Chapter Four - A fresh chance

As they recovered from the little sleep of death, Yvonne turned to Benjamin and kissed him on his full lips and said, "Benjamin I missed you so much. I could not reach home fast enough to see you."

"Miss Yvonne, if anyone finds out about us I am a dead man and you would be banished forever. I heard your Papa speak about you being promised to the son of the plantation next door."

"Benjamin you are all I want and no one else."

"Miss Yvonne, look at me, I am a black man in a country that still believe that based on the colour of my skin I am inferior."

"So what? Benjamin, I am black too."

"You are the child of a Scotsman and set to inherit 300 acres of land complete with chattels."

"Why are you trying to put down yourself Benjamin? I love you and as long as I am around you will be fine and if no one wants to accept us in St. Thomas in the east. We can run away to a free village in Sligo Ville in St. Catherine Maidstone above Manchester, Clarkes Town in Trelawney or even the Spanish Quarter, Sturridge Town in Portland or Stony Gut and start a new life Benjamin. I have money from my Trust given by Master George and I am educated. Even if it does not show on my skin, I am black in my heart."

"Miss Yvonne, I can hardly read and I am only a blacksmith. Yvonne we must get back before it's too late and suspicion is raised."

"Benjamin, I waited nine years to hold you in my arms and I am not in a hurry to let you go back to being a yard boy and pretend that I do not have an interest in you."

"What will Papa think if you are not back in time? I don't want to be flogged. So what will happen when you are married to the Colonel's son?"

"Benjamin, you are no longer a slave and no one can touch you once I am around. Why would you want to spoil our moment Benjamin? You don't need anyone else's permission Benjamin. You are a free man and you would prefer to ask about someone else?"

"I heard your Papa say that it is the only way to save Roselle house from being sold or being bankrupt."

"Benjamin, do you understand what that means?"

"Miss Yvonne, we have been going to the Baptist church in Yellow Bay and the deacon has been teaching us to read and write, but if your Papa finds out we will get flogged and our rations halved."

"What!" she replied. "I will have to put a stop to that as soon as I get back. Things and times have changed Benjamin, Jantique is different now."

"It depends on your point of view Yvonne and of course the colour of your skin, but it's time to go back being master and servant. It was just two years ago they hanged the deacon from Stony Gut, Paul Bogle, and that man, a high-coloured lawyer from St. Andrew, George William Gordon."

"I would never treat you any differently Benjamin we have been friends since childhood, playing around the great house."

"However, Yvonne I have always known that there was a line that I could not cross."

"Benjamin, what are your plans since you are a free man?"

A smile crept across Benjamin's face and his eyes lit up like the early morning sun.

"I have a few pounds saved with Busha and I found 5 acres of land in the hills above the plantation. I would like to build my own house."

"Sounds good Benjamin. I love the idea, but have you thought about starting a blacksmithing business in Morant Bay or Port Morant?"

"In order to do that I would need to purchase a few feet of land and tools Yvonne. That is the hard part and it's difficult to have someone advocate on my behalf and if Busha finds out about my plans I am sure he will not approve," Benjamin's face fell as he answered.

"Nonsense, Benjamin, I will help with whatever you need. Master George would have encouraged you if he were here. Papa would never do a thing like that, remember he practically grew you almost like his own son," Yvonne replied forcefully.

Shaking out the Calico shirt and straightening the creases across his leg. Benjamin felt hope swell in his chest with Yvonne's encouragement.

"How does the shirt look Yvonne? I hope it does not look too soiled because I will have to explain to your Papa why my clothes are soiled."

"Stop fretting, Benjamin. I will take care of Papa. Help me up on the beast and this time I will ride him like a lady."

Benjamin stroked the neck of the horse gently, took the reins in his hand and then offered his interlocked fingers to allow Yvonne to climb aboard the black stallion horse.

"You are such a gentleman Benjamin."

"I hope I was not too gentle a few minutes ago my love?" Benjamin asked shyly.

"No! Benjamin you were just perfect and for our next meeting I want it to be like civilised people between the sheets instead of being in a pasture under a tree," Yvonne replied as she smiled down at him.

Benjamin laughed loudly and it startled the nearby birds. As he led the horse and the mistress of the plantation he heard voices followed by singing and the beating of the drums.

"Benjamin do you hear that?"

"No, Miss Yvonne, hear what?"

"Benjamin, stop lying, I know you heard it."

"Miss Yvonne, we are going to be late getting back for dinner."

"You are such a coward. The drums are calling me. I want to see the dancing and hear the singing in the native tongue of my mother. Remember I am black and my mother originated in the Congo."

"Miss Yvonne, they are calling up the spirits and it's not for you. It's dark magic according to the deacon. These people came direct from Africa almost on their free will and settled all about St. Thomas and unlike the rest of us, they still hold on to their customs."

"Shut up Benjamin. I don't need your help and I don't need your permission to go anywhere on this plantation."

Benjamin could hear the defiance in her tone and in the same breath he was reminded of his position. He watched as she dug her heels in the horse, clicked her tongue and headed in the direction of the drums.

"I thought you did not hear anything. You are such a liar Benjamin!" Yvonne shouted back at Benjamin.

He trotted after her as fast he could up the track towards the foot hills and slave quarters.

"Miss Yvonne wait please slow down!" he shouted.

The rhythm of the drums pulled at the kindred spirit beating deep beneath Yvonne's pale skin and while she could not definitively say why but her studying in school about the tribes in the Congo was fascinating. The thought of being able to experience it first-hand had caused her pulse to quicken, just as much as Benjamin's hard tool had earlier done. He had quenched the fire that was burning in her loins, now her mind was on fire with curiosity.

At an early age, she would sneak away and watch the festivities. She loved the feeling of being taken over by a foreign matter and felt as if she floated above the dancers.

As she got closer the drums got louder. The native tongue that was discouraged by Master George and Papa could be heard distinctly and it soothed Yvonne's ears. Finally, she felt as if she was at home.

"Miss Yvonne, curiosity kills the cat, we need to go home I don't think we should go up there," Benjamin said with timidity in his voice, his vocal chords cracking as he spoke.

"Benjamin, I am home and the cat has already died under that coconut tree already. My spirit needs the Kumina, so if you can't manage the heat in the kitchen then get out and go home," she shouted.

"You know I can't do that Miss Yvonne. Let's go and don't get mixed up in the black magic. Look at the sun it's getting late and I will get a flogging if you are late."

"Oh shut up Benjamin! Am I not worth a good flogging?" Yvonne asked.

She looked to see the blacksmith blush as he remembered the feel of her body reacting to his lovemaking.

The slave quarters were located behind rows of banana trees with a manicured lawn and crotons lined each pathway. The courtyard however was bare and dancing stirred up the dust. The dancers were prancing in the circle of drummers and onlookers. The sight of a white woman on a black horse was not a welcoming one.

The former slaves of the Belvedere Plantation, previously owned by Hamilton, the absentee Scotsman, would have resented Yvonne's presence. She was supposed to rescue the fortunes of Roselle House, its mothballed sugar mill and surrounding land but there had been no mention of how her newly acquired slaves would fare under her regime. The dominant thought was that she was not going to care about them or provide them with the one thing that they wanted, their freedom. The drumming and dancing ceased as she rode in the yard and her horse came to a stop just metres from the group.

"Continue, please," she said in Congolese and the jaws of the 30 men, women and teenagers fell open at the sound of their native tongue.

Everyone started talking at once. An elderly woman stepped forward and held up her hand for silence.

"Hi, I am Mary Kennedy, the Queen, welcome."

"I am Yvonne."

She introduced Benjamin as her attendant and told them her mother's name was Miriam. She gave them the name of the place in Sierra Leone from where she originated.

"Where is your king?" she asked eagerly.

"The King will be here later," Mary replied.

"They are family," Mary shouted to the group and the drumming recommenced.

Even though the sun was still relatively high in the sky a chilly wind blew and raised bumps on Yvonne's skin. Her head felt as if it was getting bigger by the minute as the beating of the drums intensified. Mary's hips felt as if they were taken over by the beat and festivities. The chanting of incantation began to reach fever pitch upon the arrival of a tall man dressed in a black coat on a black horse. The Queen bowed before him all the dancers appeared to be in a trance and Yvonne found herself in the centre of the ring.

Three hours had passed since they first arrived, the sun had set and darkness crept over the land. The chanting and unworldly movements followed something Mary or Benjamin could not explain. As the King entered the ring, the eyes of the drummers began to glow a fiery red and Yvonne's feet felt sluggish as if they were off the ground. Pierre Culchard pulled Yvonne towards him and she looked at his face with a mixture of surprise and recognition. He was her friend from the school she attended in Europe. Her stunned expression quickly turned to shock as his eyes turned blood red followed by the flash of long, stained teeth followed by piercing pain at the side of her neck.

Her screams were drowned out by the beating of the drums. Her vision became blurry. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Benjamin being held down by the Kumina family members, useless and motionless on the ground. The once strong man with bulging muscles that had carried her body several times over the threshold of ecstasy and passion could not rescue her from this ancient Congo King of the undead. The zombie spirit had already inhabited her body that offered very little resistance; Yvonne's young nubile body was now the host of a spiritual parasite that needed to be fed. She closed her eyes and fell into the waiting darkness.