As Robert arrived at the prison, he found that Harrison’s family members were already there, trying to talk to him and keep his spirits up.

“You look like you are on some kind of mission,” Harrison said to Robert as he saw him walk in.

“I am, I have just enjoyed a class of tea and an enlightening discussion with Judge McNeal,” Robert replied. This drew the interest of everyone there.

“And what did he say?” Harrison asked.

“He was more interested in drawing me out as to what I thought and believed,” Robert admitted. “But reading the tea leaves, it seems that he is struggling to find a way to grant my request for summary judgment without offending the views of the local populace.”

“What does that mean?” the young Sadie asked.

“I imagine you know the prejudices of the local populace better than I would,” Robert stated gently.

“They want to see Harrison hang high on a branch of some live oak,” Sadie said, a bit indelicately.

“That is it more or less,” Robert agreed.

“But how can that be done?” Sadie asked.

“I can only think of a few ways,” Robert said. “The most obvious would be if we are all made persona non grata and told to get out of town.”

“Why would that apply to all of us?” the elder Sadie asked.

“We’re all in this boat together,” Robert said. “I have defended Harrison vigorously in court and shown myself to be far too racially egalitarian for the tastes of the populace. I have no personal problem with this but it is certainly inconvenient and suggests my usefulness to the crown in this city has come to an end. The rest of you are reminders of upwardly mobile free blacks, and I suspect that they are not willing to see you live in peace.”

“What does that mean for us?” the elder Sadie asked. “Where are we to live?”

“I know this is your home and all, but you are probably going to have to make a new one elsewhere within the British empire,” Robert said.

“Where would we be welcome and able to live at peace?” the elder Sadie asked.

“There are a few places that would work. If you did not mind cooler climates, either England or Canada could work. There are also efforts at encouraging the resettlement of Africans in Africa in some land that is on British colonial territory on the Atlantic coast. Other than that, you are probably looking at somewhere like Bermuda, the Bahamas, or the islands of the West Indies,” Robert added.

“You don’t think there is any future for us here?” the elder Sadie asked.

“Not for any of us,” Robert said. “The British government is moving towards an acceptance of peace with the American rebels who are self-styled Patriots. There is a lack of appetite for increased levies of troops to put down the rebellion, and so it is likely that all of this land will be given to the tender mercies of those who have fought for independence. Since all of us in our own ways have sought to serve the crown, there is no place for us here. There is certainly no place in Charleston for a black man who has raised his voice or lifted his hand, or even been thought to do so, against a white man.”

Harrison and his family thought over this sadly.

“Where will you go?” Sadie asked Robert.

“I will go where I am sent by His majesty’s government. I am at their service, after all. I was hoping to enjoy some relaxing time in East Florida, but I am not sure if that will happen,” Robert answered.

“You don’t have a fancy home to return to?” Sadie asked.

“I have a modest dwelling that I do not spend much time in,” Robert answered. “My family has some servants who come over to do a bit of cleaning, but I don’t live in a luxurious mansion or anything like that. My grandfather does, though.”

“I would like to see your place sometime,” Sadie said.

“I don’t know if that will be the case. What I want you all to do is prepare to leave. The verdict may come as soon as tomorrow, and so the sooner you are able to leave with as many resources as possible, the better it will be. If I were you, I would push to live somewhere like the Bahamas. The climate is close to what it is here, it is not so far away, and slavery is not so entrenched there the way it is in Jamaica or Antigua or other sugar islands, so you will have a better life in town than you would on an island that was focused on crop production,” Robert said.

“That seems like good advice,” Harrison said. “Do you really think they will let me go free?”

“I cannot see how they have any cause under law, at least as those laws are now written, to avoid it, but I think they will want to make sure that everyone knows that they disapprove of your actions and want nothing to do with you, and discourage anyone else from doing as you have done,” Robert said.

“That’s mighty unkind, but I suppose I could expect nothing less,” Harrison said.

“Thank you for speaking in defense of my son,” the elder Sadie said. “We appreciate your willingness to defend him, even if it puts you at risk yourself of the hate from people here.”

“I am fortunate enough that this is not my home,” Robert said. “I suspect that this city will long be unkind to those who think and feel differently from the majority.”

Everyone there nodded their heads seriously.

“In the meantime,” Robert continued. “I hope everyone gets as good a night as possible and that you are ready to leave tomorrow, if necessary.”

With that, Robert nodded a farewell and turned to leave the jail. Not long after him, the two ladies left to make sure that they were ready to depart the city as well. For some reason, Robert thought it might be worth checking out the garrison to see how the army was holding up, and to let them know what he suspected would be the case regarding himself and the DuPonts. When he got to the garrison he saw a lot of hustle and bustle going on and it drew his interest.

“Greetings,” said his acquaintance Lieutenant Sanders.

“Greetings,” Robert replied politely.

“You picked a bad time to come,” Lt. Sanders helpfully stated.

“Why is that?” Robert asked.

“The commander sought to engage the local rebels in a truce to allow the garrison to be able to get food easily and we were rebuffed, so obtaining food is going to be a bit more difficult,” Sanders stated.

“That is unfortunate,” Robert agreed, thinking about his belly. “I see some injured people here.”

“We have had some skirmishes with forces that are trying to keep us from using the rivers. It would be nice to have our usual scouts, but a lot of them are laying low given the difficulties,” Sanders commented.

“And Harrison, of course, is in jail,” Robert added.

“How is he holding up?” Sanders asked.

“So far he is holding up pretty well,” Robert allowed. “I did want to talk to you about that, though.”

“What’s going on?” Sanders queried.

“I had a conference with Judge McNeal, who has been hearing the case, and it appears that he is trying to find a way to let my client live, but not let him live here, to split the difference between justice and the views of the populace,” Robert said.

“These people are vipers, the lot of them,” Sanders agreed.

“That is the concern. Since I have made my own support of Harrison and his innocence rather plain, I think that I might be considered to be unwelcome as well,” Robert said.

“Well, I suppose there is something we could do for you all,” Lt. Sanders added.

“What did you have in mind?” Robert asked.

“We can send you all on a short trip to Nassau and you can work to set up some places for freedmen who have served us well but who we would need to relocate to avoid local trouble,” Lt. Sanders stated.

“That would be a great help. I would be willing to help them find places to build a new life in the Bahamas,” Robert said.

“That would be greatly appreciated,” Lt. Sanders said. “When do you think this will happen?”

“I think it could happen tomorrow,” Robert stated. “Court has been adjourned for the day.”

“Alright, you didn’t bring very much stuff with you here, so before you go to the courtroom, you can check out of your inn and bring your carpetbag here. We will then have it ready to go in a boat and when you and the DuPonts arrive we can have you all leave together. We will send someone to help the DuPonts packed. I assume you talked with them already about your suspicions?” Lt. Sanders rattled off.

“I did indeed, and I believe they are preparing to leave now,” Robert said.

“Very good, then, we will see if we can get a few other freedmen to prepare to leave as well, so that you all can enjoy a safer time of it in the Bahamas,” Lt. Sanders stated.

“Very well then,” Robert said. “That sounds like a plan.” He saluted and then turned to return to the inn. When Robert got to the inn he found that there was considerable hustle and bustle going on there.

“What is the spread for today?” Robert asked the innkeeper. “We have some chicken and potatoes,” the innkeeper replied. “That sounds tasty,” Robert responded quickly, turning to head to the pot and enjoy some food.

“We need to talk,” the innkeeper said before Robert could get his dinner.

“What do we need to talk about?” Robert replied, thinking of the possibilities but wanting to hear the innkeeper spell it out.

“Your presence here has drawn the interest of some of the locals,” the innkeeper stated.

“I don’t expect that presence to last very long,” Robert allowed.

“You don’t?” the innkeeper stated.

“No, I expect my business to be done tomorrow, and that I will be leaving right away,” Robert stated.

“You don’t plan to linger a bit?” the innkeeper asked.

“No, I’m not on tour here or anything. When the case is done, I will be out. In fact, I had just finished talking with one of the officers of the garrison and they plan on having a boat ready for me tomorrow,” Robert stated.

“So you will settle up in the morning?” the innkeeper asked.

“That was my plan,” Robert said. “I assume that is acceptable to you?”

“That would be,” the innkeeper said. “In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the soup.”

“I plan on it,” Robert said, nodding politely and then turning to eat a couple of bowls at least. As he had hoped, he found the soup to be tasty, and if he was not entirely stuffed, he was satisfied enough to retire to his room and do a bit of thinking, reading, and writing in the evening as he pondered what would happen on the morrow.