Chapter 4
For Lydia Gates, marriage was bondage. To some women, it was a gateway to heaven but to her it was not something she wanted for herself, not even her worst enemy if she could help it. She had watched her parent's relationship deteriorate as a child, it had gone from bad to worse.Growing up in the care of her nannies, they told her stories. Stories of how loving their parents had been when they first got married, how inseparable they were, how strong the bond they shared had been.Lydia wanted none of that, and especially not with a man she barely knew. A rich white man would treat her like a piece of trash. Certainly not, she could get everything she wanted and she intended to. Without a man, and certainly not a white one.How her parents had managed to keep the family estate and the legacy going, she could not tell. It was probably the only thing her father still enjoyed doing- working. She had seen him work tirelessly over the years to ensure they maintain the position and status he had managed to attain as a black man in the white society.It was also one of the things she was grateful to him for, the legacy. But now she was informed it was all going to ruin if she did nothing to help, she was the first and 'only surviving' daughter as her father would say. She had to help keep the legacy her father managed to build going.And how was she supposed to do that? By getting married to a rich white Lord to form some sort of alliance! Of all things, marriage? Lydia fumed angrily.She stood up from her dressing table where she had been sitting and staring outside the windows and into the fields and started pacing about the room. If for just this once her father wanted her help and the only thing he needed was something she couldn't give, then she might as well be termed useless. But how was she going to throw her whole life away for something so worthless?She left the room now, a final attempt to talk to her mother might help, she could at least try to talk her husband out of this. As she approached her parent's room, Lydia heard voices- her parent's voices. It was her mother's voice first, sharp as steel."...You have to reconsider, Barry. You might be pushing her to her end" Her mother was saying."You are scared, Lauren. As always" Her father's voice joined"Lydia paused by the door, one hand on the handle and one ear on the door,"We can't afford to lose her, can't you see? England is a very far away place for her to go! And to what? A husband she has never met? You know how it is with the white society…""That is the problem. The white society, can't you see? I have built all of this, Lauren, from nothing, from scratch! That gap can be bridged and a very trivial way to bridge it is an alliance between two powerful families. An alliance between the Lincoln's and the Gates would bridge that gap you talk about.""You don't get it Barry, Lydia is our only surviving daughter. I can't afford to lose her too. I would rather give all of this up to have my blood with me, Barry. What if the Lincoln boy treats her like trash? What if she is not welcomed in their home and the society at large, what if…"Her father's voice cut her mother's short, it rose to meet hers too, "So many what ifs Lauren! But what if they live happily?""Like we did? We started off with love and look where we have gotten, how much more two different people with no sort of connection or possibility of a little spark between them!"There was a long pause, Lydia almost gave up on listening to more and was about turning the door knob when her father's voice came again. This time she had to strain her ears to hear them."You know what happened between us, Laur. The tragedy drifted us apart, I've tried timelessly to break this wall of ice between us but you wouldn't let me, how am I supposed to go on knowing that my wife…""You make it sound like it was my fault, Barry! It was all your fault, Barry! My maid, Barry. My damn maid!""Lauren…"She could not see them but Lydia knew her mother had raised one hand to silent her father, it was a habit. "I don't want to watch you destroy whatever is left of this family, Barry. You will not use my children as baits for your selfish interest, not anymore."They are my kids too." Her father's voice was calm now, almost like a subdued lion."And look what you are doing to them, Barry. Look what you are doing to our babies," She could tell her mother was close to tears, "First it was our daughter and then Lucky. And now you want to sell off the only one we have left, and for what?""Woman! Lucky married the woman because he wanted to, and now you have grandkids, thanks to that union. I had no hand in what happened to our daughter, Lauren. Yes, I made a mistake, but I've never stopped telling you how sorry I was, I've tried, Lauren. What else do you want me to do?""Stop selling off our children for some stupid alliance! They are not a piece of paper you can sign off as a seal to an agreement.""I'm doing this for them and you know it. Can you just not let go of this grief for once Lauren? For once please, see reason with me? This is what I want for us, you know how we got here, if we don't remain here we will…"Lydia could not take it any longer. She had heard enough, she opened the door now, "And what about what I want, papa? Doesn't it matter to you at all?""Lydia…""My baby," Her mother rushed to her and took her hand in hers."Papa, what about what I really want?""Lydia, I'm doing this for you""No you are not! And what is this you keep talking about me being the only surviving daughter? Did I have a sister, what happened to my sister?""Lydia… you have been eavesdropping""Yes mama! And I've heard the maids talking, what happened to my sister?""Prepare your things, you are getting married to Lord Lincoln's son soon. You are still too young to know what is best for you"With that, her father picked his coat and left the room. Lydia turned to her mother who was sobbing now, she sighed tiredly and rested her back on the nearby wall."I'm sorry baby, I'm so sorry. I've failed you again""Don't be sorry, mother. I've made up my mind, I'll not be here for whatever wedding your husband has in mind"She covered the distance between them, "What are you talking about?""I'm leaving, mother. I'll leave."Lydia did not wait to hear what her mother would say, she hoped the woman would remember this last conversation later, for she had no time for regrets.Chapter 5Already tired of watching the same thing happen over and over again, she sighed impatiently for the sixth time in five minutes. But she knew she couldn't move, and shouldn't be seen. Sir Roberts had warned her against it, being seen by the crew members would only mean turning herself in as a slave to be sold across the sea or worse, as a sex slave for the crew men on the ship.The kitchen was not exactly the best place to hide, not with all the heat still hanging and the ocean breezes. Once they were out to sea it wouldn't be so bad, but now, with the huge brick ovens radiating heat since before morning, and steam rolling out of pots on the stove from what promised to be a tasty evening meal, it was hot as the devil's welcome.The cook and his two helpers had discarded most of their clothes by the time the crew started wandering in for a quick breakfast, a man or two at a time strolled into the kitchen occasionally, since the hours before takeoff were the busiest time aboard.
Chapter 6With Annoyance, he stalked down the hall, the thought of several ways to escape his father's devilish plans plaguing his mind. Of Course he could not think of any, it was not like his father to make empty threats, if he had said it, and in the presence of that coffee colored old man, then he definitely meant it. Three days had passed already and he had heard nothing concerning the matter from his father or his mother. It was on Daniel, his brother who tried to give him the reassurance that marriage was not as bad as he thought and tried to make him think it could work for him. "The fact that it's working for you should not make you think it will work for everyone, and certainly not me." It was all he could say to make his brother leave him alone, that too seemed not to be working. "You can look at our parent's marriage if you need another instance, Derek. They have been together for…" Derek rolled his eyes, "Spare me the sermon and get out of my room, Daniel. Your wife n
Chapter 7Dressing in a man’s clothes was not as difficult as staying with a man in the same cabin, or pretending to be a man and an errand boy at the same time. Nancy sighed for the umpteenth time, her patience was running thin by the minute, she had been standing by the men who had come in with Sir Roberts that morning, waiting for their breakfast to be over so she could have hers. It came with being a cabin boy, she was told. The men chatted on with no care in the world for the boy standing by them, not the least bit concerned if she had eaten. Only Sir Roberts spared her glances occasionally with pleading eyes urging that she remain silent to prevent the men from seeing through her disguise. Nancy understood perfectly, she was no stranger to hunger or starvation and she could not risk being discovered now. Last night, she had overheard a girl screaming in a distant cabin as men took turns on her. She could tell which class the girl belonged, for even on the ship, there was an hi
Chapter 8For hours after the men left, Nancy was still curled up at a corner in the cabin. She had lost track of time but she knew it was over hours. Victory lay curled in a ball at her feet, she had managed to get up and feed the poor little kitten. She still felt sorry for the way the lousy Luppet had kicked the cat, not like she had a say in the matter, the knot in her chest grew tighter by the minute. They had no regard for women, or blacks for that matter. And she was here, a black young woman, surrounded by men, a group of white slave traders, in search of a woman to satisfy their urges. Nancy had never felt so helpless, how long was she going to keep her disguise? What if Sir Roberts decided to spill? And what had he said about selling her off at the gates? He had said he'll think about it, and by God he would. Every single person on the ship knew what the gates meant, it was their worst nightmare and fear. The place where people were priced and auctioned like pieces of fish
Chapter 9For Nancy, the weeks slipped by really fast, it was like the flight of a butterfly. She had no awareness of the time, spending most of the days in the cabin. She knew that three weeks had gone by already since that started sailing only because she had asked Sir Roberts. She spent most part of the day in the cabin, with Victory being her only companion during the day and Sir Roberts during the night. Over the weeks, the bond between her and Sir Roberts had grown rapidly, it was almost like he was a friend turned brother. After the last night they had the conversation about Luppet, Sir Roberts had not tried to touch or even do anything inappropriate to her. He had even grown to love Victory like his own. When they did not have visitors in the cabin, they would both chat away for most part of the night. It was magical to Nancy, how two people from completely different races could get along so well, it would have been even better if he was a girl. She was convinced they would
Fire in paradiseChapter 10Maybe it was a stupid mistake, running off like that. But there was no way she would be able to take living with Sir Roberts in the same cabin again after what transpired between them that morning. What if he decides to switch on her and hand her back to his lusty friends to do with her as they please? Or what if he decides to damn all odds and take her against her will? Never! She was never going to live to see that day, when a lilly livered man would use her body for his useless pleasure or sell her off as a piece of clothe? Victory's cry of hunger brought her thoughts back to reality. She stared down at the cat with pitiable eyes, they had been walking for hours, she was sure they left the cabin around morning, but right now, she couldn't tell what time it was but she could tell it was evening. The kitten was hungry by now, they had both not eaten a thing after the early breakfast they had all had that morning. "I'm sorry baby, I know you are hungry. M
Chapter 11Nancy was rudely awakened when the good woman burst into the room that morning. "Wake up! Wake up, child, before she returns and finds you here"Just then, the front door opened again and Anna burst into the room too, Nancy raised her head and saw that Victory was no longer beside her. Then she looked at the stern, hard faced woman standing by the bed and shot her a look of contempt. She wondered what the woman would do if she attacked her. She would probably run off screaming to the entire village that the cursed black magician had tried to kill her and she had narrowly escaped, she looked around and saw Mirabel staring curiously at her too, Nancy was yet to learn whether or not she had need to be wary of the child, was she like her mother or her aunt? She would never know."Be quick, child, go and dress yourself," The good woman continued, handing Nancy a rough woolen shift. "This place is not safe for you, the men from yesterday are everywhere now. They seem very convin
Chapter 12Nancy was lifted roughly into the canoe by one of the men, another one was sent out by the older man to inform the others that the Lady had been captured so they should return immediately. The old man and the younger fellow with him did not wait for the other men to join them, the younger man pushed the canoe into the river with Nancy and the old man in it and jumped into it to paddle away. The chill morning breeze played with Nancy's features, she reached out and let her hair loose, it flew in the breeze and must have brushed the younger man's face because he turned his head to her and gave her a warning look, Nancy paid him no mind and just stared into the water ahead."What is that with you and why do you have it?" The younger man who was glaring at her asked Nancy in a contemptuous tone. Nancy said nothing and just continued looking at the water, the man reached out and opened the sac containing Victory to reveal its head. Sensing the rough handling and the tension, w