It is as though the babies vanish as completely as their mothers." Dinina felt nausea rising. She thought about Rachel and Margaret and the unnamed woman before them. Thought about seven women over 10 years. Thought about seven babies who had simply disappeared.
What kind of monster does this? Sarah closed the journal. A monster protected by law. Thornton Graves is wealthy, respected in certain circles, a member of the Savannah Planters Association.
He pays his taxes, attends church, contributes to civic projects, and because he is wealthy and white and male, no one questions him when enslaved women on his property disappear. The law assumes he has the right to dispose of his property however he sees fit. But Jacob stopped him. Dinina said, "Jacob prevented Graves from buying me." "Yes, and in doing so, he marked both of you as targets.
Graves will want to know who Jacob is, why he interfered, what his interest in you could possibly be. And when Graves starts investigating, he will eventually discover that Jacob works with the Underground Railroad. At that point, both your lives will be in immediate danger. "Then we need to leave tonight," Dinina said, her voice rising.
"We need to run before Graves finds us." Sarah shook her head. Running is exactly what Graves expects. He will have men watching the roads, checking passes, questioning anyone who looks suspicious. A white man traveling with a pregnant black woman that will attract attention immediately.
We cannot stay here indefinitely. Hannah added, "This cabin is safe for now, but it is not invisible. People know about this place. Not many, but enough.
If Graves starts asking questions in the right communities, eventually someone will talk. "So what do we do?" Dinina asked. "We wait for Jacob to return." Sarah said, "He is working on something.
A plan that will get you north safely, but it requires time and coordination. Until then, you rest, you eat, you take care of yourself and that baby. Because once you start moving, there will be no stopping, no safety, just constant travel until you cross into free territory. And if we are caught, if you are caught, you will be returned to Elias Cartwright and he will ensure you never have another opportunity to escape.
If Jacob is caught, he will be tried for theft and conspiracy, and he will hang. Those are the stakes. That is what we are risking. Dinina absorbed this information, the full weight of what these people were attempting on her behalf.
They were risking everything, freedom, safety, their lives to help someone they barely knew. Why? Dinina asked. Why would you do this?
Why would Jacob spend $1,200? Why would you hide me here? Why would any of you risk so much for me? Sarah reached across the table and took Dinina's hand. because it is right.
Because the system that allows men like Elias Cartwright and Thornton Graves to exist is evil. And because if we do not resist, if we do not fight in whatever small ways we can, then we are complicit in that evil. You are not the first person we have helped, and you will not be the last. This cabin has sheltered dozens of fugitives over the years.
People escaping, people heading north, people seeking freedom. It is dangerous work, but it is necessary work. Dinina spent three days in Sarah's cabin. Three days of relative peace that felt surreal given everything that had preceded them.
She ate meals prepared with care, slept in a real bed, felt the baby move inside her with increasing strength. Sarah and Hannah treated her with kindness that seemed almost incomprehensible. Kindness without expectation of service or submission. kindness offered simply because they believed she deserved it.
On the morning of the fourth day, Jacob Marsh returned. He arrived just after dawn, his horse lathered with sweat, his face drawn with exhaustion. He had been riding through the night. And when he entered the cabin, Sarah immediately knew something had changed.
"What happened?" Sarah asked. "Graves knows," Marsh said. He sat heavily in one of the chairs, accepted the cup of water Hannah offered him.
He knows I am not who I claim to be. He has been asking questions all over Savannah, showing my description to people, offering money for information. How much does he know? Hannah asked.
Enough to be dangerous. He knows I paid cash for Dinina, which suggests resources beyond what a normal traveler would carry. He knows I left Savannah immediately after the auction, which suggests I did not actually need domestic help for business in the city, and he has discovered that no one named Jacob Marsh has registered at any hotel or boarding house in Savannah, which suggests the name is false. Is it?
Dinina asked. Is Jacob Marsh your real name? Marsh looked at her for a long moment, then he shook his head. No, my real name is Jacob Brennan.
I am originally from Pennsylvania and for the past 6 years I have been working with an organization dedicated to helping enslaved people reach freedom. We operate across multiple states using false identities, safe houses, and carefully planned routes to move people north. I came to Savannah specifically because we received information about you, about what Elias Cartwright was planning, about Thornton Graves' pattern of acquiring and murdering pregnant women. How did you receive that information?
Dinina asked from Bethy, the woman who worked in Cartwright's household. She has been connected to our network for over a decade. when she learned Elias was sending you to Savannah. When she discovered the auction was arranged specifically to deliver you to graves. She sent an urgent message through channels we have established.
She asked us to intervene to save you if possible. And you came. Dinina said, "You spent $1,200. You risked everything for someone you had never met." Brennan's expression was difficult to read.
I came because what Graves does, what he has been doing for years, represents evil beyond even the considerable evil of slavery itself. The system allows him to torture and murder women with complete impunity. If we do nothing, he will continue. If we save you, we save not just your life, but potentially the lives of future women he would have targeted.
It is not charity, Dinina. It is resistance. Sarah moved to the window looking out at the forest. If Graves knows who you are, if he knows you work with the railroad, then he will be hunting you actively.
You cannot travel with Dinina. Your presence will make her more visible, more vulnerable. I know, Brennan said. That is why the plan has changed.
Changed how? Dinina asked, feeling cold fear settle in her stomach. You are not taking me north. I am taking you north, but not directly and not alone.
There are people better suited for this than I am. People who know the routes more intimately, who have connections I lack. I am arranging for you to meet a conductor named Thomas Garrett. He operates out of Wilmington, Delaware, and he has successfully guided over 200 people to freedom.
But Wilmington is hundreds of miles from here, Hannah said. How will she reach him? By water, Brennan said. There is a ship leaving Savannah's port in 5 days.