Candle in the Darkness - Lynn N. Austin [191]
“I ran out of gold a long time ago, Daddy. It went fast, with flour costing five hundred dollars a barrel.”
“Well, here. Maybe this will help.” He removed his jacket and handed it to Caroline.
“This jacket weighs a ton.”
“I know. It’s a wonder I didn’t sink to the bottom of the harbor when those blasted Yankees sank my boat. I sewed my gold inside the seams so it would be safe. For goodness’ sake, rip it out and buy me something to eat. I’m starved.”
“That’s music to my ears,” Esther said.
“You mean . . . we’re not broke?” Caroline asked.
“Heavens, no. I told you I made a fortune as a privateer. I just wasn’t able to get it all home safely during the war.We have plenty of gold and even some U.S. Treasury notes hidden away down in the islands. I plan to go collect it all, first chance I get. I could use someone to go with me, but I don’t suppose Jonathan or Charles will want to leave home anytime soon.”
Caroline couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across her face. “I know someone who would love to go with you, Daddy.”
“Who?”
“Gilbert.”
Her father looked at Caroline, then at Gilbert, as if they were both out of their minds. “Go ahead, Daddy,” she said. “Ask him.”
“I’d be mighty pleased to go with you, Massa Fletcher,” Gilbert said before her father could open his mouth. “I been hoping you’d ask me someday.”
“Well, I’ll be darned,” he said. He looked around at all of them in amazement, then noticed the walls of the foyer for the first time. “Good heavens!” he cried as he stared at the ragged patches of bare plaster where the wallpaper had been. “What on earth have you done to my house?”
Chapter Twenty-seven
June 1865
“Some of these books are going to be easier for my students to read than others,” Caroline told Ruby as she handed her another pile.
“Easy or hard, they could all use a good dusting,” Ruby grumbled.
Caroline had attended worship services with Eli at his African Baptist Church, where he’d announced to his congregation that she was willing to teach classes to anyone who wanted to learn to read and write. Hundreds of former slaves had hurried forward to sign up. Now she was working in her father’s library, putting his books in order and making a list of the titles she could use with her students.
When the front door chimes suddenly rang, Ruby set her armload of books on the desk. “Who’s pestering us now?”
“If it’s someone who wants to sign up for classes, send him in,” she called after Ruby. Then she realized that all of her potential students were former slaves who would never dream of coming to her front door. She listened for a moment to see if she could recognize the person’s voice. Instead, she heard Ruby shouting in anger.
“You get on out of here! Ain’t no Yankees welcome in this house! Go away!”
Caroline jumped down from the chair she was standing on and ran to the foyer. Ruby was trying to close the door on a man in a Federal uniform. The officer had his foot wedged inside, preventing it from shutting.
“Wait a minute, please,” the Yankee begged. “It’s me, Robert Hoffman.”
Caroline froze in shock at the name, then stared in disbelief. She recognized him now. Robert had gained back the weight he’d lost in Libby Prison, and he looked surprisingly handsome in his navy blue uniform, his black hair and mustache neatly groomed, his brass buttons and belt buckle shiny, his boots polished. She couldn’t believe her eyes. For the first time in his life, Robert looked every inch the army officer he’d always longed to be.
“Go away!” Ruby said, pushing hard against the door. “You gonna get Miss Caroline and the rest of us in trouble waltzing up to the front door in that uniform. You the enemy! Get on out of here!”
“Caroline, it’s me,” Robert shouted when he saw her. “What’s wrong with Ruby? She’s acting like I’m a stranger. Please, tell her to let me in.”
“No. She’s right, Robert. You have to go away. You’re putting me in danger.”
“What are you talking about? I would never—”
“There are rumors all over town that I betrayed the Confederacy.