Free The Furies by John Jakes Page A

right.” He turned toward the blacks, his tone caustic. “You are now citizens of the independent Republic of Texas. Not free citizens, of course. I’m sure freedom will be reserved for those with white skins.”
    The slaves gaped. Amanda asked, “When did it happen?”
    “The declaration? Just four days ago. Señor Burnet has been named president, and Señor Houston is general of the army—if there is one.”
    Amanda was speechless again. The news was both sad and surprising. The sadness came from realizing that none of the men who had died at the Alamo had known they were fighting for a newly independent country.
    “I find Houston’s appointment particularly amusing,” Santa Anna said. “The poor sot the Indians call Big Drunk commanding a few farmers and storekeepers as ill-trained as he is—”
    Amanda managed to speak. “Sixty years ago, another army just like that won a war for independence—”
    “True, señora. But I shall not make the same mistakes the British king did—nor be so gentlemanly to those I oppose.” He stalked toward the blacks. “When you rejoin your people, tell them their so-called republic will be gone in three months. Tell them what you saw here. Tell them what they can expect if they continue to fight—” The deep voice grew louder. “That is the only price I’ll extract for your freedom—that you spread my message. Resistance will be crushed without pity. The sensible course is immediate surrender.”
    Cordoba finished translating for Susannah. She stared at Santa Anna, then slowly bowed her head.
    The general glanced to the blacks again. Their uneasy eyes showed him they understood what he wanted—and, like Susannah, agreed to it. Santa Anna smiled with genuine pleasure. The word of his military might would be spread through the little Texas settlements, to demoralize the government that had emerged at last from the wrangling and factionalism prevalent for months at Washington-on-the-Brazos.
    Santa Anna approached Amanda. “And you, señora? If you are set free, will you tell your people that surrender is the only way to avoid annihilation?”
    “That’s the last thing I’ll do—Excellency. I will tell them how you ordered a massacre—”
    “Don’t!” Susannah cried, understanding Amanda’s fierce expression all too clearly. “He’s only asking us to report the truth. We can’t win against them—why do you want to pretend we can?”
    For a moment, Amanda wavered. Susannah might be right—
    For most of her adult life, she had put survival foremost on her list of priorities. Was she foolish to change those priorities now?
    No, she decided, thinking of Crockett’s slashed body. Of the boy in the blanket shot down in the sacristy. Of Bowie’s bayoneted corpse. No —
    She couldn’t scorn Susannah or the two slaves for their desire to live. She knew Susannah probably believed the Texans could never hold out against the Mexican army. Amanda wasn’t sure they could either. But in spite of that, the price Santa Anna was asking for survival was higher than she wanted to pay.
    Trying to keep her voice steady, she said, “Take the general’s offer, Susannah. I can’t. If I go to Gonzales”—there was a catch in her throat; her stomach churned as the smell of the burning bodies worsened—“if I go there, I’ll tell everyone His Excellency deserves to be shown exactly the same mercy he showed at the Alamo. I’ll tell them it’s better to die for an American republic than surrender to a Mexican killer—”
    Santa Anna was livid. “I do not speak English well, señora. But I understand a little of it. You will regret what you have just said.” He lost control. “By God, you will!”
    He pounded a fist on the desk, overturning the creamer of the tea service. Thick droplets fell from the edge of the desk, striking the inlaid floor with a loud plop-plop.
    The officer who had mentioned turning Amanda over to the dragoons started to repeat the suggestion. Before