A Lighter Shade of Dark

When the older brother, David, brought his new bride back to the small farmhouse in Topsfield, Massachusetts, his younger brother, Nathan, found himself ousted from their shared bedroom. Upset with having to sleep under the stairwell, he abruptly left on a four year whaling voyage. Nate returned home only to find a burned out home, dead parents and his brother gone. The year was 1850.

The post office had held a letter for him postmarked from South Carolina. It informed him that the brothers had jointly inherited a cotton plantation, along with 100 enslaved people. David and his twin sons had already moved South, and Nate decided to join them.

Owning other human beings was not to his liking, and it led to conflict with David. After an argument with, Nate took off on his spirited horse. An inexperienced rider at best, he did not successfully negotiate jumping over a fence. He awoke in his bed with one leg suspended by wires and the news that it was broken in three places.

Feeling partly responsible, David purchased, sight unseen, a new slave to be Nate's personal nurse. Kate was a lovely nineteen-year-old whose skin was so light that she easily passed for white. When David saw her, he regretted giving her to Nate, but consoled himself that he still owned half of her.

During the convalescence, the couple fell in love. During that same time period, David fell in lust, and he demanded that since he owned half of her, she should spend half of her nights in his bed. Antebellum laws did not permit any mixed race marriages, so the two lovers planned an escape to New Hampshire.

They landed in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and started a small business, but they still couldn't find the safety they needed. Southern justice used the Fugitive Slave Act as a tool to pursue escaped slaves North, and if found, to return them to their "owners". David recruited his cruel overseer, Jack, to make the pursuit. The attempted rape and kidnapping of Kate was thwarted, and Jack ended up in a cold and watery grave.

The couple decided to marry, but stumbled over the marriage license. One question on the form asked the bride and groom to identify their race. Kate had experienced a kind of racism she had never expected. She found Northerners opposed to slavery, but unaccepting of blacks as people. They put off the wedding, but not until after harsh words.

Left behind in South Carolina after the Civil War were Nate's brother, nephews, and a few slaves that had helped them escape. He decided to head back to South Carolina to see if he could help.

The war torn landscape that began in Virginia and ended in Florida slowed Nate's travel to a snail's pace. His unease grew as he neared his old plantation, Sable Oaks.

He saw that General Sherman's path of destruction included his plantation. People who had been caught in its swath were now homeless, penniless, and close to starvation. His brother had escaped death during the war and had somehow become the county commissioner for the Yankees. Nate found his nephews, both of whom had served the Confederacy, but were now suffering from war's wounds. He was able to help what was left of his family, and started his long trip back to New Hampshire.

The journey had taken him away from home for several months and his return was slow. The time away from Kate, however, had reestablished his love for her. He was unaware that she was pregnant when he left and had no clue about the surprise waiting for him.

Author: Kenneth Macauley

Publisher: Independently Published

Publication Date: May 20, 2022

Number of Pages: 238 pages

Binding: Paperback or Softback

ISBN-10: NA

ISBN-13: 9798818848068