharmony on the island,” Hannah replied thoughtfully, “but I’m quite determined in this.”

Helm rose. “Come, let us go and spoil the day of the unpleasant Mr. Smythe. Once you know the extent of your inheritance, you can make your plans.” They began to walk. “You must ensure, my dear Hannah, you invest the funds accumulated from the estate in such a manner that your own future is not at risk.”

“Yes, I’ll take care in that matter, I assure you. I’d like to open a small shop for ladies, and it may be there will be money enough for that…as well as for a school.”

A few minutes later, seated in Mr. Smythe’s gloomy, dark study, Hannah learned the astounding truth of the extent of her fortune. She was overcome with emotion. She, Hannah Winstead, who had been told she was penniless, was wealthy beyond imagining!

During the slow drive back to Highland, Hannah thought happily of the good she could bring about for the freed slaves with the money that had been earned through their hard labor.

The next several weeks were busy ones for Hannah. Besides setting her house in order and preparing a room for the new school, she was engaged in the myriad decisions regarding the plantation itself. Daily meetings with Helm the Younger ended in the usual complaints: the workers were slacking and production was down. The quality of the raw sugar produced by the plantation factories was suffering also, and threats and punishments were accomplishing nothing toward alleviating the situation.

Hannah was hesitant to make decisions about a business of which she knew nothing, but after three weeks of listening to Helm the Younger’s dire predictions of what would happen to the plantation if production were not improved, she decided to take action. She informed Helm she wanted to address the workers, and they should gather on the lawn of Highland in the evening. She instructed Annie and Helena to give over all work in the house and bake as much bread and cut as much cheese and fruit as they could. The workers could eat while she spoke to them.

That evening as the bright moon ascended, the workers straggled onto the lawn of Highland and settled under the rubber tree. Some of them perched on its spreading roots, and others untied their waistcloths and spread them on the ground to make a seat. Wide-eyed children clung to their mothers, moving away from them only long enough to seize bits of bread and cheese as they were passed.

The workers spoke English, as well as a variety of African dialects. In order to ensure everyone understood what she was saying, Hannah engaged Annie to translate her words into the Twi language of West Africa.

When everyone had had a chance to obtain some food, Hannah stood on the grass before them.

“Thank you for assembling here,” she began. “I am Hannah Winstead, the daughter of Edward and Cassandra Winstead. I’m sure many of you remember my parents, who owned Highland Plantation for several years before they died.

“I called you together to seek your assistance. I’m going to open a school here at Highland to educate your children—and you yourselves if you desire to learn to read and write.”

A buzz of conversation began as the workers turned to each other in amazement. Hannah waited until it had subsided.

“Your children will receive a completely free education with one stipulation: production must continue to be high on the plantation. I’m well aware you desire a wage increase, and I mean to give one after the cane has been harvested. After the harvest you, the workers, will also receive free schooling. You’ll be able to take time from labor in the morning to attend class, and even so your wage will be higher.”

Again, conversation broke out, and this time there was laughter and voices raised in joy.

“You’ll please remember,” Hannah continued, “all this depends on production. If there’s no sugar to sell, there cannot be a school. May I have your agreement to that?”

Several of the workers began to rise and move toward her. Hannah stood firmly before them, not quite sure what they intended to do. The first to reach her, a young man, pushed his little son toward her.

“Madama,” he said, “this boy is Joseph. He wishes to learn. Every day he ask to go to school like the white boys.”

Then others gathered around, bringing their children forward for Hannah to meet. There was laughter and conversation. Someone began to beat a makeshift drum, and several men started singing.

Helm the Younger had been standing against the wall of the entrance to the house, and he now came forward and addressed the workers. “Go to your huts and rest. Tomorrow begins a new day. While you bring in the cane, your children will learn to read and write!”

Hannah called for quiet. “Tomorrow, I’ll go to Bridgetown and bring back books and writing materials for the school. One week from today, the school will open!”

The workers dispersed then, and the Helm father and son gathered with Hannah, Helena, and Annie to assess the meeting.

“Will it succeed?” Hannah asked fearfully. “Will they work hard so their children can go to school?”

Annie didn’t hesitate. “They will work.”

“Ja,” agreed Helm the Younger. “They will work. It is not the workers who concern me. It is the other owners. There will be hell to pay when word gets out.”

Hannah left for town in the carriage the following morning, taking Helena with her. After they had shopped for school supplies, Hannah left Helena in the carriage to rest and nap, and she crossed the busy main street and headed toward the shore of the bay. She had not had an opportunity to walk along the shore, and the beach looked cool and inviting.

Hannah walked barefoot for an hour until she was far beyond the curve of the lagoon. She sat on a rock to rest and watched the activities of crabs and fishes in the tidal pools. She picked up a hermit crab and whistled to it, and it popped out and waved its claws at her. To her amazement, it wiggled all the way out of its shell, dropped into the water, and scuttled away.

It was so lovely to be alone in the quiet and peaceful spot, Hannah lingered rather longer than she had planned. Finally, she rose and meandered slowly back along the shore. As she rounded the curve of the lagoon and entered the area where ships anchored in the bay, she noticed a crowd of black men and women on the shore. Looking out to sea, she saw the reason; a schooner had anchored. As she watched, a longboat pulled up alongside and several men from the schooner climbed into it.

Hannah moved away from the shore to avoid the rush of people greeting the longboat. She was about to cross the lane to retrieve the carriage when she paused and looked back toward the bay. She watched the longboat making its way steadily to shore, and as she gazed, one of the men in the boat moved slightly; he leaned forward as though to speak with one of the others. Something about his movement seemed familiar, and a strange jumping sensation in her chest felt as though her heart had leapt about in its chamber. She stood still and watched as the boat landed and the group of five men stepped out and walked in the direction of the path to town, their destination taking them away from where she was standing at the highest rise of the shore.

How or even why she began running, she didn’t know. Her feet simply ran as though they had a life of their own. Fronds brushed her arms as she hurtled through a stand of areca palms and along the sand. People looked at her angrily as she pushed by them, but she had no breath to say, “Pardon me.” Her entire being had become lodged in her running feet.

She broke through a group of women cracking coconuts, and then she paused, looking about frantically for the group of men. She saw them emerge from behind a hut. They paused a moment, talking and gesturing, and then moved on. Hannah began running again, but she had regained her breath.

“Aaron! Aaron!”

Her cry startled a little child, who ran to his mother’s arms. Hannah leapt over a cooking fire that she did not see until the last second. She stumbled into the arms of a woman, who snapped at her in a strange language.

“Aaron! Aaron!”

Now the men stopped walking. They turned toward her, and the one man dropped his valise and stared. Hannah hurtled toward him, for she would have happily given her life for a few moments in his arms.

“Hannah!”

He began running toward her, and within a few seconds he was there. Hannah fell into his arms and clung to him, unable to let him go. When he tried to move her away to look at her and speak, she wrapped her arms about him, her tears wetting his cotton shirt.

Aaron became aware of laughter and turned toward his acquaintances from the schooner Lucia.

“I’d say the lady was pleased to see you, mate!” called one. They laughed again and went on their way.

Gently, Aaron loosened Hannah’s arms and held her a few inches away.

“Come, my love, let’s go to a place less public before your reputation is sullied and the entire beach community is making merry at our expense!”

Hannah nodded, and they walked back in the direction from which she had run. Until they had reached the relative seclusion of the areca palms, they spoke no words. After her first joy at seeing Aaron, Hannah was shy and uneasy. He was married; she should have restrained herself.

They paused at the top of the strand near the edge of the lane, and Hannah suddenly remembered Helena was waiting for her. “Oh! I must go to Helena.”

“Helena! That’s a familiar name.”

“Yes, it was the name in my dream; do you recall? She was my nanny, and she’s waiting for me just over there.”

“I’ll enjoy meeting her,” he replied.

Helena looked surprised when her mistress returned in the company of a handsome English gentleman. She liked his quiet manners right away, and the high color on Hannah’s cheeks and the brightness of her eyes told Helena a great deal more than Hannah explained.

“Helena, my friend Captain Clarke has just this moment arrived. Can you drive the gig back to Highland and then send someone with the carriage tomorrow? Pray ask Annie to prepare a room for Captain Clarke. He’ll be staying at Highland.”

She turned to Aaron, barely able to meet his eye, such was the intensity of her sensations at having him near her.

“You will stay a few days with me, will you not, Captain Clarke?”

“I’ll be very pleased,” he replied.

Helena smiled as she clucked to the horse and headed down the lane. She would have much to tell Annie when she arrived at Highland.

Hannah, without thinking of where she was going, led Aaron along the beach. When they had rounded the curve of the lagoon and were finally alone, they settled on one of the large rocks strewn along the coast.

Aaron took her hand and raised it to his lips. For a moment, they simply sat side by side looking out to sea. Then Aaron asked the question that had been tormenting him throughout his long voyage to the Caribbean.

“Hannah, I must know. Are you engaged?”

“Engaged? No indeed. Why would you ask such a thing?”

He sighed in relief. “It’s a long story, and there will be time later for telling all that needs to be told. For now, I must relate one circumstance to you.”

Hannah sat in terror, feeling sure she would hear he had a son or a daughter. How could she bear hearing of Maria’s maternal happiness?

“Hannah, Maria is dead.”

“What!”

Aaron looked out to sea, still feeling the pain of remorse and self-condemnation over every aspect of his relationship with Maria. He spoke slowly, finally turning to look into Hannah’s face.

“She was thrown from her horse and died shortly afterward.”

Hannah wanted to express her commiseration, but she was painfully aware such words from her would have the ring of hypocrisy at best.

“She was with child,” he continued, “and the child died with her.”

“I’m sorry,” Hannah whispered, “your child was lost. How terrible.”

“The child wasn’t mine,” he replied. “But that doesn’t lessen the tragedy of its existence being cut off in such a manner.”

“No, it does not,” she agreed, startled at his words but unwilling to question him.

He rose and extended his hand to her. “Let’s walk.”

They rambled along the beach hand in hand, seeing little of the azure water, blue sky, and swooping birds. There was so much to say, and yet words seemed too difficult. Hannah didn’t try to speak, for the joy of walking with him, of feeling her hand enclosed in his, was more than enough for her overflowing heart to bear at the moment.

When they reached the group of rocks where Hannah a short time before had investigated the tidal pools, they sat on the same broad, flat outcropping she had occupied. How wonderful, she thought, to be here in this place that had charmed her so with the one person with whom she would want to share it!

Aaron picked up a shell and held it against her ear.

“Do you hear the sea?” he asked smilingly.

“Yes,” she replied.

He tossed the shell into the clear shallow water at the edge of the sea and looked into her face. Reaching out, he pushed a tendril of hair behind her ear.

“Hannah, is it possible you still care for me? Or could you, with time, come to care for me again?”

“I could never stop caring for you. Surely you must know that.”

“But could you care for me…as a husband rather than a friend? Although, a friend I would certainly continue to be.”

Hannah wanted to speak, but her eyes were fixed on his and the contact was bedazzling. She was unaware she was leaning toward him, and she didn’t know her face was expressing such love and desire, his question was answered with no words spoken. He took her in his arms and kissed her, and she opened her mouth and arms to him, leaving no doubt in his mind as to her sensations.

Their long-pent passion could not be denied, nor did either struggle against it. They slipped onto the sand under the shelter of a rock cave, and soon their kisses and caresses had rendered both breathless.

“Hannah,” Aaron whispered, “tell me to stop, and I will. Tell me, and I will.”

Hannah’s response was to pull him closer and entwine his body with hers. His hands began stroking her, driving her wild with pleasure, but she wanted more. She wanted the full union that was the ultimate pleasure…after that, whatever happened…they would always be one.

“Make love to me, Aaron,” she whispered. “Please make love to me.”

“Oh, God, Hannah, I want to make love to you! I will, but say you’ll marry me. I love you too much to lie with you only to let you go again.”

“Yes, yes. Aaron, yes.”

They slipped deeper into the cave where the light was dim. He was gentle as he removed her garments, and the feel of the soft sand against her body excited her even more. She did not look fearfully away when he disrobed but watched him with eager anticipation. He lay down next to her and continued caressing her, as she gasped with every new sensation.

“My sweet love,” he moaned as he covered her with his body.

The roar of the surf and the cries of the birds continued, and gradually the late afternoon waned and the sun sank into the sea, but Hannah was unaware. She was lost in the joy of love, and later, when her senses returned and she found herself locked in Aaron’s arms, she was surprised to see evening had come and a huge golden moon made a shimmering path across the sea and softly lit the dark sky.