Charity & Phillips

Chapter 75

Phoebe then turned to her husband, who could not believe his ears. "I am sorry I've masqueraded as something I'm not. I am sorry I was not able to be the woman that you wanted me to be. And I see that I will never be that woman. And so I do not blame you if you decide to hold a divorce against me."

Before Thomas was able to answer his wife, Charity spoke. "That will not be necessary. At least, not over me."

"What do you mean by that?" Thomas asked Charity. The girl reluctantly walked over to Thomas, looking into his eyes as one would an old friend.

"Mr. Phillips, I am thankful for all you've done for me. I am thankful you've taken me in and showed me what it meant to be a woman. I am thankful you've kept me only in the best clothes and with the best care that was possible." Charity told Thomas. "But I wish to be freed. My time here feels as though it is done."

"You wish to leave me?" Thomas asked in disbelief.

"You told me you loved me." Charity reminded Thomas, and such words still made Phoebe's heartache. The men who still stood in a line nearby could hardly believe their ears. They looked to each other in wonder. "And you told me you wish for my happiness. If that is the case, I will be happy free."

Thomas thought about her request, and in his heart he knew the right thing was to do as she wished. But he was certain to make sure Charity would be safe and sound wherever she found herself. "Where will you live upon the granting of your freedom?"

"I wish to go to Ireland." Charity answered. Phoebe was shocked to hear of Charity's request. She wondered if Charity was somehow able to entrance the boy she loved and produced her child with.

Thomas was bewildered that Charity would choose Ireland of all places. "Why Ireland, my love?"

"I hear that the stable boy is leaving for Ireland." Charity explained. Before she could continue on, Phoebe began to speak.

"The stable boy? It is the stable boy whom you speak to?" Phoebe asked. "What is it that you two speak about?"

"We are close friends." Charity told the Mistress. "And he tells me of how beautiful it is to be in Ireland. So I wish to take leave with him there."

"I did not even know the stable boy was returning to Ireland." Thomas answered Charity. "But if that's what you wish, you may—"

"He is gone." Phoebe said. Thomas and Charity looked to her, who stood there frantically. "Brian has already left for Ireland. There is no way for her to take voyage with him."

Upon Phoebe's words, it all came together for Thomas. He remembered the stable boy's red hair. He remembered how Phoebe would go riding everyday. He remembered how Phoebe appointed him as her assistant, and would bring him around everywhere she went. He remembered how she even brought him to Pennsylvania.

"It is he who is the father, isn't it? That is why you made him leave at once." Thomas asked Phoebe. The men behind the three all let out a breath of relief. Phoebe began to cry once again at Thomas' suggestion, she did not deny it. Thomas saw how broken Phoebe was. How she wished for love and affection. He knew that Brian was able to give her such a thing. "The boy was a kind man. If anyone's blood shall be through Walter's veins, it should be his."

"You mean you will not strip Walter of his fortune? Or me of my respect and notoriety?" Phoebe asked through her tears.

"Who shall know the child is not mine?" Thomas asked Phoebe. "His red hair is how God decided to make him. Anyone who questions that can be damned."

"I love you, Thomas." Phoebe told him. He answered with a nod, but would not reciprocate the same statement.

Instead, Thomas turned to Charity and held her in his arms. He tried to take in every detail of her, the look of her; the feeling of her, the smell of her. He knew that there would soon come a time when he would not be able to hold her. "If Ireland is still what you wish, then I will make it happen. But for a black woman by herself, I believe Paris is more fitting. I will purchase a home for you and make sure you are taken care of."

"I do not wish for you to purchase a single thing for me." Charity told Thomas. "I will live my life as a free woman who earns what she has through occupation."

"Then I will arrange your trip to Paris. From then on, you will be on your own." Thomas told Charity. "Promise me this, promise that you will write."

"I will." Charity smiled. "Promise me that you will care for the child as though it were your own. He shall not be punished for being brought into this world."

"Of course." Thomas told Charity. "Promise me one last thing, Charity."

"What would that be?" She asked. Thomas could hardly allow the words to leave his lips. He could feel tears filling in his eyes, but he knew that what he had to say was for the betterment of Charity.

"Promise me that when you arrive in Paris, and as you live as a free woman, do not allow your time with me to hinder you in any way. Please, allow yourself to love and live to the fullest. Please do not hold any bitterness or hold yourself back from allowing another man to love you. Live your life as though you and I never met." Thomas told Charity.

"I promise." Charity answered. "I love you."

Thomas could not hold himself back any longer. He kissed Charity right then and there. He did not care who looked on, and neither did she. No longer was she the shy girl who arrived so long ago. She was now unashamed of who she was or who she loved.