Sarah went quickly downstairs. In the kitchen she asked Myrtis to make her a pot of sassafras tea. When it was ready, she drank it in deep, healing draughts. Then she went straight outdoors. For once she was glad that Roman did not wait for her. There was a chill of winter on the air, but no wind, so she was comfortable walking briskly.

As she cut across the back yards of a row of slave cabins, she saw Felix sitting on a stump near the kitchen door of Lovey’s cabin. She stopped to wonder why he was there. By his attitude—leaning forward comfortably, elbows on knees, chin in hands, eyes set on the cabin door, he had been there a while, and not accidentally or without purpose. As she stood watching, the back door opened, and Ezra came out. He seemed surprised to find Felix there. Felix stood up. The back door opened and closed again, letting Lovey into the yard. Ezra might be surprised. Lovey, obviously, was not. She strode directly to Felix. He spoke—Sarah could not hear what he said, only the sound of words—and Lovey turned and went to Ezra, who was moving forward toward Felix.

Sarah began to run. Lovey’s arms were around Ezra, whose face had frozen in stark disbelief and whose body seemed to shrivel and fade like ice melting in summer sun. She stopped short of them as Lovey supported Ezra to the door and inside. Felix turned and saw her.

“What’s wrong?” she asked. “Why are you here?”

Felix frowned, shaking his head. “Took it hard. Knew they would, especially Ezra. He and the boy so close.”

“Will you for God’s sake tell me what has happened to make them feel so?”

Felix looked at her without his usual manners and humor, and his voice was sharp, as it was only occasionally in court. “Floyd has gone away, of course. What else could upset them?”

“Floyd?” She did not understand, her tone said.

“Yes,” he said impatiently. “He left last night. I helped him on his way—gave him my horse, in fact. Good horse. He’ll get a nice price for her if he has to sell her. I must say you look astounded. Why? He was free. He should have gone before. Wasting himself here, not enough to do with either his body or his mind, and he obviously didn’t have his heart set on marrying any of the freshening heifers on the place. Leon’s age, you know. Oh, he said he might come back one day, but for his sake I hope he doesn’t. Don’t you?”