Family Reunion (16 page)

Mr. Webster owned slaves, a plantation and had a wife that he had divorced. His slave, this…Princess Ceś alena was the mother of his children.
'What does she look like? Where is she?'
He wondered, this slave, this Ceś alena? His daughter, where was she? So much nagged and pulled at him from several directions.
'
Ceś
alena…Princess
Ceś
alena, his slave, yet…how can it be that your name haunts me?'
Rory wasn't sure. He wasn't sure of anything any longer. Mike, Michael Ramsey Webster, just as he was, was also the bastard child of a Negro woman. How incredible it all seemed. Too incredible, Rory felt a tightening in his gut. He hadn't realized that he was crying until he reopened the book to read more and his tears fell on the next page.

Sniffing, he wiped it off as he read on learning that should he, Maynard Ramsey Webster, die…, his lawyer would see to it that she, the mother of his children, would secretly receive thirty percent of everything he owned. The following pages listed his merchant business, his ships, his contracts and the men per ship. Two of his ships were manned by over 700 crewmen each. His wealth was staggering, and of all… twenty-five percent of it went to Michael, twenty-five to his daughter Golden Hope, and last another surprise, twenty percent to Leon McNeil.

He'd seen enough, Rory closed the book, wiped his eyes and began putting things away. He finished cleaning the cabin, closed its door, and left the ship without a word to anyone.

* * *

March 1 , 1828

"Oh – father - please, do you ever tire? Must this be done tonight; can it not wait until the morning?" Mike asked exhausted as he and Leon went over the wage ledger in preparation of paying his father's workers. Having just returned from the delivery, all he wanted to do was hit the sack and cuddle with his wife, whom he’d missed terribly.

"In the morning they will all be lining up for their pay, it's best to have it ready for them, and once they're taken care of, you'll have the rest of the day to do as you please. I know you don't want this chore to be hanging over your head the moment you wake. Nothing is worse than having a crowd of anxious men impatiently waiting for their pay."

"Yes father - we're doing it… hard at work here." Mike spoke up to quiet him down.

Leon only grinned, having long ago adjusted himself to Manny's natural inclination to advise, instruct and correct one, if the need called for it. Mike would do anything not to get him started, it drove him crazy at times, now he knew how Hope had felt and began to fear he may be more like his father than he realized. Manny merely smiled at his son's slight agitation as he continued to sort and record the pay amounts due in his main ledger, while they counted the amounts and made the tallies in the books associated with each ship and its crewmen.

After the first two hundred, Mike finally leaned back in his chair, yawned and stared at his father, who was tirelessly continuing.

"What's wrong now?" Manny asked without looking up.

"I have a wife, whom I'd like to give a little more attention to, other than the hug, kiss and word we're back." He spoke low, letting both know by his look and tone, he'd had enough and there were other things on his mind.

Manny shook his head and glanced up at him. "And you were the leader of rebel bandits?!" He asked in disbelief. Mike chuckled and shrugged his shoulders with the raise of his palms, a sheepish grin playing across his features. "Only myself and my closest men received money from whatever it was we did, if you weren't there to dig in and take your due, too bad. I always got mine, Max always got his, Tobias and Eugene as well, it was Hector and Juan that seemed to be missing out on theirs. In truth Hector didn't care as long as he had a bottle, an occasional woman, and food when he was hungry.”

“
As for Juan, after everyone taunted and teased him a bit, played with him a little, he was always tossed something to make him happy." Mike smiled thinking back, wishing he hadn't, suddenly his heart started pounding heavily in his chest.

"They're all…dead now."

"Why don't you two call it a night, I'll finish up the rest." Manny conceded, noticing the sadness that swept his son's face.

"I'm alright Manny." Leon spoke up.

"So am I, we'll finish it together." Mike added.

"Look, we've been gone for a while, your wife is no doubt wishing you to come to bed. It's unfair of me to even ask you to finish this. Here give me those, goodnight son and as for you, young man…" He turned to Leon. "…you've shadowed me long enough, get the hell out of here and find a woman to curl up with. When you're done, might I suggest you start looking for a wife."

"A wife!?! What am I going to do with a wife?!"

Manny and Mike looked at each other at the same time and burst into laughter. "Well son, if you need to ask, maybe it's not such a good idea after all."

"You can come back to my room with me, hide behind the trunk…listen a while, see what you can pick up that way." Mike offered grinning.

"Oh the humor of you two, so much alike, father and son indeed, ha ha ha, I know what to do, I mean-…"

"Yes of course you do, don't worry…it's our own little family secret…no one will ever know." Mike promised standing and laughing his way to the door. Leon stood and followed him out, both could be heard, one ribbing the other as Manny sat smiling and listening. A few moments went by with Manny working when he realized that he had three ships crews to pay and only two of the books with him. Releasing a tired breath, he knew the other was at his building office. If he was going to finish his work tonight, he'd have to go there to get the other book.

Hope cleaned in a way that had become her routine from the first week. She did all the other offices first and her father's, with extra fastidiousness, last, regardless of the fact that it didn't need it. That is where she liked to linger. When all was done, she would look over his books and read through passages. In one that sat directly behind his chair, she chanced across a scribbling message that read simply,
"Where are you?"

Reading it, she wondered who had been the inspiration of this three word
missive.
'Michael? My mother? Me, perhaps?'
There was no way of knowing but reading it made her heart quicken with joy. She smiled contentedly as she polished his door, the brass knob, and wiped over his hanging plaque that read:

Ramsey Shipping & Passage

Maynard Ramsey Webster

'He is my father, my father.'
She turned away looking over the office, all was in order; everything was finished except the hallways and stairs. She would complete the rest when Joseph came for her; he would help her finish up. She stretched and yawned, it wasn't long before midnight. She decided to take herself a nap for an hour or so, Joseph's whistle and knock would wake her, certain of that; she climbed into her father's over large chair, loving the comfort of it. More often than not, she'd find herself imagining it was his lap that she curled up on, that it was his arms that wrapped around her and held her instead of her own.

With her legs curled up beside her as she lay with her head resting against the wing of the high back chair, she soon began her nap. As always, it was most enjoyable with a lucid dream she would start off, wishing that her big, strong father would walk into his office and see her sleeping there and as always, he would be happy to see her. Of course it was just a dream, but still a nice one that she embellished upon as she chose, after all, what would Maynard Webster be doing in his office at this late hour of the night?

Manny stuck the key in the lock of the outside door to enter the building, wiping his feet on the doormat from the wet snow and rain that was constant. A chill and a tickle irritated his throat making him cough out loud and clear it a few times as if to scratch the sensation.

Hope's eyes popped open.
'What was that?'
She thought, not moving from her position at first so as to listen with full attention. Manny walked into the center of the lobby with stubborn snow and slush still clinging to the rim of his boots, making him stomp each foot to knock it off.

Hope bolted up into a sitting position, her eyes going to the clock on his desk, by the glow of the low lit lantern she could see that it was straight up midnight. She'd only been dozing for fifteen minutes and the noise downstairs brought her fully awake. Her heart began a heavy flutter. As the intruder's presence grew more discernible, her heart began to hammer. She knew it wasn't Joseph, he usually didn't arrive until twelve thirty and then she had to let him in after his whistle and knocking signal.

Neither would anyone else be in the building at th
at time of night, which to her meant only one thing, someone had broken in as she was sleeping. By the noise he was making with his heavy foot falls coming up the stairs, he figured himself to be the only one in the building.

Manny noticed the floors had not been done yet by Edna, so he figured she must be somewhere in the building but there was no telling where. He was glad he had come before she had done the floors, that woman had some mouth on her when one disturbed her clean floor after she'd mopped and waxed it.

Hope's panic was escalating as she quickly doused the lamplight in the office.
'Oh God what am I going to do? Joseph won't be here for at least another thirty minutes.'
She looked around the office and quietly but quickly came from behind the desk.
'Maybe I should hide? But what if he finds me?! No! I can't hide, I'll have to defend myself, I won't be caught empty handed!'

Her stomach was twisting and turning with fear, she placed her hand over it as if to calm it.
'Calm down Hope, it sounds to be only one man; surely you can handle one man? But whatever you do, you had better hurry, he’s coming down the hall now, this way!'

"Oh no!" Hope gasped. She turned to see the heavy stick broom in the corner. She ran and picked it up, holding it club like as she went behind the door. Whoever it was, she had every intention of giving him a sculling he'd not soon forget, as scared as she was, she wasn't going to stop hitting until she broke the stick on him or she got through the door.

Manny came down the hall to his office, wondering as he did so about the bounty hunter he'd hired to find Red Crow's village and his daughter. He was ready to hear from him but he would be patient. God, he hoped he'd be able to find her. He couldn't help the thought that this might prove to be another long year he'd spend in suspense and hopes that maybe, just maybe, this year he would have her back with him. He had been so close, so close to having both of his children back.
'That damn Indian! No! I can't think that way, he's Josey's son, who so happens to have fallen for my Hope, so it's believed. God forgive me but if he's harmed her in any way.'
He stopped such thoughts as he reached the door to his office, fumbling for the key. Faith, he had to have faith, somehow, some way, he would find her, and with a sigh, he opened the door and stepped inside.

Hope braced her feet
wide apart and gripped the broom tight in readiness. She couldn't believe it; out of all the offices to go to, the villain had dared to choose her father's…well she was ready. The door came open and Hope stepped closer so she wouldn't miss.

“
As he moved inside the room, Hope let out a high pitched shrill scream and swung the broom towards what she thought was his head but he was taller than she suspected and struck him hard across his left shoulder. Manny shouted in shock, mixed with a little pain, but if it had not for his thick wool cape coat, it would have hurt more. His attacker cried out once more and struck again with a sharp jab of the broom stick to his ribs.

"What in hell!!" He bellowed and spun to reach for the broom but Hope in her speed snatched it from his reach and rammed it into his stomach, making him gasp out loud, next came a solid kick to his shin.

"You low down sneaking son of a snivelling snake!! Get out! Get out!! You hear – get out!! Before I really give it to you!!” Hope screeched as she jabbed him again in the gut now that he faced her, and was satisfied with another pained grunt, as she followed it up with another kick, this time in the kneecap, which really hurt.