The Pull Of Freedom by Brenda Barrett Read Free Book Online

that’s a first, an attractive girl like you living in his house.” Bridget’s blue eyes were alight with mirth. “All of that olive skin and wavy black hair and big brown eyes and he is not interested.”
    “He likes them darker,” Martha said, regretting her rejoinder as soon as she said it. She glanced at Miss Elizabeth and the woman looked really sad. What would she do now that Martha had spoken her mind?
    “I agree,” Elizabeth said looking at Martha’s stricken expression and gave her a reassuring smile. She was more attuned to what transpired on plantations than everyone thought.
    Martha was relieved. Both women were actually treating her as if she was one of them.
    “So whose is it?” Bridget asked curiously.
    Martha’s hand clenched over the fan, if she said Cudjoe, then it would not be hard for Miss Elizabeth to deduce that may be she had known more about the runaways than she was letting on.
    “Er … ” she went blank, not being able to think of a name quickly.
    “It belongs to a short slave that ran away from here two months ago that called himself Cudjoe.” Elizabeth said serenely. “Remember that time when the twelve slaves ran away?”
    Bridget nodded.
    Martha gasped.
    “He was in it.” Elizabeth sipped her tea and raised a brow and looked at Martha. “I actually thought you would have gone.”
    “I … I … Missis Sim ... Sim … ”
    “You are shocking her with your revelations,” Bridget said somewhat awed at Elizabeth’s boldness. She had considered her a bit timid before this, somewhat overwhelmed with the newness of her situation in Jamaica but her friend was waking her up to her true character.
    “I heard you telling Mamee that they were planning to run,” Elizabeth said looking at Martha, "slaves aren't the only ones who can listen in at doors and pretend to be dumb."
    Martha smiled weakly, what would happen to her now? Would Elizabeth ask her where they were headed? Tell her husband and have him beat her to death? What would happen to Mamee?
    “Stop worrying about it,” Elizabeth smiled at both women, “I called you away that morning purposely.”
    “You did it on purpose?” Martha gasped.
    “It's not as unselfish as it sounds, I hate the fact that my husband plays around with the young girls on the plantation, selling their children when they look too much like him. I thought I would punish him.”
    “You know?” Both Bridget and Martha asked at the same time.
    “Of course I know,” Elizabeth sighed, “who doesn’t? I also know that his slimy looking overseer pants like a dog in heat every time I pass by him. I don’t want my son to grow up here and be like his father. Robert wasn't this way when we just got married, this land has changed him. I'm so unhappy,” she put down the cup in the saucer and pressed her lips together.
    “I'm tired of pretending that everything is alright, I just want to go back to England. I don’t care if the whole lot of you run away. I want my husband back to how he used to be.” Her eyes welled with tears and she sniffed.
    Bridget got up and hugged her friend.
    “Shhh … Liz … don’t cry. I would miss you if you leave.”
    “I wanted Mark to get to know his father, he hardly ever saw him when he came to England on his brief yearly visits. So like a fool, I came to this country and found out things I didn’t want to know, like his affinity for black girls and his sick ways of torturing them before he rapes them.”
    Bridget patted her friend’s back, her blue eyes were sad. “Robert is expanding his plantation now and would never let you take Mark back to England, his son and heir is very important to him you know.”
    “I know,” Elizabeth blubbered, “now that I've come, I can’t leave. I'm little better than the slaves; I want Mark to learn good values from me. Is it a bad time to ask about his other son, the one on your plantation?”
    Bridget smiled down into Elizabeth’s eyes, “I always wanted to talk to you