A Free Heart Read Online Free Page B

first. He never understood the close connection I felt to Jane and to Sam. He found it shameful. He had let his slaves go at the end of the war, but only because he had to.”
    “Are you going to write to your parents and tell them where you are?”
    Harriet nodded. “I will, after a bit. I want to see Jane first, now that I know where she is. I’m afraid my father would come charging up here and drag me back home quicker than I could spit if he knew where I was, and I can’t go home until I’ve done what I came here to do.” She wiped her eyes and stood up. “Let’s go help with that laundry. I don’t want the entire burden to fall on Abigail and Jeanette.”
    Elizabeth stood too, and wrapped her arms around Harriet’s shoulders. “I’m so sorry for all you’ve been through. Thank you for sharing it with me—I’ll keep your confidence.”
    “Thank you. I’ll go work out my angst on some tablecloths, and all will be well.” Harriet followed Elizabeth down the stairs, a plan forming in the back of her mind.
    * * *
    Tom White had traveled around the area quite extensively, and Harriet figured he must be good for something. No creature was completely without a function or God wouldn’t have created them. After the last bit of linen was hung to dry—Harriet’s two spare dresses dangling near them—she crossed the lawn and approached Tom where he worked on repairing a bit of sagging fence next to the barn.
    “Mr. White,” she called out. “We’re done with the laundry.”
    “Thanks for letting me know. I’ll come put out the fire.” He took off his hat and ran his arm across his forehead, making his straw-colored hair stick up. “Was there something else I can do for you, Miss Martin? You’re looking at me all expectant like.”
    Harriet nodded. “You’re rather well traveled, Mr. White. Have you ever been to Salina?”
    “I have. I was there for a bit before I came here. Nice place, good folks. Why are you interested in Salina, Miss Martin?”
    “I have a friend out there I wish to go visit. How far is it from here?”He scratched his head, then replaced his hat. “It’s a little over a hundred miles, I’d say.”
    “That far?” Harriet shook her head. “I meant to ask Mr. Brody for some time off so I could pay this visit, but I can’t imagine he could spare me for long.”
    “It is a fair piece, but not impossible. A few days to come and go by train should do it, and however long you want to stay there, of course. I’d be more than happy to escort you, if you could stand my company.”
    Harriet put her hands on her hips. “Escort me? As though I need escorting? Need I remind you that I traveled all the way from Atlanta to this very hotel, by myself, without an escort, and managed it quite well?”
    “Miss Martin, the South is a rather genteel place, and all the areas around here are nice and civilized. The farther west you go from here, though, the rougher it gets. You’ve got down-to-earth railroad men far away from home who’ve probably never seen anything as pretty as you before, and they’re liable to lose their heads and say something inappropriate. I wouldn’t feel right about sending you out that way by yourself.”
    “And you think I’d be safer with you? I hardly think so, Mr. White.”
    He took a step toward her. “I think it’s time for you and me to get something straight, Miss Martin. Yes, I made a foolish mistake the day we met, and my ma would have turned me over her knee for it. But there’s not a dishonorable bone in my body. It’s true that I’ve never sat down to have tea in a fancy parlor wearing one of those tall hats like Mr. Brody wears when he’s aiming to impress someone, but I’m a gentleman at heart, and if you’d care to take a look at me sometime, a real look, you’d see that for yourself. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a fire to put out, and I believe I just heard the train whistle. Good day, Miss Martin.”
    Tom moved off toward the