cruel to Roxanne to put us on the defensive. What does concern me is the allegation that you agreed to let Barbour keep Roxanne as his ward in exchange for his promise that he wouldn’t take the two of you back to Georgia and sell you as slaves. If you did make a contract like that, it could complicate matters.”
“Mr. Penny, I never discussed that child staying with Mr. Barbour. And as far as going back to Georgia, Mr. Barbour always threatened to take us back when I brought up our freedom, but I never paid him no mind. He ran away from Georgia on account of his debts. I knew he wasn’t going back there. The only true thing in that paper is that I agreed to work for our freedom.”
Matthew sat silently, thinking. A bird sang and leaves rustled when another bird took flight. Matthew stood.
“You’re certain you’ve left nothing out?”
“That’s all I can think of, Mr. Penny. Mr. Barbour is a wicked man, and he’s keeping Roxanne to punish me.”
“Well, that’s it, then. I’ll draw up an affidavit for you to swear to, setting out your answer to his allegations. Then we’ll get the case set for the next term of court in September.”
“You mean I might not have Roxanne back until September?”
“Worthy, I want to be honest with you. There is no guarantee you’ll get her back then. The law is very slow at times. Even if we win, there can be appeals that can stretch the case out for months. You shouldn’t expect this matter to be decided quickly.”
Worthy looked furious for a second, then his rage departed as suddenly as it had appeared and he sighed.
“I’ll try to be patient. It’s just hard knowing Roxanne’s with that man.”
“I know it is, and I’m going to try my hardest to get her back. But you have to be prepared for the worst.”
THEY TALKED A LITTLE LONGER, then Worthy put some vegetables from his garden in Matthew’s saddlebags and the lawyer went on his way.
Worthy watched Matthew disappear around a bend in the trail. He wanted to believe that Matthew would save Roxanne, but there were times when his belief in the possibility of justice wavered. He’d not had much justice since the raiders came to Bambuk-Bure, and it was hard to believe that his luck would change now.
CHAPTER 16
T he weather changed for the worse a week before the Keans’ Saturday evening performance of The Merchant of Venice . The rain, which drove the denizens of Portland to seek shelter, made Matthew realize that he didn’t own any means of transport suitable for squiring a young lady of Heather’s class to the theater. That problem was solved after Sunday services at Ezekiel Mason’s church when Heather invited Matthew to dine at the mansion before the theater and ride into town with her and her father.
On the evening of the show, Matthew was so nervous that he nicked himself shaving. As he rode up the hill, he worried that the Gillettes would notice he was wearing the same clothes he’d worn to the reception for the Oregon Pony, his only nice outfit other than the funereal black suit he wore to court. He also worried about his feelings for Heather Gillette and how he could have them if he still loved Rachel.
When Matthew visited Worthy Brown at his cabin, Worthy had told Matthew that the passage of time had transformed Africa into a dream in which he could no longer distinguish reality from what his imagination had painted in. Was Rachel becoming less substantial with each passing day? There were moments when he had to struggle to recall her scent after a bath or the exact contours of her face. This made him sad.
Even if his memories of Rachel might be fading, Matthew knew that he would always love her. One thing he had learned after Rachel passed was that there was no truth in the part of his marriage vow that read, “Till death do us part.” Rachel’s death had forced Matthew to think about the biggest of questions, and he had decided that death did not part people who truly loved each
“Mr. Penny, I never discussed that child staying with Mr. Barbour. And as far as going back to Georgia, Mr. Barbour always threatened to take us back when I brought up our freedom, but I never paid him no mind. He ran away from Georgia on account of his debts. I knew he wasn’t going back there. The only true thing in that paper is that I agreed to work for our freedom.”
Matthew sat silently, thinking. A bird sang and leaves rustled when another bird took flight. Matthew stood.
“You’re certain you’ve left nothing out?”
“That’s all I can think of, Mr. Penny. Mr. Barbour is a wicked man, and he’s keeping Roxanne to punish me.”
“Well, that’s it, then. I’ll draw up an affidavit for you to swear to, setting out your answer to his allegations. Then we’ll get the case set for the next term of court in September.”
“You mean I might not have Roxanne back until September?”
“Worthy, I want to be honest with you. There is no guarantee you’ll get her back then. The law is very slow at times. Even if we win, there can be appeals that can stretch the case out for months. You shouldn’t expect this matter to be decided quickly.”
Worthy looked furious for a second, then his rage departed as suddenly as it had appeared and he sighed.
“I’ll try to be patient. It’s just hard knowing Roxanne’s with that man.”
“I know it is, and I’m going to try my hardest to get her back. But you have to be prepared for the worst.”
THEY TALKED A LITTLE LONGER, then Worthy put some vegetables from his garden in Matthew’s saddlebags and the lawyer went on his way.
Worthy watched Matthew disappear around a bend in the trail. He wanted to believe that Matthew would save Roxanne, but there were times when his belief in the possibility of justice wavered. He’d not had much justice since the raiders came to Bambuk-Bure, and it was hard to believe that his luck would change now.
CHAPTER 16
T he weather changed for the worse a week before the Keans’ Saturday evening performance of The Merchant of Venice . The rain, which drove the denizens of Portland to seek shelter, made Matthew realize that he didn’t own any means of transport suitable for squiring a young lady of Heather’s class to the theater. That problem was solved after Sunday services at Ezekiel Mason’s church when Heather invited Matthew to dine at the mansion before the theater and ride into town with her and her father.
On the evening of the show, Matthew was so nervous that he nicked himself shaving. As he rode up the hill, he worried that the Gillettes would notice he was wearing the same clothes he’d worn to the reception for the Oregon Pony, his only nice outfit other than the funereal black suit he wore to court. He also worried about his feelings for Heather Gillette and how he could have them if he still loved Rachel.
When Matthew visited Worthy Brown at his cabin, Worthy had told Matthew that the passage of time had transformed Africa into a dream in which he could no longer distinguish reality from what his imagination had painted in. Was Rachel becoming less substantial with each passing day? There were moments when he had to struggle to recall her scent after a bath or the exact contours of her face. This made him sad.
Even if his memories of Rachel might be fading, Matthew knew that he would always love her. One thing he had learned after Rachel passed was that there was no truth in the part of his marriage vow that read, “Till death do us part.” Rachel’s death had forced Matthew to think about the biggest of questions, and he had decided that death did not part people who truly loved each
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