Be advised this story contains elements of incest, interracial coupling, pregnancy, some non-consent.
"It's Just a Matter of Breeding" is a reworking of my story "A Matter of Breeding." Not sure what the specific difficulty was in initially getting "A Matter of Breeding" published, but I hope you enjoy the enhanced story.
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My name is Dilcy Lee Reid. I grew up in Louisiana, a slave on the Reid Plantation with my Mama Clarice and Johnnie, the man I'd always known as my Daddy. Though our lives weren't easy, we were together, and Masta Reid was a reasonably kind man who was fair and didn't beat or abuse his slaves the way some did. To his credit, Masta Reid unlike other slave owners defied the law and taught some of his slaves to read, write and cipher. He utilized these slaves in privileged positions on the Plantation. My Mama and I were fortunate enough to be taught these things and to take advantage of the benefits that came from working in the Main House.
I'll never forget the morning I awoke to the sight of my Mama putting my few possessions into a tattered little bundle. I sat up in bed and stared at her as she walked around the small cabin softly crying.
"Mama . . . Mama, what's wrong," I asked anxiously, wiping the sleep from my eyes.
"You're going to be leaving here baby. You're going to move to the Brennan place, and you're going to be there helping Miss Brennan. You'll be taking care of her and helping wherever needed in the Main House," Mama said, her eyes averting mine.
"Mama, no! I don't want to leave you."
"Shhhh . . . stop Dilcy. You're not a little girl anymore; you're old enough to know that we don't have a say in what we do or where Masta Reid sends us. Now stop your crying. There's nothing to be scared of. I want you to get up, wash up good and get on in here for some breakfast. You need to be out front when Masta Brennan is ready to leave."
*****
I stood on the dirt road in front of our cabin nervously shifting from one foot to the other while I waited for Masta Brennan. I gasped and held my breath when I saw the wagon coming and recognized the large white man seated on the bench next to the burly black driver. Big, hard-bodied with thick dark blonde hair, steely blue eyes, and an angular but handsome face. He was the same man who had come to the cabin last night and told Johnnie and me to leave while he visited with Mama. I could see the suppressed anger on Johnnie's face when he got up and left the cabin. Johnnie took my arm and we walked a little way down the quiet moonlit road finally stopping under an old pine tree. Johnnie lit his pipe and silently smoked it; looking up into his dark, craggy face, I could see tears in his eyes.
After about an hour or so, the cabin door opened and the big white man came out adjusting his pants. He said something to Mama, and as Mama stood in the doorway watching, the man reluctantly turned and walked away.
When he passed Johnnie and me, he stopped.
"So you're Dilcy?" he said, his blue eyes bright as he looked at my small youthful breasts straining against the fabric of the too small dress I had squeezed into.
"How old are you girl?"
"Just turned eighteen suh," I said with my head down and a slight tremble in my voice.
He stared at me for what seemed a moment too long before he mumbled something to himself, mounted his horse, and headed off down the road toward the Main House.
Masta Jeremiah Brennan was the owner of "Weeping Willows" a large and prosperous plantation twenty miles to the west of Masta Reid's place, known in the area as simply "The Reid Plantation." Weeping Willows' fame had come from cotton and the breeding of some of the best-thoroughbred horses in this part of the state. As important, but not spoken about in mixed society was to a lesser extent the deplorable business of slave breeding. Masta Brennan bred his strong young bucks at their full potency to fertile, nubile young slave women for profit, much as he bred his prize horses.
When the wagon pulled up, I clambered in the back and took a seat between the many boxes and rucksacks of supplies, frantically waving to my Mama and Johnnie as the wagon pulled away. It took all of that day before we reached Weeping Willows. About halfway there, we stopped at a small pond to refresh ourselves and eat a light meal of cornbread and buttermilk. The day was hot, and thinking I was out of sight of Masta and his driver, I stripped out of my clothes and dove into the cool water for a quick swim, unaware that Masta Brennan was watching and appraising my body as I innocently played and cavorted, unknowingly on full display.
*****
Raised in the Main House on the Reid Plantation all I knew was serving my Mistress and taking care of the house. I routinely tended the vegetable and flower gardens behind the kitchen, but I had never worked in the fields or anywhere else outside. My responsibilities at Weeping Willows seemed simple enough; meeting the Mistress' needs, tending to her clothing, helping to clean and maintain her rooms and the house, things I was familiar with and good at. Though brought here to be the personal slave of Miss Anne, Masta Brennan's wife, I knew about the other activities that took place at Weeping Willows, and the shadow of the breeding shed was always at the back of my mind.