Date: Sat, 13 Apr 2024 09:14:38 +0000
From: Chris Johns <chris-johns@hotmail.com>
Subject: Gabriel's Hope Plantation Chapter 2

Gabriel's Hope Plantation

Chapter 2

Sarah couldn't even begin to imagine what had prompted Gabriel's summons to
the big house. So, she had sat at home worrying. She was quite shocked when
he returned, being driven in a beautiful carriage and with another cart for
goods. He jumped from the carriage, took his mother in his arms and danced
her round the tiny parlour telling her of their good fortune.

"There are servants here to help you Mother. Pack everything you want to
take to the big house. I am now the master of Gabriel's Hope and you are
the mistress."

He explained about her brother's death and what he intended to do with his
aunt.

"She condemned us to this place after your parents died. I am going to send
her here with the same allowance that my uncle gave you. Let her see what
her miserable rejection of you caused us to live with."

Sarah was surprised at her son's forceful attitude.

"Also, Mother, I am taking Joshua's family to live with us when I am
settled. They can have one of the overseer's houses on the plantation. I
will employ them all so that they can start to have a good life as well.
His mother can help you in the house, his father can work with the smithy,
and the children will go to school like regular children. Joshua, I will
train to be my accounts clerk."

Sarah was amazed how quickly Gabriel had formulated so much.

Gabriel left his mother packing and went to find Joshua. He found him doing
menial jobs for one of the town's traders.

"Stop that Josh, go and tell your boss you are leaving. Don't make any fuss
about money owed, it won't be enough to worry about. You have a new job,
you are going to be the accounts clerk at Gabriel's Hope Plantation."

Joshua looked at Gabriel as though he was mad.

"I'm the new owner Josh, my uncle died and I'm the sole surviving male."

Josh was goggle eyed, and it got even better for him.

"Your whole family are to come to the plantation to live. Mother will
employ your mother in the house, I will employ your father, and the babes
will be educated as well."  Josh couldn't take it all in, his best friend,
his only white friend was going to be his saviour, he knew he would do
anything for Gabriel now. What he didn't realise was what the anything
would entail.

"I'll send a cart for you tomorrow Josh. Don't worry if it is quite late
because I want the cottage all cleaned and made ready for your family
first."

What Gabriel intended was that when he was finished with the carriage the
next day, he was going to send that for the family and the cart for their
goods.

Back at the mansion and Gabriel found his aunt still packing, but now it
was anything she could lay her hands on.

"I think Madame, I will ask a housemaid to help you unpack everything other
than your clothes and your jewellery. If there is anything else that I
think you should have I will forward it to you. Be ready to leave as soon
as the wagon arrives from my old home. I will sign title to my old home
over to you when I see Balfour tomorrow."

His aunt looked at him almost spitting venom.

"What am I to do about servants?"

"Oh I doubt there would be room for any in the cottage, and you obviously
didn't think my mother should have any so I guess you will manage without
as well."

In one day, by the time he and his mother sat down to dinner in the main
dining room, Gabriel thought he had achieved a great deal. He had left Josh
at home helping his parents pack the family's belongings.

The best part of the day for Gabriel was bathing because he had Jess bathe
him, and he reciprocated. When he had his private bathroom he thought
things would get even better. As it was, he had great fun. He sat back in
his bed before sleeping and thought about it

He had asked Jess to have loads of hot water available and they would bath
together. Jess couldn't believe this until he was by the bath and he was
undressing his new master. Gabriel was very hard by the time Jess had
finished and he thought his cock would burst out of his skin by the time he
had Jess naked as well.

"I'm going to wash you first Jess so that you know how I want you to do
me."

Taking much too long over the groin area, Gabriel was well satisfied with
the result. Jess had a tidy cock and balls and had a very satisfying orgasm
as Gabriel jacked his cock and played with his balls.

"I hope you enjoyed that Jess, because we will do it often, and maybe
more."

Jess blushed before replying, "It was very exciting Master. I liked it."

Gabriel laughed and leant forward to give Jess a light kiss on the lips.

"I think we might have lots of fun when I am truly settled in, but for now
come and talk to me about the field slaves."

Gabriel wanted to hear about how the manager and overseers treated them,
what punishments were handed out, how the women and girls were treated,
etc. By the time he went to bed he had much to think about.

Rape of the young women by the overseers was common, beatings, for very
minor offences were also quite common. Gabriel thought that was quite
disgraceful and that rape was an enormous sin.

The next morning Gabriel went into town again to see Mr. Balfour. He signed
all the documents and then was presented with details of his bank
holdings. He was amazed, most of it was in gold bullion. What also amazed
him was the quantity, how could his family have made so much off the backs
of slaves when they lived in such squalor. Gold was a commodity that had
permanent value but few people held it at present. He thought it was a good
idea but he disliked banks so he started to think about what he could do
with it.

Back at the plantation he sat with Mr. Thomas for a while going through the
books. He said nothing, but as a senior accounts clerk he very quickly saw
where Thomas, in cahoots he guessed with the overseers were skimming
profits, that became even more obvious when he thought about the slave
quarters and realised that nowhere near the amount of money showing in the
accounts for their upkeep had actually been spent.

He rode badly, realising he would need his stableman to teach him, but he
managed to stay in the saddle to view his domain again in the light of his
increased knowledge. The slaves' clothes were again quite obviously not
being replaced as often as the accounts would have him believe, most of the
men were barely decent their trousers were so worn.

When he got back to the mansion he asked Jess to send the stableman to him
immediately, and the senior work gang slaves, when they finished work.

Isaiah was the stableman and Gabriel briefed him.

"I want you to take this letter into town to the rooms of Mr. Balfour, the
lawyer, can you do that for me?"

"Oh, yes, Master if you give me a pass."

"Ok, Isaiah, take a horse and go now."

When Isaiah returned he had Mr. Balfour with him, looking quite worried.

"Mr. Balfour, I'm going to sack my manager and overseers. They have been
stealing quite large sums from the estate, and the slaves are the ones that
have suffered. I want you to witness my words so that I can get rid of them
without any compensation."

Balfour was quite shocked. "How will you run your estate without these men?

Gabriel laughed, "I'm going to do the unthinkable, I'm going to put my work
gang foremen in charge and I'm going to have a black accounts clerk to
monitor expenditure while I learn how to run the place."

It was comical to Gabriel to see how Balfour reacted.

"I promise you Mr. Balfour I will keep in touch with you even though I
don't need to. I will almost certainly, as time goes by, have much need of
your services. Also, I want to move my gold out of the bank. Can you
suggest a safe haven for it not in any bank?"

"When you are finished with the men, Mr. Sinclair, I will show you
something."

Gabriel wasn't going to risk any trouble so he briefed his work gang's
leaders beforehand. They were amazed, but turned up as ordered grasping
pick axe handles and stood behind Gabriel and Mr. Balfour.

"Mr Thomas, Gamble and Brown, I don't intend beating about the bush. I have
been through the accounts thoroughly, I have cross checked expenditure with
goods received and the discrepancy must have made all three of you quite
wealthy men."

If Balfour and Gabriel had any doubts before, the looks passed between the
three men cleared them.

"I have two choices, I can just sack you and have you clear of the estate
in thirty minutes, or I can call the law and have you searched, and
investigated before charging you with embezzlement. I'm going for the first
option. I want you off this estate now. You will not take anything except
the clothes on your back. Your ill-gotten gains you will leave in your
cottages, if they are not there when I look, then I will have the law on
you. If you are still on my land in thirty minutes I will have slaves strip
you and send you on your way naked, now go."

They did, cursing the new master. Gabriel asked the foremen to wait in the
hall.

When the study was empty, Balfour went and locked the door before guiding
Gabriel to the fireplace.

"Watch as I press these two points simultaneously."

There was a horse rearing up, carved in the mantelpiece at one end and, at
full stretch for Mr. Balfour being only a little man, another horse facing
the room in the centre of the fireplace. The two points were the noses of
the horses. When pressed simultaneously, a panel slid open at the other
side of the fireplace, a trapdoor in the floor lifted to reveal a staircase
leading down running along the back of the fire.

"The fireplace in the next room backs on to this so there is no obvious
discrepancy in the shape of the walls. If the house were destroyed I still
doubt this stairwell would be discovered."

At the bottom was a small room with a table and chair, and a candle in a
holder on the table, which Balfour lit.

"Still nothing to see but if I put a little weight against this wall here."
With that, Balfour stepped into a corner and pushed the wall, it swivelled
revealing a larger room.

"You could store the whole of the country's gold in here."

Gabriel was amazed.

"Thank you Mr. Balfour, I presume you are the only one besides me that
knows about this."

Balfour nodded.

"I now have great cause to look after you then." and he
laughed. Mr. Balfour didn't.

"Please Mr, Balfour, I know you have served my family well and I am
honoured by the way you address me, but as I am so much younger than you
will you be kind enough to address me as Gabriel in future?"

Balfour bowed a little and replied, "Thank you Mr. Sinclair, I am honoured,
but it may take me a little while to get used to that, Gabriel," now a
smile crossed his face and Gabriel was pleased.

Joshua was going to be shown this at some point in the future, probably
when they stowed the gold in here. The secret was all hidden again and it
was time to move on.

"Isaiah, ride back to town with Mr. Balfour and take a spare horse. I want
you to bring my friend Joshua with you and make sure his family have all
the help they need to pack up and come to the estate."

Addressing the foremen that were waiting in the entrance hall Gabriel said,
"Foremen, go and handle your crews. Don't let me down or I'll bring in new
overseers."

Balfour went, wondering at the energy this new young master was exhibiting.

When Josh arrived, Gabriel couldn't resist temptation. He took him in his
arms and kissed him on the lips. Before he could react he spoke.

"We are going to have so much fun running this plantation, Josh, and we are
going to start now."

Gabriel explained what he was going to do.

"I'm going to let the gang foremen run the gangs with no white
overseers. I'll get you to issue the orders for anything we need to buy,
and you just bring them to me each day for my signature. I'm going to show
you how I want the books kept. Jess is presently a houseboy, but I think we
can use him as our errand and messenger boy. All three of us are going to
learn how to ride. I'm not going to let you and Jess waste time walking
everywhere, which is counterproductive."

In the three years since leaving school, Gabriel had watched, listened, and
learnt. So much money was wasted following old ways in business, he wasn't
going to have that.

The gang foremen came to the house to report at the end of the day, and
Gabriel sat them on the back porch and had a large jug of cool lemonade
ready for them.

"Now, who is the senior man here?"

They all looked at a man mountain about thirty years old.

"I guess I am Master, I'm Ezekiel."

Gabriel laughed, "Well you are now Zeke, I could waste days saying all of
your name."

The men laughed.

"I want you to give me the name of another man who could be a gang foreman"

The man chosen was Abraham who would become Abe. Jess was sent to get him.

"Zeke, this is my proposal. Each gang surrenders two men to me and they
will work with Abe. Provided you can promise me that the depleted gangs
will get as much work done as they do now I will use this new gang to start
building new cabins for families to live in. Your families, your women, and
your children should be together, and I want that to happen. The old cabins
we will pull down as they empty, they are too far decayed to even think
about wasting more money on. I also want you to send me as many of the
women as you can that are seamstresses. Starting with the ladies we are
going to see some pretty dresses around here, then we'll think about puting
some not so pretty dresses on you men."

Another laugh and exchanged looks wondering at this new master.

"I'm not crazy, but the expenditure on these things has been going into the
overseers pockets, now it's going to you. Any problems with that Zeke, and
the rest of you?"

Much shaking of heads.

"Zeke, you have Abe and his work gang wait at the cottages in the morning,
Josh and I will be there to start the ball rolling on this. Remember, don't
let me down or I'll bring in new overseers. Report to me at the end of work
each day."

He went down to the overseers and manager's cottages and collected piles of
silver dollars. He was sure they would still have left with plenty, but
this haul would build a lot of cottages.

Gabriel told his mother what he had ordered.

"Please Mother, take a cart and the carriage, go into town tomorrow and buy
loads of pretty material. Let our women start to look good for their men."

After dinner that night, having checked that Josh's family were moved in
and settling, Gabriel asked Josh to sleep with him.

"We have so much to do Josh, it would be good to be able to talk in bed as
well."

Josh wasn't stupid.

"Will that be in between kisses and whatever else you have planned?"

He was grinning and Gabriel was as well, before getting very serious.

"I've never felt I could say this before Josh, but now I can. I love you,
more than a brother. I think I've always loved you, but after puberty I
knew it was a special kind of love, forbidden in our society."

Josh, looking serious replied. "I know, I think I've known for a long
time. I don't know for sure how I feel. I know I love you as well, but I
don't know how far I can go with this boy/boy sex."

"We'll worry about it as we go along then shall we, but can I kiss you
goodnight?"

Josh laughed, "Yes Gabriel I think I'd like that."

Cuddling Joshua that night, both of them naked was something Gabriel had
dreamt about, without realistically believing it would ever happen. Now it
was and it was heaven. Josh could feel the tears falling on his back, but
he knew they were happy tears so he said nothing. He could also feel a very
hard cock pressed into the crack of his ass that didn't worry him either.
The sex thing would work itself out, but Josh was sure he would do anything
Gabriel wanted, he owed him so much already, and it was set to get better.

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