Conversations

Shafts of sunlight, falling through my window straight to my face awoke me. Mumbling quietly, I pulled the blanket over my face and wished, the night would had last a few more hours. I felt totally slained, because it has taken ages, until I had fallen asleep again. I had been sitting in my bed the whole night, staring into the darkness and thinking about, what had happened down in the yard. How could I had thought about sleep, as long as I knew about the people, who had to suffer under my uncle?

A silent knock on the door sounded and I emerged from under my blanket. Anya opened the door and carried in a tray, with a steaming bowl and a likewise steaming cup on it. Irritated I wrinkled my forehead. Did I sleep so long, that I had missed breakfast? Normally I never got my food delivered to my bed. "Because your uncle wishes no interruptions I thought, I let you sleep a bit longer and I bring your lunch to you", said Anya and placed the tray on the bedside table.
"Lunch? Is it that late already?" Appalled by my own sleepiness, I sat up and looked to the bowl with hot pea-stew inside. I had really overslept the whole morning. Sighing I closed my eyes, opened them again and looked to Anya, who had already started to refire the fireplace. "Does my uncle still have visitors?", I asked and took carefully the bowl and spoon from the tray. The pot was wonderfully warm and its content still so hot, that I had to blew, just to prevent, that I would burn my mouth by taking the first spoon.

"Only Mr. Gardner", was the short answer to my question, which made me wrinkle my forehead again. Jeffrey Gardner was a business associate to my uncle, who disposes over a great reputation in London as well as here in America. Furthermore he was the so called grandmaster of the templar order, whose member my uncle was. I myself, had nothing to do with it and I didn´t even like all this secretiveness, which seemed to be the whole essence of this order. Its members were always talking about confusing and cryptic things, which I would never be able to understand, as the stupid woman I was. That was my uncles opinion, but I didn´t want to understand it anyway. Mr. Gardner, anyhow, possessed much more charm than anyone of his templar-brothers, which was why I felt his presence as passably pleasant. But that he was sitting together with my uncle in confidence, disturbed me. Gardner rarely pays a visit alone and so this exception had to have a meaning.

I put the bowl back on the tray, turned down the blanket and stood up. "Help me into my clothes", I instructed Anya, who gave me a surprised gaze. "But you didn´t eat yet, Miss."
I shook my head and waved aside, whereupon Anya went slightly insecure to the cupboard and took out my corset and my shift dresses. "Do you prefer a certain dress…?"
"It doesn´t matter, just hurry. Please." A surprised gaze again, but Anya started to dress me wordlessly. During the whole procedure, especially during the protracted tying of the corset, my feet were stepping anxiously in place, which made it even more difficult to the Afro-American, to ran the laces through the openings. But she didn´t complain about it once and even when I sat down hastily at the washstand and started likewise hastily to brush my hair, after she had dressed me, she didn´t comment my behavior. Of course not.

When my dark-brown hair finally fell tidily over my shoulders and I had powdered my face, I looked to Anya through the mirror. "Do I look like I just jumped out of my bed and like I was too lazy to get my hair done?" Anya lifted an eyebrow for a split second but then, a smirk was getting visible on her lips. "No, Miss."
"Fine." I smiled and stood up. "Then we will pay a visit to the gentlemen downstairs." Determined I went to the door and stepped into the hallway, when Anyas voice held me back. "Your uncle doesn´t want to be disturbed." Her concern was hearable in her voice and I did understand why. She was afraid of the anger, my uncle was going to evolve, when he would learn about me, being disobeying his orders. But even though I normally shared her fear, this time I did not care. I had to know, what was going on. I was never mistaken about my feeling and now it was telling me, that there was a serious connection between the events of last night and the conversation between the two men. "Stay here, if you don´t want to accompany me." I gave Anya a comforting smile, before I went down the stairway.

It was silent in the entrance hall and even when I listened to the parlour, I couldn´t hear any voices. Certainly they were in the typing pool. I gathered my skirts and went down the hallway, as quiet as I could. One of the slaves, who was cleaning the floor, stood up in scare, when I came along the corner and lowed devoted his head. I laid a finger to my lips and implied him to leave. I didn´t want him to be punished, if Richard should catch me. The young man seemed to understand, because he lowed his head once again, took his cleaning-implements and went down the hallway. Now I stayed alone in front of the decorated, oaken door and tightly I laid my ear on the plain wood. Inside I could actually hear the voices of my uncle and Mr. Gardner. Former seemed to be as angered as he had been last night.

"I thought, I made clear, that it doesn´t work", he was saying in this moment."It´s enough, that the whole world is talking about freedom and equality. Slaves are not as requested as they were before and the government is even talking about the abolition of slavery. When I start to receive more of this vermin, one day the mob will stand in front of my house."
"This is not about the slaves, my friend", interrupted him the calm voice of Gardner. "It is about our order´s enemies you should take away from here. And with that, I also mean the three of them, belonging to the men brought to you last night. They are in cahoots with our enemies and now, when the assassins are as weak as they have never been before, we cannot let them get any possible support."
"I thought the murderer of grandmaster Lee was pegged out by his injuries."
"It seems so. No one has seen him for a long time now. We rarely know about his confederates, the gaffer among them, alike the two, who has been with him."
"Are they assassins?"
"In their imagination. Small fry, who want to benefit from the doubtful glory of their friend. My men spoke to them but except of the old man, the others have basically no idea, what is going on. They don´t even know what an assassin is. Their friend kept them in the dark about his…doings."
"I heard there are people who idolize him as a great warrior, just because Washington prefers him." My uncle bristled with anger, before he continued talking. "A wild mutt and a warrior, don´t make me laugh."
"Don´t anger about him. Just prepare the transport to London and I will take care about everything else. As soon as this is done, you can go back to your businesses."

Armchairs were moved, wherefore I hurried to get away from the door and hastened down the hallway, back to the entrance hall. Not a second too early. I had barely made it around the corner, when the door to the typing pool opened and the steps of the men came into my direction. I climbed up a few stairs and pretended afterwards, that I would currently come down the stairway, when my uncle and Mr. Gardner entered the entrance hall. The response to my presence was differential. While Richards eyes narrowed and his jaw started to grind in anger, Mr. Gardner came to me with a friendly smile on his lips. He helped me to come down the last stairs and then kissed the back of my hand.

"Miss Lillian. As always, it is a pleasure to see you. I get the feeling, that you are more and more beautiful, with every time we meet."
"Thank you, Mr. Gardner." I bowed my head shortly and gave him a smile, that made his become expanding. Like I said, he was a very charming man, who never was sparing with compliments. Furthermore he was, even though he was slightly younger than my uncle, quiet handsome. His formerly black hair was graying, he was slim but athletic and his blue eyes were glancing, full of life. Although I normally felt uncomfortable in getting compliments, I was enjoying it, when these compliments were given by Gardner. His presence was always a nice relief to my uncles and the brawny shrunken heads, he called employees.

"I´m extremely sorry, but I have to bid farewell, even though I would love to enjoy your presence a bit longer." The sorrow in Gardner voice sounded real and so I bowed my head in respect, when he blowed again a kiss on the back of my hand, before he turned around to my uncle. "We discussed everything. Send a message, when there is something new." With these words, Gardner bid farewell and left us. Uncle Richard scrutinized me closely and for a moment I thought, that he knew, that I had listened to their conversation. I had to concentrate on holding me of wrestling my hands nervously or showing him anyway else, that I felt uncomfortable under his gaze. I even had to hold back a gasp of relief, when he looked away. "I have to take care of some businesses in Boston. I´m going to leave in an hour and I won´t be back until tomorrow evening. Mockridge and Halliwell are going to stay."
I just nodded and tried, not to look too relieved, because I didn´t want to attract his displeasure. That Mockridge and Halliwell, two of his overseers and some awkward companions, were going to stay here, was a drop of bitterness, but it was fine with me. I didn´t have to worry about them and they always stayed out of the house anyway. "Good fortune with your businesses."
Richard grumbled something incomprehensible, before he stepped out of the front-door and shut it strongly behind him.