Free The Price of Freedom by Donna Every Page B

girls scarred, especially Sarah and
Deborah; it decreases their value."
    "How much does a house slave
cost?"
    "Around £25 to £30. However I
paid £50 for Sarah nearly twenty years ago."
    Richard whistled at the sum his
uncle had parted with.
    "Now you understand why I
don't want her damaged, for more than one reason," his uncle added with a
smile.
    Richard couldn't help himself, he
asked, "How much would you sell Deborah for?"
    His uncle looked at him sharply
and said, "She's not for sale. Or for bedding," he reminded him.
Richard nodded his assent.
    He needed to put the girl from his
mind. The last thing he wanted was to incur his uncle's displeasure while he
was staying there.
     
     

     
     
    Sarah bent over the wash tub and
rubbed the bar of soap against the collar of the white shirt. The pile of
clothes she had washed already was growing and her back was aching from bending
over the tub while her hands were raw from the soap.
    It was a relief to dip the clothes
in tubs of cold, clean water before wringing them out and dropping them into
another tub to take them to the drying yard.
    She knew that the mistress
assigned this task to her because it was one of the hardest jobs that a house
slave had to do but at least it allowed her to work outside and enjoy the
beautiful day. She would treat her hands afterwards with lanolin to soothe them
and soften the skin.
    She called the stable boy to carry
the tub to the drying yard where some lines were strung up to dry the clothes.
Fortunately at that time of the year, the breeze was brisk and the clothes
would dry quickly.
    After hanging up the wet clothes
she went to the bath house to collect the towels that needed to be washed for
that week. Emptying out the water from the last washing she poured fresh water
in the tub and submerged the towels. Looking up she was relieved to see Sally
coming out to help her after finishing her own chores in the house.
    "I'm glad to see you Sally.
My back is hurting real bad." With that she straightened up and arched her
back to ease the pain.
    "I know that this work does
break your back," she sympathized. "They don't care how hard it is
when they change their clothes every day and we have to wash them."
    "Washing day is the hardest
day of the week!" agreed Sarah. "I can't wait to see my bed tonight.
I going to pick up the sheets I washed this morning to make room for these
towels."
    Sarah was walking from the drying
yard to the house with her arms full of sheets when Richard and his uncle rode
into the yard heading towards the stable.
    "Sarah," his uncle
called. "Come to my room tonight."
    "Yes, master Thomas,"
she said lowering her head demurely as she saw that he was with the nephew. She
groaned silently to herself. The last thing she wanted was to go to the master
tonight. She was so tired and her back was hurting badly, but could she tell
the master that? After all he owned her and she was there for his use, no
matter how she felt.
    So this was Sarah, Richard
observed. He could see where Deborah got her beauty from, although his uncle
had contributed as well. Her skin was the color of milky coffee and though he
couldn't see her figure behind the sheets she carried he had no doubt that she
would be well formed. His uncle certainly has good taste in slave women.
    He wondered how his aunt felt
about her husband blatantly sharing his bed with his mistress under the same
roof as her.
    "So is that how you do it,
uncle? Just tell them to come to your room?"
    "Well yes, my boy."
    "What if they’re not
willing?"
    "Not willing? They're slaves,
they don’t have any choice. But any man worth his salt can encourage them to be
willing once they get there," he added with a knowing laugh as they handed
the reins of the horses over to the stable boy.
    Richard was amazed at all he had
seen so far. If his uncle's life was any indication, the large plantation
owners in Barbados lived like lords; no expense was spared to make life on the
island easy and no