More then Black and White

A story train contributed to by: aeverett, Melody, LMRS, EmmyGirl, EmiliaStyles

Emilia Rothschild stood on the dock, waiting for the USS Pigeon to arrive, trying to figure it all out. Jean Claude had delivered Jack temporary, new orders, to keep an eye on a brewing situation on the Malasian mainland. The US was concerned over a possible overthrow of the English rulers there, being lead by France. If the people weren't quelled, they'd kill their British tyrants, only to be resubdued by Napoleon's forces when his navy sailed on in. Not to mention, giving Croque a much needed ally in this region.

Not for the first time, Emilia felt guilt at the actions of her country men. When it came right down to it, England, France, America, and a handfull of others, were all playing the same brutal game, trying to outdo one another, at the expense of the natives of the territories they played on. The Malasian Governor and his Captain of the Guard were no doubt just as twisted and cruel and Croque and Brogard, yet she and Jack took orders to assist two and assist in the downfall of the other pair. Anyway you scratched it, Imperialism was rotten to the core.

But the truly confusing part came this morning. Not two days after Jack's ship had departed. Jean Claude came to see her, with a new mission, directly from President Jefferson. At first, she had curtly informed the colorfull fowl that she was a British Agent working against the French, and that Jacks' superiors held no sway over her. An hour later, Jean Clade returned to her laboratory with orders from her own superiors. English High Command was doing the American President a personal favor, and she was to go down to the docks and await the arrival of an American woman and her brother, who's safety and anonymity were now Emilia's responcibility.

The USS Pigeon disembarked, and by noon, Emilia was getting restless. The passengers were departing, a few still milling around awaiting their luggage and possession or that of their employers. No one had yet approached her, although they'd been given a detailed description of her, and Emilia knew, empirically, her own beauty was hard to miss. They should have made a beeline to her, yet here she still stood.

The Pigeons crew began unloading the vessel of cargo, and Emilia sighed experated. That was it. She was returning home. If there was a package for her, like the one her father often traveled in, there'd be a messenger waiting for her at home.

As she turned, she felt a tap on her shoulder, and Emilia came face to face with two dark skinned people, although many of their features and their clothing bespoke Eupopean or American origin. American. Yes. She'd once heard her father speak of African/European hybreds, mostly kept as slaves, in the American South. They were refered to as mulatos or something like that.

The young woman of the pair, about Emilia's own age, stepped forward. "Mrs. Rothschild?"

Emilia nodded, still studying the couple's unique features.

"My name is Sally Hemmings. This is my brother James. Our Master, President Thomas Jefferson has sent us into your care," the young woman explained, getting a sharp look from the somewhat older man beside her.

"With the recent scandel, My former Master, Mister Jefferson, felt it was better to send Sally away. I volunteered to accompany my sister, in her delicate condition. This air is truly oppressive, far more so than in our native Virginia. If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to get Sally indoors?" the dark skinned gentleman requested, still giving his sister the same disapproving glare. It was obvious he was even more embarrased than she.

And Emilia, as did the rest of the world, knew exactly what about. It had been in the newspapers for almost a month, and here stood the lovely Miss Hemmings in the flesh.

* * * * * * *

Now Emilia was glad that Jack had been sent elsewhere. She was not sure how her American partner would react to having to protect Jefferson's rumored mistress, although knowing him he probably wouldn't mind too much.

"Of course. Please, right this way." Emilia led the pair through the streets and to her home. It did not escape her that she was drawing a lot of curious looks, nor did it seem to be escaping her charges.

"I hope we don't have any trouble," Sally murmered to herself.

* * * * * * * *

"Most troubling news," Governor Croque said to his captain. "Madame Rothschild was recently seen in the company of two people of the colored persuasion."

"Par for the course," Brogard replied. "The lady is often helping out the different minorities that populate Pulau Pulau. I've often seen her surrounded by those of the inferior breeds."

"But these two are from America," Croque corrected. "They just arrived to her greeting. I find it odd. You don't suppose the madame has taken to keeping slaves."

Brogard snorted. "More likely they are the property of her attache. Remember governor, M. Stiles is an American."

"You may have hit upon something, Brogard. And according to my sources, the female of the pair is with child. It is possible that the sire of her whelp is the philandering attache himself."

Brogard clicked his tongue and shook his head. "Honestly, Mon governor. These Americans make me sick."

* * * * * * *

Emilia placed Sally and James in rooms that were adjoined. "I hope you will find your accomodations to your liking." "Thank you kindly, Ma'am," Sally said.

"Please, Miss Hemmings. While you and your brother are here, you may call me Emilia."

Sally glanced at her brother who wore the same shocked expression. "Thank you, but it might be better if we just said 'ma'am'. It would protect all of us."

Emilia nodded. "All right. If that's the way you want it. Supper will be ready at seven."

* * * * * * *

"Governor, what should we do?"

"Well, Captaine, we should invite Madame Emilia, Mosieur Jack and the other two over to the mansion for supper tonight. We then will see what we shall see what we shall see!"

Croque walked over to Emilia's house to invite them over to supper

He nearly bumped into Jack on the way. "Ah, M. Stiles. I see you have returned from your trip abroad. No doubt you had a good time?"

Jack groaned. His mission was a success, but it wasn't something he wanted to talk about even if he were allowed to. He was just glad to leave it in the hands of a fellow agent and get back to Pulau Pulau.

Brogard smiled. "No doubt you will soon be doling out cigars over your new arrival, huh? Ah, but then again, you Americans don't talk about those you sire in such a way. And you certainly don't talk about...your peculiar interest."

Jack was convinced Brogard had gone mad. He didn't comment on any of this. He simply walked into the study and sat himself down.

"Well, M. Stiles," Brogard concluded. "tell your employer that you and her are invited to the governor's mansion for supper tonight. Feel free to bring your slaves."

As Brogard saw himself out. Jack pondered the last word he said. "SLAVES?!!!!"

* * * * * * *

Emilia stormed in and let Jack have it with both barrels. "Well, Mr. Stiles if this isn't the last straw from your beknighted country, I don't know what is! I don't know what I'm going to do about this, but I promise you that it's playing havoc with my digestion!"

This was all Jack could take, "Now hold on there, sister! First I get a lot of dirty looks from everyone I walked by on the way here..."

"I don't doubt it," Emilia interrupted. "The rumor mill has blown all of this out of porportions."

"...And then Brogard talks a lot of mumbo jumbo about slaves. Have all of you been smoking the drapery while I was gone?"

"While you were gone," Emilia retorted. "Two people arrived and were taken in my care. They are James and Sally Hemmings."

"That doesn't cut any slack with me! I oughtta..." suddenly, the names sank into Jack's brain. "Jim and Sally? They're here?"

"In the spare bedrooms."

Jack wasted no time as he left the study.

Emilia followed and was greeted by an odd sight. Jack and James were exchanging bear hugs. Jack was all smiles and laughs. "Jim! You old cuss, how's T.J. doin'? Where's your sister? I heard she was..." Jack saw Sally, and beamed. "Oooohhh, Sally, look at you! This is great! Look guys, if you need anything, you just let Jack know, okay? It's great to see you again."

Jack returned to the study and downed a whiskey. He stared off into space as his smile faded. "You know, if it had been up to T.J., we would have abolished slavery from day one. Those damned Southern states wouldn't let go of it."

"Yet Jefferson kept slaves," Emilia said. "He impregnated one. Used her for his own perverted pleasure."

Jack gave her a look that would have sliced her in two. "You don't understand. You'll never understand. You never saw the love between T.J., Martha, and Sally. Oh yes, Emilia. Those three loved each other. Get your filthy mind out of the gutter. They shared a bond beyond race, creed, or gender.

"When Martha died, it hit Thomas like a ton of bricks. I saw that big guy age ten years that day. It was Martha's last wish to Sally. A wish for Sally to make sure that T.J. would not be lonely in this world. A wish Sally granted joyously. With all her heart and with all her soul."

"But still, it's absolutely posatutely disgusting!!!!!" Emilia half-screamed. "Oohh, Jack, I honestly don't know what to do with you anymore."

"You could spank me." Jack suggested, a small grin apperared on his lips.

"Ooohh...men!" Emilia muttered as she went stormed out of her study.

Jack didn't see Emilia for many hours. And, frankly, he didn't care where she was. He wasn't worried.

* * * * * * * * *

But he became worried when she didn't show up at dinner.

"Has anyone seen Madame Emilia?" The Governor asked.

"Nope." Jack said, "Gove, these are my friends. Ms. Susan Terranova and Mr. Jack Terranova." Jack introduced, using the code names the three had developed earlier.

"They are not slaves?" Brougard asked.

"Nope." Jack answered. "They are my distant cousins, once removed."

"I see" The Governor stated. "Well, we shall eat. Emilia will understand. She will not think us rude."

Jack really became worried about Emilia when she didn't show, not hide or hair, at the Governor's mansion for dinner.

Emilia couldn't handel Jack or his american "friends" any longer.

"Jack always finds an excuse for american behavior!"

She had to just lay low for a while...out of sight of Jack!

While Emilia hid from Jack, she thought about Sally and her brother James, and what Jack had said earlier. It was not the fact that Thomas Jefferson had sought solace upon the death of his wife with a person of a different race that bothered her, but that he had done it when he owned Sally! How could a person own another human being?

Emilia shook her head. Perhaps she was being unfair. It wasn't so long ago that England abolished slavery..sooner or later the Americans would have to do the same and, from the way it sounded from Jack, the only way to get rid of the peculiar institution was through bloodshed. But Emilia didn't see that happening for a while yet. The former colonies were still defining their government.

* * * * * * * *

Em didn't show the entire night, and as soon as he could justify leaving, he was out of the governors like a bat out of hell, James and Sally trying to keep up.

He dashed home. Concern fueling his steps. Emilia was a consomate professional. She would never just blow off a diner at the governors. Something had to be wrong, and in their line of work, that something could be a bullet through the skull, or a broken body lying on the ground, being 'interogated' by enemy spies. Jack forced such gruesome images from his mind, else he'd never make it there sane.

The sight that greeted him, as he stormed into the study was nothing he'd considered. There was Emilia, red as a beet, lying on the loveseat, deleriously ill.

As was her compassionate nature, Sally instinctively tried to make it to Emilia's side, only to be restrained by her brother. "No Sally! Your baby!".

Jack felt his partner's brow, accepting a wet cloth from Sally.

"Mister Jack, I think she's got the summer fever. It was going around, when James and I left Virginia. Mrs. Barre looked just like that, when Critta and I went to check up on her," Sally explained, worriedly, not mentioning that Mrs. Barre's six year old son had expired the very same night.

"Alright. James. Help me bring Em to her room. Sally, I'll give you some money, and an address. You go there. Tell them Emilia Rothschild needs help. He's a good man, and most importantly, not on Brogard's payroll. Whatever you do, DO NOT discuss this with anyone! Capt. Brogard is hanging happy and he hates Americans. I wouldn't put it past him to try something," Jack warned his old friends.

* * * * * * * *

Emilia finally awoke in her room. An unfamiliar face was hanging over her.

The face was of a middle-aged man. It smiled. "She'll be all right now. Jack, I knew when I left for Pulau Pulau that I'd be treating a patient in this house. I didn't know it would be the mistress of the manor."

Emilia was confused. "Who...who are you?"

Jack made the introductions. "This is Dr. Theodore Naismith. Thomas Jefferson's personal physician. He just arrived here to help with Sally's delivery."

"And it looks like I came in the nick of time for you," the doctor added.

"He had to arrive in secret," Jack continued. "T.J. wants all this done on the Q.T.. There are people back home who don't want Sally's child born. People who will take desperate measures to make sure it doesn't happen.

"Emilia, any thoughts you have about all this, you have to put aside. Sally was brought here in order to give birth safely. Our job is to protect a mother and an unborn child."

Emilia sighed. Of course she'll help. What kind human being would she be if she didn't?

That very night......

Sally gave birth. Emilia aided the physican all night, weak as she was from the summer fever. Jack and Sally's brother didn't want to leave the room, but they realized their error in trying to stay when Emilia started yelling. 'Men should never see the horror a woman goes through at birth.' Emilia thought. The physican, however, was different.

Later....

Sally passed out right after the baby was born. It was a little girl. Emilia gave the baby the first bath. She secretly loved babies and children alike. With a tear, she thought of her own little Emma. Emma was the baby she had when she was married to her husband Pierre. She loved that baby more than she had loved anyone else on this earth, except for her husband. And now they were both taken away from her forever. Emma had died, as many babies do, from the very fever that had almost taken her life away that very day. Now, thank oggdness, times had changed. THere was the medicine for the fever, that could save a person's life, that had been given to her today. Emilia sniffled a tear, wishing that the medicine could have been invented early enough to save her little Emma. Her husband, Pierre, had died too. Emilia couldn't think of that death. It had been to horrible to discuss. Pierre had been convicted as being a spy, (he confessed so he could save her), was brought to Napoleon and.....Emilia couldn't think about it. Too horrible. Emilia was jostled out of her secret thoughts when the little baby started to cry. Emilia sang it a lullaby and began to put clothing on her. When she had finished, Emilia took the baby to meet the men, leaving the physican to clean up and look after Sally.

"It's a little girl!" She proclaimed as she burst into the room. She looked at Jack and Sally's brother......they looked relieved.

"Her name, " Said Sally's brother, "Is Mary. After Martha."

Emilia and Jack nodded approval. 'So far, so good' Jack thought.

It was then that a ringing noise sounded from the fireplace. Emilia grew more than concerned. "Somebody outside tripped the alarm system." "Leave it to me," Jack said as he grabbed his mask. "Or rather the Daring Dragoon."

Three men stood outside a window to Emilia's manor. Their leader was confident. "So far, so good. The whelp is born, so we don't have to do anything messy like perform an abortion. We can just skewer the thing outright."

"OVER MY DISEASED CORPSE, YOU SCUM!!!!" Seemingly out of nowhere leaped the Daring Dragoon. His sword at the ready. "So, you're here to slaughter innocent women and children. Did they really teach you that in charm school?"

The leader of the bunch sneered. "Oh look. It's the Daring Dragoon. I guess he's here to defend the rights of animals now. Go take your silly costume somewhere else. We're on official business from America."

"Yeah, right," the Dragoon replied. "And I'm William Penn."

"You buffoon," the leader cried. "Do you know who sired that freak in there? Do you know what kind of scandal it'll rake up? It's bad enough as a rumor. We've got to stop it from getting worse."

"Nobody kills innocent babies while I'm around," the Dragoon replied. "You gentlemen have two options: fight or leave."

The three men brandished their swords.

James looked out the window. "Check it out. There's a sword fight going on."

Emilia was able to wheel Sally over to see the fight. "It's the Daring Dragoon. He's found the interlopers who planned to do you harm. Now he'll give them the old what-for."

"So that's the Daring Dragoon," Sally said. "I've heard so much about him."

James took a good look at the scene. "The Dragoon's fighting style looks very familiar. If I didn't know better, I'd swear..." Suddenly, realization dawned on him. "Madame Rothschild? Where's Jack?"

Emilia grinned. "For security reasons I ask that you curtail your suspicions. That is if you value your friend's life and career."

James smiled. "I saw nothing. I discern nothing. I conclude nothing." Then he looked out the window. "Attaboy, Jack! You show 'em what-for!"

Sally tried to surpress a giggle. Everyone enjoyed watching the fight. A battle that saw the Daring Dragoon victorious.

Captain Brogard was the one who gave the governor the news. "A group of Americans tried to break into Madame Rothschild's house. They were captured by the Daring Dragoon."

"The Daring Dragoon capturing Americans?" Croque sighed. "Well, that tells us something. The Dragoon might be a lot of things, but he's not American. No patriot of that country would turn against his brother. Not for any reason."

* * * * * * *

Emilia prepared her best ship with as many comforts as possible. When mother and daughter were well enough to travel, they and the proud uncle boarded the boat, and readied themselves for the long trip back to America.

Jack gave Sally and James delighted hugs. As they left, he shouted at them, "And tell the president that I'm not a nursery!"

As Jack watched the ship set sail, Emilia noticed a sorrowful look in his eye. "What's the matter, Jack."

"We wanted it abolished, you know," Jack sighed. "T.J., John, Ben, we really did want slavery abolished. Too many of the states rallied for it. It's a bad business, Em. And it might wind up tearing the country apart.

"Something's going to happen about this, sooner or later. And it's going to be a bloody mess. I can only hope America will be a better country when the smoke clears."

Emilia stood there and watched Jack Stiles walk off to the local tavern. He had far too good a look at the future. Now he was off to drown his sorrows. If life had been fair, Sally Hemmings would have been Mrs. Thomas Jefferson. Codswallop! If life had been fair, American women would have had the right to vote. And those were two more reasons for Mr. Stiles to drink himself into oblivion.

Emilia walked back to her mansion. She supposed she had a scientific experiment to finish off. If nothing else, it'll take her mind off of this.

The End