Geneva: Garden of Joy (Brides of Grace Hill Book 1)

by Lisa Prysock

Ask & It Shall Be Given You

  Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you… Matthew 7:7

  “Is there anything else you require before I turn in, Miss Rosemont?” Craymoore had popped into the Sitting Room a little while later to find Geneva playing a song on the piano. Ridge leaned on the edge of the piano, observing.

  “Thank you, Craymoore! If you would kindly have someone prepare the Gold Room for Ridge… uh, I mean, for Mr. Morgan. I just wouldn’t feel right having him not here until we find Aunt Millie.” Turning to Ridge, “You will stay, won’t you?”

  He looked at Craymoore for a moment and nodded his approval.

  “Very well, ma’am,” Craymoore bowed slightly.

  Three days later, it was Craymoore who found a note appearing on the front doors; a knife holding the note to one of the double doors. He delivered it at once to Geneva and Ridge. They were seated on the terrace having a private dinner away from the rest of the household. Craymoore showed them the knife.

  “This note is in Aunt Millie’s handwriting!” Geneva announced, elated to have proof her aunt was still alive. “Shall I read it?”

  Ridge nodded.

  “Dear Geneva and Ridge (as I hope you have located Ridge by now), These two fellows by the name of Fred and Charlie, allegedly brothers, are holding me hostage somewhere in the old logging camp from what I can tell. I am well, but they, being illiterate, have asked me to write this note at gunpoint. They have two rifles, seems like plenty of ammunition, and little provisions. I’ve offered them a generous sum of cash to release me and leave the area, but they do not believe I have that kind of cash. It’s Bird-dog they really want. They seem to think I am a kitchen servant since the kitchen is where they found me. Apparently, there is a hefty bounty for Bird-dog’s return. From what I have gathered, they at first posed as slave catchers in this area and have survived by selling stolen slaves. They live on the run as they have no documents from the courts. They generally steal slaves in the middle of the night and sell them at auction with forged ownership papers... They tell the slaves they are slave catchers and gain cooperation in this way and I believe, with violent methods. Many slaves would rather be re-sold than returned to their owners as you well know. They find ways to purchase forged papers to do this sort of thing. In this case, they intend to sell Bird-dog at auction if he fetches a high enough bid to surpass the bounty. Don’t give them Bird-dog! They don’t believe I am wealthy enough to pay them the sum they think they can fetch, of which I have offered numerous times. They demand you bring Bird-dog and meet us at the old barn belonging to Grace Hill, with no guns, no authorities, no more than two men, at eight o’clock this evening. They plan to take Bird-dog into their own custody in exchange for my life. I refuse to cooperate with their plan, but they aren’t giving me many choices. I am prepared to die rather than hand over Bird-dog. I am counting on you to outsmart them. All my love, Millie…” Geneva finished reading the letter out loud and passed it to Ridge.

  Ridge read the contents of the letter one more time. He set it down. He stood up and paced back and forth while Craymoore waited for instruction. Finally, staring at the trees and the river beyond the rose garden and beyond the shrub garden, Ridge said, “Bring me Bird-dog… and every able bodied man!”

  “Ridge, can’t we find them at the logging camp and take them by surprise?” Geneva asked.

  He held up his hand and looked over his shoulder. “No. The logging camp is too large to search in so little a time. There’s only one thing we can do. Trust me!”

  Geneva nodded and clamped her mouth shut.

  By eight o’clock, Ridge, Joseph, Henry, Hank, Reverend Granby, and Bird-dog were in position at the old barn Millie had referenced in the ransom note. Geneva had insisted on accompanying them, but Ridge made her promise to stay on Royal Anna at his side. He armed her with a Beaumont-Adams revolver. He had loaded it, asking if she’d ever fired one before suggesting she hide it in her right stocking, being right-handed.

  “No, I’ve not fired one, but I don’t see that minor detail stopping me if I had to use it,” she replied, looking him squarely in the eye.

  “Keep your head down, mouth shut, and stay on your horse at my side. It can fire up to twelve rounds per minute; about thirty-five yards. Don’t pull it out unless you intend to use it. Just aim first and then pull the trigger,” he had instructed, “but I doubt you will need to worry with all of us there. Are you sure you’re up to this?”

  “You’ll not hear the end of it if you try and stop me!” she had replied defiantly, her arms crossed, chin held high, and tapping one of her riding boots on the cobble stones in the courtyard impatiently.

  Ridge had saddled her horse as a response. The others had observed the scene without interference. They knew better than to say a word and had a kind of respect for Ridge and Geneva. She had hiked up her skirts and mounted Royal Anna without assistance.

  “May God be with us,” Ridge had said, lifting an arm up to motion them forward together as they headed out to the meeting place early. “Remember the plan, everyone.”

  When eight o’clock rolled around, they were ready. Ridge, Geneva, and Bird-dog remained out in front of the barn on horseback. The others were hidden from view and in position; their horses tied to trees well behind them in thick parts of the woods. Bird-dog was so tense Geneva could see the muscles twitch on his face, forearms, and neck. Every sound of the woods made them turn and look. At five minutes after eight, Ridge was growing impatient. Ridge had directed them into position well ahead of time in order not to be seen.

  “They’re late,” she whispered.

  “Or scoping out our set-up,” Ridge returned quietly. “Are you ready Bird-dog?”

  “They don’t call me Bird-dog for nothin’!”

  A few minutes later, a husky voice called out from inside the barn. They had no idea if the kidnappers had entered the barn from the rear or had already been inside. “Send us Bird-dog with arms up an’ we’ll send Granny over at the same time!”

  Ridge held up his hand until he saw one of the barn doors open. They pushed Aunt Millie out of the doors, but the doors closed again. She nearly lost her balance but recovered. Geneva drew in her breath sharply to see the way they had treated her. Millie came out of the dark barn blinking. When she could focus clearly, she saw Ridge motion Bird-dog forward with a nod. She began walking slowly toward the middle of the clearing around the barn. Bird-dog dismounted, made the sign of the cross over his body in prayer, and moved forward slowly toward Millie, his arms up.

  When they passed each other about mid-way, Bird-dog kept going forward even more slowly so Millie reached Ridge and Geneva before he reached the barn.

  “Can you get on the horse, Aunt Millie?” Geneva whispered.

  Aunt Millie nodded and sticking one foot in the stirrup, mounted Bird-dog’s horse on her second attempt. “Save Bird-dog!” she whispered.

  Ridge gritted his teeth. “We’ll save him, Millie. Geneva, listen to me. When I count to three, get Aunt Millie out of here. Ride like the wind!”

  “Will do, Sir!” she whispered, “But you come home to me safe… and bring Bird-dog, alive!”

  Ridge nodded. “We will! One, two, three!” he shot back in a whisper. Bird-dog was at the barn and cut left at the same time, pulling out his weapon. There were some expletives exchanged in the barn and someone fired a weapon, but Geneva and Millie had no time to look back. They had to ride hard and fast as they heard a succession of rapid shots of gunfire being fired from what sounded like every direction.

  Meanwhile, Bird-dog dove to the ground and into a somersault. He landed on his feet in time to make it to the far left corner of the barn. While Ridge and the others covered him with gun fire, he took a breath and dodged as fast as he could for the tree line closest to him. Ridge had to turn his horse out of sight next, as he was the main target left in the open and shots were beginning to hit the trees all around him.

  Bi
rd-dog had made it to the edge of the woods, a bullet grazing his left arm. There was no time to dally about the wound. His job was to run for the horse closest to him, wait for Reverend Granby, and ride double for Grace Hill.

  The others had to quickly exit the area from their hiding places and make it back to their horses as soon as they knew Bird-dog was safe. Most of them reached their horses with knives extended to cut the ropes they’d used to tether their horses to the trees. This had saved them a considerable amount of time as they’d selected thin rope, easily sliced through as part of the escape plan. Then, the Reverend with Bird-dog, Joseph, Henry, and Hank had to navigate their horses out of the thickest parts of the woods on foot, mount, and ride like crazy in retreat, leaving the kidnappers to flee for their lives.

  When they reached Grace-Hill’s Stable Courtyard, Geneva dismounted first. She turned to assist Aunt Millie down from her horse, but thankfully came face to face with Timothy, Abner, and Caleb. They rushed forward to help them dismount.

  “Thank the good Lord you’re safe! We welcome you home with open arms and thankful hearts Mrs. Bradford!” Geneva heard Caleb say as Timothy and Abner helped Millie dismount. “Are either of you hurt?”

  “We heard the gunshots. Do you know how it fares for the others?” Abner asked anxiously.

  “We are fine, thank you! I’m not sure about the others. We’re hopeful they are right behind us! Be ready!” Geneva commanded breathlessly as she reached for the canteen on Royal Anna.

  “Yes, Miss Rosemont! Let’s get you and your aunt into the house!” Caleb responded as Miss Tilson, Polly, the students, and most of the household staff cheered for them from the safety of the rear terrace, lit up with a dozen lanterns. Geneva had barely heard what Caleb had said over the cheering. Aunt Millie looked dazed, but her eyes were dancing with hope to be home once again and to see the Grace Hill family gathered on the terrace yards away from where they stood.

  “I can hardly believe I’m finally home!” Aunt Millie breathed. “Oh, Geneva!”

  Geneva couldn’t help but throw her arms around Millie as tears streamed down both of their cheeks. “I did my best Aunt Millie, but I am so thankful the good Lord gave you back to us. Are you all right?”

  “I’m perfectly fine, though very sore! I miss my bed, my shoes, my clothing, and the comforts of home! Nothing Delia’s delicious cooking, a hot bath, and a few days of rest won’t cure!” Millie replied. Looking over at the students and staff gathered around, she added, “I’m so proud of you for holding things together at the mission while I’ve been gone! Now, I can’t wait to see Pendleton… and yes, Peaches too!”

  “What do you think became of Fred and Charlie?” Geneva inquired. “They didn’t seem like very smart fellows. Do you think they will return to the logging camp sight if they were able to escape the gunfire?”

  “I do think it is possible they may have escaped out of the back of the barn! You are absolutely correct, my dear girl; they weren’t very bright. Those bumbling crooks need to learn a good lesson. I fully intend to fetch the constable after them once our men have returned safely, but my main concern is Bird-dog. If he doesn’t want me to pursue the matter, we may not be able to. I will have to consider this in the morning after a good night’s rest. The new law is not on the side of slaves or those caught helping slaves.” Millie wore a determined look on her face. She had been through two weeks of misery. “Those two crooks could make a mess for Bird-dog, and since I don’t really know what his legal status is, I don’t know if this is something we should pursue… but in any case, I’m glad to be home. I rather think Fred and Charlie will high tail it out of Kentucky if they even manage to escape and know what’s good for them.”

  “I hear something!” Geneva stepped back and turned toward the arch, staring out into the cover of darkness toward the front lawn. “They’re coming! They’re coming! I hear them!”

  Everyone stood perfectly still, their feet frozen to the ground. If they were very quiet, those in the courtyard could hear the sound of the horse hooves thundering up over the hill toward the manor. The noise became louder and louder as the horses approached until finally, the men rode in under the arch one by one. Everyone on the terrace could see the horses ride in and cheered with each rider as they appeared.

  Geneva clasped a hand over her mouth and prayed. Please Lord, let Ridge be among them and may they all be unharmed. Millie clasped Geneva’s hand as they stood back out of the way and onto the lawn towards the terrace, giving the horses plenty of room for the men to ride into safety. The horses were coming in hard and fast, slowing just enough to ride in safely on the cobble stones. Even the stable hands knew better than to stand in the way.

  The first rider to appear next was Hank Marshall. A short distance behind him, Henry Scott appeared on his horse. His wife emerged from the terrace and ran to embrace him. Next, Joseph Kemper and his horse rode into the courtyard, followed by a brief pause as Reverend Granby and Bird-dog rode in on one horse, causing a great amount of cheering.

  “You’re hurt Bird-dog!” Geneva cried when he had and Reverend Granby dismounted.

  “Just grazed by a bullet, Miss Geneva” Bird-dog replied. “I be fine!”

  Everyone grew quiet. They couldn’t hear any other horses. Only the muffled sobs of Belle-Raine could be heard from the terrace. Everyone held their breath and prayed, straining to hear the last horse approaching. Geneva and Millie stared into the darkness with eyes wide open, but there was no sound of a horse. Geneva began to tremble and prayed harder, her eyes searching the darkness through the courtyard arch for any sign of life. Please God… she whispered.

  Finally, they could hear a horse and slowly they began to cheer before Ridge and Thunder even appeared. As if out of nowhere, Ridge emerged from the darkness with Thunder, truly a hero and his horse! They were all heroes, but it had been Ridge’s plan… and it had worked! They had kept their wits about them and the hand of God had protected them. They had recovered Aunt Millie and Bird-dog!

  Cheers erupted. Belle-Raine, sobbing with joy was immediately engulfed and surrounded by the other students in an embrace as they cheered with her. They were home and they were all safe. Timothy was already bandaging Bird-dog’s arm with a piece of cloth he tore from his own shirt! Bird-dog winced, but he would survive.

  Ridge dismounted and Geneva flew into his arms. Ridge took hold of her shoulders and kissed her, holding her with his strong hands. He immediately went down on bended knee.

  “Before you get angry with me again for kissing you, I had best ask you to marry me!” Ridge reached inside his dark suit jacket and handed Geneva an object wrapped in plain brown paper.

  Geneva was so surprised she could hardly react. It took her a moment to understand the gift he had placed in her hands was for her to open. Gingerly, she opened the folded paper, glad the paper wasn’t tied with string. Her nerves were so raw she wouldn’t have been able to untie a simple knot.

  When she had opened the paper to reveal the contents, her mouth dropped open. The entire moment not only seemed surreal, but far exceeded her expectations. Was Ridge really proposing to her? How had he put all of this together in such a short time? Mama had often said some things were not to be questioned, but simply accepted. This was one of those times and she was certain Mama would agree. There on the paper lay a wooden spoon about four inches long with elaborate carvings of various designs: a cross, two hearts, a carving of what looked like a stack of books, a music note, and five notches. A diamond ring on a gold chain attached to the spoon through a hole near the top above the carvings, dangling elegantly in her hands.

  “Now before you say anything, I had a bit of help this morning with the spoon from Joe Kemp and Hank,” Ridge acknowledged. Joe and Hank grinned sheepishly in the background and looked at the ground.

  “Can you read my heart?” Ridge asked.

  “Yes, yes, I can!” Geneva cried, laughing through her tears. Her bottom lip quivered a bit as she was so overcome with emotion. “B
elle-Raine must have helped you with this, too. I can see it took some time to make! The cross is because we will serve the Lord together. The two hearts represent us, healed, whole and not broken, and our love for each other. The stack of books is because we both love books. The note is because music will fill our home.”

  The next part nearly took Geneva’s breath away. She had to stop and cover her mouth before she could continue and just breathe.

  “Go on Miss Rosemont,” Ridge encouraged her. “Yes, Belle had a part in this. It was her idea about the spoon!”

  “The four notches plus one are the number of children we hope to have. We already have Belle-Raine, but Lord willing, we’ll have four more brothers and sisters. The ring is the symbol of our eternal love for each other. The gold is symbolic of our prosperity and the purity of our devotion to each other. The diamond is how we value each other.”

  “Will you marry me, Geneva? Rwy’n dy garu di[30]!”

  “Polly must have helped you learn to speak a bit of Welsh, I see! So it appears we have a blessing from Belle-Raine, Hank, Joe, and Polly, since Belle must have told you about the spoon tradition, the men helped make the spoon, and Polly helped you learn the most important words in the Welsh language!” Without taking her eyes off Ridge, Geneva asked, “I’m fairly certain you’ll say yes, but Aunt Millie, do I have your blessing to marry Ridge Morgan?”