The Last Runaway

Honor writes to Biddy, thanking her for sending the quilts, which remind her pleasantly of home. She laments the snow that keeps everyone “cooped up” in the house, which grows “weary and dull” (209). Though she knows that the food they preserved during the harvest was to keep them fed during this time, she feels anxious watching them dip into their stores without replenishing them. She comments on her first experience with popcorn, which delighted her. Jack made the treat several nights in a row to please her.

Honor has improved at milking cows, which has given her stronger arms and shoulders. She is uncertain about these changes, though Jack is ambivalent about them. She dislikes, however, the chore of shucking corn, which hurts her thumbs. After chores, the women sit, sew, and knit. Honor reports an increased affection for the “simple cheerfulness” of appliqué designs. She stitches slowly and poorly despite the abundance of free time, distracted by the restlessness brought on by being trapped inside. They see few neighbors, but Honor reports Belle visiting in a sleigh. Belle brought tan silk that Honor is reserving for a future quilt of her own design.

The weather gradually warms, bringing more cheerful spirits to the Haymakers. Honor notes changes in her body, suspecting pregnancy. Jack taps the maple trees, and the family prepares for boiling sap into syrup. Walking between the trees gives Honor some much-desired alone time with Jack. While they walk, however, a Black man emerges from the trees, claiming that he “heard they was Quakers up this way would look after a man if he asked” (217). To Jack’s astonishment, Honor gives the man precise locations to the Mill Street safe house. When the man departs, Jack reveals that he knew Honor was hiding food, but he didn’t know she was communicating with those seeking freedom. She is further astonished when Jack reveals that Judith also knew and wanted to stop her, but Jack asked that Honor be allowed to continue because he wishes Honor to be happy as his wife.

When they return to the house, Jack tells his mother all that occurred. Judith orders Honor to stop, claiming that it is even less safe now that Honor is pregnant. Honor is surprised that Judith knew; Jack is surprised to learn of the pregnancy. Judith reveals that the Haymakers lost their farm in North Carolina after having to pay a fine for aiding an escapee. This precipitated their relocation to Ohio. Reluctantly, Honor promises to stop aiding any escaping enslaved people.

Honor writes to her parents, alerting them of her pregnancy. She is glad that she does not suffer from morning sickness, though she regrets the lingering awkwardness between herself and Adam, the only person from “home” who lives in Faithwell. She hopes that her parents will one day meet their grandchild, though she wonders if this is “perhaps foolish.”

Honor struggles with her promise to stop helping those escaping slavery, as they continue to pass by the Haymaker farm. She directs them on to Mill Street in Oberlin, rationalizing that this does not constitute “helping.” When an elderly woman asks for food, however, Honor cannot resist giving her some. She confesses this aid to the Haymakers, and Judith argues that, despite Honor’s rationalizing, Donovan would certainly consider her actions to be “aiding a fugitive” (225). She says to retrieve her if, in the future, Honor struggles to send someone away. Honor does not accept this offer. The next time she sees an escapee on the farm, she insists that she can’t “hide” them but hands them jerky, which she begins carrying at all times.

In spring, Honor and Dorcas hear a baby crying from the woods. Though Dorcas urges Honor not to look, Honor finds a woman holding a four-month-old baby. Honor orders Dorcas to fetch milk; the baby’s mother can no longer nurse. The woman confirms that Donovan is pursuing her. Judith arrives with milk. She quizzes the woman, who reveals that Belle Mills sent her to Honor. The woman and baby depart, and Judith orders Honor to tell Belle to stop sending escapees and not to visit.

Honor writes a letter according to Judith’s command, asking Belle to no longer send “fugitives” to her, citing the recent arrest of a Quaker as the reason she agrees with the Haymakers that the risk is too great. She thanks Belle for her friendship but asks her not to visit, citing the differences in their “ways.”

Honor goes to Oberlin with Jack, her first visit to town in months. She heads to the Mill Street safe house to tell Mrs. Reed of her promise to cease aiding escapees. She passes Wack’s Hotel, which, slightly past town lines, is not subject to the city’s anti-liquor laws. The hotel is run by a pro-slavery Democrat. Honor sees Donovan on the hotel porch. She approaches him and asks to speak, pulling in her stomach even though her pregnancy is not yet visible.

Honor tells Donovan that she will no longer aid those escaping slavery, expressing her desire to respect her family’s wishes. Donovan counters that what the Haymakers truly care about is keeping Honor controlled, arguing that “they don’t want a woman who’s gonna think for herself” (233). Honor refutes this, though wonders if she is inadvertently lying as she does so.

Donovan, somewhat abashed, offers that, if Honor left Jack for him, he would give up his job pursuing escapees. They could go west together, and he would find new employment. He asserts that he would make her happier than Jack does. Honor, surprised that she can envision this life, explains that she believes in Donovan’s capacity for change but is pregnant. Donovan walks back to the hotel, where he and Honor depart. Honor finds herself pitying him. He promises that he will no longer stop at the farm, though he claims that he may ride past.

Honor admires the robust flower garden in front of Mrs. Reed’s house. She admires the apparent randomness of the blooms as denoting a skilled gardener. Mrs. Reed pulls Honor inside quickly so that she will not be seen and closes the door despite the fragrant pan of frying onions. Honor tells her that she can no longer help escapees. Honor looks around the kitchen, fetching things when Mrs. Reed asks. The older woman doesn’t ask for an explanation, but Honor offers one: She is pregnant.

A baby cries in the next room. Mrs. Reed sends Honor to fetch her granddaughter, who is about six months old. She soothes the baby and notices a nearby quilt, which she finds is well made and following an organically chaotic aspect that is similar to the garden outside. She finds the style more mature than Ohio appliqué and more inspired than her own patchwork. Honor compliments the quilt, and though Mrs. Reed seems pleased, she dismisses this to focus on the quilt’s practical use. She identifies a piece of fabric as coming from the coat her husband gave her when Mrs. Reed and her daughter escaped slavery. He intended to follow but never got the opportunity. Honor apologizes for no longer being able to help, but Mrs. Reed tells her that she really owes the apology to “them runaways come lookin’ for help” (242).

A letter from Belle to Honor insists that Belle will not recognize the previous letter that ended their friendship, as Judith’s influence was evident in the text. She also warns Honor (and Judith) about writing down incriminating information. She promises Honor that she “always [has] a friend in Wellington” (243).

Over the next month, Honor sees few people. No escapees come to the farm, nor do any visitors or letters. When a man with an injured and infected foot passes by the farm, Honor wants to help him, but Judith refuses to allow her to provide any aid beyond a sip of water. That night, Honor thinks of how she no longer enjoys sex with Jack now that he has forbidden her from aiding escapees.

Unable to stop thinking about the injured man, she wonders who can help her, worrying that nobody in Faithwell will be willing to defy Judith, no matter how strong their principles. She slips from bed and begins the long walk toward Wellington, frightened of being alone at night. She hopes to find Donovan, whom she knows will be out riding if there is an escapee in the area. When she encounters Donovan, she asks for his help to get the injured man to a doctor. He reminds Honor that he will turn the man in; Honor knows but asserts that life enslaved is better than death free.

When they find the injured man, he is already dead. Donovan comforts her and then urges her home before her absence is noted. He offers to bury the dead man, but Honor wants others to see how they have contributed to his death. Honor encounters Jack and Judith searching the farm for her. She offers no explanation of her whereabouts but sends their dog, Digger, to lead them to the dead man before going to sleep in the haymow.

When she wakes up, Dorcas is there. Dorcas explains that, in addition to the fine they received in North Carolina, the Haymakers’ father was killed aiding someone escaping slavery. He hid the escapee in the barn, and when men came seeking him and lit the barn on fire, he attempted to rescue the escapee from the blaze. The enslaver locked the barn door behind Mr. Haymaker, causing both Mr. Haymaker and the escapee to burn to death while the rest of the family watched, restrained from helping. The Haymakers were fined for “destruction of property” for the death of the enslaved man (255). This, Dorcas offers, is the full reason the Haymakers are unwilling to again aid escapees.

The two women sit silently, Honor feeling close to her sister-in-law for the first time. Dorcas departs, and Honor muses on the difficulty of living one’s principles in daily life. She feels so confused by this disparity that she stops speaking entirely. This causes tension with Jack and Judith, who take Honor’s silence as judgment, but brings her closer to Dorcas, who embraces her as a sister and joins her in chores. Jack frames this silence to the Faithwell community as an extension of the silence of Quaker meetings, fashioning this as a sign of religious devotion. Honor finds the silence a relief, as she feels no pressure to transform her thoughts into words. She doesn’t question her silence, considering it a “gift.”

The Faithwell community, however, dislikes Honor’s silence. Adam pulls her aside, threatening that if she does not begin speaking after the baby is born, she will be asked to leave the community and forced to leave her child with the Haymakers. He urges her to forget the past and look to the future, though Honor notes that he does not mention anything about slavery. He takes her to work in the store at Oberlin, where she continues to remain silent, even with customers. Mrs. Reed comments that “[w]ords ain’t everything” but tells Honor that if she “want[s] to keep quiet, that’s fine, but leave the runaways out of it” (260).

A letter from Honor’s parents notes that it has been months since they have heard from her. They are beginning to worry, and they hope that both she and her baby are safe and well.