Read Online Mrs. Lee and Mrs. Gray by Dorothy Love - Free Book Online
Authors: Dorothy Love
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little more than write letters and sell flowers to support the cause.”
“I know how passionate you are about this, Mary, but shipping the freedmen off to Liberia is hardly the answer.” Robert finished his first slice of bread and buttered another. “This morning Talcott and I were discussing the possibility that Virginia may outlaw slavery in the wake of this Nat Turner business. I’m sure there will be calls for something to be done, but I can’t imagine enough votes can be mustered to make a two-hundred-year-old institution illegal.” He sipped his tea. “Talcott agrees with you, by the way.”
“About?”
“He is of the opinion that colonization is the only means—short of war—for ending slavery.”
“Then perhaps I can persuade the captain to lend his support to the cause when he is next in Washington City.”
Robert studied me over the rim of his cup. “I have known your feelings on this matter for a long time, but I did not think you were such an abolitionist. After all, you are dependent upon the slaves at Arlington to see to your every need. Are you ready to take on the preparing of meals, the laundering of clothes? The scrubbing of floors and the emptying of chamber pots?”
“How dare you include me in the group being blamed for this man Turner’s rampage? I am no rabid abolitionist, but I am a realist. You know as well as I do that slavery cannot endure forever. We have a moral obligation to prepare our servants for that day when they are emancipated. Even if my father doesn’t share my—”
The door burst open, and the Hale children rushed inside. Catherine was holding a squirming white cat. “Lee! Look what we got.”
Robert scooted his chair away from the table and took both child and feline onto his lap. “What a fine specimen he is, Miss Catherine. Have you thought of a name for him?”
“I want to call him Frosty because he’s white as frost. But Rebecca thinks we should call him Lucky.”
“Because it’s lucky we found him before he got sick or something.” Rebecca climbed into Robert’s lap with her sister. “Lee, did you bring me anything today?”
“I’m afraid not today.”
“But you will tomorrow,” Catherine said, turning on her most beguiling smile.
Rebecca took his face between her two small hands. “Promise to bring us something special.”
Robert laughed. “Go along, you little flirts. Mrs. Lee and I must dress for dinner.”
Cat in tow, the girls hurried off. Cassie came in to put away our tea things and to help me change my dress. I could feel Robert’s eyes following me as I readied myself for dinner. I knew he was thinking he had proven his point about my dependence on Cassie and the others who served my family at home. I was still smarting from his having called me an abolitionist. So I was in a most contentious mood when we joined Captain Talcott and the Hales at dinner.
In the presence of the captain’s Negro servants, the conversation revolved around the innocuous topics of beach walking, letters from home, and Robert’s progress on his engineering projects. But once we had finished our coffee and cake and the girls were taken off to bed, the captain dismissed his servants for the evening and the five adults crowded into the Talcotts’ rooms, which were hardly larger than ours.
“Mrs. Lee,” the captain said. “I’m sure the lieutenant has told you of the events occurring in Southampton County.”
“Yes. But he assures me we are safe here.”
“Indeed. The garrison is being reinforced. Extra troops will remain here until the miscreants are apprehended and dealt with. You have nothing to fear.”
“I’ve no doubt of my safety, but I do worry about what this rebellion will mean for the rest of Virginia.”
He looked surprised. “I doubt it will mean much at all in the grand scheme of things. From what we know so far, Nat Turner fancies himself some sort of prophet, guided by heavenly visions to lead his people out of
“I know how passionate you are about this, Mary, but shipping the freedmen off to Liberia is hardly the answer.” Robert finished his first slice of bread and buttered another. “This morning Talcott and I were discussing the possibility that Virginia may outlaw slavery in the wake of this Nat Turner business. I’m sure there will be calls for something to be done, but I can’t imagine enough votes can be mustered to make a two-hundred-year-old institution illegal.” He sipped his tea. “Talcott agrees with you, by the way.”
“About?”
“He is of the opinion that colonization is the only means—short of war—for ending slavery.”
“Then perhaps I can persuade the captain to lend his support to the cause when he is next in Washington City.”
Robert studied me over the rim of his cup. “I have known your feelings on this matter for a long time, but I did not think you were such an abolitionist. After all, you are dependent upon the slaves at Arlington to see to your every need. Are you ready to take on the preparing of meals, the laundering of clothes? The scrubbing of floors and the emptying of chamber pots?”
“How dare you include me in the group being blamed for this man Turner’s rampage? I am no rabid abolitionist, but I am a realist. You know as well as I do that slavery cannot endure forever. We have a moral obligation to prepare our servants for that day when they are emancipated. Even if my father doesn’t share my—”
The door burst open, and the Hale children rushed inside. Catherine was holding a squirming white cat. “Lee! Look what we got.”
Robert scooted his chair away from the table and took both child and feline onto his lap. “What a fine specimen he is, Miss Catherine. Have you thought of a name for him?”
“I want to call him Frosty because he’s white as frost. But Rebecca thinks we should call him Lucky.”
“Because it’s lucky we found him before he got sick or something.” Rebecca climbed into Robert’s lap with her sister. “Lee, did you bring me anything today?”
“I’m afraid not today.”
“But you will tomorrow,” Catherine said, turning on her most beguiling smile.
Rebecca took his face between her two small hands. “Promise to bring us something special.”
Robert laughed. “Go along, you little flirts. Mrs. Lee and I must dress for dinner.”
Cat in tow, the girls hurried off. Cassie came in to put away our tea things and to help me change my dress. I could feel Robert’s eyes following me as I readied myself for dinner. I knew he was thinking he had proven his point about my dependence on Cassie and the others who served my family at home. I was still smarting from his having called me an abolitionist. So I was in a most contentious mood when we joined Captain Talcott and the Hales at dinner.
In the presence of the captain’s Negro servants, the conversation revolved around the innocuous topics of beach walking, letters from home, and Robert’s progress on his engineering projects. But once we had finished our coffee and cake and the girls were taken off to bed, the captain dismissed his servants for the evening and the five adults crowded into the Talcotts’ rooms, which were hardly larger than ours.
“Mrs. Lee,” the captain said. “I’m sure the lieutenant has told you of the events occurring in Southampton County.”
“Yes. But he assures me we are safe here.”
“Indeed. The garrison is being reinforced. Extra troops will remain here until the miscreants are apprehended and dealt with. You have nothing to fear.”
“I’ve no doubt of my safety, but I do worry about what this rebellion will mean for the rest of Virginia.”
He looked surprised. “I doubt it will mean much at all in the grand scheme of things. From what we know so far, Nat Turner fancies himself some sort of prophet, guided by heavenly visions to lead his people out of
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