Page 52 of Because I Could Not Stop for Death

Mr.Milner shook his head.

“That’s odd,” Emily said and tilted her head. “I thought I heard that Elmer Johnson, the stable owner, was also in the city.”

Mr.Milner paled ever so slightly. “Johnson is here?”

“That is what I heard,” Emily said. “I know my father would like him to be at the dinner party too if he’s here. The last thing my father would want would be for anyone from Amherst to feel like they were unwelcome. If you see him, can you tell him about the dinner party?”

Mr.Milner pulled at the sleeves of his coat. I noted the sleeve was at least an inch too short for his arm. “That is not likely to happen. Now, I must leave. It was nice to see you ladies.” He nodded to us all in turn and then hurried down the sidewalk.

“His reaction was odd,” Miss Lavinia observed.

I thought so too.

Chapter Nineteen

Miss Lavinia and Emily returned to the hotel chattering about all we saw that day. Sitting in the driver’s seat of the carriage on the way back to the Willard on busy streets, Buford turned to me. “You seem deep in thought.”

I smiled at him. “I suppose I am. I’m just taking it all in. It’s a lot to absorb for a girl who had never left her home county before.”

Buford nodded. “I guess if I ever travel to another place, I will do the same.”

“You’ve not traveled either?” I asked.

He cleared his throat. “Being a Black man, it’s not easy for me to travel. It’s easier to stay in a place where everyone already knows my status.”

“But you’re free, aren’t you?” I shook my head as the rudeness of my inquiry rang in my ears. “I’m sorry if that’s the wrong question to ask.”

“It’s not. If you don’t ask, you don’t know. The truth is, I have a set of papers that I carry inside of my coat that prove I’m a freeman. I never leave my home without them for fear I will be asked by someone to see my papers and prove I’m free.”

“Are you stopped often?” I asked.

“No, but I don’t go places where folks don’t know me either. I’m well-known around the city by dignitaries and congressmen as I drive them here and there. They know me, so they don’t ask. I can’t say I’d get the same treatment elsewhere, so I stay put.”

The hotel came into view, and Buford pulled on Betty Sue’s reins to let a group of finely dressed ladies with fringed parasols that matched their store-bought dresses cross the street. They looked like silhouettes in a painting.

I thought of Henry’s friend Jeremiah back in Amherst and wondered if he dealt with the same challenges and fears. I guessed that he must.

Here I was feeling anxious about travel to new places, but at least I could do so without worry that someone would demand to see papers to prove I am who I say I am.

As Betty Sue began to move again, Buford said, “Someday, all that will change. Someday, I won’t have to carry papers next to my heart proving I’m my own man. I just hope I live to see the day.”

“I hope you do too,” I said in a quiet voice.

The carriage pulled up in front of the hotel, and I noticed right away that Austin was marching back and forth in front of the entrance. Buford let the Dickinson sisters out of the carriage, and Miss Lavinia gathered up all their packages from shopping that afternoon.

She turned to her brother. “Austin, why are you bouncing about like you have a bee in your trousers?”

He glowered at his sister. “Because our father was here between sessions and meetings. He is wondering where his daughters are. He wasn’t pleased when I said I didn’t know when you would return.”

Emily tilted her head. “And whose fault is that, Brother? When we left, you were nowhere to be found in the hotel, and Mother was fast asleep. Should we have awakened her after all the travel and told her our plans? You knew we had the carriage for the day.”

Austin frowned. “Let’s not argue any more about it now. Father and Mother are in the dining room planning the party for the end of this week. They would like your input.”

“Oh,” Miss Lavinia said. “Why didn’t you say so? I would love to help plan the party.”

Emily looked askance at the idea.

I took the packages from Miss Lavinia’s arms and waved to Buford before I followed them into the hotel.

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