Petals on the River

by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss

  Gage realized he would have to offer a generous guarantee to even interest the man. “If you’d like, I can leave a deposit in your care equal to what you paid for her. All you need do is show me some evidence of what that amount may be and then sign a receipt promising to return it once I bring Annie back.”

  “She cost me fifteen pounds,” the man stated with a caustic snort. “But ‘twill cost you another five to lease her out.”

  “Five pounds! Good heavens, man! I’m not keeping her for a year!”

  “ ‘Twill be five pounds or nothing at all.” Mr. Myers shrugged as he exaggerated his own needs. “I have important work for Annie to do here and must be compensated for any delay her absence will cause me.”

  Gage became a little more demanding himself. “For five pounds, I’ll expect to have her for at least two full weeks, nothing less.”

  Samuel Myers smirked. “I suppose I can make do on my own for that long, but be warned, if you don’t bring her back, all the money will be mine.”

  “All the money will be yours,” Gage grumbled in agreement, feeling as if he’d just been swindled. “But I’ll need that receipt just in case you might be of a mind to say that I’ve stolen her from you.”

  “You’ll get your receipt,” Mr. Myers retorted insolently, “but she’ll leave here in the same clothes she came in.”

  Gage glanced around to see what Annie was wearing and promptly wondered why the clothier concerned himself about such an unworthy garment.

  “Unless, of course,” Myers prodded, “you’re willing to pay for the gown, too.”

  Gage declined with a disdaining jeer. “You may keep the gown, Mr. Myers. I’m sure I’ve seen better in Mrs. Tate’s rag bin.”

  Gage reclaimed his seat in the wagon a few moments later and headed back toward the Tates’ cabin, accompanied by Annie, who had garbed herself in the gown she had worn during the voyage. It was still just as ragged, but thankfully it had been washed.

  Shemaine would be relieved to see her friend, Gage knew, but as for himself, there was much to think about. He would have to figure out a way to recoup his losses, because he just couldn’t feature himself returning a bondslave to a master who abused women like Samuel Myers had proven himself capable of doing. Neither could he imagine keeping Annie himself, for he was completely content with Shemaine and didn’t want to invite another woman into his home on a permanent basis. Although the Tates needed Annie at the present time, they couldn’t afford to buy her when they were saving nearly every farthing for their sons’ education. At present, he couldn’t think of what other options were open to him, but hoped that he’d have some idea by the time her services were no longer needed by the Tates.

  On the seat beside him, Annie chafed like an overanxious mother. “Did ye leave the doc a note so’s he’d know where ta come when he returns?”

  “I took care of that while you were changing clothes.”

  “An’ ye put it in a place where he’ll find it as soon as he returns?”

  “Aye.”

  “In a safe place, where Mr. Myers can’t find it?”

  “I slipped the note beneath his door, and the door is locked,” Gage answered, wearied by her relentless inquiries.

  “What if he don’t look down? The doc is gettin’ on in years, ye know. He said he’d be two score an’ five years come Friday next.” It seemed an extremely ancient age to Annie, who had barely a score of years to her credit.

  “Annie, stop your fretting,” Gage urged impatiently. “You vex me with all your questions.”

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Thornton,” she murmured contritely. “I just want ta make sure the doc’ll be comin’ so’s yer friends won’t be dependin’ on me alone. I knows a lot ’bout birthin’ babies, coolin’ a fever, or tendin’ wounds, but I’m thinkin’ it might be better ta have someone there what’s had some proper learnin’.”

  “Proper learning or not, Annie, you’ll be staying with the Tates for a while to watch over Calley, so you may not be able to rely on the doctor being there when you need him the most. Ramsey works for me. He’s also my friend, and I want you to do what you can for his wife, to make her comfortable and, if it’s within your capability, to save the baby. His family means a lot to him. Do you understand?”

  “Aye, gov’na,” she answered meekly.

  “They have a little boy you’ll be taking care of until Calley is on her feet again,” he said, glancing askance at her.

  Annie’s sudden elation was proof that she was now looking forward to staying with the family. Blissfully she sighed, “Oh, I’d like that.”

  Upon their arrival at the Tates’, Gage went into the cottage to look for Shemaine and found her in the kitchen preparing the noon meal. He paused beside the hearth as she knelt to push a loaf of bread into the iron oven. “I brought a woman back with me who can help out here for a while, so you and Andy can come back home with me when I leave.”

  “Mr. Tate insisted that I cook enough for all of us,” she explained, closing the oven door and rising to her feet. “He was quite emphatic about you staying to eat with him.”

  “We can stay that long if it means so much to him,” Gage assured her.

  Shemaine smiled gently. “I’m sure your presence will help distract him, Mr. Thornton. He’s been beside himself since you left. He refused to sleep, though I told him Calley was feeling better. He’s out chopping wood in the back yard right now just to keep himself from worrying. Perhaps if you’d spend some time with him before we leave, it would help him get through this.”

  “I’ll do what I can, Shemaine,” Gage replied. “In the meantime, why don’t you show the woman into the bedroom and introduce her to Calley?”

  Shemaine was somewhat bewildered by his directive, for she could only assume the woman would have to introduce herself, but when Gage stepped aside to reveal the one who had followed him in, Shemaine gave a glad cry and flung herself into the open arms of her friend.

  “Oh, Annie! I was so worried about you!” she exclaimed with tears filling her eyes. She hugged the tiny woman and then stepped back to have a better look at her, but her joyful expression turned to one of gloom as she noticed Annie’s face. Reaching out a hand, she touched the bruised cheek tenderly. “Is this something your master did, or did you perhaps walk into a wall?”

  Annie waved away her concern. “Ne’er mind me face, m’liedy. Just let me look at ye!” Her eyes swept the slender form. Then she gathered Shemaine’s thin hands in her own and laughed in pleasure. “Ye’re lookin’ grand! Simply grand!”

  “Come into the bedroom and meet Calley,” Shemaine urged, taking Annie’s arm. “And then you can tell us how you came to be here.”

  “Oh, I’ll tell ye right now. If ‘tweren’t for yer master layin’ out twenty pounds for me, I’d ne’er be here at all.”

  Shemaine halted abruptly and, tugging on Annie’s arm, pulled the tiny woman around to face her. “What do you mean, Annie? Did Mr. Thornton buy you?”

  “Not exactly.” Annie shrugged. “He paid out five pounds ta rent me, so ta speak, but if’n he don’t take me back, then he’ll be twenty pounds poorer.” She shook her head in wonder, amazed by his ability to lay out such a large a sum. “Yer Mr. Thornton must be rich or somethin’.”

  “He’s not rich, Annie, just very, very wonderful, I’m thinking,” Shemaine said with an elated smile.

  Dr. Colby Ferris, a tall, gray-haired man with gaunt features and a perpetual stubble covering half his face, arrived before they finished the noon meal. Annie took her duties seriously and provided the physician with warm water and soap to wash his hands and clean linens with which to dry them before she would allow him in the woman’s bedroom.

  “Me ma said ‘tweren’t right for a midwife ta leave one house an’ go ta ‘nother where babies were bein’ born without showin’ proper respect ta the mothers by washin’ yer hands.”

  The tall doctor settled a stern stare upon the small woman. “Young lady, do you know how many babes
I’ve brought into this world?”

  Annie settled her thin arms akimbo and stubbornly held her ground. “Prob’ly more’n I can count, but what hurt is it gonna do ta wash yer bloomin’ hands after tendin’ the sick or maybe touchin’ the dead . . . or . . .” She searched mentally for another good reason and finally flung up a hand in frustration toward the window through which the mount he had arrived on could be seen. “Or ridin’ a smelly ol’ horse?”

  Dr. Ferris seemed momentarily taken aback by the small woman’s impertinence, but after a lengthy pause, he scrubbed a hand reflectively over his bristly chin and began to chuckle, much to the relief of those who had witnessed the confrontation. “I guess there’ll be no harm done by washing my hands. What about my feet? Will you be inspecting them, too?”

  Annie glanced down without thinking, and then clapped a hand over her mouth as she saw his dusty boots and realized that she had been a victim of his humor. Leaning her head back to meet his gaze, she gave him a wide grin, lending some charm to her plain face. “Wipin’ ’em will be good enough for the time bein’, I suppose, but ye’d best be mindin’ yer manners, ’cause I’m gonna be meetin’ ye at the door when ye come back . . . at least for a while.”

  A hoary brow shot up to a lofty level, as if the doctor had taken offense at her threat, but his next query had nothing to do with her demands. “What about that toad, Myers? Is he going to let you stay here without raising a ruckus?”

  Annie Carver was astounded by the physician’s obvious conclusion. “I came here with his consent, I did, so ye needn’t be a-thinkin’ I skedaddled. Mr. Thornton gots a paper ta proves it.”

  Dr. Colby Ferris scoffed. “It must have taken a goodly sum to get you out of that toad’s clutches. Myers has never been overly generous with his possessions.”

  “Oh, it took a goodly sum, al’right,” Annie agreed, and threw a thumb over her shoulder to indicate her benefactor. “Mr. Thornton had ta lay out twenty pounds, five ta rent me an’ fifteen ‘gainst the likelihood o’ me not bein’ returned.”

  “Are you saying that Myers actually signed a receipt to that effect?”

  Annie nodded cautiously, not at all sure why the doctor was so shocked. “That he did, gov’na.”

  Colby Ferris looked pointedly at Gage. “Then I’d advise you to keep the receipt safe, sir, because Myers isn’t to be trusted. He’ll cheat you if he can . . . or find some way to call you a thief.”

  “I don’t know the man very well, except that I’ve come to dislike him in a very short span of time,” Gage admitted. “You can be certain I’ll be as careful as I can.”

  The doctor waved a hand toward Annie’s battered face. “You know, of course, that Myers will do more of this to the girl if you take her back to him.”

  “Do you have any suggestions as to what I should do?” Gage was eager for a solution to his quandary. He briefly indicated Shemaine, who stood washing Andrew’s face at the far end of the table. “I have a bondswoman already, and there’s no room in my cabin for another.”

  The elder stroked his chin thoughtfully. “I’ve seen the girl working at Myers’s place and know what she’s capable of.” He snorted as he digressed a bit. “Work that Myers should’ve been doing instead of laying such tasks on a little girl.”

  “Do you need an assistant?” Gage queried hopefully. “Annie says she’s had some experience with midwifery and such. Perhaps you could use a servant to keep your house.”

  Dr. Ferris seemed to dismiss the notion as he tossed a glance toward Annie. “What? And see myself vexed into washing my hands every time I sneeze? Lord save me from such a fate.”

  “Ye needn’t worry ’bout me!” Annie declared hotly, miffed by the doctor’s casual rebuff. “I’ll go back ta Mr. Myers when I’m done here. ‘Twouldn’t be the first time I’ve been knocked ‘longside the head.”

  Stepping to the washstand, Dr. Ferris proceeded to scrub his hands and face until they were clean. Drying them on a towel, he offered Annie a grin. “Are you going to show me where Mrs. Tate is now? Or are you going to stand there like an outraged porcupine with your quills all bristled?”

  “Mrs. Tate’s doin’ better since M’liedy Sh’maine had a talk with her. Maybe ye could buy Shemaine from Mr. Thornton an’ take her on yer calls with ye,” Annie suggested tartly.

  Gage lowered an ominous scowl upon the small woman. “I didn’t lay out my hard-earned money for you, Annie, so you could sell Shemaine behind my back.”

  Annie grinned back at him. “Mighty touchy ’bout her, ain’t ye? Maybe ye like her more’n a mite.”

  “I like Shemaine just fine,” Gage stated emphatically. “And I’m not willing to sell her. Do I make myself clear?”

  Ferris glanced at Annie, curbing a chuckle. “I guess that means I’d better look elsewhere for an assistant.”

  “That’s the bloomin’ truth if I e’er heard it,” Annie agreed, cackling gleefully as she cast an eye toward Gage, who finally relented enough to smile.

  “Come on, Doc,” Annie urged, beckoning to him. “I’ll show ye the missus.”

  She led the doctor to the back bedroom, and while Ramsey paced with renewed anxiety, Gage helped Shemaine clear the food and dishes from the table in spite of her repeated assurances that there was no need for him to do so. Several reasons prevented Gage from taking his leave before the doctor had completed his examination. He knew Shemaine wanted to hear the verdict, and Ramsey needed him there as a buffer against possible bad tidings. Then, there were his own concerns, for he realized he was not as distant to the matter as he might have supposed. The Tates were his friends, and he wanted to be there to offer support in whatever way proved beneficial.

  The baby’s condition could not be determined, Dr. Ferris announced solemnly when he returned to the parlor. Nor could he predict whether Calley would carry her child full term or if she would lose it in the weeks to come. It was imperative that she remain in bed if she held out any hope of giving birth to a healthy baby, and he instructed Annie to watch over the woman carefully, for it would be no easy task keeping a hardworking mother inactive. If there was anyone who could accomplish such a feat, he was sure it was Annie. After all, he needled with amusement, she had made him wash his hands.

  The doctor wisely advised Ramsey Tate to return to his cabinetmaking, for his wife’s sake as well as his own. It would only make Calley anxious if she saw her husband fearful, he reasoned. Working would not only serve to occupy Ramsey’s time, but his thoughts as well, no doubt reducing his constant worry.

  Before Dr. Ferris took his leave, he promised to make regular house calls to keep abreast of Calley’s condition and, if a meal was furnished at such a time to ease his widowered state, he would count that as payment enough. Then he quipped that he hoped Annie was as good at cooking as she was at taking charge.

  CHAPTER 11

  Life as a bondslave could be easily tolerated when one had a master charitable and noble enough to expend a sizeable portion of his limited resources to help an employee and an abused bondswoman, Shemaine decided. She considered herself immensely fortunate to have been bought by such a man.

  Soon after their return to the riverside cabin, Gage carried his sleeping son into the smaller bedroom. When he came back to the parlor, he found his bondswoman awaiting him with a soft smile lighting her face. Entranced by the shining green eyes, Gage tilted his head at a curious angle.

  “Did you want something, Shemaine?”

  “Aye, Mr. Thornton,” she murmured with an almost imperceptible nod. “I have a great desire to thank you for helping Annie. Working for the Tates will be a relief after what she has experienced with Mr. Myers.”

  The silkiness of her voice sent warm shivers racing through his senses, but Gage sought to drag free of the mind-numbing spell she cast, for he knew he could not let her build her hopes on what he had done when he had no intention of letting Annie come live with them.

  “I have to tell you, Shemaine, that once Annie has served her useful
ness at the Tates’, I must sell her to get back what I laid out for her. She won’t be coming here to live.’’

  “I know that, Mr. Thornton,” Shemaine assured him softly, “but I trust you mean to find her a far more worthy master than Mr. Myers has proven himself to be. Truly, in the short time I’ve been here, I’ve come to believe that you’re a very honorable man. Indeed, sir, I can think of no other man whom I admire more at this very moment.”

  Gage struggled to keep himself from imagining more than she had actually meant to convey. The word admire could insinuate a whole plethora of connotations, all pleasing to be sure, but it would be foolish for him to presume too much. He was still her master, and she his bondslave.

  Momentarily at a loss for words, he sidestepped around her, knowing if he stayed in the cabin one moment longer he’d be tempted to delve into another matter, one that required a more careful discussion than he presently had time for. “I’d better go out to the shop and see what progress the men have made in my absence.”

  Shemaine was perplexed by his hasty departure, but she laid it to his impatience to get back to work. She set herself to completing the chores which had been left undone earlier that morning. After putting the house in order, she heated several irons near the fire and began the task of pressing their clothes. It gave her a strange satisfaction to smooth her master’s more costly garments beneath her hand and to exert great care in doing them justice. It was no mean accomplishment to imagine how handsome Gage Thornton would look in neatly pressed white shirts instead of the wrinkled homespun ones he had been wearing. A fine frock coat and breeches would do much to complement them, but she suffered no uncertainty that it would be the man himself who would enhance the apparel. Her imagination seemed quite frivolous when she envisioned herself dancing the minuet with her richly garbed master as she and Maurice had done on numerous occasions. In her fantasy Gage was as graceful of step as he was courtly and attentive of manner, rivaling Maurice, who had been exceedingly well tutored in all the social graces. Each time Gage came near, she saw a promise in his eyes that made her breathless with anticipation.