writers_loft | ch8b after the rain

I'm writing a historical novel, it begins in 1858. It's epic, there's a dozen or more voiced characters and it's full of erotic moments, though the chapter in the LJcut below is not one of them. I needed to cover a few key points:

Lillie's ability to fix the piano and to mimic people
a hint at why Thomas Oaks accepted Sarah Peterson so quickly
some personal history about Elvie

The proceeding chapter had Thomas saving the son of one of his bride's servants from a charging stallion. He was in his wedding suit, which is now ruined. This chapter is about the black Oaks. The brief love story replaces the very boring and trite wedding.

I'd love a little constructive criticism before I post this to my journal...

Lillie watched as Thomas climbed into the buggy, soaking wet and mud splattered. She heard Professor Peterson complaining. “Aren’t you going to change man?”

“No time,” Thomas’s deep voice carried above the rumbling thunder, even though he spoke quietly. “Sammy, get this cart across town now,” he called to the driver.

Lillie stood back as the buggy wheels spun up the mud and watched as her old family’s light trap left the yard. Now she was part of the Oaks’ household. She looked around at all the brown faces staring back at her. Cookie and Lil’ Jimmy, only had eyes for each other. The rolling thunder was softer, more distant, and the rain trailed off and ended, though the trees shading the courtyard continued to drip.

Paul took her arm, saying, “We best get you inside and dried off. We gots more packing to do.”

Elvie held the door open and draped a towel over Lil’ Jimmy as Cookie carried him in. She said, “I gots some spare clothes t’ fit dat chil’. I don’t think dat suit’s gonna get fixed. We’s gots some serious travelin’ t’ do.”

Lillie stood back as Paul and his sons started hauling out baskets of household items and boxes of store bought goods, loading them into the empty wagon in the courtyard. Jacob and Matthew took the harnessed team of mules and hitched them to the wagon that was inside the stable. The piano was covered with a tarred tarp and tied securely to the short wagon; it’s ornate legs sticking out of the covering. The mules jerked at their lines and pulled at the load, making the piano chime in discord, which made them jerk more.

“Walk it out boys!” Paul called from the back porch. “Drive them around the block, over those pot holes on the next street. Let them hear how much racket that thing can make while they still in town. Maybe they’ll realize it can’t jump out and hurt them.” He turned to Elvie and sadly shook his head as he said, “Gettin’ that contraption over the mountain is gonna be a real nightmare.”

“Ya know Thomas thinks dat thing gonna be da key t’ Miss Sarah’s happiness. He says she play like an angel.”

“It’s gonna be all out of tune by the time we gets home. It will sound like hell.”

“I know how to tune it,” Lillie said meekly. “They let the tension off all the strings before they moved it, so none would snap. I know how to make them sound right. There’s a box of pitched tuning forks in seat, to help.”

Paul looked her up and down, taking in her slight form and rain splattered dress, “So you know how to do all of that?”

“I might need some help on the right hand side, those thicker, deeper wires make the tuning pegs harder to turn, but when Professor Peterson saw I could play and had a good ear, he sent me off for lessons. Saved him a bundle. I’ve been tuning the choir piano at the Institute for years now.”

“Years, hahaha,” Elvie laughed, her voice deep and skeptical yet cheerful, “You’re still a baby.”

“Lillie’s only five months younger than Miss Sarah,” Cookie spoke up as she finished toweling the rain and mud off her son. “And Miss Sarah gonna have a baby herself.”

“Is Poppa joinin’ us Ma?” Jimmy asked, his voice squeaking from yelling so hard.

“No son, he’s gots to stay and keep the horses at VMI lookin’ pretty.”

“Don’t Mass’r Oaks horses wanna look pretty?”

“I think they might be too mean to be pretty, chil’ now you hush and get into these clean things, we’s gots work to do.”

“When we comin’ back to Lexington Ma?”

“Maybe next Spring…” Cookie’s voice drifted off as she looked at Lillie, hoping she’d confirm this.

“That’s what Thomas said,” Lillie said, then she began quoting one of Thomas’s rants. She did a fair impression of his ultra deep voice and stinted hillbilly accent, “I’ll leave Lexington and take your precious daughter far away from VMI so the talk can die down. And maybe next spring, we can come for a visit with a pretty blond baby to call you Grandpa so you can bounce him on your knee before the parade ground. Lie about his age and say what a big boy he is.”

Elvie burst out laughing, “I knows he didn’t say nothin’ as tame as all o’ dat. I don’t know why he agreed t’ all o’ dis.”

“It’s her initials,” Paul said cryptically. “S.B.P. All the Oaks wives have had those initials. He thinks its destiny.”

“My initials ain’t no SBP.”

“No, you only got initials, L.V.,” Paul chuckled, pinching her cheeks.

“No, that’s all momma had. I’m LV’s Baby.”

“Why would someone only have initials for a name?’ Lillie asked.

“She was branded after da victory, honey. L for Louisiana an’ V for victory. She would have died from da harsh treatment if’n it had continued, but Capt’n Jubal Early, well, he wouldn’t stand fo’ it. He rescued her an’ took her home an’ den she had me. I was raised at Hill Top, near Rocky Mount an’ I meet Paul at da horse fair dere when we was still kids.”

“I was riding for Thomas’s father, Edwin Oaks, showing one of his stallions to some buyers, when the horse went crazy and threw me,” Paul spoke with his hands, throwing them up in the air, then pounding his fist into his palm as he continued, “and stomped me. It was Elvie that put me back together.”

“I nursed him while his leg mended. Ol’ Edwin had t’ leave him at Hill Top. Poor Paul, he was so smashed up, he couldn’t do nothin’ for himself. Everyone told me I was a fool to fall in love wid a broken man, but I couldn’t help myself. An’ when Edwin came back for his brother, Mass’r Early told me t’ go wid him,” Elvie looked at her husband with glowing love, “We’ve been togever ever since.”

“You’re the love of my life, Elvie…” Paul said as he kissed her deeply.