The Last Runaway

In a very short missive, Honor writes to her family announcing her “very sudden” marriage and requesting the return of three quilts.

After their marriage meeting and a feast to celebrate, Jack takes Honor to his bedroom and urges her to undress. As he helps her, he realizes that she is fevered. Judith and Dorcas take her to the sick room, near the kitchen, so that she can recuperate. For days, Honor suffers a fever, too exhausted to even listen to the distracting chatter of the Haymakers when they come to visit her. Judith is unconcerned about the length of Honor’s protracted illness, diagnosing her with ague (a generalized term for long-lasting, intermittent fevers; symptoms are often like those of malaria). Honor regrets not being able to aid in the oat harvest, which she hoped would both prove her utility to her new family and help her feel connected to her new life.

Honor spends long hours staring idly out the window, though she assumes herself delirious again when she sees a mug disappear and reappear from the edge of the well. She carefully sits up, frightened by the idea that someone might have approached the farm while she is alone and defenseless. A young Black woman stands; Honor instantly recognizes that the woman is escaping slavery. The woman extends a hand in Honor’s direction. Honor thinks that though she has been raised to know that slavery is wrong, this is the first time she has actually been called to act on these beliefs.

Honor brings the woman (whom she will learn, in Chapter 18, is named Virginie) a loaf of bread. Virginie accepts, the two silently regarding one another. Honor puzzles over how else she can help Virginie when they hear an approaching rider. Honor urges Virginie to hide inside as Donovan approaches. Honor indicates the loose chickens to explain her presence outside despite her illness; Donovan offers to catch them and carries her inside with surprising gentleness. When she reveals that she has married, he makes an innuendo, but Honor is surprised to find that she is not alarmed at being alone with him.

Donovan offers to get her a cool drink, but she declines; she told Virginie to hide in the cool room. She requests, instead, her quilt from her upstairs trunk. Donovan lays her quilt over her, touching her more than is necessary. Honor blushes, recalling her thoughts of Donovan while she had sex with Jack. He, too, blushes, commenting that she “didn’t give no one else a chance,” and she replies that she “could never—associate with a slave hunter” (167). She asks for Jack, and Donovan hastily leaves to gather the chickens, his pretense for looking for the escaped enslaved woman. Honor briefly falls asleep, and when she wakes, Virginie has left her a cup of water from the well.

Donovan brings Jack back to the house. As Jack worriedly checks Honor’s health, Donovan comments that the upcoming Fugitive Slave Law will mean that he can be stricter with Honor, Jack, and others he suspects of aiding escapees. Donovan leaves, and Jack begins questioning her, wondering if Donovan asked her about “a runaway.” Then he clarifies, asking if “a colored man” asked for her help (169). She can honestly say that she saw no man but Donovan. Jack speaks abstractly about the Underground Railroad, commenting that sometimes escapees “stray” to the farm. He tells Honor that if she ever sees someone escaping slavery, she is to direct them to Oberlin. She can give them water but should not get involved otherwise.

Later that night, Jack reports that Donovan caught the escaping woman. Honor is careful not to react, though she is startled when Jack expresses his happiness that Virginie was caught. He explains that he prefers not to have “people like Donovan chasing others across the countryside, disrupting honest people and scaring women” (170). He explains that the United States “[has] slavery woven into the very fabric of its foundation” (170). He cites the “economic consequences” of abolition, claiming that “if slavery were abolished tomorrow, America would fall apart” (170). He claims that he “[does] not condone” how those escaping slavery are breaking the law and claims that if he encountered an escapee, he “would not stop them, but [would] not help them” (171). Honor feels that there is more he does not say. When alone, she cries over the re-captured woman.

The next day, Belle visits, chiding Honor for not reporting her marriage and fretting over Honor’s health. She teases Honor about how quickly she has acclimated to farm life when Honor discusses the harvest. Belle excitedly reports the arrival of the train in Wellington. Belle brings a wedding gift, which flusters Honor; Quakers do not normally give gifts. She opens them to find two lace-edged pillowcases, which she instantly adores.

Honor writes a short thank-you note to Belle, saying that she treasures the pillowcases.

Several nights later, feeling more clearheaded, Honor offers, over dinner, her response to Jack’s comments about the economics of slavery. She asserts that she would pay more for cloth if she “knew it was paying to dismantle slavery” (176). The Haymakers argue the impracticality of this; Jack offers that they support “colonization,” which would send formerly enslaved people to Africa to have their own country. He asserts that this would make the formerly enslaved happier, causing Honor to wonder if he ever asked a Black person about this.

The next week, Honor and Jack go to Oberlin. Honor is excited for the chance to escape the pervasive smell of animals, omnipresent at the farm. She hopes that Jack will allow her to continue aiding Adam at the store, though she isn’t optimistic. She chastises herself for longing for what she doesn’t have, noting the “restless” nature of Ohio and the frequent migration of its residents. In Cox’s Dry Goods, she looks at the bolts of cloth with increasing context for its provenance.

Mrs. Reed is in the store; Honor asks her opinion of colonization. Mrs. Reed grows incensed, declaring herself American, with four generations before her born in Virginia. She frames colonization as “white folks jes’ want[ing] to get rid of [Black people], pack [them] off on ships so they don’t have to deal with [them]” (180). She leaves, and Adam scolds Honor about discussing politics with customers.

Several days later, Honor and Dorcas pick blackberries. Despite Dorcas’s unwelcoming nature, Honor feels sorry for Dorcas, who had expected her friend Caroline to come live at the Haymaker farm, not Honor. She also recognizes that, now that Honor and Jack have begun having sex regularly, Dorcas may be uncomfortable with the knowledge of what happens in the adjacent room. Dorcas becomes friendlier when Judith is absent.

Dorcas, swarmed by yellow jackets, suddenly yells for help. Honor is uncertain about what to do. As she pulls Dorcas away, a Black man hiding in the brambles urges Honor to take Dorcas (whose face is rapidly swelling with multiple stings) to the nearby creek. There, she should apply cold water and mud to the stings to reduce the swelling. He asks for directions; Honor points in the direction of Oberlin, urging him to seek Mrs. Reed.

Honor helps Dorcas through the woods, which seem less daunting once she has entered them. At the creek, she helps Dorcas out of her clothes and coats her in cold mud. The swelling goes down, and the two women return to the farm, Dorcas in tears. Honor hopes that Dorcas didn’t notice the Black man.

The next time Honor encounters Mrs. Reed, the woman scolds her for the “foolishness” of sending the man to Mrs. Reed by name. She tells Honor that “next time [she should] tell ‘em to look for a candle in the rear window of the red house on Mill Street” (186), promising to alert Honor if the signal alters. She confides that the approaching Fugitive Slave Law has led many people who have escaped slavery to rethink their safety in the American North, opting to relocate to Canada. Mrs. Reed asserts her intention to remain in Oberlin. She asks Mrs. Reed how she can best help, and Mrs. Reed instructs her to leave food good for travel behind her henhouse and tells her how to keep it safe from animals. People look openly at “the rarity of a white woman and a black woman talking together in public” even in liberal Oberlin (187), so the two quickly separate.

When Donovan rides past the farm one evening, Honor asks about the incipient Fugitive Slave Law. Judith reports that, when passed, the law will mean that Donovan will be able to demand aid in capturing someone escaping slavery, with a fine of $1,000 if refused. This fine would cause the Haymakers to lose their farm. The local Quaker meeting determined that each member should obey or not according to their conscience. The next day, when Honor discovers two fewer eggs than usual, she lies to Judith about stepping on them. She hides cornbread behind the henhouse; it quickly vanishes. When she later hides bacon, it goes uneaten, indicating that the escapee has left the area. She begins to pay attention to the signs of nearby escapees, shocking herself with her own comfort with stealing and lying.

When Donovan captures those escaping slavery, he makes certain to ride past the Haymaker farm with his captives, “advertis[ing] his victories to Honor” (191). When Donovan knocks a man to the ground one night, Honor wants to help, but Jack holds her back, cautioning that this is what Donovan wants. Donovan quotes the Fugitive Slave Law to force Jack to aid him in lifting the injured man back into the saddle. As Donovan departs, the Black man on the horse glances briefly at Honor. Jack notes this exchange.

Honor writes to Biddy, describing the hectic pace of the harvest and her increased facility at milking cows. She cites both the hard work of preserving the fruits of the harvest and the pride she gets looking at their accomplishments. Her relationship with Judith and Dorcas has improved, inspired by Honor’s willingness to obey Judith’s commands. She struggles with cooking, the differences between English and American ingredients generating endless challenges. She aids instead with preparation, like chopping and cleaning, though she has been given dominion over the household sewing.

She discusses an appliqué quilt that she’s making for Dorcas, citing the negotiations that led Honor to enjoy the quilt more than other appliqués, though still not as much as patchwork. She apologizes for asking for the return of one of her own quilts, which she gave Biddy before she left England.