Gabriel's Hope Plantation
Chapter 4
Gabriel was in town one day and at a local tavern he heard about a woman who had been thrown out of all the places she had worked because she was an abolitionist. She was a child's governess and that sparked interest in Gabriel. He sought her out and asked if she would come to the plantation with him to discuss a position.
On the ride back she pounded Gabriel's ears about the evils of slavery making Gabriel laugh. She couldn't understand why.
"Miss Hathaway, please keep your ranting to yourself until we have talked, or I might end up throwing you out of this carriage. I understand that you are now effectively destitute so I am sure the job I am thinking of offering you has a double benefit, the chance to help a large number of blacks, and a roof over your head."
She shut up. Sat in Gabriel's study, the first thing she noticed was how relaxed and friendly the atmosphere.
"Blaine, be so kind as to ask Molly to bring some refreshments for myself and Miss Hathaway."
The slave looked relaxed and was dressed casually instead of the silly overdressed staff that she saw in other great houses.
They were just settling down when the study doors burst open and three little black urchins burst in and the eldest jumped into Gabriel's lap and gushed out.
"Is the lady going to be our new teacher Gabe?"
Gabriel laughed and pulled the two smallest onto his lap as well.
"If you are very good, and if I am very persuasive she might be. Now why don't you go to her and introduce yourselves. Tell the lady your name and how old you are."
Ann Hathaway noted that they were clean and clothed properly.
"I'm called Jason and I'm seven."
"I'm called Missy and I'm five.
"I'm called Matthew and I'm five as well, but I'm the eldest."
He looked at Gabriel who nodded, and Matthew continued. "By five minutes."
Gabriel could hardly speak he was laughing so hard, "And if you come to work here Miss Hathaway, don't ever forget that. Now, you three, off you go. Say hello to Miss Sarah and tell her I said you could have some short cake."
Squeals of delight and they were gone.
"I don't understand Mr. Sinclair, you allow slave children to treat you like one of their own and you dress them decently."
"Well, Miss Hathaway, those three are more like my brothers and sister, and they aren't slaves. Their elder brother is my lifetime best friend and my accounts clerk here on the plantation, their mother is the senior housekeeper and my mother's friend, their father works for my blacksmith and is the closest I've ever had to a real father. Also, they are all free. Yes I have slaves, but any of them will tell you they are treated like family or workers. I pay my freemen the rate for the job, and my slaves I make sure live a good life as well. I employ no white overseers and my mother and I are the only white's on this plantation. I know your political leanings, but if you have a look at my slave village I hope you will realise I am doing better for my slaves than they could expect as free men. Since I came here no slave has been beaten, and in all truth, none of them have deserved it anyway."
That little speech finished and there was a tap on the door. A pretty young woman dressed in a fresh brightly coloured dress walked in with a tray of refreshments and lemonade.
"Miss Sarah said to pile the plate high with cookies Mr. Gabriel because she didn't think there would be any left by the time Jason had fed the whole village."
They both laughed and Gabriel thanked Molly.
"Your staff treat you more like an equal than the master of this plantation Mr. Sinclair."
"Well, we are almost. We all have to work hard to enjoy the pleasure of this place."
Another interruption then as Joshua entered. Ann saw a young black man similar in build to Gabriel dressed casually in a white shirt and black trousers with soft deerskin boots on.
"Oh, sorry Gabriel, I didn't know you had company."
Gabriel laughed and replied.
"You had better keep your brother with you then. He knew Miss Hathaway was a schoolteacher within about two minutes of us arriving here. Miss Hathaway, this is Joshua Lake, my best friend, partner in crime and bookkeeper for Gabriel's Hope, also the brother of the three urchins that have just left."
"Josh, if Miss Hathaway and I can overcome a few hurdles, she will be teaching the children.
Miss Hathaway was startled by the look of love that passed between the two men.
"You didn't need to do that Gabriel, you have already done so much for my family."
"Tosh, you are worth it. Now what was it you wanted?"
"Sorry, I need these requisitions signed. Abe and his gang have run out of timber and the carpenter needs some more for furniture for the new cottages. I'm sorry Gabriel, our own sawmill can't keep up with demand. The timber bill this month is going to be quite large."
Gabriel shrugged, signed them without checking them and said, "We have to make up for the lack of investment in the village because of those crooks I sacked. I doubt it will bankrupt us Josh," and Joshua left.
"Do you never check his work Mr. Sinclair?"
"Of course I do, when we go through the accounts each week. I'm afraid timber is eating up a lot of money at the moment, but I promised my overseers that I would house families together and for that we need a lot more cottages."
Ann Hathaway found this man difficult to fathom. He was a slave owning plantation owner, but treated his staff like free men.
"Please, let's have a drink and then come with me, I'm sure a lot of your questions concerning this plantation will be answered then.
Ann spent the next hour mouth agape. The slave village was like nothing she had seen before.
The first surprise was the tower with the huge tub on top.
"What's that Mr. Sinclair?"
"Oh, that's our new water tower. We pump water from the river to this tower and the one for the house so that there is always plenty of water for the people to bathe every day after they finish work. We have a village shop where they can get essentials like soap and their food is issued from there as well. My mother, along with Joshua's mother handle clothing, but any seamstresses can ask mother for cloth and make their own clothes and the children's. I encourage the men to keep a clean set for socialising in the evenings and on Sunday when we don't work. I have dammed the creek so that we have a swim hole and the families use that extensively on Sundays. We usually have a party on the lawns for the young men and women on the same day.
"You appear to treat your slaves like free men."
"Not quite, I don't pay them."
Back in the study, Gabriel put forward his proposal.
"It's against the law to teach slaves to read and write. But, I would like you to teach the three children you have met, because they are free men. I don't think it is against the law for slave children to listen to what you say, and I'm sure we could find lots of slate and chalk for them to play with while they listen to you. I don't put the men to field work until they are sixteen, but up to that age they understudy artisans, they could also watch some of your lessons where appropriate. I know that having more workers that can read and write would make this plantation even more efficient and allow more luxuries for the workers. You and I can't achieve that legally, but we can bend the law a little if you would like the job. There is a cottage available for you and I can find one of the women that would look after you."
Ann didn't know what to say, and they hadn't even discussed a salary.
"One last thing before you make a decision. I won't tolerate any abolitionist talk on this plantation. My slaves are better treated than freed blacks are so I don't want their minds working on being worse off than they are now. Slavery can't last forever, I can see that, and when it is legal to free all my slaves I will do so, but I'm not going to agitate for something that mine do not want."
Ann, reluctantly had to agree with Gabriel and accepted the position.
"I'll send you back to town in a carriage and you can collect your things. Come back to the house and ask for Jess, I'll make sure he takes you to your cottage which is all ready for occupancy."
"Thank you Mr. Sinclair." and she was gone.
Gabriel was feeling pleased with himself. Most governesses would not have entertained the idea of teaching Negroes, free or not, so Ann was a major find.
This must have been his day for unscheduled visitors. Gabriel was using horses more and needed a young buck to help his stableman. The word had gone out that he was looking for one and a local slave agent called without an appointment.
Blaine showed him in.
"Mr. Sinclair, please accept my apology, calling unannounced, but I have a young man who I think fits your requirements, and he won't be available for long when other owners know his experience. He is an excellent horseman and has been trained as a farrier. I could send him to auction but I'm not asking an unreasonable price for him so you can buy him direct if he suits you."
"Well, bring him in then Mr. Symes, let's have a look at him."
"Here, in the house, Sir."
"Yes Mr. Symes, I haven't time to go wandering."
Symes left and was back in a few minutes trailed by a boy, probably 20 years old. Well put together and very attractive to look at.
"Shuck down boy and let me have a look at you."
The boy did and Gabriel felt a tingle in his groin. He walked up to the boy and stroked him, made him bend and spread his legs before licking a finger and just easing it over his sphincter. The boy didn't move. Stood again and Gabriel took hold of his cock and balls, played with them for a minute and watched the cock come to an erection. At the same time Gabriel's did as well.
`Oh, God, I hope the boy is good at his job, I want him in my bed.' was Gabriel's thought.
"He looks healthy enough, Mr. Symes, could be a good stud for breeding. What's his name and his history?"
Symes blushed. "His name is Fernando, Sir. He is being sold because he is no good as a breeder, he only gets erections for other boys."
Gabriel had never heard of a black that was like him and he could hardly cover his joy.
"Well, Fernando, you`d better get dressed and show me that you love horses as well as boys."
Symes was amazed and both were pleased.
At the stables, Gabriel told Isaiah that this boy was to have a freehand with the horses for half an hour. He watched as the boy checked all over the horses in the paddock, not making them nervous, the reverse in fact, they were all calmer when he was inspecting them than they were normally. Gabriel listened to him as he talked gently to them. They were like putty in his hands.
"What do you think, Isaiah?"
"The boy is a natural, Sir. I know there are four shoes to be replaced, let's see if he picks them up."
Fernando came back to the three men and spoke to Gabriel.
"Four shoes need replacing, Master, and the brown mare is pregnant."
Gabriel was amazed, "Did you know that Isaiah?"
Isaiah looked embarrassed, "No, Master, I'm sorry"
Gabriel put an arm around the older man's shoulder, "Don't worry about it, I'm sure you would have found out soon. Would you like Fernando to come and work for you?"
"Yes, Mr. Gabriel, I think I would."
"Good, take him down to the village, bathe him and get him new clothes from the store, find him a bed in the bachelor house and then bring him back to the house for me. If Mr. Symes and I have reached a satisfactory conclusion to our business he'll be yours, if not well, we'll just have to keep looking."
Mr. Symes had heard that the new owner of Gabriel's hope was liberal with his treatment of slaves but seeing him treat the stableman so easily really surprised him. The surprise increased when they entered the main house again and Gabriel took the shoulder of his major domo and said.
"You'll need to keep an eye on our new farrier, Blaine, when he sees what you are packing he'll want to be between your legs all day."
Master and slave laughed conspiratorially before once again the study became the centre of their world.
"I don't want to get into a barter with you Mr. Symes, just give me your bottom line and I'll tell you if I want it. I don't suppose many owners will be interested in a stud that isn't."
"No, Mr. Sinclair, I'll have difficulty shifting him as anything other than a field hand I expect, farriers aren't in much demand at the moment. I would be happy at $500 more than a field hand, Sir, considering his skills."
"I think that is fair, Mr. Symes. I can pay you that in cash now if you have the paperwork."
Business concluded and Symes felt he had to say something more.
"You're very young to be a plantation owner, Mr. Sinclair, but it has been a pleasure to do business with a gentleman. If you ever need my services again, Sir, I will be delighted to help if I can."
Gabriel was pleased, he might well call on that word sometime.
Symes got up to leave as the door opened and Blaine brought Fernando in.
"Show Mr. Symes out Blaine, and I'll call you when I want you to collect Fernando."
Fernando looked a little nervous.
"Relax Boy, you and I are going to have lots of fun when you aren't working, starting now. I want you to shuck down again and sit in that chair."
"That's marvellous, Fernando. After supper tonight I want you to come to the house and ask for Blaine, he will show you to my bedroom. You are to bathe thoroughly again making very sure your groin and anus are clean, I want my tongue to enjoy them."
Fernando almost bounced out of the house, and Gabriel went about his work with a huge anticipatory grin on his face.