CHAPTER SEVEN
Randolph did not say a word to me, but just let me cry away, which was the best thing he could have done at the moment. The buggy, drawn by a fast trotter, rolled rapidly along the road, and, since Randolph’s plantation was only three miles distant, we soon reached the gates of the avenue leading to the house.
The gates were thrown open by two Negroes and we entered the avenue, which was about a quarter of a mile long, shaded throughout its length with tall trees. In a few minutes we arrived at the house, a very large and handsome building; consisting of a central part, with a cupola on top, and wings on either side. In front was a broad terrace sloping down to a lawn flanked with well-kept beds of beautiful flowers. Several Negroes were on the terrace, waiting to receive their master, and, when he pulled up the horse at the door, the men came forward and took charge of the animal.
The wide door of the house was opened. Then Randolph, lifting me out of the buggy, carried me through a spacious hall into a handsomely furnished room and placed me on a couch.
There, Dolly, he said, smiling down at me. You are safe from the lynchers now.
He next rang a bell, which immediately was answered by a good-looking quadroon woman about thirty-five years of age. She was very tall, stout and broad shouldered, and was dressed in a well-fitting print frock, with white apron, collar and cuffs. She had very black, glossy, wavy hair, and on her head she wore a smart cap. The woman looked hard at me, but there was not the least expression of surprise on her face.
Dinah, said her master, this lady has met with an accident. Carry her up to the pink room and attend to her. See that she has everything she wants and take great care of her. Do you understand?
Yes, Massa, she replied.
Turning to me, Randolph said: I am going to dinner now, but Dinah will look after you and I think that you had better let her put you to bed. You are quite feverish. You shall not be disturbed tonight, he added meaningfully.
I understood the significance of the last words, but I made no remark and a blush dyed my cheeks. I was still dazed and stupid. The rapid succession of painful and startling events had been too much for me.
Dinah came to the sofa, and, lifting me in her strong arms as if I had been a baby, carried me out of the room and up a broad flight of stairs to a most luxuriously furnished bedroom, where she laid me on the bed. Then closing the door, she came back to the bedside and looked at me with a kind, motherly expression on her pleasant face.
I know who you is, Missy, she said, you is one of the good Northern ladies who keeps the
’unnergroun’ station.’ All de cullud folks in dese parts has heard of you. But it was none of dem dat set de lynchers on you. I know de lynchers has been after you today, honey. What did dey do to you? Did dey ride you on a rail? Dey offen does dat to ablishinists. Don’t mind tellin’ me all about it, little Miss. I’se fond of you for what yo’ve done for de runaways.
The woman’s sympathy was most comforting to me, so I told her all that had been done to Miss Dean and myself.
Oh! you poor young lady! I’se so very sorry for you, she exclaimed, in tones full of pity. You mus’ be drefful sore. But I will bathe you an’ make you as comfortable as I can, an’ den you mus’ go to bed.
It was rather dark, so she lit the lamps and drew the curtains. She then left the room, returning in a few minutes with a can of hot water. Now, honey, she said tenderly, I’ll fix you up.
Dinah undressed me to my chemise. Then, asking me to lie on my face, she rolled up the garment, and, after separating my legs a little, examined my body.
I see dat dose horrid men gave you twelve strokes with de switch, she observed. De weals is quite plain on your poor bottom, Missy, an’ you is all bruised an’ marked between de thighs where the rail hurt you.
She then sponged my bottom with cold water and gently rubbed the weals with some soft stuff, saying: Dis is possum fat, Missy. It will take the smart out of de weals. We always uses possum fat to take away de sting of a whipping. The stuff certainly did seem to make my bottom feel easier.
What a bootiful figure you’ve got, she continued. And such pretty legs. And such a lubly white skin. I’se never seen such a white one in my life.
When she had fixed my bottom, she turned me over onto my back and fomented with warm water my spot and the parts adjacent, uttering all the time expressions of pity for me and abusing the lynchers, whom she called a pack of mean white trash. (It is a curious fact that the slaves in the South used to have a contempt for white people who did not own a Negro. I may also here say that Dinah never knew that it was her master who had set the lynchers on us.)
Since my parts were very tender and also a good deal swollen, Dinah’s fomentation gave me great relief. When she had finished bathing the sore spot, she went to a drawer, which, to my surprise, I saw was filled with all sorts of feminine undergarments. Taking out a lace trimmed nightdress, she brought it to me. Then, removing my chemise, she put the nightgown on me and made me get into bed. She then went away, but soon returned with a tray on which were dishes, plates and a small bottle of champagne. She placed a small table by the bedside, and, spreading a cloth, laid out the good things she had brought.
Now, honey, she said, here is a nice little dinner. You must try and eat a bit, and drink some of dis wine. It will do you good.
Since I had been a teetotaller all my life, I did not want the wine. I asked Dinah to get me a cup of tea. She soon did so. Then I propped myself up in the bed, taking care to press as little as possible on my bottom, and, since I was feeling very faint, I began to eat and was able to make a very fair meal, forgetting the past for the moment, and not thinking of the future.
While I was having my supper, Dinah talked to me freely, but always with perfect respect.
The fact of my having been indecently whipped by a band of men had not lowered me the least in her estimation. To her, I was still a white lady from the North, while she was only a slave.
She informed me with an air of pride that she was the housekeeper and had twenty female servants under her. Then she gave me some particulars about herself. She had been born on the plantation and had never been more than twenty miles from it in all her life. She once had had a husband, but was now a widow without a child. She further informed me in a most matter-of-course way that she often had been whipped.
When she had cleared away the dinner things, she brushed my hair-it was the first time that I had ever had such a thing done for me since I had become an adult woman. Then she put a bell on the table beside the bed, and, after turning down the lamp, bade me good night and left the room.
When I woke the next morning the hands of the handsome Dresden china clock on the mantelpiece pointed to half-past eight o’clock. Sitting up in bed, I looked about me with the puzzled feeling one always experiences on first waking in a strange place. Then my brain cleared, and I vividly remembered all the dreadful incidents of the previous day: the horrible exposure of my most secret parts before a number of rough men; the ignominious and painful whipping; the agonizing ride on the rail. I shuddered. Next I thought of Randolph, and of the promise which I had given him. He might come to me at any moment! I felt my cheeks flush, and, in a sudden, unthinking impulse, I jumped out of bed and ran to the door to lock it. But there was no key. Then it struck me that locking the door-even if I had been able to do so-