Read Online Texas Angel, 2-in-1 by Judith Pella - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Judith Pella
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gasped.
“That’s right, dearie. But this is a special place. We are all quadroons or, like yourself, light enough to pass for white. Maurry serves a broader clientele that way. And since he owns all of us, you can guess what his profit margin is.”
“I . . . I don’t care!” Clutching Hannah tighter than ever, she cast wildly about as if she could find a way of escape. “I won’t—”
“Liz, you don’t have no choice now, do you?”
“I’ll run away!”
Mae nodded indulgently. “Come with me.”
Elise hesitated, her mind in disarray, then dumbly she followed. They went to another room and Mae knocked. A dark-skinned girl answered. She could not have been more than fourteen or fifteen. Dressed only in a red silk wrapper over a ruffled chemise, she was quite lovely, even though she had not yet developed all her womanly attributes.
“This is Gina,” Mae said. Then to Gina she explained, “This is a new girl. She has the idea she can avoid working for Maurry. I thought you could set her straight.”
Gina shrugged. “I had the same idea once,” she said to Elise.
“Show her what changed your mind,” Mae said.
Gina turned her back toward Elise then lowered the shoulders of her dressing gown. Her back was crisscrossed with several scars, which, though mostly healed, were still red and angry looking. After rearranging the gown, Gina turned back and said, “I tried to run away. It didn’t take very long for Maurry to find me. I won’t do it again. What use is it? We’re only slaves, a fact best not to forget.” Then she shrugged resignedly. “Anyway, there’s lots of white women that don’t have it as good as us.”
The girl’s words were true enough, yet at the same time horrifying in her tone of glib practicality. Elise gaped, stunned both at the words and at the sight of Gina’s back.
In a moment the numbness subsided, and Elise cried, “I’ll never accept it!” Tears and fear clogged her voice. “He can’t make me! I’ll die first!” She spun around. She would flee this place. She didn’t care how hopeless it was. Let them kill her. She could not live like this. Death was preferable.
But as she started blindly forward, she crashed up against a towering solid obstacle. Maurice Thomson.
“What’s this?” His tone was mocking. “Do I detect resistance? This simply won’t do. I have customers arriving soon.”
The collision had started Hannah crying, but Elise hardly noticed through her own tears of rage and terror.
“You can’t make me!”
Before she perceived her danger, certainly before she was able to guess anyone could be so heartless, Thomson whisked Hannah from Elise’s arms.
“No!” she screamed.
Her sudden lunge for the baby was anticipated, and Thomson quickly jerked out of her reach, causing Elise to stumble forward, her flailing arms only reaching for air. Mae caught her before she went sprawling on the floor.
“You will not see the baby again until you prove complete submission to my will.” Thomson’s cool voice rose to a growl. “And just remember, your own death will not protect the baby.”
“How can you be so heartless?” Elise sobbed.
“This is business. You are my property, as is the infant. If you are not obedient, I will sell the baby for whatever I can get and have done with it. Now return to your room. I’ll be there shortly to ensure you are in the proper frame of mind for work. If you behave and my clients depart contented, you may see the infant in the morning.”
CHAPTER
10
E ARLY AFTERNOON WAS USUALLY QUIET at the hotel. The women didn’t wake until late morning, and because they had few chores, the time until the evening activities was spent lounging about, gossiping, and taking care of personal needs like laundry, mending, and such. Elise had the additional task of caring for Hannah.
The baby had been returned to her after two days. It had been a harrowing separation for both the mother and the three-month-old child. The
“That’s right, dearie. But this is a special place. We are all quadroons or, like yourself, light enough to pass for white. Maurry serves a broader clientele that way. And since he owns all of us, you can guess what his profit margin is.”
“I . . . I don’t care!” Clutching Hannah tighter than ever, she cast wildly about as if she could find a way of escape. “I won’t—”
“Liz, you don’t have no choice now, do you?”
“I’ll run away!”
Mae nodded indulgently. “Come with me.”
Elise hesitated, her mind in disarray, then dumbly she followed. They went to another room and Mae knocked. A dark-skinned girl answered. She could not have been more than fourteen or fifteen. Dressed only in a red silk wrapper over a ruffled chemise, she was quite lovely, even though she had not yet developed all her womanly attributes.
“This is Gina,” Mae said. Then to Gina she explained, “This is a new girl. She has the idea she can avoid working for Maurry. I thought you could set her straight.”
Gina shrugged. “I had the same idea once,” she said to Elise.
“Show her what changed your mind,” Mae said.
Gina turned her back toward Elise then lowered the shoulders of her dressing gown. Her back was crisscrossed with several scars, which, though mostly healed, were still red and angry looking. After rearranging the gown, Gina turned back and said, “I tried to run away. It didn’t take very long for Maurry to find me. I won’t do it again. What use is it? We’re only slaves, a fact best not to forget.” Then she shrugged resignedly. “Anyway, there’s lots of white women that don’t have it as good as us.”
The girl’s words were true enough, yet at the same time horrifying in her tone of glib practicality. Elise gaped, stunned both at the words and at the sight of Gina’s back.
In a moment the numbness subsided, and Elise cried, “I’ll never accept it!” Tears and fear clogged her voice. “He can’t make me! I’ll die first!” She spun around. She would flee this place. She didn’t care how hopeless it was. Let them kill her. She could not live like this. Death was preferable.
But as she started blindly forward, she crashed up against a towering solid obstacle. Maurice Thomson.
“What’s this?” His tone was mocking. “Do I detect resistance? This simply won’t do. I have customers arriving soon.”
The collision had started Hannah crying, but Elise hardly noticed through her own tears of rage and terror.
“You can’t make me!”
Before she perceived her danger, certainly before she was able to guess anyone could be so heartless, Thomson whisked Hannah from Elise’s arms.
“No!” she screamed.
Her sudden lunge for the baby was anticipated, and Thomson quickly jerked out of her reach, causing Elise to stumble forward, her flailing arms only reaching for air. Mae caught her before she went sprawling on the floor.
“You will not see the baby again until you prove complete submission to my will.” Thomson’s cool voice rose to a growl. “And just remember, your own death will not protect the baby.”
“How can you be so heartless?” Elise sobbed.
“This is business. You are my property, as is the infant. If you are not obedient, I will sell the baby for whatever I can get and have done with it. Now return to your room. I’ll be there shortly to ensure you are in the proper frame of mind for work. If you behave and my clients depart contented, you may see the infant in the morning.”
CHAPTER
10
E ARLY AFTERNOON WAS USUALLY QUIET at the hotel. The women didn’t wake until late morning, and because they had few chores, the time until the evening activities was spent lounging about, gossiping, and taking care of personal needs like laundry, mending, and such. Elise had the additional task of caring for Hannah.
The baby had been returned to her after two days. It had been a harrowing separation for both the mother and the three-month-old child. The
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