A Simple Deception

XXXVI

"Madame, please allow me to introduce my brother, Adam Beresford," Susanna then introduced after a moment, her French still a little shaky as nerves filled her throat.

Adam's French was clearly not as proficient as his sister's, seeing as his ears only pricked up after hearing his name. "Enchante," he managed to say, bowing his head respectfully, his greeting perhaps the beginning and ending of his knowledge of the French language.

But the bow near floored his mother, as much as it shocked Alex to see. Alex, of course, knew that the duke was a reasonable, decent man. He would not have accompanied his sister on such a voyage otherwise. But he was still a well-bred, rich, titled white man ... and he had just bowed respectfully to a black woman.

Amélie's grip tightened on Alex's arm as she stared at Adam, and Alex watched as an expression of worried apprehension appeared on Adam's face.

"Did I do something to offend her?" Adam asked Alex in English. "Please offer her my most sincere apologies."

"You bowed to her," replied Alex simply. "I can personally guarantee you that no white man has ever showed such a marker of respect to a gens de couleur libres before. Ever."

Alex then saw another expression that he did not think that he had ever seen on the face of a white man before, and that was shame. Adam's face was filled with it.

Alex couldn't quite describe what it felt like to witness something like that. It wasn't justice. No. He did not seek justice from a man who had not wronged him. It felt more like hope, which had indeed been a scarcity in Alex's life. If one man could feel shame for what had happened here, then so could another, and another after that.

One day, Alex willed, things would be very different.

***

They did not spend another night on the plantation.

Amélie gathered the few possessions she had and as a party of six, they began to make the journey back down the mountainous road towards the city of Port-au-Prince, and their way off of the island. Belle was still weak, and could not walk without pain, and so Alex carried her on his back.

Still very underweight, Belle was not at all burdensome to carry.

The rowboat that the captain, Adam and Susanna had travelled to the island in was still on the beach, covered in fallen foliage and driftwood. Together, they pulled the boat down from the beach and into the shallow water before they all climbed on board. Captain Whitfield's ship was waiting for them about a mile offshore, and Alex had never before been more excited to see a merchant ship in his life.

And then they were away, leaving Haiti, and the memories of what was once Saint-Domingue, behind them.

Alex felt something heavy lift from his chest as they sailed through the Caribbean Sea. Perhaps it was because he had never seen the beauty of the Caribbean as a free man before. He might have thought that he was free, but he really wasn't until now. No man controlled his destiny but him anymore, and his choices were his own. It was a responsibility he took very seriously, and he was not about to waste the second chance that he had been gifted.

Naturally, all of his thoughts surrounding the concept of his destiny fell upon Susanna. They were returning to England now. He would need to start thinking about making an honest living. If Alex was to convince Susanna's brother to allow him her hand, then he would need to prove that he could support her. But what could he do when he could not even wield a pen?

Belle was exactly like Alex in that respect. As was his mother. They all had been denied any sort of education. What need did slaves have for books and learning? Illiteracy was rampant.