Satin's tears continued to flow. "We tried to help, but he was too strong, he threw me and Magic off. Maddie told us to run, but Magic wouldn't. She kept jumping on his back. He snatched her around and slapped her hard. I tried to run out the door but he grabbed me and pushed me over by Magic. Magic was on the floor— and she was so still—Aunt Viveca, I thought she was dead."
She began to sob openly and Vivid whispered through her own tears, "You girls were very brave, Satin, very brave. Go on."
“Maddie was lying on the floor and there was all this blood—then he shook Magic until she woke up and made us go with him on Maddie's wagon. Hector tried to help, but the man kept swinging the knife at him until he flew away."
"How did you get away just now?"
"He was taking me to use the facilities behind the shack and all of a sudden there was Hector. Aunt Viveca, I've never seen Hector play 'Duck!' so rough before. Hector clawed his shoulder the first time he flew by and the man grabbed his shoulder and screamed. When Hector circled the second time, he flew right by his face and the man started waving his hands trying to make Hector stop. Magic made me promise that if I could get away I would. I didn't want to leave her, Aunt Viveca, but I ran. When I saw the dogs, I didn't even think about how scared they make me, I only wanted someone to help my sister."
"Well, someone is here to help your sister. I'm going down there and I want you to stay here. If anything happens to me, my mule Michigan is back down on the road on the other side of this ridge. You high-tail it back and get your Uncle Nate."
"But I can't drive, Aunt Viveca, and I wouldn't know which way to go."
Vivid explained about the bandage ribbons and how, if Satin followed them, they would lead her back to Maddie's. Then Vivid added, "Satin, you just escaped from a very dangerous man. Driving is very easy compared to that, believe me. Does the man have a gun?''
"All I've seen is that big knife."
Vivid headed down the meadow. She didn't have a clue as to how she would free Magic, but she would give it a damned good try because at this point she was Magic's only hope.
Vivid approached the shack but halted a good distance away. She could see the dogs. They were no longer barking but were lying in positions around the front of the shack, effectively keeping their prey inside.
Vivid approached the ramshackle dwelling and called out to the man. Vivid searched the sky above for Hector but saw nothing but the gray clouds of late morning.
Then the door opened and Vivid raised the rifle. She could see him standing just inside the shadowy entrance. He was the same short squat man she'd seen with Quentin. Seeing his big arm circling Magic's neck and the big knife he had pointed at the girl's throat, Vivid tightened her jaw. Magic appeared to be maintaining a brave front. There was no evidence of tears in her eyes, just anger.
The dogs rose and began to growl at the sight of the man. In response he quickly dragged Magic back inside the portal and yelled, "Call the dogs!"
"I think if you let her go, they'll leave you alone."
"Call them off, or I'll slit her throat."
"Then I'll shoot you," she called back easily. "Think about it. You have a knife and I have a gun. I also have the dogs. I possess all the cards. Let her go."
Vivid had no idea what he would do next; any man who'd stabbed Maddie so savagely probably had no qualms about slashing the throat of an innocent child. However, Mrs. Rand had stated that he needed at least one of the girls alive. Vivid could see no way out for Cole. His desperation must be making him act irrationally. Surely he didn't believe she'd simply let him walk away. Vivid and her sisters had been taught to shoot in order to protect themselves and their family. With times being the way they were, a woman of the race had to know how to use a gun and she had to know how to use it well. More importantly, if Magic came to harm it would break Nate's heart, and Vivid could not allow that.
Neither would Hector, it seemed. Hector appeared out of nowhere and he swooped down to rake his talons across Cole's face. Evan Cole screamed and Magic stumbled out of the doorway. She fell to the ground but picked herself up and ran to Vivid at full speed.
Then the dogs attacked.
They became snapping, leaping furies that surrounded him like dervishes. Cole tried to shut the door, but they were steadily herding him out into the open. No matter how much Vivid screamed at them or how many times she fired the rifle, the dogs refused to obey, so she sent Magic up the ridge to join her sister. She didn't want her viewing the awful scene.
While the main pack barked and circled and attacked his neck and arms, Blue sank his fangs into the fleshy part of Cole's calf and shook ferociously. Cole screamed and tried to clutch the injured limb only to have Blue tear into his hands. Out of the sky came Hector, his screech splitting the air. Cole somehow broke free of the dogs and tried to run. However, Blue's bite had crippled him, so all he could do was limp away as fast as his injuries and the dogs would allow.
From behind her Vivid heard the awed voice of Adam Crowley. "They're herding him and bringing him down, like a buck. Nate, look at that!"
Vivid spun and saw not only Adam, but Nate, Eli, her father, and many other men of the Grove spread out over the ridge behind her.
She smiled at Nate as he walked toward her carrying Satin in one arm and Magic in the other.
"Hello, princess," he said.
As some of the men ran down the hill to try and corral the dogs. Vivid looked into his eyes. "Hello yourself."
He bent to kiss her cheek and the movement caused both girls to dip, making them giggle. The happy sounds nearly brought tears to Vivid's eyes. She looked into their dirty little faces and asked. "Are you two sure you're okay?''
They both nodded, and Nate squeezed them until they giggled again. Vivid smiled at the girls who would soon be her daughters.
Eli's voice was filled with concern. "Nate, they're not having much luck calling off Maddie's dogs. Maybe we need to go down there."
The dogs and Hector had backed the severely crippled and bloodied Cole to the banks of the fast-flowing river and were so intent upon tormenting him, they were now lunging and baring their teeth at anyone who came near.
Nate set the girls on the ground and he and the men took off at a run.
They were too late.
"By the time we got down there," Nate later explained, "Hector and the dogs had driven him right over the bank and into the water."
Those who had not been there, including Abigail and Francesca, shook their heads sadly.
Nate continued, "Even if Cole knew how to swim he couldn't, because the muscles in his legs had been torn. Maddie's dogs are hunting dogs and they crippled him just as if he were a buck."
Vivid had checked on Maddie on the way home from the meadow and found her less feverish. While Nate penned and fed the dogs, Vivid evaluated and repacked the wound. The Quilt Ladies were sitting with Maddie for the night.
"How'd you know where to find us, Nate?"
"Hector. Damned bird was playing 'Duck!' when we gathered everybody for the search this morning. It must have been after he led you and the dogs. You said he disappeared for a while?"
Vivid nodded.
"Well, evidently he came to find me. Had us all ducking and crouching, but he kept hitting me and only me square in the back. Had my horse so spooked it was trying to duck with me on its back."
"So you followed him just as I did?"
"It was either that or grab him and stuff him into Aunt Gail' s stewing pot. I thought the bird had gone insane.''
Everyone laughed.
The discussion turned serious once more as they spent a few moments hashing over the tragic events. Nate was going to have his barrister try to find Cole's solicitors so they could be informed of Cole's death and the girls' whereabouts. Nate's barrister also said that he saw no reason why both girls couldn't become Graysons.
A few days later, Evan Cole's body washed ashore, about three miles downstream from where the animals forced him in.
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Chapter 24
They were finally able to hold the wedding on Thanksgiving Day. In spite of the two inches of snowfall the night before, most of the Grove showed at the church to witness the ceremony. Because there'd been so much tragedy, folks were pleased to have something to celebrate. Eli and Adam stood up with Nate. Magic and Satin, dressed as beautifully as princesses from one of Nate's stories, stood up with the emerald-gowned Vivid, as did Maddie with the help of a cane.
Vivid looked over at her mother talking to Miss Edna and Adam Crowley's daughter, Jewel, as everyone enjoyed the reception sponsored by the church. In another week or so, her parents would be heading off to Boston to see her sister, Alicea. They'd stayed East longer than planned and so decided to remain on this side of the Rockies until the spring, rather than risk a harrowing train ride home through the snow-filled mountain passes of Colorado and Nevada. They'd spend the winter with Alicea and on the way home to California in the spring, they pledged to include another short visit to the Grove. Near her mother stood her father, talking with a group of men that included Adam Crowley and two of his sons. Vivid was already missing them both.
Vivid set aside her melancholy for the pleasure of watching Nate. He looked so incredibly handsome in his dark vested suit and snow-white shirt. During the ceremony, when he gazed down into her eyes and pledged to love her until the last of his days, her love had known no bounds. In turn she pledged her love to him for all eternity. The resulting kiss had been one she'd been wanting to share for a long time—their first kiss as husband and wife—and it was even more wonderful than she'd dreamed.
Nate looked up from across the room and caught her eye. He excused himself from his cousin and a few friends, while she did the same with the Quilt Ladies.
Amid the crush, Nate leaned down to whisper in her ear, "I'd like to take you out of here."
She smiled up at him. "Well, we don't need Mama Duenna's permission anymore, so lead the way, my husband."
They departed the gathering under a hail of good wishes, congratulations, and applause.
When they got home, Nate led her to his big attic room and scooped her up to carry her across the threshold. He kissed her soundly, then set her gently on her feet.
"Will you tell me a bedtime story?" she asked.
Nate didn't answer at first, preferring to kiss her instead. When he finally released her it took her a moment to open her eyes, but she heard him whisper, “Have you been a good girl?"
Vivid answered with a provocative, "I can be..."
Nate felt his manhood come to life and harden. "Will you be this shameless when I'm sixty?"
She gave him a slow sultry smile and whispered, "Only when you make me."
Nate couldn't think of a better way to spend the next thirty years. "Take off that dress."
And when she did, he carried her over to his big bed and told her stories until dawn.
It snowed another four inches that night, and in the morning, Vivid had her first experience with snowshoes. She had quite a bit of trouble moving smoothly in the oversized contraptions, and as a result kept coming to an abrupt halt with one shoe atop the other and falling on her face. Magic and Satin were laughing so hard, Vivid thought the children would harm themselves. Nate, on the other hand, tried to be a bit more tactful and not laugh out loud, but as Vivid quickly toppled over once again, he surrendered and laughed until he cried.
That night, despite the coldness of the weather, Vivid stood outside and gazed up at the sky. The night was so clear, the stars stood out like diamonds on velvet. Who would have thought a skinny little Trabrasera from San Francisco would end up here, surrounded by new friends and new family? So much had happened since she first stepped off the train in Niles and met a man named Nate Grayson. She found it hard to believe it had been only six months ago. The peace of this place had seeped into her bones so deeply, it seemed as if she'd been sheltered in this community for years.
She heard the door open and turned to see Nate step out. He came to stand behind her and kiss her on the cheek. "What are you doing out here?" he asked.
"Counting my blessings."
"Do you have many?"
Vivid turned and looked up into his eyes and said lovingly, "More than there are stars in the sky."
"I love you, too," he told her.
She replied, "Well, if you really love me, you'll go inside and tell Mama she won't be naming the baby. I know she'll want to."
Nate went stock-still. "What baby?"
"Our baby." Then she added, "Oh, I forgot to tell you. You're going to be a papa."
"You forgot?"
She smiled. "No, I'm teasing. I wanted to tell you when we were alone."
"Does anyone else know?"
“No, just you. And if my calculations are correct, the baby is a result of all that berry picking we didn't do. She'll probably be born telling stories," Vivid added with a laugh. That night's story had been and still remained very memorable.
Later, as they lay in bed after a slow sweet bout of lovemaking, Nate asked, "What do you want to name our son?"
Vivid turned to peer into his face and said, "Daughter, Nate, daughter."
He chuckled. "Aunt Gail is the first and last female Grayson in four or five generations, so if you want to believe you're going to have a girl, go right ahead. How does Joseph Absalom sound?"
Vivid went very still. She thought the name was a beautiful tribute. "You're a very special man, Nathaniel Grayson."
"A very special man who fathers boys," he said kissing her. "Boys."
In May of 1877, Viveca Lancaster Grayson gave birth to five-pound Jacob Eli Grayson, and four-pound Joseph Absalom Grayson. Both parents were ecstatic with the double blessing.
To learn more about books written by award-winning author Beverly Jenkins, please visit: Beverly Jenkins
Author's Note
Dr. Viveca Lancaster is a fictional character created to highlight the remarkable achievements of nineteenth-century Black women like Maria W. Stewart and Mary Shadd who uplifted not only the race but the nation as well. Many of the Black women practicing medicine were not only the first Black women to practice medicine in some states but the first female physicians as well, especially in the South. Women were teachers, businesswomen, lecturers, and entertainers. Maggie Lena Walker was an insurance executive and one of the nation's first female bankers. Flora Batson Berger was known as the Black Jenny Lind.
For more information on these fascinating women, and other aspects of Vivid and Nate's story, the following sources may prove helpful:
Cimprich, John, and Mainfort, Robert C. Jr. "Fort Pillow Revisited: New Evidence about an Old Controversy." Civil War History 28 (1982): 292-306.
Fields, Harold B. "Free Negroes in Cass County Before the Civil War." Michigan History, 44 (December 1960): 375-383.
Giddings, Paula. When and Where I Enter. New York: William Morrow, 1984.
Jerrido, Margaret J. "Early Black Women Physicians." Women & Health, 5, no. 3 (Fall 1980).
Katz, William Loren. The Black West. New York: Anchor Press/Doubleday, 1973.
Lapp, Rudolph M. "The Negro in Gold Rush California." Journal of Negro History, 49, no. 2 (April 1964).
Sterling, Dorothy A. We Are Your Sisters: Black Women in the Nineteenth Century. New York: Doubleday, 1986.
Vennum, Thomas, Jr. American Indian Lacrosse: Little Brother of War. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1994.
Beverly Jenkins, Vivid
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