Midnight Read Free Page B

cellar room to accommodate the attendees. Her father and fourteen other free Black men had been initiated into the mysterious organization known as the Masons, and a reception honoring their achievement was going to be held at the inn. Early afternoon had been chosen as the time for the affair in response to the presence of the British troops. No one, not even the loyalists, wanted to travel after dark and maybe be subjected to the redcoats’ patrols. The newly commissioned Masons had been sworn in by a Masonic lodge within the British forces, and according to her father, he and his friends were the first Blacks to be inducted anywhere in the world. Although Faith didn’t care for the soldiers, not even she was able to fault them for this singular first.
    Faith had no idea what being a member entailed. It was an esoteric organization that on the surface supported charitable works but underneath was filled with mysterious rituals and lore. She did know that being a Mason made her father tremendously proud, especially being one of the first men of the race to ever be accepted, and she was happy for him.
    As she set out plates and cutlery, she wondered if Primus Grey would have been a part of the historic group had he lived. Her heart still grieved at his passing. Although her father had never gotten along with Primus, Faith missed him as a friend and as a presence in the community. He’d been one of the area’s most respected free Blacks, and always did his part to better conditions for people of color in and around Boston, whether they be Black, mulatto, or a member of the native tribes. Primus, and other men like Prince Hall, had regularly petitioned colonial governor Hutchinson to ban the importation of slavery, and had presented numerous other petitions directed at lifting some of the more noxious codes and restrictions aimed at the race. Granted, they’d been only moderately successful, but because of their fervent agitation, the Massachusetts Bay Colony was inching towards equality in ways other colonies like those in the South were not.
    However, due to someone’s treachery, Primus had been ripped from their lives, first by the British and then by death. He’d deserved better.
    Faith was awaiting the arrival of her neighbor, the widow Blythe Lawson, who made the best trifle in Boston. Blythe was a free Black woman who owned property both in and around Boston. Under the auspices of what the colonists were calling the Intolerable Acts, a cadre of British officers had taken over one of her boardinghouses, but due to the law didn’t have to pay her any compensation. She hated the British, too.
    She arrived a short while later. Dressed in a voluminous cape that bore signs of the rainy day, she entered on a gust of wind lugging a large Dutch oven that Faith assumed held the luncheon’s dessert.
    “Let me help you with that,” Faith said, hastily moving to assist her.
    The beautiful older woman gladly turned over the burden. “I have more on the wagon.”
    Faith set the oven holding the trifle in the kitchen, then went with her back out into the raw weather and returned bearing another oven and a pot of blanched winter vegetables.
    Once everything was in the kitchen, she and Blythe stood in front of the big fire to warm up.
    “Awful day,” Blythe declared.
    Faith agreed and rubbed her hands together to try and rid them of the chill.
    Once the women were thawed out, Blythe removed her cloak, and Faith said quietly, “There are three new generals arriving, along with an influx of new soldiers.”
    Blythe looked up with surprise. “When?”
    “By May.”
    Dismay showed on Blythe’s light brown face before she calmed her features and remarked, “I’m certain someone will find that news of interest.”
    “I agree.”
    They said no more.
    The guests began arriving at the appointed time. While she and Blythe moved about the cellar room placing platters of food on the tables, the fourteen men conversed. Stuart