Chapter 244 - New Contact (1/2)
Of late, a dark cloud had been hanging over the heads of Terrance Manor’s residents.
Leah was in the kitchen, making Malcolm his breakfast when she subconsciously glanced at an empty corner. Just three weeks ago, a familiar face had stood there. She last saw Nadya when he got dragged out of the kitchen by the supervisor after he was reported.
By the time she saw him again, he had already been whipped to oblivion. The supervisor lifted the mangled Nadya and dragged him out of the house. Leah’s heart dropped as she trembled with fear at the awful sight of the now unrecognizable man. Thankfully she managed to put up a calm front.
The constant anxiety she had been subjected to caused her to have vivid and revolting nightmares each night. She started dreaming that the supervisors had come to get her too.
During that trying period, everyone who had been in contact with Nadya was brought in for questioning. Many didn’t make it back, and yet, she had somehow escaped it by serving Malcolm breakfast each day. As a result, no one thought of approaching her so far.
Ever since she was sold to Terrance Manor, Malcolm saw her in a different light. The same went for the other members of the household, who unexpectedly treated her with the utmost respect. Leah was certain, though, that this special treatment wasn’t because of how important she was. Once she lost this “viewed-in-a different-light” status, she would be demoted to the fate of the other slaves in the manor; their survival at the mercy of Malcolm’s whimsical temper. Despite the confusion and the mess in it all, she saw the whole situation crystal clear.
After Nadya’s apprehension, Laeli’s lifeline to the Terrance Manor was severed, turning communications into a daunting task. With tensions running high, the slaves were strictly prohibited from contacting outsiders. They went as far as to replace those tasked to buy food with the supervisors.
Seeing how challenging the situation had become, Laeli put in extra effort to look for a new messenger. Who he found happened not to be a black slave but a missionary who would come to preach at the manor every day. He hailed from the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. (Founded by Thomas Bray in 1701, it was approved by the British Royal Family to preach the gospel to Native Americans, blacks, and whites, albeit with limited success.)
Laeli attempted to bribe the priest with the gold coins Zhang Heng gave him, hoping that he could pa.s.s his words on to Leah. To protect Leah, he told the priest not to talk to her directly, but instead, to a girl from his tribe. This girl would pa.s.s his words to Leah after that.
So, as it was, Laeli was set to leave the place in two days. On that day, Leah was supposed to clean Malcolm’s study. This time, she was asked to slip Normand and Redmond’s letters out of the manor. By choosing this day, Laeli could lower Leah’s risks when she stole the letters. All she needed to do was to hold out until the night, and she would be able to leave the manor. A day before the plan’s execution, Laeli asked the clergy to smuggle in a pile of daggers, guns, and weapons into Terrance Manor.
Unsurprisingly, the straight-as-a-fiddle priest rejected him. Initially, he sympathized with the slaves and yearned to earn a quick buck as well. Never in his mind did it occur to him that Laeli would blow the whole thing out of proportion. The moment he caught sight of the weapons, he was terrified to death.
It was too late for Laeli to step back right now. He had no idea how long Nadya would last inside the manor. He wanted to wait no longer, seeing that he had run out of time to look for a new insider. Once he missed this window of opportunity, he would need to wait another week before he could act again.
In an attempt of encouragement, Laeli kidnapped the priest’s brother after apologizing, intending to use him as a means of leverage. Unbeknownst to the priest, his sympathy would eventually put his life at risk. Suddenly, he realized that Laeli wasn’t the simple man he thought he was. He was a dangerous wild beast that would do anything it took to achieve his goals. Besides, blacks like Laeli were naturally hostile towards the whites since they enslaved them for centuries. It drove him harder to save his people from the manor even if he was to pa.s.s the gates of h.e.l.l and diminished all thought of the consequences that his actions might bring.