“Lord Verbury cannot be pleased that you wish to bring a black woman into the house. It is not the done thing in Antigua. It will reflect poorly on you and, by extension, on Mr. Frank.”
Jane gaped. She reached for something to say, but could only stare at Louisa with her brown skin, and Zeus who was lighter, but no less brown. Jane tried again, aware that her mouth was opening and closing around half-formed responses. Finding her voice, she finally chose, “It does not seem that we have any scarcity of blacks in the house.”
Louisa’s eyes snapped up, meeting Jane’s gaze. She so rarely made eye contact with Jane that the moment astonished her, in part because Louisa’s anger was very clear. Then she looked at the ground again, masking the anger with submission. “Madam is under a misapprehension. We have only mulattos in the house. Blacks are not suitable for anything other than field work. I am certain that you will find that Mr. Frank agrees with this determination. He does not wish you to bring Nkiruka to the big house either, but is too gentle to explain the circumstances to you.”
This was beyond Jane’s understanding. At no point in their dealings with the Worshipful Company of Coldmongers did she notice any difference in the way the variations in their skin tone affected their ability to be employed in using glamour to create cold.… Her thoughts tripped over themselves. No. That was not quite true, was it? The leaders of the group did tend to have lighter skin than not. How had she not noticed that at the time? Or here. She had been all too aware of the number of Hamilton offspring and what that must mean about Lord Verbury’s relations with the slaves, but she had not recognised that all of the house servants were mulattos or quadroons. The nicer houses, the better clothes, the better positions … no wonder Vincent thought that Verbury could command loyalty among the house slaves when being his child here had clear advantages.
And that difference made securing Nkiruka’s aid all the more important, because she would have no cause to be loyal to Lord Verbury. Jane took a breath, wetting her lips. “Thank you for your counsel, Louisa. As Frank did not make an objection on that point and did on others, I am satisfied that if it had been a concern, he would have mentioned it. We are not likely to entertain, and even if we did, she will not be serving at table.”
“But you must understand that—”
“I assure you that I do.” Jane resettled her basket on her arm. “My decision is made.”
Louisa turned her face forward again so the deep brim of her bonnet hid her face, but her hands were tight on the handle of her basket. “Yes, madam.”
They said nothing else for the rest of the walk. When they arrived at the collection of wattle and daub houses, their reception was quite different from the previous excursion. Upon spying the giant parasol, the children came running up the road to meet them. Apparently, the memory of candied ginger was enough to make them lose some of their shyness—at least, of Louisa and Zeus. Around Jane, there remained a sphere empty of activity, filled only with the darting glances of the children. Louisa’s left hand had been claimed by the little girl with the braids. Zeus had two of the older boys vying for the privilege of carrying the big parasol. Jane had only stares.
She tried to smile assurance at the children, but even her most polite “Good afternoon” met with only giggles. When they reached the dirt yard, Nkiruka and the other old woman were sitting on a bench in the shade of one of the sheds. The old man seemed to have moved not at all, and his gentle snores were still occasionally audible over the children’s babble.
Jane turned to Zeus. “I am going to talk with Nkiruka in the shade, so I shall not need you. Please feel free to carry on any instruction you like in the finer points of parasol carrying.”
“Thank you, madam.” When he stepped away, his language changed, taking on the broad vowels and soft consonants of the children. “Here, now. Who wan hol’ it, eh?”
Louisa stayed by Jane’s side. The likelihood of her spying for Lord Verbury would complicate any of the conversations that Jane planned on having. Putting on a smile with the practised ease she had acquired as a spinster while watching others dance at balls, Jane said, “I do not require any assistance, and I believe your new friends may like the treats you brought. Please be at your ease.”