Oppressed (28 page)

I felt everyone’s eyes on me. My muscles
tensed and I was unable to look up. In a trance-like state I kept
staring at the mess of bloody tomatoes and pralines that lay inches
away from my right toe. The faces around me blurred as I shut out
the whispers and stares.

“
She’s killed her
protector.”

“
Where is he? He’s nowhere to be
found.” The not-so-quiet whispers around me started to
grow.

Emilie grabbed my hand. “Let’s go
home,” she said softly.

I nodded and without looking up
hurried down the uneven street.

“
Cecile, wait!” Lucus
cried after me.

As much as I wanted to turn around I
couldn’t. My body quivered and for some inexplicable reason I felt
ashamed over what had just happened. What did Lucus think about the
whole situation with Edmond? I had never really given it much
thought but now it was all I could think about.

And where had Edmond gone?

Emilie and I ran down the street
without turning around or daring to stop.

“
What the hell!” I
shrieked in horror.

“
Oh
Dieu!”
Emilie screamed as her nails dug into my
shoulder.

A gigantic fire blazed and furiously
ripped through Tante Celeste’s home. All of the neighborhood snobs
stood by casually watching, whispering while furiously fanning
their taunt faces. Puffs of angry gray smoke madly rose and swirled
against a happy, luminous blue sky making the whole scene seem
rather ironic.

I trembled uncontrollably and ran towards
the house, thinking that Tante Celeste and Justine may have still
been inside.

“
Cecile!” I head Tante Celeste’s
voice call me from behind. Her eyes were wide with terror and her
smooth cheeks were soaked with tears. Beside her stood Justine, who
stared at the furious orange fire with her mouth agape in horror.
“Cecile, oh, Cecile.” Tante Celeste gave me a vicious hug and then
turned to Emilie. “Oh, thank
Dieu
you two are alright.”

“
We have to do something!”
I cried. I frantically tried to remember the name of a spirit that
would help but I already knew that it was too late. The house had
been entirely consumed by the fire. I watched my as my beloved
magnolia blooms and banana trees were devoured by angry
flames.

“
Who would do this!!!!? WHY??” A
thousand thoughts raced through my mind.
Who?

“
Shhh.” Tante Celeste held
me again and tried to calm me down. “It’s too late. We need to move
on. We need to move on… Everything is going to be fine.”

“
Cecile!” I felt Lucus’
arms around me. I turned around and buried my head in his
chest.

“
I swear I didn’t harm
Edmond. I swear,” I said as I shook with fright.

“
I know,” he said softly.
“I believe you.” He ran his fingers through my hair and let me
release my tears.

I caught a glimpse of Maman. She stood
in the crowd with her hands on her hips and a severe frown
plastered on her face.

I tore myself away from Lucus’ arms.
“I’ll be right back,” I said.

“
Maman.” I walked up to
her cautiously.

She stared at me with a cold, detached
expression and adjusted the little gold cameo on her pale green
taffeta dress.

I took a deep breath. “Maman? I’ve
missed you.”

She looked away and stared past me as
if I wasn’t there at all. Her delicate features were hard and
stony.

“
Is this how it’s going to
end with us?” I asked softly.

She didn’t say anything.

“
Marguerite, stop acting like
a
bebe
and speak to your daughter.” Tante Celeste interrupted the
awkward silence.

Justine and Emilie stood behind me and
watched Maman in expectation.

Maman’s thin mouth twisted into a cruel
frown and there was bitterness in her eyes when she glared at Tante
Celeste. When she spoke, her voice was low and strangely composed.
“Celeste, if you need a place to stay you’re more than welcome to
stay with me.”

“
And the girls?” Tante
Celeste demanded.

Maman refused to look at me.
“They already have a home.
She
already has a home.”

My heart sank as I realized that I had
no choice but to return to the home Edmond had given me. “I feel
sorry for you, Maman,” I whispered. “It must be so exhausting being
you,” I said quietly and bitterly.

“
Marguerite, be reasonable!
Can’t you see it’s too dangerous for her to live there? That man is
dangerous. Who knows what he’ll do next. He’s the one who probably
set that fire, for who knows what reason.” Tante Celeste tried to
talk some sense into Maman, but I knew she was fighting a hopeless
battle.

“
It’s alright, Tante.” I
glanced at Justine and Emilie and realized that I was responsible
for them and even though I didn’t want to go back to that hellhole
I had no choice. They needed a home.

Tante Celeste pulled me close.
Her eyes were “Get rid of him,
cherie.
Get rid of him. You know the tricks- use
them.”

I knew exactly what she was implying.
“I can’t. Please don’t make me do that,” I pleaded. “Besides, I
think he may already be dead. His wife attacked me at the market
and I can hear the rumors and whispers.” My eyes grew wide. “If
they accuse us of the littlest crime it’s the end for us. Besides,
I have to think about Emilie and Justine.”

“
Cecile, you can stay with
me if you’d like,” Lucus interrupted us.

I stared at him in
confusion.

“
Stay with you!” Maman cried in
rage before I had a chance to continue. She suddenly realized that
she had raised her voice in public and took a deep breath.
“Monsieur, your offer is very kind but as you know your cousin is
already protecting Cecile. Think about her reputation and the
scandal it will cause. ”

Lucus smiled. “Madame, with all
due respect, I think that Cecile should be allowed to answer and
make up her own mind,
non?”

Maman’s eyes narrowed into very dark
pools as they rested on me.

All eyes were on me and the world went
silent. I turned to Lucus and slowly whispered. “I don’t want to
cause any trouble. It’s…”

“
Inappropriate,” he
said.

I nodded.

“
Revolution,” he
said.

I sighed. “I don’t want to cause any
trouble between you and your family. They would never accept this…”
I knew the implications of taking me to Darkwood. It would mean
more scandal and shame, but this time it would be Lucus’ burden to
bear. “Plus, I have to be here for the people. If I left the city
it would be like I’m running away and admitting defeat. I don’t
want to give Edmond and whoever was behind this the satisfaction of
knowing that they’re somehow winning.” I dreaded the idea of being
away from the city and not being able to help those who needed
it.

“
Don’t worry about my
family. You need to think about yourself for once. If Edmond shows
up at Darkwood we can try to reason with him together. Let the
whispers and attacks die down. You don’t have to face this alone,”
he said.

“
He’s right, Cecile. Go
for only a few weeks. This nonsense should stop by then. In the
meantime I’ll make arrangements for a new home.”

“
But…”I said.

“
I’m not going to the country!”
Justine interrupted us. “Please don’t make me go there, Ms. Cecile!
Please!” She was on the verge of hysteria.

I glanced at her and pity overtook me. She
had a point. Slaves in the countryside had it far worse than urban
slaves. Taking her to the countryside would be very irresponsible.
I didn’t even want to think about what would happen if she tried to
run away given the fact that hunting season was about to begin.
Edmond still hadn’t freed Justine so her life was basically hanging
on a fragile thread and there was no way I would place her in
jeopardy.

“
You can stay with me at
Marguerite’s home, Justine,” Tante Celeste offered. “She hasn’t
done anything to offend you, has she?” She glared at
Maman.

Maman let out an exasperated sigh. “Fine;
but one peep of protest and she’s back on the market.”

I rolled my eyes and
asked
Dieu
to give me patience.

“
Emilie,” I asked as I
turned to face her. “What do you think? What would you like to
do?”

Her head was low and her voice came
out in soft whisper, “I’ll go wherever you go, Cecile.”

The whispers around me grew louder, the
smoke thicker, and Maman’s disapproval more obvious. I heard
Isadora and Ines snickering in the background but I didn’t care. I
turned to Lucus. “I’ll only go if you promise that you’ll tell your
Papa and Maman that Emilie and I are there to work. I can’t and
won’t put you in an awkward position with them.”

“
But,” he
protested.

“
Please. We make really
great gumbo.” I gave him a hopeful smile.

He let out a low sigh. “I don’t want
you to work in the kitchen.”

I brought my hand to my chest. “Are you
that scared of trying my gumbo?” I asked teasingly, trying to get
him to lighten up. “Come on.”

“
Fine,” he said
reluctantly.

I had a strange feeling that my whole
life was about to dramatically change yet again.

Chapter
Twenty-Eight

Do You Have Any Idea What This
Means? What Will Others T
hink?

Darkwood
Plantation

A few miles outside of
New Orleans,
1853

Bright sunlight
lit the gigantic
looming white columns that hid behind the large iron gate. A warm
breeze moved through the moss-drenched oak trees and brought with
it the sticky sweet smell of jasmine and roses. Birds happily
hummed and the early summer sky couldn’t have been a brighter shade
of blue, but something told me that I should turn back.

I wasn’t sure why I was so
nervous to step foot in Darkwood again. Plantations didn’t make me
nervous. I had been to plenty of them before and had attended my
fair share of parties, afternoon teas, and weekend getaways. In
Louisiana, there were many affluent
gens de couleur libres
who owned large plantations and
used the institution of slavery to their advantage, so the idea
wasn’t foreign to me. However, ever since I had learned that Emilie
was my sister and my experiences with Edmond something inside of me
had changed. I wasn’t sure how to describe it exactly.

“
Cecile. Jealousy and cruelty
brought you here! Leave! Leave now!” Bade hissed, interrupting my
thoughts. “Staying here will mean the end. The end of it all! Don’t
be fooled! Don’t be fooled!”

“
Bade, I refuse to live in fear.
I want to be here. I choose to be here. I made this decision. I’ll
be fine, I promise,” I whispered. “I feel safe here.”

“
Who is that?” asked
Lucus.

I gave him a shy smile. “It’s Bade; he’s
warning me that I should turn back.”

“
I see. Do you want to go back?”
Lucus asked with a teasing smile on his lips. He reached for my
hand and our fingers laced. A rush of excitement crawled up my neck
and cheeks. I was pretty sure a ruined, evil, savage heathen wasn’t
supposed to feel the way I did.

Embarrassment washed over me as I
caught Emilie staring.

“
No. I want to be right
here.” I gave him a small smile.

The iron
gate opened and I gave Emilie a
bright smile. She was quiet and sullen, with her lids lowered and
hands clasped delicately in her lap. “It’s going to be okay,” I
whispered. Emilie was older than I was, but I had the strange need
to protect her. Was it guilt, shame or basic human decency? I
wasn’t sure. “I promise.”

She gave me a tight smile and nodded.
“I know.”

“
Pierre, make sure that no one
opens the gates for Edmond without my permission,” Lucus instructed
the handsomely dressed gatekeeper.

We rode down the richly paved oak-lined
path and pulled up in front of the intimidating house. Under the
blazing sun it was an immense, ethereal palace surrounded by lush
gardens and an emerald green lawn. My heart picked up pace because
I was anxious to see Madame LaPlante. I knew she wouldn’t be too
happy about this at all.

The shiny marble porch was blinding as we
climbed the steps and entered the front door. I nervously clutched
my bag full of herbs, oils, two dresses, and freedom papers. I took
several deep breaths and reminded myself that fear was the greatest
oppressor of all, and I could not and would not carry it in my
heart.

***

“
Lucus, have you gone mad?”
Madame LaPlante’s voice was a thin, angry stream of anguish as it
drifted into the room. “Can’t you see the consequences of this?
She’s kept by your cousin. Your cousin. She doesn’t belong in our
world. This isn’t acceptable. And her sister is a freed slave! Yet
you want them to stay under this roof. Do you have any idea what
that means? What will the Richards think when this gets back to
them? ”