The Indigo Girl

Excited by the prospect of seeing Ben again, Eliza has various lodgings prepared for the Laurenses, Crowell, and Ben. She ruminates on how much Ben has changed since she last saw him. At dinner, John Laurens regales everyone with blustering stories, while Henry privately jokes about his father with Eliza. The moment is ruined, however, when Henry explains that he plans to acquire land for himself and take advantage of wars between different Indigenous peoples, plotting to enslave them. Disgusted, Eliza nearly misses the suggestion that John makes to her mother about naming Cromwell overseer of the Wappoo plantation. Eliza retires to her room, and that night, all she can think about is Ben. The next morning, Eliza makes her rounds through the fields and encounters Ben sitting on a tree stump and whittling. He stops her before she can approach him, and when she begins to tell him how much she missed him and how happy she is to see him, he stabs his small knife into the stump and walks away.

Eliza and Polly give John and Henry a tour of the plantation. During their tour, Eliza tries to dissuade John from his interest in her father’s land. When they return, she learns that her mother has invited the men to stay with them for a few days. As she and her mother are meant to visit Woodwards, Eliza hurries to her father’s study to hide the ledger and other important paperwork from the men’s prying eyes. At the Woodwards, Eliza tells her friend Mary how despicable she finds John and Henry to be. She also tells Mary about Cromwell and mentions her worry that he is exploiting Ben for personal gain. They touch upon the moral issues inherent in enslavement, with Eliza asserting that it isn’t right for their fathers to “own” anyone. Mary holds the common opinion that the enslaved workers are of “inferior intellect” and therefore need the structure of enslavement and are thus receiving a favor from those who enslave them. Eliza reminds Mary that all that separates enslaved people from them is an education, and Mary eventually agrees. When they return to Wappoo, Eliza finds Cromwell complaining about Sarah’s attitude and stating that their batch of indigo is useless. Eliza offers Sarah the indigo batch, but when Sarah angrily brushes against Eliza, John whips out his cane and hits the back of Sarah’s knees in punishment for her insolence.

When John moves to strike Sarah again, Eliza kicks him away, shocking everyone. She rejects his covert attempt to marry her and has Togo break his cane. John threatens social repercussions against her for the humiliation. Eliza rescinds his invitation to stay at her home and orders him to leave immediately. She sends a letter to her father and tells him that nothing would make her accept John as her husband.

When John and Henry leave, Ann finds Eliza in her study, but instead of confronting her about the altercation with John, Ann decries Ben’s presence on their plantation. Eliza is left alone to worry over her behavior, knowing that she has behaved very differently from other women. She realizes that her decision to oust John might have quashed all her marriage prospects, and perhaps Polly’s as well. She then writes to her brother George to congratulate him on his new commission in the army. As she writes, she fears becoming a spinster and a burden on her family. She resolves to have Ben help her with her indigo venture, seeing it as the one project that may yet save her and her family. Every day from then on, she follows Cromwell and Ben, addressing her questions to Cromwell but knowing that his answers come from Ben’s knowledge. When Cromwell tries to dictate the planting times, Ben walks off. Cromwell admonishes what he believes are Ben’s superstitions about seeds needing to know the soil in order to bear a successful harvest. He then belittles Eliza for her “charming” interest in horticulture. For months afterward, Cromwell loses considerable amounts of money in gambling dens, while Eliza continues to follow Ben and Quash around and ask questions as they check the indigo fields, ignoring her mother’s disapproval. As a result of Ann’s views, Eliza receives a cautionary letter from her father about the time she spends with Ben. Eliza writes back and takes offense at the idea that her father would question her honor.

Eliza asks Quash how Ben is settling in and how Cromwell is treating them all. This prompts Quash to ask why Ben can read. One night, Eliza has a dream about the time when she and Ben were children and she taught Ben to read letters by drawing them in the mud. In the dream, Ben admires her eyes, saying that they are the eyes of a woman he will never forget and that although they will separate, he promises to see her again when she needs help. When she wakes, Eliza does her chores before heading to Ben’s cabin, where she witnesses Sarah quietly hurrying back to her own cabin. Uncomfortable at the idea of a possible relationship between Ben and Sara, Eliza nevertheless knocks at his door. After her first opening gambits fall flat, she asks Ben if he knew where Cromwell was bringing him when they’d left Montserrat. Ben admits that he did and says that he wanted to come because he knew she needed his help. When he asks her why she hasn’t taught the other enslaved people how to read, she blames the laws of the land, and he calls her a coward. He questions why she deserves to know about the gift of indigo and states that he only shares his knowledge with Cromwell because the man denies him his freedom. Eliza points out that by refusing to help, Ben holds her freedom from her. She pleads for his help and promises to do what she can for Quash and the others. He nods and then leaves.

Later, at the Pinckneys’ country estate, Eliza seeks Charles’s counsel about laws that prohibit educating enslaved people in order to deter dissent. Charles explains that the relevant clause only dictates that an enslaved person may not be taught to write. Eliza surmises that teaching someone to read but not to write wouldn’t be illegal. She promises to apprise Charles of her developments, but because he is married and she is not, frequent correspondence between them would be interpreted unfavorably. To circumvent this issue, Eliza decides to address her letters to Miss Bartlett instead since Charles reads her correspondences. Charles attempts to reassure Eliza about the bad rumors that John Laurens is telling about her and praises her for being a remarkable woman. Eliza sends her first letter to Miss Bartlett when she returns home.

When she returns to Wappoo, Eliza begins her plans to construct a gathering place for a schoolroom. As she goes through her accounts and business affairs, it becomes clear that her father’s plantations are one failed shipment away from failing to meet their bills. She worries about the cost of the upcoming King’s Birthday Ball and then goes about educating the enslaved children in their letters. She sends a letter to Miss Bartlett summarizing all her activities.