knife. The ring’s presence not only startled her every time she noticed it, but it also reminded her of the man who had placed it there.
The knife slipped yet again, barely missing her finger.
Sally gasped. “You better let Miss Mary cut the yun-yuns.”
“You mean onions .”
“Yes. Yun-yuns.”
Constance swiped a sleeve across her face, trying to shove back the curls blocking her view, and concentrated on her task. “Well, I’ll strive to be more careful. Otherwise I might run out of chemise.”
Sally eyed the old chemise crumpled upon the bed. “I think you’ll run out of fingers.”
Mary scurried over to collect the carrots, waiting while Constance scooped up her slices and dropped them into the iron pot. “I’ll set these over the fire, then show you how to cut them ‘yun-yuns.’ ” She turned and winked at Sally. “After the noon meal, we’ll boil that chemise, we will. I have a feeling she’ll be needing it again, and the smell of it hurts my nose.”
Sally giggled as Mary struggled with the pot of carrots in one hand while pinching her nose with the other.
By the time Drew and Josh arrived with the new men, Mary had prepared a hearty vegetable soup with enough corn pone for all. The men servants were weak, filthy, and hungry. They partook of their meal in the clearing, then deposited the empty trenchers they shared in the pails by the door.
Constance watched as, by degrees, they filed in front of the cottage and faced Drew, awaiting his instructions. Josh stood at Drew’s left, while she and Sally were instructed to stand behind him and to his right. Mary picked up the pails of dirty dishes and headed to the creek.
Fetid shirts and britches hung on the men like rags on a cord. None wore shoes. Their newly shorn hair stuck in odd angles from their heads, while their grim faces displayed pallid complexions beneath a night’s growth of whiskers.
She recognized none of them. Her thoughts had been of Uncle Skelly on the trip over and she had taken little notice of the other men during her brief jaunts to the upper deck.
“Eight of you are to serve a seven-year term,” Drew started, “two a fourteen-year term as per your contracts. For the most part, we will be harvesting tobacco. I also have plans to build a three-level house come November.
“I will clothe and feed you well and, for now, you will sleep in the tobacco barn. When the big house is built, you may have this cottage as your living quarters.”
He clasped his hands behind his back, his shadow stretching beside him in the still morning light. “At the end of your terms, each of you will receive an acre of land along with corn and new clothing. I will show you your land tomorrow. If you wish to work it on your free day, you may do so. Good behavior and hard work will be the price of seeds and tools for your land.”
Constance looked from one indentured man to another, noting their guarded expressions. And no wonder. Drew’s manner was in sharp contrast to that of the ship captain’s. They had received nothing but barking orders and immediate retribution on the ship. To now have the lure of owning land dangled before them must be a bit suspect. She tilted her head, guessing it would take a while for them to accept their master’s word as truth.
“Whatever price your crop brings will be yours to keep. I will hold your monies in an account with your name. If you want to save it, you may have the whole of it come the end of your term. If you want to use it to purchase supplies or sundries, you may give me the list and I will purchase them for you.”
He took to pacing in front of the men. “You will not be working in the fields alone. I will be there working beside you. Any man who works harder than I will be given a bonus at the end of the season.”
He stopped. The trees whispered. The hens clucked. The men kept their focus fastened on him. “I have plans for a great plantation. You are coming in at the best possible
The knife slipped yet again, barely missing her finger.
Sally gasped. “You better let Miss Mary cut the yun-yuns.”
“You mean onions .”
“Yes. Yun-yuns.”
Constance swiped a sleeve across her face, trying to shove back the curls blocking her view, and concentrated on her task. “Well, I’ll strive to be more careful. Otherwise I might run out of chemise.”
Sally eyed the old chemise crumpled upon the bed. “I think you’ll run out of fingers.”
Mary scurried over to collect the carrots, waiting while Constance scooped up her slices and dropped them into the iron pot. “I’ll set these over the fire, then show you how to cut them ‘yun-yuns.’ ” She turned and winked at Sally. “After the noon meal, we’ll boil that chemise, we will. I have a feeling she’ll be needing it again, and the smell of it hurts my nose.”
Sally giggled as Mary struggled with the pot of carrots in one hand while pinching her nose with the other.
By the time Drew and Josh arrived with the new men, Mary had prepared a hearty vegetable soup with enough corn pone for all. The men servants were weak, filthy, and hungry. They partook of their meal in the clearing, then deposited the empty trenchers they shared in the pails by the door.
Constance watched as, by degrees, they filed in front of the cottage and faced Drew, awaiting his instructions. Josh stood at Drew’s left, while she and Sally were instructed to stand behind him and to his right. Mary picked up the pails of dirty dishes and headed to the creek.
Fetid shirts and britches hung on the men like rags on a cord. None wore shoes. Their newly shorn hair stuck in odd angles from their heads, while their grim faces displayed pallid complexions beneath a night’s growth of whiskers.
She recognized none of them. Her thoughts had been of Uncle Skelly on the trip over and she had taken little notice of the other men during her brief jaunts to the upper deck.
“Eight of you are to serve a seven-year term,” Drew started, “two a fourteen-year term as per your contracts. For the most part, we will be harvesting tobacco. I also have plans to build a three-level house come November.
“I will clothe and feed you well and, for now, you will sleep in the tobacco barn. When the big house is built, you may have this cottage as your living quarters.”
He clasped his hands behind his back, his shadow stretching beside him in the still morning light. “At the end of your terms, each of you will receive an acre of land along with corn and new clothing. I will show you your land tomorrow. If you wish to work it on your free day, you may do so. Good behavior and hard work will be the price of seeds and tools for your land.”
Constance looked from one indentured man to another, noting their guarded expressions. And no wonder. Drew’s manner was in sharp contrast to that of the ship captain’s. They had received nothing but barking orders and immediate retribution on the ship. To now have the lure of owning land dangled before them must be a bit suspect. She tilted her head, guessing it would take a while for them to accept their master’s word as truth.
“Whatever price your crop brings will be yours to keep. I will hold your monies in an account with your name. If you want to save it, you may have the whole of it come the end of your term. If you want to use it to purchase supplies or sundries, you may give me the list and I will purchase them for you.”
He took to pacing in front of the men. “You will not be working in the fields alone. I will be there working beside you. Any man who works harder than I will be given a bonus at the end of the season.”
He stopped. The trees whispered. The hens clucked. The men kept their focus fastened on him. “I have plans for a great plantation. You are coming in at the best possible
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