Receive Me Falling (23 page)

           
“I haven’t seen you in my comings
and goings at Eden
this week,” said James.

           
“I have been very busy,” said
Catherine, pleased to hear that he had been looking for her.
 
“Are you finding your time spent here useful?”

“Very useful, though much that I see here
surprises me.”

“Really.
 
What has been your greatest shock?”

 
“I would
have to say that stumbling upon a young mistress teaching a slave girl to read
would be the biggest surprise yet,” said James.

Catherine looked at James with alarm.
 
She stopped walking and tried to think of
something to say.

“Allow me to speak frankly,” said James.

Catherine nodded.

“I’m sure your motives are pure, but what you are
doing will ultimately cause Leah pain.
 
To elevate a slave through education, but keep her confined to servitude
is cruel.”

Catherine studied the ground.
 
She was trapped.
 
She was fearful of the consequences of her
actions if he reported what he saw, yet she did not sense that he was in
disagreement with her; rather, he seemed as if he was prodding her to
understand her point of view.

Catherine thought back to James’ smile with the
Quaker outside of church on the first day they met. She thought of the
abolitionist rumblings of her father and the Ewings, and felt she had nothing
to lose by probing James for the truth.

“Why are you really here?” asked Catherine.

James looked at Catherine.
 
She could see him searching her face.

“I have seen you play with slave children,” he began.
 
“I have witnessed you teach a slave to
read.
 
You seem at odds with your
situation.
 
It is as if you are
attempting to atone for owning slaves.”

“Maybe I am,” said Catherine.

“You asked me why I came here.
 
What I am about to tell you could get me and
my father into serious trouble.
 
I would
expect your silent cooperation about my situation if you find it offensive,
given what I know of your situation.”

“You have my confidence.”

“My father and I are abolitionists observing
slavery on the islands.
 
What we see will
be used to make a case for banning slavery throughout the British
Empire.
 
We have strong
support in Parliament, and expect to be successful in phasing out this abominable
system.”

The laughter of a woman could be heard on a nearby
path, and Catherine and James resumed their walk.

“I’m not surprised,” said Catherine.

“No?”

“I saw you exchange knowing glances with the
Quaker outside of Services.
 
You’ve had
me suspicious.”

“Well, what do you think?”
 

“I don’t know,” said Catherine.
 
“I need time to think.
 
But in the meantime, you need not worry.
 
I won’t expose you.”

“You have my gratitude for that.
 
Of course, I won’t expose you either.”

     
     
Catherine
walked in silence for awhile, and then addressed James. “What will happen to
the slaves and plantation owners once slavery is banned?”

     
     
“It
is proposed that all slaves over the age of six will become apprentices to be
trained in order to manage on their own.
 
After a pre-determined time, the slaves will be freed totally.
 
Slave owners will be compensated handsomely
for being forced to free their slaves.”

     
     
Catherine
looked out to the horizon.
 
She tried to
imagine Eden
staffed with paid labor.
 
The first
person to go, she thought, would be Phinneas.

     
     
“Have
you heard of the New York Manumission Society?” asked James.
 
“It was founded by Alexander Hamilton, a white
man born of this very island.”

     
     
“I
haven’t.”

     
     
“They
have established schools and other services for freed blacks in America.
 
You may find some writings on the topic
interesting reading.”

     
     
“Are
you trying to make an abolitionist of me, Mr. Silwell?”

     
     
“Are
you willing?”

     
     
Catherine
was silent again.

           
“When do you leave Nevis?”
she asked.

           
“We are set to depart for England next
month.”
        
The pair found themselves
arrived at the bath house.
 
Steam hissed
from the boiling sulfuric waters that churned and bubbled at the bottom of the
staircase.

           
“This garden and spring are known on
the island as the Gardens of Jericho,” said Catherine.
 
“Jericho was
known as the City of Palm Trees.
Banana, henna, sycamore, and myrrh were among the plants that grew there, and a
spring ran through the gardens.
 
These
springs are said to have curative powers.
 
Jericho
was also the place where Jesus was said to have cured the blind man.”

           
“Did you know that Dall means
‘blind’ in Cornish?” asked James.

           
“I did not.”

           
The orchestra could be heard rising
in the background as it began the melody of a popular waltz.
 
Catherine and James exchanged glances and
turned back to the hotel.

The
ballroom shimmered in the candlelight.
 
Catherine stared at the dancers moving about the floor and had the eerie
feeling of one looking over ghosts in a once populated place. James solicited
Catherine’s hand, and they joined the throngs of well-to-do party-goers.
 

     
     
Edward
Ewing circled the dancers looking for his chance to replace James.
 
He soon found his opportunity when James
excused himself to procure drinks for Catherine and himself.
 
Catherine was caught up in Edward’s arms
during a minuet and he manipulated their position on the floor far from where
they had started.
 

           
“You are positively radiant this
evening, Miss Dall.”

           
“Thank you.”
  

     
     
“May
I solicit another dance from you later in the evening?”

           
Edward breeched the rules of decorum
by pulling Catherine in closer to himself.
 
The dance floor was thick with bodies so he was not seen by anyone.
 
Catherine’s heartbeat quickened and she
struggled to move out of his grasp, but he had her too tight.
 

           
“I’m sorry,” she said, “but I’ve
already promised my dances to another.”

           
Edward pulled her even closer and
leaned close to her face.

           
“I can’t hear you.
 
The music is too loud.”

           
Catherine turned toward Edward’s
face and was just inches away from him.
 
She felt dizzy and was afraid that she would faint.

           
“I’ve promised my dances to
another.”

           
Edward’s eyes grew dark.
 
“That is a pity, especially since Mr. Silwell
will be leaving in less than a month.
 
It
seems rather a waste of time to further his acquaintance, does it not?”

           
“I am sure I did not ask your
advice,” said Catherine.
 
“Kindly refrain
from imparting it on me in the future.”

Catherine removed herself from Edward’s grasp and
moved off the dance floor.
 
After
searching the crowd for a half hour Catherine finally found James.

           
“I’m sorry I’ve taken so long,” said
James.
 
“I’ve been looking all over for
you.”

           
“It is I who am sorry.
 
I was danced away by Mr. Ewing, and had to
pry myself away from him quite impolitely in order to find you.”

           
James smiled and handed Catherine
her drink.

           
“This heat is intolerable,” said
Catherine.
 
“Could we return to the
outdoors for a while?”

           
“I thought you’d never ask.”

Catherine
and James returned to the gardens under the light of the moon and strolled
around in silence.
 
One path led them to
a point overlooking the sea and the city of Charlestown.
 
Charlestown
was aglow with life, and its music drifted on the island breeze to the spot
where Catherine and James stood.

           
“Have you been to Charlestown?” asked Catherine.

           
“I go some evenings with some of the
younger men staying at the hotel. There is a small pub at the edge of town
where we go to hear the sounds of a small Welsh group of musicians.
 
I have not ventured further into town.
 
I hear some of its establishments are quite
shocking.”

           
“Aside from the ten steps I take
from the carriage into church, I have never been able to set foot in that city.
I have always longed to go to a pub and hear music.”
 
Catherine looked at James with a sly glance.

           
“If you are suggesting that I escort
you there you are quite mad.”

           
“Mr. Silwell,” said Catherine, “It
is only a short carriage ride away.
 
We
could be back before the conclusion of the ball.
 
No one will ever know we left.”

           
“Absolutely not. I would be drawn
and quartered for allowing you to go to a place like that.”

           
“Father would be amused, if
anything.
 
He spends quite a bit of time
in Charlestown
himself.”

           
“Even if I wanted to take you, it is
completely inappropriate for a lady to take a carriage ride alone with a
practical stranger to a bawdy town like Charlestown.”