No Good Deed 22

The ladies nodded at me, and I informed the Negro that his recommendation was acceptable. The set of the older female's shoulders relaxed somewhat with his departure to the kitchen. Her niece remained quite stiff in the spine. Octavia Hatfield tilted her head,

'Did you see it?' she said, in a voice suddenly become quite breathy.

'Did I see what, madam?'

Her niece rolled her eyes, whether at her aunt's clumsy flirtatiousness or at my obtuseness, I was unsure. Mrs Hatfield gave a tut,

'Three days ago, The Natchez VI, did you see it?'

I found it quite mysterious that one more riverboat, however large, might excite such interest several days after its sighting. Still, in the interest of politeness - and the oldest pursuit – I replied,

'Indeed, quite remarkable, wasn't it?'

It appeared that Miss Shirley's contempt had been directed at me, for she interposed,

'Don't that beat all! Don't y'all know who was on the dang boat?'

'Well, as you know, I am but recently returned from England...'

It would have cost me dearer still to admit my ignorance, had not the younger specimen been diverted by the arrival of the chops in great quantity. Mrs Hatfield was not to be distracted by the viands and bellowed, with a degree of excitement tinged with, I could have sworn, lubricity,

'Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy!'

Miss Shirley having already set about the chops, without benefit of cutlery; I employed a fork to apportion a pair of cutlets to her aunt and then served myself. Waving over at Tom the waiter, I bade him fetch the company some wine and some glasses.

'Yessuh, Missuh Northrup. Wine. What kine y'all want?'

'Might we have a Burgundy aboard, Tom?'

'We got red and white wine, Missuh Northrup, 'at's all I know.'

I gave a sigh and said that red would be fine. It proved to be anything but, of course.

Having noted Mrs Hatfield's excitement over either the Confederacy or its recently elected President, I enquired as to how this had come to pass.

'Secession, Mr Northrup. The right is on our side. Like Mr Davis says, the white race is superior in every respect.'

It was inconceivable to me that he had ever said any such thing. Even a Southern politician would not have risked outraging the sensitivities of the Yankees with such a bald statement. Nonetheless, I did not demur. But for harbouring thoughts of a little divertissement with the woman, I should have informed her that - whilst having no great knowledge of the Negro - my experience of the white races had convinced me that a great many persons of my own colour were in no way superior to the Barbary Ape.