Even though Wolverine was occupied with all that the man in the wheelchair was trying to tell him a single thought overrode everything else as she came through the door. I've Seen that Hair Before.

¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨

 "Shh, quiet now childrn, not far to go." The shadowy figure moved quickly among the trees and tall grasses along the strung-out group of people, whispering the words as she went. She had broken up the larger group into smaller ones at the beginning of the march. A technique used by the guides along the Underground Railroad in case of trouble. If the group met up with slave catchers or bounty hunters someone would get away to safety. Stopping briefly at a group of six she moved close to a young woman sitting under a large pine. Though she was wrapped in several layers of clothing it was still not enough to keep out the evening chill. The woman gently rocked a small bundle held close to her chest. "Keep your head covered Miss that color in this moonlight will show for miles."

"Yes'm." The woman adjusted her headcovering.

"You and the babe well?"

"She fed at our last resting, been asleep ever since."

"You keep her close and covered, the weather here cool as we nears the river."

"Yes'm."

The guide moved back several steps, her words now for those few near her. "We're close now, stay awake. The signal for the boats will be given only once. Stay quiet, stay hid, there's yet time for trouble to find us." She said the words with great seriousness, her eyes resting for a brief time on the young woman. Only one other of the travelers knew why they had had to leave the last safe house in such haste. A sympathizer in the sheriff's office has given word that bounty hunters were in town bragging about the huge bounty they would receive for bringing back a female runaway with unusual hair and eyes.

‘The Angel', the name given the tall, grim faced guide by the escaped slaves, moved on to carry her message to the next grouping. Those left behind tried to make themselves even smaller in the darkness. The original group of six had been traveling for days with others joining them along the way. Now thirteen people of various ages waited in the darkness for the boats to freedom. The belief that they were close to gaining something so long sought and so hard fought for make their hearts lighter, but hard experience had taught that they could not trust or relax their watch until the final step took them into freedom land. The weight of returning to lives of bondage was an ever-present on tired shoulders as the night grew darker and no word of the boats that would transport them across the river was sent along the line.

Shifting her legs into a different position the young mother was careful not to jostle the sleeping child. Leaning down she kissed the sleeping face as she thanked the All for giving her a reason to survive as long as she had. Having slept little in the last few days, her thoughts were troubled with the knowledge that the man who considered himself her master was still in pursuit. Her body trembled with exhaustion, and fear gripped her stomach so hard she felt nauseous. Taking deep breaths of the cold air she closed her eyes for a moment.

¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨

 "To the boats. Quietly."

The signal had been given and the nearest boats were filled and moving away from the bank as the young runaway realized that she had fallen asleep. Looking about in the little light provided by the quarter moon, she could see a boat with one occupant. In her haste to reach the boat she woke the child.

"Quiet little one, please be quiet." Opening her dress she pressed the baby’s face to her breast. Gathering her few belongings she moved through the trees toward the boat. She was almost to the river's edge when the first shouts sounded through the night. Five men with dogs spilled from the trees into the water. Those in the boat farthest from shore began to paddle frantically, pushing it closer to the middle of the river. A woman screamed as the men settling for an easier target reached a boat carrying women and several small children. Shouts of anger were joined by the shrill cries of the children, and the voice of the boatman trying to fight off their attackers.

Maha, stood in terror as the boat was tugged back to the bank. Her eyes caught movement in the trees to the right and front of her.  The dark shape moved closer to the commotion at the river bank. The screams and cries had masked the barking of the dogs but now the hunters could easily hear them.

The patty rollers huddled over their wet captives looked into the trees for the source of the dogs’ irritation. The frightened mother looked from the men on the riverbank to where the shape had stopped, it was gone. Her eyes searched the trees and found nothing. She continued to rock the child in her arms as she forced her feet to move toward the empty boat hidden away from the group at the river.  

She thought of the silent figure moving through the trees. Perhaps he had been trying to help and now needed help. What of the others? Putting the sleeping babe in the bottom of the boat she searched for a weapon. Finding nothing in the boat she searched the riverbank until she found a good-sized tree limb. Maha was within view of the fight when a large dog moved into her path. He growled at her, and then moved towards her.  Her first swing caught him across his nose.  She left the dog buried under brush and wet leaves.   She hurried to the bank and in the unnatural silence she saw that the capsized slaves had disappeared into the night, leaving their unknown savior among a mass of bodies, man and dogs.  When he rose to his knees, she stood, locked into place, until she heard the wail of her baby.  For a moment Maha was torn between returning to the boat and seeing to the fallen man.

¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨

 The injured man heard the voices but was having difficulty distinguishing the words.

"You are sure you want to stay?"

"He need help and..."

The Angel looked down at the injured man. "Looks like one of the dogs got him good. That wound could get infected. You’d be in for trouble if you stay and he dies."

Maha nodded that she understood the danger but a notion that she needed to help this man kept her from leaving.

"Won't leave."

The guide gestured for the two men standing near to leave and she moved to follow them. "If things get bad get you and the babe to the Lower Valley Inn. Ask for MacKeeton."

"We'll be fine." The younger woman stated with confidence.

¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨

Being as kind as she could Maha peeled back the cloth bandage and the poultice underneath. The wounds were drying around the edges but the middle of several still seeped. Her gentle prodding and cleaning brought a brief moan from her patient. The babe lying next to him whimpered in sympathy. At her soothing tones both man and child quieted. Anyone else would have been shocked or frightened by the way his wounds had flared an angry heat filled red, then pink, to look as they did now.   It hadn’t her, being born into a family with unusual physical gifts.  What had surprised her was learning that a white man had been touched with such power. As quickly as possible she replaced the old poultice with a fresh one of crushed cayenne, soaked birch, mashed carrots and goldenrod.

He woke to the smell of milk and the feeling of soft skin against his chin. Little mewing sounds grew louder as moist lips sucked at his skin. The mewing became a shrill cry as he moved away from the wiggling bundle. Awareness of why a baby would be in bed with him and why his body ached came fast enough for him not to jump out of bed.  His eyes watched the door as the sound of footsteps paused briefly outside the door.

She opened the door to find him awake. Man and woman watched each other waiting for the other to react. An unspoken mutual understanding was reached as he picked up the child and held her out to her mother. Relieved of the wiggling babe he sank back into the pillow as she stepped back. The woman smelled of sweat, milk and wood smoke. The child calmed somewhat in her arms, it’s face turned toward her mother’s breast, seeking food.

"Who are you?"

"Maha. Glad youre feeling better, Massa."

He opened his eyes slowly as her words seep into his tired mind.

"The child is hungry, Massa, but I’ll put her down and see to you."

"No!" The outburst startled both woman and babe. The young woman looked at him, fear in her eyes, the baby

"No," he said softer this time. "My name is James or Mr. Howlett if you must, not Massa."

"Yesir." The woman replied in a small uncertain voice.

"Say my name."

"Mr. Howl...ett."

¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨

James didn't remember falling asleep but he woke to the need to relieve himself. Sitting on the edge of the bed searching for his shoes, his eyes settled on the woman sleeping on the floor near the end of the bed. "Good Lord woman, get up!"

Maha woke instantly at the words shouted in her direction. Her eyes large, her body hunched as it prepared to take a blow. She crawled backwards until her back was against the door. Her eyes moved frantically between the man frowning at her to the baby lying among the covers on the floor. Even though the man before her had acted with kindness she had been waiting--expecting the real white man to come out and hurt them. Gathering her courage she stood and walked to where he sat, her child's safety was more important than anything that might happen to her. She stood in front of him waiting for her punishment.

James had been surprised then baffled as he watched the woman crawl away from him. He shook his head in annoyance. What do you expect, you idiot, screaming at her like that. It's gonna take a mountain of days for her to trust you after this. "Sit down, here." James patted the bed near him.

Still frightened but determined, Maha stood still, her face closed. "No, Massa Logan. Don't make me."

Anger filled Logan. "I'll not hurt you. And call me by my given name." He looked at her trying to get her to look at him. Grabbing his trousers from the chair next to the bed he motioned for her to turn around. "We'll settle this after I return from the privy." Trousers on, he was up and walking to the door slowly but without help. In the doorway he turned to where she still stood. "Don't run."

He returned to the bedroom to find the woman and babe gone. Standing in the middle of the room he took two deep breaths, clearing his mind, quieting his racing heart. He reached out with his senses. The smell of wet napkins came to him then quiet mummers. Knowing where they were he headed for the back of the Inn. In the doorway he stood watching as the two moved around the yard. The woman talked in quiet tones to the babe resting on her shoulder.

"We’re leaving."

Maha jumped, her hand clutching at the child's back.

James smiled, hoping to put her at ease. "You’ve had two babies to nurse we must have kept your hands full."

She smiled tentatively in answer to the open look on his face.

"You healed quickly." Her voice was soft, the tones moved teasingly across his open senses.

Looking around him at the swiftly moving clouds he chose his next words carefully.  “My home is a week journey from here.  You and the babe will be safer there.

"You..."

“I expect nothing but your…”  He stopped doubting that the knowing between them was deep enough for her to understand the meaning in what he wanted to say.  “I expect nothing.”

¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨

James sat at the kitchen table, his fingers moving absently across the top. It had taken him four months to fashion and smooth the wood to his satisfaction. Four months of intense concentration to kill the loneliness drowning him at the time. The thought suddenly came to him that there was someone in his home other than Smoke his favorite hound.

"We need to finish our conversation."

The woman walked to the stove where she stirred in one of the pots. James waited patiently. Finally she turned around to look at him. One arm held the child, her other hand closed around a large wood ladle.

James eyed the woman and the ladle as he sorted his thoughts. "You are a free person in a free land and as long as you are in my house I do not ‘ever’ want to wake to find you on the floor at the foot of my bed.  I realize this house is small, I had planned to build additional rooms but didn’t." His eyes grew sad as if reliving painful memories.  He looked up from the floor into eyes as sad as his own. "Don’t take this to mean more than the words say. My bed is big enough for me, you, and the babe without anyone touching."

James thumped his hand on the table at her continued silence. "I’ll have you know that I have never had to force a woman to be with me. Especially one smelling of breast milk and lye soap."

That drew a small grin from Maha. Thinking the matter settled James listened to his stomach rumbling. "Whatever is in that pot smells good."

From the cupboard she pulled down bowl and utensils, these she sat in front of Logan. "You may be a good man Mr. Howlett but you still a white man and I’m still a black in a country not my own."

James tasted the food in silence.

¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨

It wasn't just the need to relieve himself that woke James later in the night but out of half lidded eyes he watched the woman cautiously sit on the end of the bed. After several moments of staring at him she laid the baby next to the wall as far away from him as she could then crawled in next to her.  Returning from the privy he laid down.  Unable to immediately sleep he listened to her breathing; it stayed shallow as if she was as aware of him and he was of her.   Turning his back to her he closed his eyes a slight smile on his face.

¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨

Two weeks past and each established a set routine.  James had gone back at work leaving Maha to care for the house and the babe. Through his contacts passage had been secured for Maha and the babe on a vessel traveling deeper into the countryside as soon as the weather began to cooperate.

¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨

James rose from his desk as the knocking on his front door.  Stepping from his office into the living area he looked around for Maha, making sure she was out of sight before answering the door.  He opened the door to find a young sailor standing there.

"Monsieur Howlett?"

"Yes."

"I come with word from the Captain.   Weather's turning and we'll be leaving tomorrow dawn. You’re to have the woman on board by 4 bells."

Logan stared at the youth for several moments before responding. "Give my thanks to the captain. We'll be there. Would you like to come in for repast?"

"No sir. There's still much to do."

Closing the door, Logan went through the house in search of his guests.  Not finding them inside he decided to check what had become Maha’s favorite place.  He had accidentally found her there not long her arrival. Several yards from the back of the house was a planting of large trees that hid a cleared patched of land.   She had worked a small portion into a garden. He had visited it several times since and the plantings had grown at a remarkable rate. Once he had commented on the rate of growth. She had mumbled something about having been given the gift by her ancestors.

He found her standing in the far corner of the clearing.  He walked parallel to her as she moved slowly down a row. She stopped to pluck something from one of the plants. On her arm was a basket.  He looked past her to a blanket where the baby slept peacefully.

"Maha." Logan called as he walked to where she waited for him at the end of a row. Taking the basket from her he looked into her face.  Her eyes were no longer filled with fear. They were bright and full of life. A smile was more often on her lips. Without conscious thought he lifted his hand and pushed back the kerchief covering her hair. It has been rough shorn at their first meeting but now it lay in thick silver braids on her shoulders.  "The ship leaves tomorrow."

Maha said nothing as she stepped away from him. With her back to him he could not see her expression but from the sag of her shoulders he felt she was not pleased with the news. "I thought the news would bring you satisfaction."

"Leaving again." Maha spoke the words softly.

She turned to him, tears in her eyes. "I’m still a stranger in a stranger land."

Moving closer to Maha, he stood before her. Lifting his gaze he looked over her shoulder into the distance he made a silent promise.

¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨

James stood stoically on the deck of the Winter's Harvest.   The ship and her passengers had been from one port to another for three weeks now with the end of her voyage days away.

Maha pulled her shawl tighter about her shoulders as she joined him on deck. He looked over at her; his eyes taking in the look of excitement that enhanced the beauty of the woman he had come to know as friend.  His heart filled with pride that he had helped put that look of peace on her face. Taking her hand he wrapped it around his arm. "Our time together is flying away, walk with me for a while." They walked slowly, enjoying the cool breezes.

"Now that we are soon to be parted there is one thing I wish to know. You have never spoken of the babe's sire."

Maha looked at him with wounded sky colored eyes. "Why do you want to know of him?"

"Did he own the plantation you ran from? Did you leave family behind? I'd like to help them if I could."

"I left no one behind. Gramdear died before I left the plantation. With her death and with him about to take my child, I took the chance and ran." Maha stopped walking, her hand gripping the fabric of Logan's overcoat. "The mistress had left his dispatches on her bed and I read them. He was going to sell her to...a couple in Europe. They had sent earnest money and were on their way to receive her."

Logan's hand covered hers. Her features were as clear to him in the moonlight as they had been in the morning's sunlight. "I wondered how you learned to read with the law making education for Africans so difficult."

Her laughter was not a pleasant sound but a mixture of pain and unshed tears that strengthened his resolve to redress not only her suffering but also that of the many others living in slavery.  "He would want someone to read the paper or his favorite book of poetry as he was prepared for bed. So he taught me.’ Maha began to physically shake and Logan grew alarmed but did not move to touch her. "Gramdear tried to protect me, keep me out of his sight as much as possible but she could not protect me forever." Maha moved away from Howlett and he felt abandoned for a second.

"The first time," her voice was soft, tentative but Logan could hear her clearly from where he stood, "it was late, the house was so quiet. It was always late when he'd send for me. I could feel the change in the house. I didn't want to go, James. I didn't.  He never smiled without it bringing pain; he never laughed unless it was at someone else's hurt."

Maha stopped talking, her mind locked into the memories.  She stood before him, her head bowed, eyes on the wooden decking.  

James took her hands holding them tightly within his own.  His face hardened at the look of pain in her eyes.  “Look out at the horizon.”

Maha lifted her head, her eyes moving over the fluid expanse until water met sky.

James leaned down slightly, his mouth close to her ear.  "Listen well to me Maha.  You will never again be a slave or servant.  No man will ever take from you what you do not willing give.  You and the babe will have what everyone born deserves.”

“Freedom.”  Maha answered her eyes locked on the horizon.

“Freedom.”  James echoed. 

the end