Chapter Eleven
Ellen Howard was not amused by the smirk on her grandson's face. Something devious had entered his mind and he was preparing to act on it.
She had tried over the years to like her grandson, but Charles had inherited his personality from his father and grandfather, too much of it unfortunate. He had an annoyingly high opinion of himself, earned not by deeds but by accident of birth, and he was intolerant of those who did not share this glorified perspective. Her husband, Hoke, had passed on that particular character flaw, most flagrantly displayed when he took action in the world of business. Something inside of her was satisfied when she saw Hoke encounter his comeuppance. But he did not fail often; in fact, he exhibited a flair for wealth accumulation. In the early years of their marriage, she had perceived this flair to be happenstance, but over the years he had demonstrated it with too great a frequency to have been mere dumb luck. How full of himself he became when he was flush. Hoke was so imprudent with money that after prolonged bouts of profligacy he would be forced to sell people and animals to make up the shortfall. She found those times painful and humiliating. She was especially moved when it came time to sell the animals. She remembered a particular horse, a glorious bay named Ahab, which Hoke had gifted to Jacob. A few months later, when they were overextended, Hoke had sold the horse without warning, giving Jacob no opportunity to bid Ahab farewell. Jacob had been heartbroken in a way that only a trusting young boy can be when betrayed by a father. It exposed Jacob's stubborn streak, as it was years before he publicly forgave his father. Jacob was too young to understand that his father was deeply mortified by his fiscal weaknesses and had been ashamed to face his son.
And so began Jacob's history of mulish behavior in the face of his father's disapproval, which led to his greatest obdurate blunder, his marriage to Sarah Greenleaf. When Jacob finally took a good look at his permanent wife and understood the enormity of his error, rather than admit his folly, he fled, initially to bury himself in his business and later to bury himself in war. And yet there was precedent for his obstinacy. She remembered how Hoke had insisted on Ellen Corey as his bride, and oh, how Grace Howard had frowned on that! Grace Howard. Ellen's mind ran to her mother-in-law. Lord, what a frightening creature. Ellen was terrified of her, spent the entire first year of marriage skulking around her. Grace Howard was a force of nature, so intelligent, so certain, so inflexible. She had even infused her personal servant, Emoline, with those traits. The two of them, in the same house, surrounding Ellen the young bride. She shivered to think of it. Ellen had not felt safe in the bosom of her husband's family until John-Corey was born. At the instant of motherhood, she fell completely and utterly in love with her son, and no longer recoiled at her mother-in-law's caprice.
Grace had not lived to meet Jacob. Grace had acted as if she would live forever, and what a surprise her death had been, not the least to herself. A woman that powerful and determined, and yet she was unable to go on after the death of her husband. Grace left Hoke behind to take over Sweetsmoke. How young he had been emotionally, a new father still struggling to cope with the death of his own father.
"Grandma Ellen?" said Charles coyly.
"Eat your breakfast, Charles," said Ellen.
Charles had a few unpleasant traits that were all his own, one of which was that he thought he was sly and clever, when he was in fact obvious and transparent.
"Where was the carpenter going in the middle of the night?"
"Please do not share your dreams at the table, as they are unappetizing," said Ellen.
"It warn't no dream, Grandma Ellen."
"And please do not bite into the second muffin before you have finished your first one."
"I was up in the night and saw him."
"Saw whom, Charles?"
"Saw the carpenter," said Charles. "Cassius."
"I do not see how you could have recognized him in the dark."
"It was almost dawn and I was using the chamber pot."
"Do not speak of such things at the table, Charles."
"But I was, and before I got back in bed I looked out the window and saw Cassius sneaking off. He had Daddy's old bag and his hat. Where was he going? Is he a runaway too, like Joseph?"
"Cassius has been with us a long time, Charles," said Ellen, but she was interested in this information.
Ellen Howard disliked Cassius. Hoke had always favored him and she had never understood it. Cassius struck her as unexceptional, no different from the others except that his closeness to her husband gave him permission to parade his bad habits, such as being willing to look a planter in the eye and speak his mind. If he had run, it was almost certainly because of Hoke's illness. Cassius would know that Hoke's protection was now at an end and he would not be indulged as he had been when Hoke was alive. She caught herself. She had thought "when Hoke was alive." A superstitious chill gripped her and she looked to perform some act of contrition, now that she had to protect her husband from her dangerous thoughts the way she protected her son. Hoke was alive still and would remain so, she was convinced of it. What had brought on such an appalling thought? She would punish herself; she would avoid laudanum for a day, no two, and drink her tea without sweet. Was it not difficult enough being forced to learn the everyday workings of the plantation? Now she had to defend against evil thoughts.
Ellen's mind turned to the plantation. She played a complicated game with the other owners. Women were not acceptable masters, so she pretended her decisions were made by her husband, even though everyone knew he was incapacitated. The other planters likewise pretended that Hoke was making decisions as that allowed business to flow smoothly. When they disagreed with one of her decisions, they demanded she inform her husband that his decision was unacceptable. She would then pretend to carry their response to him, and return with a new decision. In one case she simply reiterated her original decision and they accepted it without comment. Beyond that, she manifestly did not enjoy being in charge. So many questions, Missus this and Missus that. She preferred the old days, when she only had to inform her husband of her opinion to have her will thus carried out.
Ellen was now forced to suffer through direct interactions with the personnel. She found Mr. Nettle a bore, consumed with minutiae, and she dreaded his evening report on the state of the plantation. Sometimes she refused to see him. She would need to invent a new system. If there was little to report, he could wait two or three days, perhaps even a week. Today was likely to be particularly difficult. Food stocks were increasingly low, and she had delayed confronting the problem. Hoke had hidden grain and preserves from the quartermaster, but had neglected to share with her their location. She had to pretend to know, however, because if she were to ask her people, they would recognize her ignorance and go dumb, and subsequently raid the stocks for themselves. She could not abide her people taking advantage of her. She thought to include the new butler from John- Corey. Beauregard seemed loyal enough and willing to please, but of course it was early in his stewardship, and he would want to appear capable. That would change in time, it always did. It was decided then: She would speak with him, and be careful not to tip her hand. The butler should know the goings-on of the plantation.
Lord, she thought, where is Pet? I will need my laudanum drops if I am to get through the day.
"So you know where Cassius was going?" said Charles.
"Yes, of course," said his grandmother.
Ellen would have to find out if Cassius was on the property. She did not appreciate the spurious expression of shock on Charles's face.
After breakfast, she spoke with Beauregard, and asked for the condition of the hidden food stocks, expecting a full report to be detailed by their location. By mid-morning, Beauregard had reported back with an itemized list that included the locations, and went further to report the condition of the hidden livestock. Ellen's hands were rock steady, as she had increased the number of drops and was feeling quite normal in her altered condition. She had forgotten her superstitious promise until after her indulgence, vowing immediately to curb her use the following two days. She asked Beauregard if he knew Cassius's whereabouts, and was informed that Cassius had been seen going up to the area that held the livestock, probably to work on the hog pen. Ellen was satisfied with his report and relieved to know that Charles was wrong. But she would have Mr. Nettle account for Cassius to confirm that he remained on Sweetsmoke property. She would need to exert control over that one. He had too much independence. She preferred to loan him out to other plantations, as then she would not not have to see him day in and day out. If Hoke were not to recover, perhaps a sale through Lucas Force would be in order; but she would never do it unless Hoke was gone. With his skills, Cassius was likely to fetch a fine price.