Together is All We Need (30 page)

‘‘So what you're saying, Kathleen, is that we need to pay Henry and Jeremiah some of the harvest money, and also Josepha and Emma, and then start giving Josepha a wage too?''

Katie nodded.

‘‘Well, then . . . if you paid Mayme twenty dollars and she's family, would it sound fair to pay Henry forty dollars because he picked more cotton than any of us, and then pay Jeremiah and Josepha both twenty dollars each, and Emma ten. What does that sound like?''

‘‘I think that sounds fair, Papa,'' I said. ‘‘I know they will all appreciate it.''

‘‘Do you have a bank account, Kathleen?'' asked my papa. ‘‘One with
your
name on it?''

‘‘No. I just used my mama's.''

‘‘All right, then, here's what we'll do—the Rosewood account will belong to all of us. But we'll open a new account just for you too. It will have Kathleen Clairborne's name on it, no one else's. Then we'll put sixty dollars in it for you, just like is in Mary Ann's.''

‘‘Thank you, Uncle Templeton,'' said Katie.

‘‘Good, then it's settled. Why don't you talk to them all, Kathleen, and I'll get the money from the bank next time I'm in town.''

‘‘I think it would mean more coming from you, Uncle Templeton,'' said Katie. ‘‘I think you ought to give them the money. And I think you should talk to Josepha and tell her that you and Uncle Ward want to start paying her a monthly wage for all her hard work.''

‘‘All right, if you think that's best, we'll talk to her. I'll talk to Henry too.''

We were all quiet for a minute.

‘‘Now that we're getting all these financial dealings settled, and all these plans made,'' said Uncle Ward, ‘‘I got one more item of business to bring before this here family committee . . . if you all don't mind.''

‘‘Go on ahead, Ward,'' said my papa. ‘‘We're listening, aren't we, ladies?''

We all turned toward Uncle Ward and waited.

‘‘Well, it's like this,'' he began. ‘‘You know that when I came here I didn't know what I was getting into. I never took much stock in my name on that deed of Rosalind's, though I'm sure glad I kept it all those years. Otherwise we'd all be picking Burchard Clairborne's cotton instead of Kathleen's. But to tell you the truth, I'm still a mite uncomfortable when I think about that deed. And I been thinking that if anything should happen to me—I ain't no spring chicken, you know— there's no telling what that Burchard fellow might try to do. I know you all been mighty kind telling me you wanted me to stay on here and that I was the rightful owner and all. But you gotta admit that having my name just handwritten on the back of it don't sound too altogether the way it oughta be.''

‘‘What are you driving at, Ward?'' asked my papa.

‘‘I been thinking that maybe we oughta go see that Sneed fellow, and have him draw up a brand-new deed, like he done for Richard's brother, and make it all legal so nothing could ever happen, and put
all
our names on it—all four of us. It's just what Kathleen said a little bit ago. It's like all four of us kind of own Rosewood together, now that Richard and Rosalind are dead and there's no one else. If that's true, I don't like only my name being on it.''

We sat a minute in silence thinking about what he'd said. My brain was spinning at the notion! He couldn't mean
me
too!

Finally my papa spoke up.

‘‘I see what you're saying, Ward,'' he said, nodding thoughtfully. ‘‘Makes a lot of sense. Not that I want to take anything from you, but what you say makes a lot of sense.''

‘‘I'd feel a darn sight better about it myself,'' said Uncle Ward. ‘‘You'd be doing me a favor and lifting a big load off my mind.''

‘‘I don't like Mr. Sneed,'' said Katie.

‘‘He's a lawyer,'' said my papa. ‘‘That's all that matters. He can draw up legal documents whether we like him or not. But we could go see another lawyer in Charlotte or anywhere else if you want.''

‘‘I don't care, Uncle Templeton. I just don't like him, that's all. But you can talk to him if you want.''

Finally it was my turn to say something.

‘‘But . . . you can't really mean . . . me too?'' I said. ‘‘I'm colored. You can't put
my
name on a deed.''

‘‘You're my daughter, Mary Ann,'' said my papa. ‘‘You may not be quite as related to Rosalind as we three. But you've still got half Daniels blood in your veins, and that makes you kin.''

‘‘She could have a smaller share, Templeton,'' said Uncle Ward, ‘‘if she wanted.''

‘‘No,'' said Katie. ‘‘I won't let you add my name to the deed unless Mayme's share is equal to mine.''

‘‘My sentiments precisely!'' added my papa.

‘‘Fine by me,'' said Uncle Ward. ‘‘So it'll be just like I said at first—all four of us, equal partners.''

‘‘But we're women, Uncle Templeton,'' said Katie. ‘‘And we're not old enough to own things, are we?''

‘‘Mary Ann's eighteen. You'll be eighteen next year. And I don't care if you are women or how old you are or what color anyone is—we'll tell him whose names go on it and that's that.''

He glanced around at the rest of us with such a look of finality and authority that there wasn't much else for anyone to say.

‘‘Good, it's settled, then!'' said my papa. ‘‘Ward, what do you say that you and I go see Sneed tomorrow and set it in motion.''

And that's how a former slave girl—me!—who left her home without anything to her name and not a penny in her pocket, got to be a one-fourth owner of a big plantation in Shenandoah County, North Carolina, called Rosewood, where she lived with her white cousin, her uncle, and her papa.

Just as we were getting through, a gentle knock sounded on the parlor door. Katie got up to answer it. There stood Emma.

‘‘I'm sorry ter disturb y'all, Miz Katie,'' she said, ‘‘but Jeremiah's outside. He's ax'ed ef he kin call on Miz Mayme.''

‘‘We're all through here, aren't we?'' said my papa. ‘‘—Kathleen, was there anything else we needed to talk about?''

‘‘No, Uncle Templeton . . . I'm done.''

‘‘Then, go on, Mary Ann,'' he said, throwing me a wink and smile. ‘‘You go ahead and visit your young man!''

A F
AMILY
. . . T
OGETHER
50

T
HAT SAME NIGHT, AFTER EVERYONE HAD GONE TO
bed, my papa wandered into Uncle Ward's room. He hadn't been planning to have a long conversation, so he didn't close the door behind him. He sat down on the chair at the desk while Uncle Ward was sitting on the edge of the bed, and they began talking about all there was to do and everything Katie had said when we'd been talking earlier.

‘‘I don't think this place needs a foreman as long as Kathleen's around!'' laughed Uncle Ward. ‘‘It's a good thing we're getting that deed changed. Truth be known, Templeton, you and I shouldn't be on it at all. Kathleen's the one who's running this place, not you or me—she and Mary Ann, I ought to say, 'cause what Kathleen doesn't know, Mary Ann does. They know about the money and crops and livestock and everything.''

I heard my papa chuckle lightly.

They didn't know it, but as they had been talking, the door to our room was a little ajar, and we could hear every word. We couldn't help glowing inside from what they said about us. There's nothing quite like hearing praise when the person saying it doesn't know you're listening.

‘‘When we were talking up in Ellicott City,'' I heard Uncle Ward say, ‘‘—remember, we were saying how we needed to take care of Kathleen now, for Rosalind's sake?''

My papa said something I couldn't make out.

‘‘We were a couple of fools, Templeton!''

There was some more chuckling.

‘‘She didn't need nobody to take care of her—it's them who are taking care of
us
!''

I almost started laughing out loud when I heard that.

‘‘Yeah, those two are really something!'' my papa said. ‘‘We're a couple of pretty lucky guys, to have two girls like that.''

As we lay listening in our bed, I felt Katie's hand take mine. We lay there a long time in silence after my papa and Uncle Ward stopped talking and went to bed. I knew she had overheard them talking like I had and felt the same happiness inside.

As we lay there, hand in hand in the darkness, both of us felt totally at peace for the first time in years. Yes, more changes would come to Rosewood. Our troubles weren't over—nor our joys. If someone had asked us right then, we'd have never been able to guess the many roads and adventures that still lay ahead of us.

But for now, we were together. And for right then, it was enough.

Finally Katie spoke up.

‘‘We did it, Mayme,'' she finally said softly in the darkness. ‘‘We actually did it. We got Rosewood going again!''

‘‘I guess we did at that,'' I said. ‘‘I would never have believed we could . . . but I guess we did.''

Looking for More Good Books to Read?

You can find out what is new and exciting with
previews, descriptions, and reviews by signing up for
Bethany House newsletters at

www.bethanynewsletters.com

We will send you updates for as many authors or
categories as you desire so you get only the
information you really want.

Sign up today!