Yellow Wife

At the jail, the men and women are separated. They are forced into a small holding cell with no running water, food, or facilities. A woman in the cell with Pheby tells her that this is where they will wait before they are sold; she has been here before. Pheby confides that she has been told that she will be whipped for aiding an enslaved man to escape, but her cellmate informs here that it is far more likely that she will be sold into sex work than beaten.

Before the auction, Pheby and the other women are cleaned, dressed, and groomed. Pheby watches the sale of one man. He stands naked in front of a crowd of white enslavers and is told to squat in front of them. When it is Pheby’s turn, she is told to take her clothes off in front of the men. Pheby refuses and fights back when the men forcibly attempt to remove her clothing. Suddenly, one white man tells the others to stop and that he will be taking her. Pheby is unsure whether she should be frightened of the man or grateful.

Pheby learns that the man who purchased her is Rubin Lapier, the owner of Lapier’s jail. She is introduced to the other enslaved workers. Tommy, a small boy, shows her around, and Elsie, a cook, looks at Pheby with annoyance. Tommy takes Pheby to her room. She immediately recognizes that Rubin wants something from her. The room is nice with a large silver tub and a closet full of finery. After the arduous journey, Pheby falls ill and is cared for by another enslaved worker named July. July is young and kind, and Pheby feels attached to her immediately. While she recovers, Pheby mends clothes to be useful.

Rubin comes to Pheby and introduces himself. He gives her a small silver thimble as a gift. Pheby continues to feel sick and is unable to keep her food down. Elsie confronts Pheby and tells her that Pheby is likely pregnant. Pheby realizes that her encounter with Essex was about to lead to the birth of her first child.

Elsie continues to be unfriendly toward Pheby. Rubin tells Elsie that July will spend all her time caring for Pheby while she is pregnant. When Elsie pushes back, telling him that she needs July’s help in the kitchen, Rubin slaps her. Elsie tells Pheby that Lapier’s jail is called Devil’s Half Acre, and that Rubin is the devil.

Rubin asks Pheby to join him in the evenings. Although Elsie tells her that he wants her to wear the fine clothes from the closet, Pheby wears only her simple work dresses. Rubin is kind to Pheby when they meet, but she is cautious. She recognizes that he wants more than to bestow gifts upon her. Rubin orders Elsie to deliver sweets to the parlor, and he commands Pheby to eat slowly so he can watch. Rubin tries to move closer to Pheby and kisses her on the cheek, but Pheby pulls away and asks to be allowed back to her room.

Pheby recalls the Christmases she spent on the plantation. Although most of the enslaved people on the plantation did not know their birthdays, Ruth made a point to celebrate Pheby’s each year on December 25. Pheby receives word that Jacob has passed, and any hope of him coming to Lapier’s jail to fetch her dissolves.

Rubin continues to require Pheby’s presence in the parlor in the evenings. Each night, Pheby eyes the piano in the corner, until one day Rubin notices her interest. She asks if she can play for him, and he is delighted by her skill. When she is finished, Rubin tells Pheby that Lapier’s jail is now her home, and he moves in close. Once more, she asks to be excused, and he lets her go.

When Pheby has been at Lapier’s jail for six months, the jailer brings her a young girl and instructs Pheby to clean the girl and feed her. Pheby is to prepare the girl for sale at the auction. Pheby asks the girl details about herself while she pretends that she is helping her get ready for a party: “No matter how hard I pretended, the image of Matilda on the auction block, naked for all to see, clouded my head” (110). The girl’s story strikes Pheby with its sadness. Needing to do something other than feeling powerless, Pheby returns to her room and writes down the girl’s history in her journal.

From that point forward, Pheby is tasked with preparing girls to be sold into sex work. On some days, Pheby must prepare four girls at a time. She continues to ask them their names and stories, and she carefully records what they tell her. Pheby delivers her baby, a boy, and names him Monroe Henry Brown.