Had she been wholly dependent on her marriage for fulfillment, Sarah would have perhaps turned melancholy and morbid. But she had Beulah Land and its people. As the years passed and she came to know them better, she gradually accumulated a score of their grievances against Roscoe and Clovis. When she was purchased by her husband, Clovis ceased working as maid and laundress and, in fact, in any way for the Kendricks, which left her with time to cultivate her talent as a dressmaker.

Laura-Lou did all of the sewing for the white family at Beulah Land, but Clovis had developed a considerable following among the slaves. They made their own common clothes, but Clovis was much in demand to buy the materials and to plan, cut out, and sew their best, especially wedding and funeral dresses. No girl on Beulah Land would think of marrying now without a dress from Clovis. They paid in money or promises or both. Although not given wages, the slaves were allowed to raise and sell chickens and garden produce, and most of them earned bonus moneys for special work done.

Sarah knew from what the women told her and her own acquaintance of town prices that Clovis charged extravagantly for the dress materials and such trimmings as buttons and ribbon, as well as her own skillful sewing. She was able to set whatever value she pleased on these things because she was willing to extend credit. Of course, the elderly women who commissioned their burying dresses from her had to pay in advance. Some of those dresses were made and folded away for years, with paper between folds, before they were used; and they were brought out and displayed on special occasions.

Sarah learned also that Roscoe had frequent money dealings with the male slaves. How extensive they were, she could only surmise, but what she heard and put together led her to believe that most of the men were in debt to Roscoe. She asked Leon if he knew about this. He said vaguely, “Oh, yes.”

When she pressed him to declare his opinion of its rightness and fitness, he replied that it did not concern him one way or another and that if she were really determined to pursue the matter, she should consult Deborah. “Although,” he added with a smile, “you had better watch how you interfere between Mama and Roscoe. That’s dangerous ground for meddling.”

She did, finally bring up the matter with Deborah. “You may leave Roscoe to me,” Deborah said shortly. “I pay his wages.”

“But, Aunt Deb—” Sarah had never changed from this polite form of address, used on Sarah’s earliest acquaintance with her as her Aunt Pea’s old friend, and continued when acquaintance become family relationship. “Is it right that our people should be in debt to a man who himself works for wages on Beulah Land?”