The first lead proved false.
A man named Aaron had been injured at a worksite, but his surname did not match.
The second lead led to a company office that refused to release information without payment.
Josephine had almost no money.
She offered to wash floors in exchange for help, but the clerk told her to return later.
An older clerk named Mr. Foster had heard the conversation from the next room.
He asked Josephine to describe her husband’s handwriting.
She showed him the letter, and he recognized the name of a foreman who had since taken a position farther west.
He wrote down the new worksite and gave her the address of a man who might carry a message.
He did not ask for payment.
Several weeks passed before an answer arrived.
Aaron was alive and working near a river town.
He had been searching for Josephine and the boys but had no idea where they had been taken.
The reply contained a detail only he would know, the nickname he used for the younger child when the boy was a baby.
Josephine pressed the page against her cheek and wept.
Daniel received the news through Rose.
He remembered Josephine whispering to her sons beneath the sacks during their flight from Red Creek.
He knew the reunion was not guaranteed yet.
There would be travel, papers, and money to arrange.
Still, an answer had crossed a distance that slavery was designed to make permanent.
Daniel wrote to congratulate her and enclosed part of his wages to help with the journey.
It was the first gift of money he had ever given freely to a friend.
Catherine finally agreed to speak to an independent attorney.
The meeting took place in a modest office rather than Blackwood Manor.
Nathaniel attended at the lawyer’s request, and a clerk recorded the conversation.
Catherine appeared without jewelry and wore a dark coat that made her look older than Daniel remembered.
Her appearance changed nothing about the choices she had made.
The attorney asked whether she had ordered Daniel sold after Richard returned.
Catherine said she arranged the transaction through a household agent and paid to ensure Daniel remained available.
She admitted that she had sent for him after he reached Red Creek.
She also admitted that she wanted him to sign a declaration about Eleanor’s removal.
When the attorney asked whether Daniel had freely agreed to the conduct that preceded the pregnancy, Catherine went silent.
