Unmentionables by David Greene

Author:David Greene [Greene, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: David Greene

29

How to Pick Cotton

Erastus finally did launch his letters on their journey by way of Walter McNish and thence to Dorothy and Cato. He mailed them on the autumnal equinox, Saturday, September 21st. Dorothy did not receive the correspondence at the Holland farm until a week later, on Saturday the 28th, which also happened to be the day upon which Augustus Askew had planned a visit. Mr. Askew had formally arranged his visit with George Holland. But it was well understood that the purpose of his visit was to see Dorothy on behalf of his son. William had advised Dorothy that such a visit would take place, and so the date for it had been set.

Mr. Askew would call for supper. But Dorothy received the letters in the afternoon mail. When Dorothy read Mr. Hicks’s request that she be an intermediary, she did not hesitate about what to do. The idea that a slave might receive a letter to read did not offend her in the slightest. Indeed, she herself had once proposed the notion of reading to Ella, who had merely replied, “This child has no time for reading.”

Nor is it to be supposed that the revelation of the name of Cato on the second envelope was in any way a surprise to Dorothy. She had presumed as much the moment she read the phrase “a person of your acquaintance who resides in Madison County.”

There was much about Erastus Hicks that intrigued Dorothy. The prospect of facilitating a correspondence between Mr. Hicks and her lover’s mulatto half-brother did nothing to diminish this intrigue. She took the envelope out and carefully examined the penmanship used to write the name “Cato” on its face. It was innocuous enough, written in a simple and straightforward hand.

She was well aware that Mr. Hicks had instructed that the contents were “to be read only by the person to whom it is addressed.” This was certainly a reasonable request, and yet there was something suspicious in Dorothy’s mind about Mr. Hicks having felt it necessary to make such a request, since it presumed that there was some possibility that she might have otherwise opened the correspondence. She believed Mr. Hicks knew her character well enough to realize that she absolutely would not do such a thing. And yet, his writing it suggested that the letter was of an especially confidential nature. Perhaps it was just a matter of precaution with respect to the violation of law represented by Cato being taught to read. Dorothy did not doubt that Mr. Hicks had played a role in that development. Yet the precaution intrigued her enough to cause her to hold the envelope up to the light just long enough to see if in fact there was anything she could read of its contents. There was not.

When Mr. Askew informed his household of his plans to visit the Holland farm, Cato asked Henry if he might be permitted to drive the master’s brougham in Henry’s stead. Cato explained that he had a close friend at the Hollands’ farm, and that he would enjoy making the trip.

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