Freedom Bound by Jean Rae Baxter

right down into the cellar to grab me
and drag me out. Jammy got away. I never knew what happened to Noah.”
    â€œThe slave catchers didn’t touch him. Noah’s fine. He’s still
at Mrs. Doughty’s house. In ten minutes, you’ll be with him
again.”
    But it took only five minutes, because now it was Phoebe
leading Charlotte, and she fairly dragged her along.

Chapter 15

    AS SOON AS PHOEBE was inside the door, Patience, Charity
and Joseph ran to her and threw their arms around her knees.
“Phoebe, Phoebe!” they squealed. With pats and kisses, she
embraced all three, but scarcely seemed to see them. A baby’s
cry came from the kitchen, and in a moment Mrs. Doughty
appeared.
    She hugged Phoebe. “Noah’s just started to fuss. I was
preparing sugar water to give him when I heard thee at the
door. His cradle’s in the kitchen.”
    Before Phoebe could rush to him, Charlotte caught her
arm. “One thing first.”
    Phoebe stood motionless while Charlotte inserted thelittle key into the lock at the back of the metal collar. The
clasp opened with a click. Spreading the two halves open on
their hinge, Charlotte slipped the collar from Phoebe’s neck.
    â€œYou’ll never have to wear that again.”
    Phoebe turned around, and they both eyed the thing in
Charlotte’s hand as if it were a dead viper, its venom spent.
Touching her fingers to her neck, Phoebe looked as if she
were about to say something. But Noah gave another cry,
and she ran from the room.
    Charlotte closed the kitchen door, leaving mother and
child together.
    Facing Mrs. Doughty, Charlotte took a deep breath and
let it out with a long sigh. “Everything went as planned. Nick
will be back in an hour or two.”
    â€œThanks be to God!” Mrs. Doughty took her cloak from
a hook near the door. “I’m going up Meeting Street to thank
Friend Perkins and tell her that the baby is with his mother
again. I’ll be back before Nick returns.”
    Charlotte sat down on the rug to play with the children.
They built a fort with blocks, and then turned it into a farm,
bringing out their wooden animals to put in the barnyard.
    After a while, Phoebe joined them. “Noah’s asleep,” she
said as she got down on the rug and helped to turn the farm
into a castle.
    Mrs. Doughty came home. She brought out her mending
bag and started darning stockings.
    An hour passed.
    The children tired of blocks. Charlotte told them the
story of Sleeping Beauty, followed by Rapunzel.
    Another hour passed. The tall clock in its wooden case
chimed six. Having no idea how long it took to give instructions to a lawyer, Charlotte tried not to worry. But surely it
was time for Nick to return!
    She helped Mrs. Doughty cook supper. When it was ready,
she could scarcely eat a bite.
    Mrs. Doughty put her children to bed. After closing the
shutters, she lit a candle. It was now eight o’clock. The tall
floor clock’s brass pendulum swung back and forth, catching the candlelight.
    He’ll come soon, Charlotte thought. The clock kept ticking.
    At nine o’clock there was a knock at the door. Charlotte’s
heart thudded in her chest. It couldn’t be Nick. He would
have walked right in.
    â€œShall I go to the door?” Charlotte asked.
    Mrs. Doughty nodded.
    When Charlotte opened the door, she saw Captain Braemar standing there, not a trace of a smile on his face. He
bowed.
    â€œMiss Charlotte, I have bad news.”
    Her stomach lurched. “For the past couple of hours, I’ve
been fearing bad news.” She opened the door wider for him
to enter. “Tell me what happened.” She spoke carefully, standing rigid as a gatepost.
    â€œRuffians attacked Nick and carried him off.”
    She wanted to scream. But that was what she must not do.
She must keep her head. Screaming would help no one.
    â€œI can’t tell you much more,” said Captain Braemar.