Jillian Chantal

This week the authors of Tuesday Tales are writing to the word prompt steady. I am back in a story I have a deadline on even though I’m not really feeling the muse, but deadlines are deadlines. This is a paranormal and we pick up where the heroine thinks she’s coming to save the hero but she’s been being terrorized on her ride to the mansion in the rain. I shared some of this in the fall and you may or may not remember it.

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Max stared out the window that had water streaming down the glass in rivulets. He could barely see Stella standing there. She was screaming loud enough to wake the people in the next county. He couldn’t understand what was possessing her or even why she was on the porch. Didn’t she say she was never coming back here?

At least she was a diversion from sitting in the dark where he’d dozed off for the last few hours. His body ached from having fallen asleep with his arms on the table. He tried to unlatch the window since he couldn’t find the keys to the deadbolt on the front door. Where did I see them last?

She kept banging on the pane so hard he was sure it was going to shatter inside the room and cut him. What was she all fired up about? Weird.

He finally got the latch turned—it was almost like someone had painted it shut—and as he pulled the tall French window toward him, Stella leaned against it. She tumbled into the room, a wet, sodden mess, and took him down to the floor with her. A bag landed with a thump beside them.

“Good grief. What are you doing here and why are you terrorizing me at this late hour?” He gently removed her body from his person and rolled out of her way.

Standing, he shook out his polo shirt to dry to get the dampness off it. “I thought you were done with this house and yet here you are.”

“Shut that window. I made a salt barrier, but whoever it is can still get in.”

“Salt barrier?” Max shook his head. This poor woman needed help in a bad way.

She struggled to her feet using the leg of one of the wing back chairs as leverage. She seemed a little wobbly and unable to steady herself  

When she seemed to have her balance, she dashed to the window and tried to slam it shut, but the wind grabbed hold of it. Max could tell she would never have the strength to close it herself.

Heaving a big sigh, he made his way to her side and pushed the thing flush with the facing. The lock closed with a snick and he turned to face her with his back to the outside world. “Care to enlighten me about why you’re here and making such a fuss?”

This week’s word for the authors of Tuesday Tales is boat. I am pretty much not writing at this time as I am so discouraged about a lot of things, so I am going to share a bit more of my slave story that I am supposed to be editing but can’t seem to focus on. Luckily, the word of the week is in that story a lot.

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“We’ve both had our share of tears in this life, girl.”

“Yes we have. Too many.” Theodora thought about the countless tears she’d cried when her mother was sold. She didn’t really remember a lot about that time and really didn’t understand the reason her mother was gone. She only recalled how the warmth of someone’s arms around her as she slept was gone. It was only later as she noticed other female slaves who had babies they cuddled that she understood what she was missing.

The cart jolted to a halt.

Now that they were still, they could hear the sounds around them. There seemed to be a lot of activity.

“How will we be able to avoid being seen if there are a lot of people around?” Theodora asked.

“Trust the planners, child. They’ve done this before. You have to learn to let people help you.”

“How can I? I’ve never really had that in my life.”

“I know, but remember Josiah helped you learn to follow the stars and you were doing that when you escaped the first time, then the boys showed you how to swim when you were planning your second try at the plantation. They helped you.”

“And you have, too but I know all of you and being slaves like me, there wasn’t much to fear that any of you would betray me.”

Esther patted her hand. “I know, but there’s a big world out there for you to make your way in and if you don’t learn to let people help you or to trust that they will, you’re going to grow old alone and frightened. I don’t want that for you.”

Before Theodora could respond, the top edge of the tarp came up. A man’s face peered in at them. “I’m the driver. We’re going to get you on the boat now.” He passed Theodora two really thick blankets. “Hang on as I’m going to drive close to the gangway and we’re going to load you on. Wrap those around yourselves and when the two men take you each out, hold yourself as still and stiff as you can. We’re passing you off as carpets that have to be stored in the captain’s cabin so they don’t ruin.”

This sounded crazy. “Does that actually work?” Theodora couldn’t keep the question from flying out of her mouth.

“It always has before. It’s dark out and no one is really paying attention to what’s being loaded. Two women walking on the gangplank wild cause much more notice than two carpets being carried onboard.

Remembering the words Esther recently spoke, Theodora did what she could to try to trust the man. “Can’t hurt to try, right?”

“That’s the spirit.” He smiled and placed the tarp back over them.

This week’s word for the Tuesday Tales gang is fired. I am still sharing my slavery story. I’ve finished it, but I’m in the middle of editing it now. Our protagonist has made her way to a safe house in Concord, New Hampshire.

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On the fourth day, Sally came in and clapped her hands. “I’ve got your manumission papers.” She held them out to Theodora. “Keep them on you all the time.”

Theodora opened them. She could make out a few words. “These say I’m free?”

“They do. They’ll pass most anyone’s muster. We know they aren’t real, but no one else will so if anybody stops you on the street, you show them. If they act as if they’re going to take you south, you yell long and loud that you’re a free woman of color. Someone in this town will come running and after checking these, will protect you.”

“Really?” Theodora held the treasures to her chest protectively. “I’ll never lose them.”

“I’m also moving you to another room today. Closer to the stairs. Where you can visit with all the others.”

“I’m so glad. Being alone most of the day has been hard.”

“Oh, by the way, I had to give you a last name for the papers. I forgot to ask what you wanted so I picked one. How do you like Smith?”

“Anything you chose is fine as long as it wasn’t Johnson.” Theodora laughed as she tried out her new name. “Theodora Smith. I like it.”

“Well, Miss Smith. Let’s get you moved and settled into your new place before you start work today.”

“What is the day of the week? I’ve lost count.”

“It’s Tuesday.”

“I have to find the pub on Main Street. Do you know where it is?”

“You a drinking woman?” The look on Sally’s face made Theodora giggle.

“No. Not at all.” She grinned. “Although Esther talked me into sneaking some of the master’s spirits once.”

“Then why do you need to go to a pub and on Main Street at that?”

“I have a brother who is trying to escape as well. We agreed to meet there on a Tuesday. I’m to go each week until he shows up, or he’s to go until I come.”

“That’s a clever plan. Did you set a time or are you planning to stay out there all day?” Sally’s eyebrows raised.

“Afternoon is all we said. I’ll go and wait for a few hours.”

“Just keep moving. You don’t want to cause suspicion. We may be in a free state, but people are still not always kind and accepting of us. You might get their curiosity all fired up.”

“I’ll be careful. I promise.”

“For today, I’ll send Tobias with you. To show you the way.” She waggled her finger at Theodora. “But mind you, it may be years before that brother of yours shows up.”

“Maybe so, but I’ll be there.” Theodora crossed her fingers over her heart. “But it could be mere weeks, not years. I choose to believe that.”

“You keep that hope in your heart, child and maybe you’ll be right and I’ll be wrong.”

The writers of Tuesday Tales are writing to the word prompt tall this week. We’re a group of ladies who each write completely differently from each other, but use a common word each week.

Check out the other tales here.

Once they both were awake and dressed in just one gown each, Esther and Theodora went out the door to the little porch on the front of the cabin.

To their surprise, a couple of ladies stood there. One was taller than any other woman Theodora had ever seen and one was almost as round as she was tall. They both had huge grins on their faces.

“We were getting ready to knock. William said you’d be arriving sometime in the night and we didn’t think we could wait much longer to meet you,” the tall one said.

Esther stepped off the porch. “I’m Esther and this is Theodora.”

The shorter woman said, “I’m Lizzie and she’s Sassy.” She giggled. “My former master named me Elizabeth, but I call myself Lizzie now and Sassy used to be Cassandra. Are you two going to change your names?”

“I’m too old to change now, honey.” Esther took the shorter woman by the arm. “I heard there was a kitchen around here.” She waved Theodora off the porch. “That’s my young friend, Theodora. I’m thinking she’s going to keep her name since the master on our old plantation allowed the mothers to name their babies.”

Stunned at that news since she’d never known it, Theodora’s words almost stuck in her throat. She coughed and said, “Yes, I’ll be keeping mine, too.” She vowed to ask the old woman more about her mother as soon as they were alone.