Read Online An Acquaintance with Darkness by Ann Rinaldi - Free Book Online
Authors: Ann Rinaldi
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"ghost" had taken off its sheet and was waving long arms at the intruders. Its whole angular body agitated as it waved the sheet that had covered it.
"You, Spoon, you, Mole, go elsewhere for your subjects! I'll have you hauled off to county jail if you put in an appearance here again. Go to Potter's Field! Go to Harmony Cemetery. Let decent people rest in peace!"
The voice had familiar clear rich tones.
Uncle Valentine!
"Annie, it's my uncle," I said.
"I know." She sounded less than enamored.
"What do you suppose he's doing here? How did he know those two would be robbing Mama's grave? And who are they?"
"The Spoon and the Mole, didn't you hear him? Grave robbers."
"Children?"
"No," Annie said, "dwarves."
I said my proper good-bye to Mama.
Without a word to either of us, Uncle Valentine took up the long-handled shovel the grave robbers had left and replaced the earth neatly. Then he rearranged the flowers, which, as Maude had promised, were full blooming now in the dark, their lovely white petals giving off pleasant fragrances. I stared at them. I had never seen flowers blooming at night before.
He said a brief silent prayer and gestured to me that I should do what I had come to do. He and Annie walked away.
I knelt. But I could not form my thoughts. They raced through my mind, tumbled together, pulled apart, and ran away, only to scamper back into my mind, a mixture of fear, joy, and confusion, like the light and shadows around me caught up in the night breeze.
I couldn't concentrate. I thought of Merry Andrews asking me to guess his name, of Maude giving me that cup of tea, of Annie telling me her mother was in love with John Wilkes Booth, of the man in the cart hauling his grisly cargo of bodies to Robert E. Lee's front lawn for burial, of stitching Mrs. Lincoln's gown, of the dwarves digging around Mama's grave.
I thought of the way Mama had begged me not to let Uncle Valentine touch her once she died. And how vigilant he had been about chasing away the grave robbers, how respectful and tender. He had replaced the earth around her like one tucking in the blankets of a child, rearranging the flowers like you would for someone in a sickroom.
Had Mama been wrong about him? Why had her mind and her heart been so turned against him?
From the corner of my eye, I saw Annie and Uncle Valentine waiting for me at the cemetery gate. So I gathered my thoughts in like errant children and spoke to Mama.
"You should have seen him chase them, Mama," I told her. "Oh, it would have done your heart good. I don't know who they are, but I'm going to tell the reverend all about them. Oh, Mama, I'm so sorry I didn't cry today at your funeral. But I'm going to grieve, properlike, I promise you. Just like Mrs. Lincoln said we have to do. And, oh yes, I finished her dress tonight. Annie helped me. I'm sending it over to Mrs. Keckley's place first thing in the morning. And tomorrow I'm going to pack my things and move in with the Surratts. And everything will be fine with me, Mama, you'll see."
I stayed a few minutes longer. I said some prayers. But it was no good. I still didn't feel as if I were grieving properly. I still couldn't cry. So I promised Mama I'd be back soon. I couldn't keep Annie and Uncle Valentine waiting any longer.
The driver of the hack Maude had paid ten dollars for had left. We got into Uncle Valentine's chaise.
"What would you have done if I hadn't come along?" Uncle Valentine scolded gently.
"Walked home and been accosted by every vagrant on the streets," I said.
"We most appreciate your coming," Annie told him. "But how ever did you know those two would be here doing their vile work?"
"I'm going to hire guards to watch over your mother," was all he said.
"I'm beholden to you, Uncle Valentine," I told him as his chaise drew up in front of our house.
"Are you?"
"Yes. And I missed you at the funeral."
"I wanted to come, but I didn't want to upset you."
"Oh, Uncle Valentine, I'm so sorry I hurt
"You, Spoon, you, Mole, go elsewhere for your subjects! I'll have you hauled off to county jail if you put in an appearance here again. Go to Potter's Field! Go to Harmony Cemetery. Let decent people rest in peace!"
The voice had familiar clear rich tones.
Uncle Valentine!
"Annie, it's my uncle," I said.
"I know." She sounded less than enamored.
"What do you suppose he's doing here? How did he know those two would be robbing Mama's grave? And who are they?"
"The Spoon and the Mole, didn't you hear him? Grave robbers."
"Children?"
"No," Annie said, "dwarves."
I said my proper good-bye to Mama.
Without a word to either of us, Uncle Valentine took up the long-handled shovel the grave robbers had left and replaced the earth neatly. Then he rearranged the flowers, which, as Maude had promised, were full blooming now in the dark, their lovely white petals giving off pleasant fragrances. I stared at them. I had never seen flowers blooming at night before.
He said a brief silent prayer and gestured to me that I should do what I had come to do. He and Annie walked away.
I knelt. But I could not form my thoughts. They raced through my mind, tumbled together, pulled apart, and ran away, only to scamper back into my mind, a mixture of fear, joy, and confusion, like the light and shadows around me caught up in the night breeze.
I couldn't concentrate. I thought of Merry Andrews asking me to guess his name, of Maude giving me that cup of tea, of Annie telling me her mother was in love with John Wilkes Booth, of the man in the cart hauling his grisly cargo of bodies to Robert E. Lee's front lawn for burial, of stitching Mrs. Lincoln's gown, of the dwarves digging around Mama's grave.
I thought of the way Mama had begged me not to let Uncle Valentine touch her once she died. And how vigilant he had been about chasing away the grave robbers, how respectful and tender. He had replaced the earth around her like one tucking in the blankets of a child, rearranging the flowers like you would for someone in a sickroom.
Had Mama been wrong about him? Why had her mind and her heart been so turned against him?
From the corner of my eye, I saw Annie and Uncle Valentine waiting for me at the cemetery gate. So I gathered my thoughts in like errant children and spoke to Mama.
"You should have seen him chase them, Mama," I told her. "Oh, it would have done your heart good. I don't know who they are, but I'm going to tell the reverend all about them. Oh, Mama, I'm so sorry I didn't cry today at your funeral. But I'm going to grieve, properlike, I promise you. Just like Mrs. Lincoln said we have to do. And, oh yes, I finished her dress tonight. Annie helped me. I'm sending it over to Mrs. Keckley's place first thing in the morning. And tomorrow I'm going to pack my things and move in with the Surratts. And everything will be fine with me, Mama, you'll see."
I stayed a few minutes longer. I said some prayers. But it was no good. I still didn't feel as if I were grieving properly. I still couldn't cry. So I promised Mama I'd be back soon. I couldn't keep Annie and Uncle Valentine waiting any longer.
The driver of the hack Maude had paid ten dollars for had left. We got into Uncle Valentine's chaise.
"What would you have done if I hadn't come along?" Uncle Valentine scolded gently.
"Walked home and been accosted by every vagrant on the streets," I said.
"We most appreciate your coming," Annie told him. "But how ever did you know those two would be here doing their vile work?"
"I'm going to hire guards to watch over your mother," was all he said.
"I'm beholden to you, Uncle Valentine," I told him as his chaise drew up in front of our house.
"Are you?"
"Yes. And I missed you at the funeral."
"I wanted to come, but I didn't want to upset you."
"Oh, Uncle Valentine, I'm so sorry I hurt
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