He smiled.
Raven always traveled with laudanum because she never knew when she might need to put someone to sleep. It was also a good pain suppressant. Due to its bitter taste, she placed it in the candied yams she piled on Stipe’s plate and added just a touch more sugar. She also added a few drops to the collards. Due to their traditionally bitter flavor, she doubted he’d notice they’d been doctored. By her estimation, he’d be on the verge of sleep shortly after finishing the meal. The clock on the wall showed half past three. More than likely, he’d wake up still groggy before it got dark, so she planned to keep giving him drops until it was time for Evan and Lovey Miller to disappear.
He returned to the house within the hour and she brought the plate to where he sat impatiently in the dining room. She was surprised to see the parlor in total disarray but supposed she shouldn’t have been. He needed that copy of the Declaration and was apparently searching every inch of the house to find it. Pillows fromthe sofa and chairs had been tossed aside, the chairs and sofa upended. Some of the carpets were partially rolled up. In the dining room, the hutch holding the china had been moved and was now facing sideways. Its doors were open and the contents stacked beside it. She could only imagine the state of the bedrooms on the second floor. As she looked around, he ordered, “When I’m done here, clean this place up.”
“Yes, sir,” she lied, and wondered what Helen would think when she came home and found her house turned upside down, and what he planned to say to her when the new owner took possession at noon tomorrow. Raven didn’t spend much time on the question, however; it wasn’t her problem. “Do you need anything else?”
“No.”
“I’ll be back to check on you shortly.”
“You do that.”
Thinking what a nasty awful man he was, Raven left him and returned to the kitchen.
Brax joined her a few minutes later. She couldn’t tell if he’d made peace with himself but decided not to worry over it. He was alive. That was all that mattered.
“How’s he doing?” he asked.
“I’m going to check shortly.” She told him about the mess Stipe’s searching had left in the parlor and dining room.
Brax simply shook his head. “Helen’s not going to be pleased.”
“No, but we’ll be long gone by then.” She took him in and he held her gaze. What a wonderful man he was: caring, intelligent, proud. She wondered if the country would ever value the men of the race the way their loved ones did. “You’ve been a great partner, Braxton. Thank you for everything.”
“You’re welcome.”
There was so much more she wanted to say. Revealing that she’d fallen in love with him served no purpose though. He would be going home to Boston and she to New Orleans. “Let’s see how Stipe is faring.”
When they entered the dining room, they could tell the drug was doing its job by the way he was nodding over his plate. He was trying to fight it off though. Seeing them, anger filled his glassy eyes. In a slurred voice he asked, “What did you give me?”
She smiled falsely. “I’ve no idea what you mean.”
He tried to stand, but his legs gave way and he sank back down on the chair. His eyelids kept closing and he kept forcing them to open. “Going to kill you,” he threatened weakly. A few seconds later, the drug took total effect and he fell face forward into the food on his plate.
“Such a messy eater,” Raven cracked.
Brax gave her a smile. “We should probably move him so he doesn’t drown in collards or get smothered by the yams.”
“I suppose.” Both fates suited her just fine after the way he’d terrorized them earlier.
In the end, they laid him on the floor. Raven cleaned his face and they left him there to sleep.
Over the course of the next few hours, she and Brax packed their belongings and checked on Stipe. At one point, Raven entered the dining room to find him sitting up, but he was still so groggy she could’ve been a talking crawdad for all he knew. She knelt down beside him. His puzzled, drug-laced eyes met hers.
“Where am I?” he asked thickly. “Who are you?”
“Cleopatra, don’t you remember? Here. Drink this; it will help clear your head.”
She placed the glass against his lips and he drank slowly. Some of the liquid dribbled down his chin but he’d gotten enough to send him back into the arms of Morpheus. She stood. “Pleasant nightmares.”
Once the sun set and night rolled in, she gave him one last large dose. That done, she and Brax retrieved the items hidden in the privy, picked up their travel bags, and slipped away to meet Renay.
It was a moonless night and so dark, Raven couldn’t see if Renay was waiting in a vehicle nearby, so she signaled him by lighting three matches in quick succession. Seconds later, a buggy drove up. Holding the reins was her cousin Marshall, the oldest son of her mother’scousin Maisie, who’d been selling the eggs and hens with Hazel at the market. Beside him sat Renay still wearing his false facial hair and posing as White, in case they were stopped and questioned about their intentions or destination.
“Thanks for driving us, Marshall,” Raven said quietly.
“You’re welcome. Mama didn’t want you all lost in the dark. Where to?”