Tennessee, 1862. Fifteen-year-old Elizabeth Edwards hates her personal slave, Anna. Elizabeth has never given much thought to the plight of the slaves on her father's plantation; instead, she focuses on pretty dresses and horses, and dreams of the young man she wants to marry. But Elizabeth's world collapses when she is told she must marry her cousin to keep the plantation in the family. Elizabeth takes out her anger on Anna, who finally snaps and reveals that Elizabeth and she have the same father. Anna is brutally whipped the next day, and Elizabeth is horrified. When she tries to confide in her mother, she finds her secretly kissing Elizabeth's tutor. Elizabeth now feels she has nothing and nobody. She changes her attitude about Anna and asks her to run away with her. They are overheard by two stable hands, Fred and Sam, who have heard of a safe house on the Underground Railroad. The four of them set off, planning to reach Canada. Will they all make it to Canada alive? Does Anna truly forgive Elizabeth, or is she just using her? Is it possible to find love on the run?

Plantation Children

I can’t stop the screams that rip from my throat.I run right through the slave quarters;small wooden huts in various states of disrepair.I dodge a group of brown children in the same horrible clothes that Anna used to wear,both boys and girls,and tears blur my vision.At the end of the quarters is an orchard bordered by a wooden fence painted with tar to discourage fruit theft by the slaves.I clamber over the fence,not caring what happens to my own skin,and run through the leafy trees.After climbing the fence on the other side,I run into a thick group of trees and collapse,because all I can see is the blood on Anna’s back.Even now the overseer must still be whipping her,crisscrossing her body with red lines.I imagine Anna clenching her teeth,doing her best not to cry out.I see Hannah,racing forward to save her daughter.Hannah will surely be punished severely.


Chapter 11