Free Freedom's Price by Michaela MacColl

lady.”
    â€œNo one is that kind,” Eliza protested.
    Pa lifted his shoulders in a shrug. “I asked her to sign a bond when we filed our case. She said yes, but then did even more. She hired Mr. Hall to be our lawyer. But it would embarrass Miss Charlotte if people knew. Her friends would think she’d followed her husband’s politics.”
    Ma beckoned them to come get their food. Eliza jumped to her feet, her stomach making a rumbling noise. She gave Pa her hand.
    â€œThese old bones are getting stiff,” he complained.
    â€œYou’re not old,” she said. “I’ll get Lizzie washed up.”
    As Eliza and Lizzie pumped water into the washbasin by the back door, Mrs. Martin passed them on her way to the stairs. A doctor in a black coat followed behind. Eliza watched them go, wondering and worrying.
    â€œEliza! Stop!” Lizzie shouted.
    Startled, Eliza looked down to see the water overflowing the basin. “Sorry, Lizzie.”
    At dinner, Eliza and Lizzie lined up behind the trustees and their parents to pile their plates high with beans andearly collard greens flavored with some pork back fat. As she ate, Eliza kept an eye on the door, but there was no sign of the doctor. When Ma’s back was turned, Eliza licked her bowl clean. Lizzie gave the leftover sauce in her bowl to the tomcat.
    After dinner, Eliza did the washing up with Lizzie’s help. Ma and Pa sat at the table talking with Mrs. George. Their faces were somber, and Eliza guessed they were discussing Lucy.
    â€œDred,” Mrs. Martin interrupted, “will you come to the infirmary?”
    Ma’s and Pa’s eyes met. The biscuits in Eliza’s stomach turned to rocks. What had the doctor said? Was Lucy in the infirmary now? And why Pa?
    â€œI’ll be glad to,” Pa replied. Pa handed Eliza his empty bowl and spoon to put in the soapy water and disappeared down the hall with Mrs. Martin.
    Usually Ma preened a bit when Pa was asked for his medical advice, as though it made her family more important. But tonight she looked worried.
    â€œWhy does she need Dred?” Mrs. George asked.
    Ma’s gaze was fixed on the door and she didn’t answer.
    â€œMa, what’s happening?” Eliza asked.
    â€œNothing for you to concern yourself with.”
    Her lips pressed together to keep from arguing with Ma, Eliza scrubbed the pots hard enough to make them shine.
    A short time later Pa came back. He had to steady himself on the end of the table. Ma put her hand over his. “What is it, Dred?” she asked.
    He whispered in her ear, and Ma’s body went still. Desperate to know what was happening, Eliza collected the remaining spoons and knives, but Pa stopped whispering when Eliza neared them.
    â€œTake Lizzie and get ready for bed, Eliza,” he told her.
    â€œBut I’m not done with the dishes,” she protested. And I deserve to know! she thought.
    â€œDon’t argue with me, young lady!” Pa said sharply.
    â€œTake Lizzie and don’t leave the cell,” Ma added.
    Eliza grabbed Lizzie’s hand and headed out. She walked slowly, hoping her parents would let something slip, but they were watching and waiting for them to go. Was Lucy worse? Was Lucy dead? Was it something else altogether?
    When they reached the hall, Lizzie tugged on Eliza’s arm. “Ma sounded scared,” Lizzie said.
    â€œI’m sure everything is all right.” Eliza tried to sound reassuring.
    â€œEliza, you sound scared too.”

C HAPTER Ten
    B ACK IN THEIR CELL , E LIZA HELPED HER SISTER INTO A NIGHTDRESS but kept her own clothes on. She arranged Lizzie’s faded blanket on the straw bed. Ma had collected dozens of blankets to keep them warm. Even this past winter when the damp had seeped through the walls and icicles formed inside the window, they hadn’t been cold.
    Ma did her best to make the cell feel like home, but Eliza always felt like the walls