Good as her word, William was undisturbed the following evenings as he read in the parlor. The noises coming from the hall sometimes gave him pause, trying to imagine what might be going on behind the doors, but almost always, he returned to the words on the page, the science and religion he could find in them.
He’d never read the bible
before. He expected it to be painfully difficult, but it was surprisingly
simple. It contradicted itself over and over again, making him wonder if the
pastors were ever as confused as he was. The books on nature, which he expected
to be simple, were very complex, requiring he consult the gigantic dictionary
that rested on a reading stand in the parlor and was the main reason he read
there. When he was first introduced to books, he assumed the tome was the
bible. In a way, it had become one. His library of words.
He gave up on sciences after a
time. He could understand the basics, how plants and animals procreated, life
cycles, food cycles, those were easy to understand, but when it extended to air
currents and weather or the pull of the earth, he was hopelessly lost.
“William?” Lynn asked, poking her head in the parlor. “I
didn’t expect you to stay in tonight. Isn’t there a shindig down the road?”
There was a party at a farm.
The master was on a trip out of town and the mistress was visiting a friend in
town, leaving the slaves unoccupied for an evening. Will had heard about it,
but hadn’t really considered going.
“Wouldn’t you like to go? Meet
a nice girl?”
He shrugged. “What do I want
one for?”
He pulled his arm back. “No.
Women are only for fucking and beating.” He turned back to his book.
“You think I’m only good for
fucking or beating?” she asked, moving to perch on the arm of his chair.
“Of course not,” he said with a
smirk. “You’re a white lady. You are for men to carry on their arm, to make
babies and run households.”
He dropped his book in alarm.
“No.” He said, shaking a little. What was she asking? That was mad. He could
never...fuck a white lady. “No, I don’t want to make any more slaves,” he said,
imagining that was what she meant.
She nodded solemnly. “I can
certainly understand that.” She ran her hand through Will’s short cut black
curls. Terrance took a razor to his head once a month, so the coarse nap never
had much length. “We worry about you, William. Are you happy here?”
He looked into the vampire’s
glowing amber eyes. It was one of the few outward signs that they were
different, their gemstone eyes. They seemed to shatter light, collect it in a
glow. “Why should it matter?”
“And who would keep your
house?” he asked. “You?”
“Why would you do that when you
can have a slave?” It didn’t make sense.
“We...we aren’t comfortable
with humans living here, William. You know what we are by now, don’t you?”
“You’re vampires.”
“You haven’t told anyone, have
you?”
He snorted. “Who would believe
a slave boy? No, I have told no one. I haven’t seen any dead bodies or had to
clean more than splatters of blood. What business is it of mine?”
“None, I suppose, but you can
see why we might worry.”
“I’m not worried,” he said
shrugging. “You seem to get your blood from your...clients.” He used the word
with derision. He still couldn’t comprehend what exactly went on in the house.
“Thank you, Ma’am. I think I’ll
read some more.”
Lynn straightened and turned back again.
“Because although your happiness might not matter to you, it does to us. We
want you to be happy, Will.” She put her hands on his cheeks and pulled him
toward her for a quick peck.Lynn ’s head turned to look toward the front
entry. “Henry is here. Excuse me, Will.”
She smiled broadly. “We’ve
expanded our library for you. I’m glad you enjoy it.”
He dropped the book a second
time. “You bought them for me?”
She nodded, still smiling.
“Yes. We are interested in some topics, but don’t usually buy books. Are there
any you particularly fancy?” She rose from her perch and went to the small
shelf.
“All of them,” he said, still
lost in a fog of disbelief. “Why would you buy books for your slave?”
Will didn’t open his book
again, looking at it in wonder. Perhaps there was more to this than he had
imagined.
More tasters on the blog.
