Conquistadora - Esmeralda Santiago [68]
Yes, she was young, only twenty, but she had to correct her on the second point. “I’m not lonely. There’s much to do, and I like being alone.” The woman backed away, offended.
Ramón walked among the guests carrying Miguel, introducing him to the neighbors, who didn’t know that a child had been born in the hacienda. Some of the women had written when Ana first arrived at Los Gemelos, but she didn’t respond to their welcome notes. They stood in groups now, and even when they sat with her to pray, they seemed to belong to one another, while she was apart, stubbornly unwilling to let them into her life or insert herself into theirs. She was relieved when, by the fourth day, the flow of visitors stopped and she and Ramón were alone again.
But the fear returned. At Luis and Faustina’s suggestion, Ramón insisted that he, Ana, and Miguel lock themselves in at night, the rifle loaded and ready by the bed. Having it so close made her more nervous, and after a few sleepless nights, she told him to put it away.
She resumed her chores, but she was tense. She always carried the small knife Beba had given her years ago. It was a tool for cutting stems, for slicing branches, for grafting, for peeling fruit. She didn’t want this useful tool to become a weapon, especially not against the men and women who helped her in her gardens and orchards. Arming herself against them scared her more than pretending to be confident and unafraid.
Slaves weren’t allowed to look at blancos directly, and their sideways glances made them seem furtive and evasive. Severo had trained them to keep their hands clasped in front when talking to a blanco, and Ana was grateful, because whenever she approached, they dropped their tools if they were working and showed their hands. She mirrored the posture. They stood before each other, mistress and slave, no less than three paces separating them, the ground between them vast as the ocean.
Severo returned six days later as dusk was falling. His clothes were ragged and stained; his face was covered with golden stubble. He removed the whip from his shoulder and carried it, still coiled, to the porch, where Ana and Ramón waited. When Ramón pointed to the bench where he should sit, Severo placed the whip at his feet, where it lay like an expectant serpent.
“Forgive my appearance,” he said. “I thought you’d want to know right away. Those demonios were caught and punished.”
“How?” Ramón asked.
Severo looked at Ana, then at Ramón. “They were hiding in caves,” he said, “with the other three cimarrones who ran away from here before you came.”
Ramón thought that Severo wasn’t about to give more details with Ana present. He stood. “You must be tired and hungry. We can talk more tomorrow.”
“Gracias, señor.” Severo gathered his whip. “Good night, señora.” He bowed.
She didn’t want him to leave. He was unkempt and unwashed; his face drawn, he looked exhausted. Ramón had mentioned that Severo lived with a woman on land he owned close to town, but neither brother had met her, and Ana thought that she was far from his thoughts right now. As he bowed in her direction, his eyes lowered yet seeking hers, she knew that he was waiting for a word from her. He wanted confirmation of what they both knew: he went after the runaway slaves to impress her, not to avenge Inocente.
“I’m grateful to you,” she said, stretching her hand toward him, “for bringing justice to the men who did this terrible wrong to my brother-in-law and to Pepe.”
He seemed startled to have her hand within reach. He wiped his palm on his trousers, then took her fingertips in his and kissed them. “It’s my honor, señora,” he said. Following her example, Ramón, too, gave Severo his hand.
“We will not forget this,” Ramón said.
The next day, Ramón went to a notary in Guares and drafted a document deeding Severo Fuentes five cuerdas on the new finca by the river.
DESESPERADO
Severo knew the land, every curve of it, each hill and its eventual valley, the sandy patches where the river overflowed during the rainy season, the dry, rocky slopes where only