“I would like that.” Natalie smiled, seeming quite pleased.
Moses took the horse to the barn.
Glancing down the road, Levi saw no sign of the wagons. He guessed they would arrive within the half hour. What could he do to fill the time?
“Colonel,” Natalie said, gaining his attention. “Since you will be a frequent visitor here at Rose Hill in the coming weeks, perhaps you would like a brief tour of the grounds.”
He inclined his head. “I would.” Especially, he grinned, with the lovely mistress as tour guide.
As she descended the steps, Samuel, Isaac, and Ebenezer rounded the corner of the house.
“Co’nel!” Samuel said upon spying Levi. “I didn’t know you were here.” The boy hurried to him, all smiles and bright eyes. That the child was happy and healthy despite so much uncertainty and sadness in his young life spoke of his mother’s great care. Whatever disagreement Levi had with Natalie over her treatment of the slaves, even he could see she was doing a good job raising her son.
“Hello, Samuel.” He looked at Isaac, whose eyes held a touch of fear as he hung back. “Who is your friend?”
Ebenezer meandered over, begging for a scratch on his head, which Levi willingly offered.
Samuel turned to the other boy. “That’s Isaac. Me an’ him are going fishin’.” He looked up at Levi, squinting in the morning sunshine. “We have to catch us some dinner on account o’ the war bein’ over and the slaves leaving. Mama says we have to help now. But I like fishin’, so I don’t mind helping.”
Levi held back a grin. “I’m glad to see you boys are doing your part.” He included Isaac in his gaze. The black child gave a shy grin.
“Samuel, be sure to stay along the creek where I can see you. And no wading.” When Natalie reached to cup his cheek, Levi noticed a strip of cloth wrapped around the middle of her hand. A quick glance at her other hand found one there too.
“Yes, Mama.”
With that, the boys and the dog scampered off. It seemed odd to see the two youngsters of different color, raised as master and slave until recently, enjoy such obvious companionship. What would their lives have been like a decade from now had emancipation not come? Would their friendship have stood even after Isaac was sent to the fields and Samuel assumed his role as head of the plantation? Levi shook his head. The paradoxes of slavery never ceased to amaze him.
Returning his attention to Natalie, he found her blue gaze on him. A slight flush filled her cheeks at being caught, and she turned away. “Are you ready to begin our tour?”
“I am.” He fell in step beside her. “When was Rose Hill built?” he asked, hoping to alleviate her embarrassment, although he had to admit to being pleased by the attention.
“My father-in-law came to Texas in eighteen thirty-six with dreams of building the largest cotton plantation this side of the Mississippi.” She glanced at him as they walked the beautiful grounds in front of the manor. Ancient oaks shaded a large expanse of lawn, and views of the extensive cotton fields were visible in all directions. “While it is large compared to others in the state, he never achieved his dream. Several plantations south of us began as land grants from Mexico. One, I heard, was well over sixty thousand acres.”
“I can only imagine the number of slaves it took to work a property that size.” Disapproval rang loudly, even to his own ears.
She stopped and faced him. “I understand your aversion to slavery, but not all of us had the benefit of being raised in the north where slavery is not the custom. The changes will take some getting used to. Surely you can empathize with us as we adjust.”
“Mrs. Ellis,” he said, fighting to keep his tone tempered. “One should not have to be raised in the north to understand keeping men and women in bondage is wrong. The vileness of owning another human being speaks for itself. Where was this empathy you speak of when eighty slaves were under your ownership?”
“My, my, Colonel.” She glared at him. “I suppose you Yankees have never done anything wrong. Burning homes and leaving women and children to starve is perfectly acceptable behavior in your opinion, I take it?”
He stiffened. “There are those who believe such activities were justified. That the South brought it on themselves when they chose to leave the Union in order to protect what they like to refer to as the peculiar institution of slavery.”
“Justified?” She looked at him as though he’d sprouted horns. “How can someone who preaches freedom and equality for all find justification in the ill and often brutal treatment of others for any reason? If you truly believe in that type of justice, sir, you are as contemptible as any slaveholder.”
CHAPTER TEN
Several heated moments ticked by before regret took hold of Natalie. She had no right to accuse the colonel. While she didn’t know if he had participated in the burning and pillaging in the South, it wasn’t her place to condemn him. Oh, but the man could rile her like no one had in a very long time.
“I apologize,” she began contritely at the same time he said, “You’re right.”
When he inclined his head, she offered a slight smile. “I should not accuse anyone of things I know little about.”
“As I should not assume all slave owners are of the same ilk.”
The deep brown of his eyes held hers as they faced one another. When she could bear their intensity no longer, she looked away. “Since you are a military man, perhaps we can agree on a truce during the time you’re at Rose Hill. I don’t believe we’ll see eye to eye on the subject, but arguing serves
