A Promise for Tomorrow (4 page)
So it was with a heavy heart that Joseph anticipated the arrival of his son-in-law to the library. It was also with mixed emotions that Joseph outlined preparations for Hampton to take over the running of Oakbridge while he journeyed to Boston. In and of itself, Hampton’s behavior was not unusual or out of the realm of what others did. Even his domineering attitude toward his wife and children were perfectly acceptable in most other households. Few men would consider this to be a problem, while in truth, many would praise it as a virtue. It was considered that the man who could control his household was in keeping with biblical instruction; therefore, the social mores made it very difficult for Joseph to argue against Hampton’s personal style, even if Joseph held it in contempt.
Still, the man had done well for him. Profits were up at Oakbridge, land was being reclaimed from rocky, unworked pastures and wooded fields, and prosperity was evident in every aspect of their life. Hampton Cabot knew his business well, and what he didn’t know he learned with astonishing speed.
A knock at the door interrupted Joseph’s thoughts. No doubt it would be Hampton responding to the message Joseph had sent nearly half an hour earlier.
“Sorry to be so long,” Hampton said, coming in without waiting for Joseph’s response. “I got caught up in overseeing the construction of the new slave quarters.”
“Perfectly understandable,” Joseph replied and motioned to the seat in front of his desk. “We have a great deal to discuss, so I’d suggest we get right to it.”
“I told Virginia to see to it that we had some refreshments,” Hampton said, pulling off his gloves and throwing them aside. He eased his large frame into the offered chair and blotted sweat from his forehead with a fine linen handkerchief. His blond hair was tousled and touched with dampness, but he seemed unconcerned with his appearance.
Joseph brought out a ledger, along with a list of noted instructions. “I brought you here because there are some things we need to go over. I have been granted permission by Margaret’s doctor for a visit. I would like to leave for Boston within the next few days.”
Hampton seemed to perk up at this suggestion. “Boston? That’ll keep you away for some time.”
“Exactly so,” Joseph replied. “Which is why I wanted to meet with you. I shall turn Oakbridge over to your care during my absence. I have a list of instructions here that I would like to see executed to the letter.” He handed the list to Hampton and waited while his son-in-law gave it a quick perusal.
“I don’t see any problem with this,” Hampton said, glancing back up. “Is that it?”
“No, it isn’t. Not exactly,” Joseph said, already feeling uncomfortable with what he would say next. “Hampton, we’ve known each other a long, long time. I took you in when your parents died and saw to it that you received the start in life that you needed in order to succeed. You’ve served me well as a commission merchant, and you are now a part of the family.”
Hampton threw him a lazy smile. “You hardly brought me here to sing my praises. What is it that you want to say, Joseph?” He slouched down and threw a leg over the arm of the chair.
Joseph shifted in his broad leather chair. “I want to leave with a clear conscience. I want your word that you will refrain from beating the slaves while I’m away.” He saw Hampton’s eyes narrow but continued before the man could reply. “This is my home, and I’ve opened it to you. I’ve allowed you a great deal of responsibility, but I will remove that responsibility if I believe it to be unwisely placed. Do you understand me?”
Hampton laughed in a short, strained manner. “I hardly think you would do that. After all, who would take my place? York is off in Pennsylvania playing at politics, and Maine is off saving the heathen world. Who else could you possibly get to do the job, if not me?”
“There are other overseers to be hired, Hampton. Don’t forget that this is still
my
property.”
“I suppose it is a fact that you could hire another overseer, but you’ll never get the profits out of the land that I have. This is no small plantation, and therefore no small feat to keep it running smoothly. If I’ve taken a hard line with the slaves, it’s because that’s what was needed in order to get the work done. If you want to run a charity ward, then by all means do so, but it was my understanding that you wanted a profit on your investment. Your sons have no interest in this place, but I do. Who else would care as much as I do whether a profit is realized or not?”
Joseph nodded. “What you say is true, but the fact is, I’ve often thought of selling out and leaving the plantation to another owner. Last winter, when Bob Lee brought his family home to winter at Arlington, we spoke of his plans to educate and free his slaves.”
“Outrageous!” Hampton declared, sitting up properly in the chair. “Education isn’t allowed for them, and even if it were, they aren’t capable of learning much. As for freeing them, wherever would they go? Who would take them in and give them work? Then, too, who would work our fields?”
“If I sell Oakbridge, it won’t much matter whether the fields are worked or not. I could just as well parcel it off to my children, in which case you’d still maintain a certain portion of the land. You could work that with or without your own labor force, or you could go back to commission merchant work.”
“You aren’t making sense, Joseph. I’ve advised you too long for you to ignore me now. Didn’t I keep you out of hock when the depression hit? Hasn’t my advice always been sound in regard to investments?”
“Yes, overall. But, Hampton, you already know very well the conflict and strife that is brewing in our nation over the issue of slavery. I can’t simply ignore the direction the future seems to be taking. Bob Lee agrees. He plans to free the slaves at Arlington upon his father-in-law’s death. They really belonged to him first, you know. Lee took on the place pledging to see to the old man’s wishes, and, frankly, I am beginning to agree with his ideas.”
“This is ridiculous, Joseph,” Hampton declared, jumping to his feet. He slammed both hands down on the desk as if to accentuate his opinion. “Freeing darky slaves is not the answer for a productive future. Neither is selling a fine plantation such as Oakbridge. This is your ancestral home. Do you honestly believe your children will stand by and tolerate her destruction?”
“No one is speaking of her destruction,” replied Joseph. “My heart isn’t here anymore. Margaret is in Boston, and that’s where I feel strongly drawn—I’m there physically a large portion of the time anyway. My children are grown and doing well for themselves, so I find myself considering all manner of possibilities.”
“But to sell Oakbridge is ludicrous.”
“Even if I sold it to you?”
“I could never afford this place on my own. Not yet, anyway,” Hampton answered, calming only marginally. “But there’s no reason for you not to let things go along as they have been. Go to Boston and take a house there. I’ll manage Oakbridge and you’ll see for yourself the comfort that will be had from the income.”
“And what of the slaves?” Joseph asked, eyeing his son-in-law cautiously.
“The slaves are a very necessary part of the plantation, and well you know it. Would you free them, losing thousands of dollars in valuable assets, only to turn around and hire poor laborers? You’d be in ruins within months.”
“I’m surprised you take this line, Hampton. You are a northerner by birth. Most of your life has been spent in New York, where for the most part slavery is considered an institution of grave reproach. How is it that you fight so fervently for slavery?”
“I may be a northerner by birth, but I’m not stupid. It is the ignorant man who looks upon the slaves and says, ‘Free them.’ There is no hope for this race of people outside the protection afforded them under the plantation system. Even you have said on many occasions that these people need to be cared and provided for.”
“Yes, because we’ve allowed them no other position to be in,” Joseph countered. “We give them no education, no training except that which suits our needs, and we degrade them by giving them no say in their lives. Believe me, I’ve long thought on this matter. I have been raised to hold slaves and to believe that the institution of slavery is in their best interests, given the circumstances surrounding their lives. I’ve stood my ground to defend my right to maintain slave labor, even spoken out about the good treatment I afforded my people, but honestly, Hampton, I see this entire slave issue as one that will someday destroy us. Already there are lecturers who do nothing but travel the country, stirring anti-slave sentiment. The country is restless, and I’m of a firm belief that this issue will not merely fade away.”
“So a few imbeciles are stirring up conflict and strife. It has been that way down through history,” Hampton said, his expression hard. “You are talking about Oakbridge and the life given you by your father. You took over the running of this plantation as an obligation to your family. I’ve heard the stories myself. You didn’t want to run Oakbridge, never had planned to even stick around, but when your father and older brother were killed in a boating accident, you had no choice. Your heart and mind told you that the honorable thing to do was to take the reins of Oakbridge and run it as your father would have. Would you now throw that away? Would you destroy this plantation, and your father’s dream, simply because you fear some future reprisal from a group of idiots?”
Hampton drew himself up and sneered down at Joseph as if he were considering someone of lesser social standing. “You aren’t the man I thought you were, Joseph Adams, if you would deny your children and grandchildren their rightful heritage.” With that he crossed the room, slamming the library door loudly behind him.
Joseph sat momentarily stunned by Hampton’s outrage. There was some merit in what his son-in-law had said. Oakbridge was the ancestral home and it would be a pity to deny his family their right to it. On the other hand, Hampton could not begin to understand the future that Joseph saw in his nightmares. A future of devastating conflict as the slave issue threatened to unhinge every secret cabinet and closed room that southern gentility had quietly hidden from view.
Hampton felt the blood boiling in his veins. He couldn’t contain his anger at Joseph’s stupidity. To lose Oakbridge would be the ruin of all of Hampton’s plans. Plans for power and social standing. Plans for financial empires that would stretch hungry fingers across the continent and even the ocean in order to plunder the vast wealth that awaited him.
Hampton stormed down the stairs in such a rage that he paid little attention to anyone or anything.
BOOM!
He struck his fist against the wall. “I won’t let that old man cheat me out of my plans.”
“Hampton?” Virginia, with their infant son in tow, stood just beyond the steps in the downstairs foyer.
Hampton met the questioning stare of his wife. How he despised her! She whined at him from dawn to dusk and even into the night when he would seek his pleasure with her. A very little pleasure, at that.
“What do you want? And where was the tray I told you to send up?”
Virginia edged back a single step, but the retreat gave Hampton a sense of power, and in the wake of his rage, it fueled the fire that burned within him.
“I’m sorry. I started to see to it, but Nate was fussing and I—”
“That’s what we have slaves for, dear wife,” Hampton said sarcastically. “Or had you forgotten? Perhaps you’ve already been drinking this morning, and your mind can no longer comprehend reality.” He loved to torment her about her drinking. Perhaps because he knew it was her only refuge and driving her there put her away from him.
Virginia flushed and the baby began to cry. “I am not drinking. I’m trying to care for my child.”
“Don’t ever speak to me in that tone again,” Hampton said, taking two long strides toward her with his arm poised to strike.
Virginia cowered against the wall and tried her best to shield the baby from his father’s anger. “I’m sorry,” she said, her voice a childish whimper.
Hearing a noise upstairs, Hampton cast a quick glance upward. No doubt Joseph would make an appearance at any moment, and the last thing Hampton wanted was to have his father-in-law browbeating him about his treatment of his wife. He returned his gaze to Virginia, lowering his hand as he did.
“Take that brat back to the nursery and go to our room. I’ll deal with you shortly.”
Virginia’s face paled, and for a moment Hampton thought he saw tears glisten in her eyes. Good, he thought. She was afraid of him. It seemed her fear grew stronger with every confrontation. In no time at all he’d have her completely beat into submission and, maybe then, he would find her an acceptable wife.
Carolina glanced down at the glass of water in her hands, and then toward the closed bedroom door. Behind that door her dying father-in-law lay awaiting her care. Somehow it seemed a cruel joke that she should find it necessary to nurse this man who had caused her such grief.
“Oh, Father, give me strength,” she prayed aloud, grasping the door handle. The last thing in the world she wanted was to have to minister to this man. She thought of Jesus in the Garden, praying that the cup of responsibility might be removed from Him. That was precisely how she felt just now. She wanted very much to forgive Leland—even thought that perhaps she could do just that. But she needed time. She desperately needed time, and that was the one thing that had been taken away from her. Swallowing hard, she turned the handle and walked into the room.
He lay upon the bed, his complexion a pasty yellow with underlying tinges of gray. His chin rested in stillness upon his chest, with thick, fleshy jowls hanging loose at the sides of his face. His eyes were closed, and for a moment Carolina wondered if he had already passed from life. She panicked and rushed forward to put the glass of water on the nightstand, then nearly screamed when his eyes fluttered open.
“Carolina,” he barely breathed the name and fixed his gaze on her.
She nodded. “I’ve brought your medicine and some water.” She reached into the pocket of her apron and took out the bottle of laudanum.