BURN IN HADES (30 page)

He laid the puncheon floor outside for the dance and set up slab benches. Mrs. Carson hung evergreen garland, wreaths, and bunting and lit candles all around the ranch, turning it into a fairyland.

That evening guests flocked to the ranch wearing merry expressions and their best bibs and tuckers. The fairer sex paraded in their fine red, blue, and green calico dresses. Charles parked the guests’ carriages and buggies around the side. Mr. Garrett, the man who helped rescue him from a hanging years ago, remained the only guest who acknowledged Charles’s presence. The bearded man actually said, “Hello” to Charles before helping his wife and his daughter out the carriage. He wore the same glowing ring Mr. Carson owned.

“You like this ring?” said Mr. Garrett. “How would you like to wear one?”

“I can’t afford such luxuries, sir.”

“If you should ever see fit to depart from the Carsons, you have a job on my estate.”

“That’s very kind of you, sir. But I ain’t too keen on takin’ no offers.”

“There’s three thousand acres if you accept. My ranch is bigger than the Carsons’, so you’d have your own living space on your own piece of land. I’ll even pay you double what the Carsons’ pay.”

“Double, sir?”

“That’s right. And you can get one of these here rings. Think about it.” He patted Charles on the back and joined the growing party.

Charles parked the Garretts’ carriage and pondered what could be the end of sharing an attic with Mr. Beckwourth and the beginning of living on his own land. An offer like that never came around. He hopped out of the carriage and gazed up at the mansion he had lived in for the last six years. Could he just leave?

“Charles!” Mrs. Carson’s voice screeched over the music. “What in the blazes is holding you up, boy?”

Carriages had lined up. Guests were waiting. He finished parking all the carriages until no more guests were arriving. All the chatting had ceased and the fiddlers’ melody slowed.

Kate glided down the porch steps in her satin gown. A long curl of her hair hung down and touched the edge of the V shaped bodice. Her skirt hid her feet and she seemed to float across the grounds like an orchid-colored fairy.

Charles locked his gaze onto her, and hers laid on him. They were the only two people on the ranch. One dance with her would fulfill his waking dream. He refused to leave the Carsons because he refused to leave Kate. She was worth more than money or land. She was everything.

Men clamored for Kate’s attention and affection, bumping each other out of the way and following her around like puppy dogs. They all tried to make a mash with her, but Charles knew that secretly she was giving them the mitten. She teased them and hardly seemed interested in any of them. He hoped not.

Clack.
Mr. Beckwourth snapped the pocket watch in his face. The object was still bent from when the carriage rolled over it. Charles was lucky to even have found it after such a difficult search.

“Get a wiggle on,” said the majordomo.

Charles picked up trays from the kitchen, and on exit, Kate pranced over to him. “May I have this dance?” she whispered, sounding half serious. He laughed the invitation off.

“It would drive them all into a tizzy,” she said, “to see us dancing together.”

“Keep your voice down,” he said.

“Oh, it’s perfectly fine for you to stand there and serve them, but dance beside them? Unthinkable. They’d lose their sensibilities.” She paused. “At least have a chocolate.”

He turned away from her. “You know the rules.”

“Break the rules,” said Kate. “Everyone else does.”

She faced him and stood so close to him he could feel her breath on his chin. Uncomfortable warmth draped his body like a coat of burning coals. He glanced around at the guests scattered throughout and turned sideways from her before anyone saw them standing so close together.

“I wanna keep my neck attached to my body,” he said.

“This is your party as much as it is ours.” Kate sidestepped to face him again. She put her smooth gloved hand on his forearm. “You built all this stuff. You worked awfully hard today as you always do. It’s not right that we get to have all the fun while you just—”

“I’m having fun.” Charles pulled away from her. “Staying out of trouble is as fun as it gets for me. Don’t mess that up.”

She folded her arms and sat down on a bench. “I refuse to get up and have any fun tonight if you’re not having fun.”

“You’re not gonna sit there all night.”

“I will too.”

“I won’t let you.”

“Good.” She stood up and grabbed a chocolate from his tray. “Then, drink.”

He glanced around for Mrs. Carson and couldn’t spot her amongst the partygoers.

“Go on,” said Kate.

The cup touched his lips. Mrs. Carson came out of nowhere as though she had popped out of the ground. “Kate, don’t you go getting the boy in trouble now.”

“Oh, mother it’s just one chocolate. Let him have
one
. President Lincoln’s dead. It’s Thanksgiving. And after all Charlie’s done for us it’s the least he deserves.”

The smile that Mrs. Carson had forced on her face for her party-guests lapsed into her scowl briefly. “Be discreet. Just one. And then it’s back to work you go.” The hostess returned to her guests, and the hearty smile found its way back on her face.

Charles raised the cup as a toast to Kate. She watched wide-eyed as he sipped the sweet drink.

“That doesn’t mean that you still don’t owe me that dance.” She twirled her hair and smiled.

A man stepped between them, and with his back, he shoved Charles out of the way.

“Well, if it’s a dance you desire,” said the man, “then surely I can be of service, madam.”

“I don’t dance with just anyone,” said Kate.

“I’m not just anyone,” said the man. “It’s me, Jesse.”

Kate’s angel eyes brightened to Charles’s surprise and resentment. Her glow was meant for him and no one else, especially not Jesse. And more than anyone, she had to know how horrible of a person he was. Just last year, Jesse and his gang not only murdered unarmed Union troops, but they chopped off the dead men’s heads just to dishonor the bodies.

Charles had never gotten the rest of his clothes and money back from Jesse either. Guests called his attention away. He left Kate to catch up with Jesse and served a chocolate to a guest. Kate hooked her arm into Jesse’s and followed him to the dance floor.

In his heart, Charles suspected that she wasn’t interested in Jesse. They were just old friends. What pained Charles more than anything was watching her walk away with someone who wasn’t him. He would never be that man she would walk onto a dance floor with.

She glanced back at Charles and scrunched her face as if reassuring him of her disinterest in dancing with Jesse. She crossed her eyes and made twisted faces. Charles smirked, feeling mildly encouraged by her display.

Clack.
Mr. Beckwourth snapped his pocket watch. “You two ought to quit it now,” he said. “I ain’t got the best eyesight. But if I can see what’s going on, then other folk surely can as well. And if I must say, as a friend, that’s one beast you can never tame, magic touch or not.”

Mr. Beckwourth was right. Charles was kidding himself. He never had a chance with Kate, even if she pursued him. All the odds were stacked against them. Not only was he her servant, she was also the boss’s daughter. Negros and whites didn’t mix. He was torturing himself with impossible fantasies.

He returned to being invisible and scuttled around the party like spooked cattle. He cleaned spills, replaced dwindled candles, and crawled beneath the puncheon floor whenever someone dropped anything smaller than a peach between the logs. Guests began filing out at midnight, thanking Mrs. Carson for “a magical time,” “excellent hospitality,” and “a wonderful tribute to our dear President Lincoln.” Charles seriously considered Mr. Garrett’s offer as the family prepared to leave.

“Kate and I were just catching up,” Vivian said to her father. “Can I stay? The Carsons’ driver can take me home.”

“You can’t just volunteer the services of someone’s help,” said Mr. Garrett. “I’m sure Mrs. Carson has some other duties for him to perform. She was kind enough to throw such a magnificent event, we wouldn’t want to intrude on her generosity. Come along now.”

“It’s quit all right,” said Mrs. Carson. “Vivian and Katherine rarely get to see each other. It wouldn’t be a problem for Charlie to drive her home. If it’s alright with you, Mr. Garrett, she can stay a little while longer.”

Mr. Garrett scratched his beard. “Another hour then.” Charles pulled the Garrett’s carriage around and Mr. Garrett helped his wife inside.

“Have you thought about my offer, son?” asked Mr. Garrett.

“Yes, sir,” said Charles.

“And?”

Charles hesitated. He still hadn’t committed to a decision either way yet. “I think I’ll stay here with the Carsons for now if that’s all right.”

Mr. Garrett drew in a deep breath and guided Charles away from the carriage. “Let me tell you something, son. Mr. Carson’s been missing for going on two years now. That’s the longest he’s ever been away. He hasn’t written a single post since he’s been away.”

“How do you know?”

“The steam-engine brings all the posts through my town, son. I have my eye on it. The point is, Mr. Carson ain’t coming back. You know it. I know it. Everybody knows it. I think that’s the reason you don’t want to leave this ranch. And I understand. You feel like you have to stay here and take care of Miss Katie and Mrs. Carson. That’s very noble and I appreciate your sense of generosity. But you have to think about yourself. What I’m going to give you is something colored folk rarely attain. I’m going to give you ownership of your own property. You think the Carsons are going to share what they have with you? Look at your friend Mr. Beckwourth. All those years slaving on this ranch and nothing to show for it. That’s not to say that the Carsons aren’t good people because they are. They’ve always been dear friends of mine. But you’d never have to ask permission to have chocolate at one of my gatherings.”

“That’s quite all right, sir. I don’t mind. If I work hard, I can buy my own chocolate.”

Mr. Garrett narrowed his eyes and pressed his lips together. “I don’t think my words are quite sinking in. Look, it’s very honorable that you don’t want to bad mouth the Carsons behind their back. I admire your loyalty. It’s just that I treat all my people with respect. And I very much dislike it when I see someone innocent being disrespected. That’s why your old master hasn’t found you yet.”

Charles flinched at the mention of his old master and was slow to respond. “What do you mean?”

“The master you ran away from,” said Mr. Garrett. “What was it? Six years ago when you found yourself in my town? There’s a reason that man hasn’t found you all these years.”

“What reason is that?”

“Come work for me and I’ll explain everything. I might even know the whereabouts of the culprits who committed that atrocity upon your mother.”

The hair on the back of his neck pulled his skin apart and his body felt cold. “With all due respect, sir. Why haven’t you told me anything about this until now?”

“I’m a business man. Some bits of information are best kept until the opportune moment.”

“Why do you want me to come work for you so bad?”

“I just like to surround myself with good souls.” Mr. Garrett hopped in his carriage. “Don’t make a decision yet. Ponder it for a while. Soon, I’ll be having a rodeo. You can join if you please. Give me you answer then.” He and his wife rolled away into the night.

Hundreds of thoughts raced through Charles’s head at once: joining his first rodeo and being respected for once; his old master and life on the plantation and now having the possibility of owning his own land; finding his mother’s murderer.

Anger stirred in him that he hadn’t experienced since he lost his mother. He had imagined taking revenge on his mother’s killers enough that the act had become a reality in his mind; he had already done it. Mr. Garrett’s revelation changed everything. It brought him spiraling back to that fateful day. A blur of figures swayed before him, people were still dancing.

“I’m ready, Charlie,” said a hazy figure in front of him.

He perked up over the fact that someone else other than Kate and Mr. Garrett had recognized his existence and knew his name.

“I promised my father I wouldn’t stay too late,” said Vivian. “You can take me home now.”

“It’s been an hour already?” he said.

“Not quite. It seems Kate’s attention is held up at the moment, and it’s probably going to be a long night.”

Kate sat on a bench with Jesse deep in a conversation that implied she had forgotten that Charles ever existed. Indeed, it would be a long night.

“I don’t think she’s fond of him,” said Vivian. “She has eyes for another. Won’t tell me who though. Some mystery man.” Her expression pinched as if she smelled something foul. “Why are you still here? Bring the carriage around.” She waved her hand dismissively.

Vivian acted as pretentious as Mrs. Carson, while Kate behaved as respectful as Mr. Garrett. It was as if Mrs. Carson and Mr. Garrett had the wrong daughters. They should switch families. Then he could own his own land and be with Kate at the same time.

Charles brought the Carsons’ two-seated open carriage with big red wheels and helped Vivian inside. The horse trotted them into the night.

“I overheard you speaking with my father,” she said. “And I want you to come work on our ranch.”

“Mr. Garrett put you up to this?”

“My father doesn’t know I’m doing this. This was my plan alone. So, what’s it going to take to get you to say yes?”

“This can’t be just about my servant duties. I’m not that good.”

“Honestly, I don’t know why they want you so bad either.”

“They?”

“Men come by our ranch all the time. At least they used to. My father was in some sort of fraternity with your boss. But when Mr. Carson disappeared they all stopped coming around.”

“The last time I spoke with Mr. Carson he said some things to me that I didn’t understand. And tonight your father says he has answers for me.”