Mankillers

“Apple kugel’s the best,” Job a

Sarah smiled at the five year-old. “It’s my favorite too. I bet Grandma also brings Blintzes.”

“Yum.” He patted his belly. “Is Liza going to be there?”

Buck smiled. The boy had become very fond of Asa’s stepdaughter who was going on four. Job clearly enjoyed playing big brother.

“You bet.”

“And Ophelia?” Janey asked. Ophelia was Benson’s daughter and about the same age as Janey.

“Ophelia too.”

A few minutes later they arrived at the twin pillars guarding the entrance to the Thomson plantation. The high, wrought-iron gates were open wide. Buck pulled the horses to a halt. The four passengers took in the scene before them. The grounds, ragged and unkempt a year ago, were pristine now. The hundred-year-old oaks had been neatly pruned of four years of neglect. The sun sparkled through their thick foliage.

“Oh my!” Sarah pointed to the as-yet-unfinished two-story house at the end of the drive.

The multi-gabled roof of cypress shingles was still light brown. As it aged it would weather and darken. The walls were complete, most of the windows installed. The old mansion had had six Corinthian columns in front. This one had six as well, but these were simpler Doric pillars. Nor was this residence as big as its predecessor, four bedrooms instead of eight, the piazzas smaller, the chimneys more modest. It would still have a separate library and large dining room. The detached kitchen in back, which was being built with brick from the old foundation and chimneys, was also smaller than its foreru

“It’s beautiful, Buck.” This was the first time Sarah had been here since construction began several months earlier.

“Or will be,” he said. “It won’t be as grand as the old house, but it’ll be all ours. We’ll fill it with our own memories. No one else’s.”

Buck drove around the building site to what had been the courtyard behind it. The slave quarters had all been torn down, including Emma’s, but the chinaberry tree was still there. Buck had insisted when he’d turned responsibility for the plantation over to Asa that the chinaberry would not be cut down. A black wrought-iron fence with a small gate now surrounded Emma’s gravesite. Buck had ordered a tombstone as well, but it had not yet arrived.

Beyond the tree, he could see the overseer’s new house. It was modest, but it radiated a contentment that Buck found appealing.

“Look, Daddy, there’s Uncle Asa!” Job shouted and pointed.

Buck smiled. What would Clay think about having his role as father usurped? Buck had loved his exuberant brother, but he also suspected Clay would be grateful to Buck for relieving him of paternal responsibility. Wasn’t that the private matter Clay had wanted to discuss with him on their way home? Thank you, little brother, for giving me a son. Especially since Sarah can’t have children.

Asa descending the porch steps. He hardly resembled the orderly he’d been. Hard muscle had filled out his once scrawny frame, but much more impressive was his demeanor. The depression of the past had disappeared. “Kentucky” was now happily married and the stepfather of a daughter.

“It’s about time y’all got here,” he called out, as Buck brought the carriage to a halt. “Liza’s been asking after Job. She’s got a new hoop she wants to show off.”

A dark-haired woman came out onto the porch behind him, drying her hands in her apron. Rebecca Boone was shorter than her husband by a couple of inches, with fair skin and a million freckles. The affection that flowed between them was palpable. She greeted the Thomsons, invited Sarah inside to have some lemonade—and talk. She told Janey she could take Job to the pond where Liza and Ophelia were fishing.

“Damming up that creek a few months back was one of the best things Asa’s done around here,” Rebecca commented.

“He’s handy to have around, isn’t he?” Buck quipped.

Asa made a face.

The sound of gunfire stiffened Buck’s spine for a second before he turned in its direction.

Asa gave him an understanding glance. “Varmints,” he explained. “Benson found a nest of skunks not far from the barbecue pit and wanted to be rid of them before folks got here.”

“You’ve done a tremendous job with the place,” Buck complimented him. “You look content too.”

“It’s good to work the land again. I’m home, and I got you to thank for that. Crops’re all doing good too. Even planted some fruit trees. Maybe next year we’ll have peaches, apples and such.”

“Apricots?” Sarah asked.

“Them too,” Rebecca said. “Everything seems to grow real good here.” She smiled subtly. “Including me.” She gazed at Asa. “We’re going to have a baby in about six months.”

Buck’s eyes went wide, then a slow grin creased his face. He grabbed Asa’s hand and shook it enthusiastically while Sarah gave Rebecca a tearful hug.

Sarah was about to say something when they heard the approach of other carriages on the macadam drive and waited for them to appear around the corner of the main house.

Gibbeon sat on the dickey of the landau, holding the reins. Gus, Miriam and Ruth were seated behind him, each pointing to the house under construction and chattering. From the expressions on their faces, Buck deduced they were pleased with what they saw.

Right behind them was another buggy. At the driver’s side sat a young woman in a stylish hoop dress, holding a parasol.

“Ah, here’s Rex,” Buck remarked, “and Amelia.”

“My,” Rebecca muttered. “Isn’t she something. That outfit must have cost a fortune.”

“She doesn’t have to worry,” Sarah assured her. “Her daddy owns half the real estate in Columbia.”

“Rich and beautiful. Quite a catch,” Buck said as he slipped his arm around his wife’s waist.

She gazed up at him, a playful grin on her lips. “She obviously adores him.”

“Ahem.” Asa coughed discreetly.

Buck chuckled and released his wife. “Later,” he whispered in her ear.

After the gentlemen helped the ladies down from the carriages, Rex introduced Amelia Ball to the Boones. The others had already met his fiancée. More hugs were exchanged, then the party began its slow perambulation to the pavilion that had been set up not far from the new house. A crowd of local neighbors, including Reverend Christian, were already there. No alcohol was in plain view, but the jollity of the gathering suggested there might be some not far away.

“Rex,” Sarah commented as they strolled along the gravel path, “I can’t believe how well you’re walking, barely a limp.”

He smiled happily. “Getting that blasted foot taken off was the best thing that ever happened to me. No more pain.”

“You should see him dance,” Amelia added. “He literally swept me off my feet.”

The smoky aroma of roasting meat filled the sultry air. Emma’s old friend, Dola Rose, wrapped in a long apron and wearing a colorful headscarf, greeted them from the other side of the pit.

“We ready to serve whenever y’all say. This here’s beef and chicken, and we got some venison too. Anyone wants pork, we can get it for ‘em from Mr. Boone’s place.”

Miriam nudged her husband. “I guess I won’t have any trouble finding you when you disappear.”

“Now, Miriam dear—”

“Don’t you Miriam dear me. I‘m not concerned about the pork. Just don’t overindulge in the bourbon from that hip flask of yours.”

Buck laughed. “Come on. I need some of the forbidden meat too.” He leaned close to the banker. “You can have my share of the whiskey.”

“You’re a saint.”

“Just don’t get me put in Miriam’s doghouse with you.”

Gus chortled. A few steps on, he said, “By the way, I received a letter from our friend Tracker the other day. He’s in New Orleans now, has a job on a riverboat overseeing the gambling. Sounds happy. Said he was sorry to miss your wedding, but he didn’t get the word until it was too late. Said he sent a present. Y’all get it?”