I spent much of the summer at my Aunt Kate’s house She made me suffer through social events and afternoon tea determined to teach me to be a proper lady She felt it was her responsibility I was as she put it a motherless orphan I’m not an orphan at all I’d exclaim louder than a proper lady should I have Father Aunt Kate would sigh Exactly my point Margaret My mother died shortly after I was born so I never knew her Kate my mother’s sister was a wealthy young widow with no children of her own We were a perfect match or so it seemed I loved her I truly did but her constant nagging was tiring Last summer I’d turned thirteen and Aunt Kate was more persistent than ever I spent hours in her drawing room learning to stitch and to curtsy Like a royal lady Kate told me Royal lady I’d spat Soon we shall be free of the British and their royal ways Kate shrugged Dear mercy she said the ideas
your father puts into your head My father held Patriot beliefs but Aunt Kate remained loyal to the British She blamed the Northerners for causing a fuss We are much better off under King George’s rule she often said And she always followed her words with But ladies shouldn’t concern themselves with war My only relief during those summers was my friend William an apprentice at Thornton’s Cabinet Shop William was my age and he never expected me to act like a lady He spoke to me as honest as he would if I were a boy Finally after many grueling months in Charles Town I was home at Belle Oak Plantation My father had taught me the workings of a rice plantation how the rice paddies had to be flooded and then drained Our slave workers fought to keep birds and insects away from the fields during growing season After harvest the female slaves flailed hulled and polished the rice before packing it into barrels for shipping
Perhaps someday I shall grow indigo like Eliza Lucas I told my father dreamily Indigo a plant used to dye cloth blue was becoming a popular crop in the area thanks to Eliza Lucas Pinckney Eliza was only sixteen years old when she took over her father’s rice plantation She started experimenting with other crops until settling on indigo She was bold passionate and intelligent I hoped to someday be just like her My father knew of my admiration for Eliza Lucas Don’t forget she had help he said He meant slaves Eliza relied on the knowledge of slaves who’d once grown indigo in Africa Of course Father I said My father often reminded me to appreciate the slaves who worked our fields and took care of our home Father nudged the horses reins and the wagon lurched forward I must take you home now Maggie But we have been out nary an hour I cried I should love more time to breathe the country air
Tomorrow Maggie Today I have business to attend to I tried not to sulk for I knew it was childish But I couldn’t help but mutter Your business will one day be my business On this matter I pray not Father said darkly I glanced sideways at him to see why he’d become so mysterious What is the business he is referring to I wondered But Father’s face was blank as he stared ahead We left the rice fields and trotted through the thick woods that led to the house Low-hanging cypress branches slapped my face and rather unladylike I slapped them back As I turned to yank another branch I saw a flash of bright color deep in the trees Red The color that made my blood boil The color of the enemy British redcoats Charleston South Carolina was known as Charles Town from its founding in 1680 until the end of the Revolutionary War in 1783 when the city's name was shortened
