Millwright's Daughter

by Zina Abbott

  Joseph’s snarled response revealed his annoyance. “You’re making too much of it, Phoebe. Just keep your mouth shut, and if there is any upset when the children learn of it, smooth things over. I have business with Daniel tomorrow, but the following day I plan to visit with my attorney and discuss what must be done to assert my rights as Eliza’s father.”

  Phoebe rushed to her husband and placed her hand on his forearm. “Joseph, I beg you. Don’t do this to our family.”

  In anger, Joseph shook Phoebe’s hand off his arm. “Do not question me on this, woman! I am your husband and you are to obey me. Remember your wedding vows.”

  Affronted, Phoebe lifted her chin. “What about your wedding vows to me to love, cherish and forsake all others, Joseph? How are you doing with your promises?”

  Phoebe held her husband’s gaze but back-stepped several paces. She waited for her husband to raise his hand to strike her. As much as he had bullied and spoken disparagingly to her over the years, he had never physically abused her. Then again, she had spent her married life avoiding direct confrontation with him. She did not know what he would do now she had challenged him.

  Joseph made no move towards Phoebe. After several seconds of staring at each other, Phoebe turned to leave the room.

  “Phoebe.”

  Her hand on the doorknob, Phoebe stopped and arched her back. She waited in silence for what her husband would say or do next.

  “Phoebe, it’s not like I’ve been a philanderer. That time with Rachael when I went back for the stones, it was the only time. I know we have not had the happiest of marriages. You are a good mother to my children, and I have no complaints about how you manage the house. I’m sorry my decision upsets you, but I must do what I think is best to continue to provide for this family.”

  Phoebe waited. After several seconds passed and he said no more, she left the room.

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  Kerr’s Ferry, California – August, 1882

  Chapter 14

  ~o0o~

  E liza made the final swipe to the countertop holding the dry sink when she heard her aunt’s voice call through the house. “Julie. Lydia. Eliza. Freshen up and put on your bonnets and gloves. I’ve decided to go to Oak Hill to pick up a few items before it grows too hot for the day.”

  A smile of joy on her face, Eliza hurriedly gave the kitchen its finishing touches before she raced up the stairs to do her aunt’s bidding. Other than going with the family to church, this would be her first outing since her uncle had caught her with Kit. She never did learn what her uncle did to Kit. She only knew Kit had been there to protect her. He motioned for her to leave after her uncle realized Kit stood behind him.

  Since that night Eliza had chastised herself for being a coward. She should have stayed at Kit’s side and faced her uncle. However, her uncle’s words had upset her so thoroughly all she could think to do was run away. A part of her hoped running away from her uncle and the hill on which he uttered his pronouncement would make the words go away. She still did not know if there was any truth to them, or if she misunderstood.

  One thing she knew for sure. Although her uncle had not spoken to her about the incident since that time, he had ordered strict changes to her routine. He no longer allowed her to work out of doors or help Joey in the barn. She worked in the house with her cousins.

  She knew Uncle Joseph gave his wife instructions to stay aware of Eliza’s movements at all times. Aunt Phoebe never spoke to her about what had happened, but Eliza knew her aunt was aware of some of the details. The morning after he caught her and Kit, while she wiped down the small table in the corner of the kitchen they used to prepare food, she overheard her uncle speak to his wife in the dining room.

  “My delivery driver was the one on the hill with Eliza, Phoebe. I fired him and told him to never come back. You must let me know if you ever see him near the property. If he does come around, I’ll have him arrested.”

  Since that time, Eliza wondered how she could make contact with Kit. Without him, she had no way to send a letter to her grandmother with confidence she would receive it. She had hoped Kit would bring her a letter from her grandmother with a ticket so she could board a train for home. Without money of her own, she needed her grandmother’s help.

  As she positioned her bonnet with the widest brim on her head, Eliza pushed aside her uncle’s words that he was her father. She had listened carefully and watched her cousins’ expressions in the weeks since. She had detected nothing different to show they had heard what she had been told, or that they thought any differently about her. They only knew she was restricted to the house for wandering out at night to look at the stars.

  Eliza took her usual seat in the surrey next to Lydia with Julie on the other end of the back bench. Joey sat up front to drive for her Aunt Phoebe. Joey turned the pair of horses towards the Kerr’s Ferry Bridge instead of the road that ran in front of the mill. She wondered why her aunt did not take them to the town of Kerr’s Ferry to shop.

  “Aunt Phoebe, are we going to Oak Hill for anything special?”

  “I need to pick up a few things at the mercantile, plus I want to start looking for fabric for Julie’s trousseau. We’ve been cooped up in the house so long, in spite of the heat, I felt like an outing.”

  Eliza noticed her aunt’s expression revealed other thoughts, but she had no way to discern what they might be. Perhaps irritation over being required to stay home to keep a close eye on Eliza explained it. Eliza decided to sit back and remain quiet to not annoy her aunt further.

  Excited at their mother’s announcement, Julie and Lydia began talking between them. Eliza chose to not join in.

  As the surrey began its traverse across the wood planks of the covered bridge, Eliza felt the temperature drop several degrees. The clop of horse’s hooves and sound of the wheels as they rolled across where the wood planks butted up against each other drowned out the sound of her cousins’ chatter. While clutching the post that supported the surrey cover, she leaned her body outside and twisted her neck to view the joists and planks that formed the bridge’s roof and sides. Occasional openings in the boards forming bridge’s vertical walls allowed her first to see the shrub-filled banks of the river, then the river itself before the far bank appeared.

  Eliza righted herself in her seat as they approached the light of the opening at the far end of the bridge. She dipped the brim of her bonnet and squinted while her eyes readjusted to the increased light.

  A flash of bright red material off to the side caught her eye. Eliza twisted her body at an angle and reached up to pull the brim so it blocked her face and what she looked at off to the side and back of the surrey as much as possible.

  A man standing on a rock fished from the river. As little as she knew about fishing, even she realized it had grown too late in the day to fish successfully. But this was no random fisherman. Even though she had never seen the clothes and hat before, she recognized the form of his back and shoulders, and the way the lower half of him filled out the worn and patched denim trousers. She once touched that golden brown hair and kissed the jaw she now viewed from the side and back.

  Kit never turned in their direction. He offered no acknowledgement he saw her or even realized a vehicle had crossed the bridge. However, Eliza knew the red bandanna he wore meant he planned to meet with her this night.

  Eliza sat up and stared straight ahead. In her last letter to her grandmother, the one she handed to Kit just before her uncle found them, she had asked her grandmother to send her train tickets and enough money for food. If Kit gave her a letter with what she requested, she would leave that night. How she wanted to say good-by to her cousins and aunt, but knew she dared not.

  Eliza struggled to ignore the pang in her chest at her next thought. If Kit did bring a letter with a train ticket and travel money, she may need to say good-by to him, too.

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&nbs
p; .

  Kerr’s Ferry, California – August, 1882

  Chapter 15

  ~o0o~

  E ven though it was night and had cooled somewhat, Eliza felt like melting in the August heat once she donned her navy blue wool dress. She had not had the chance to search for the black shawl she had used to cover Kit the night they were discovered. Her uncle had made no mention of it, so she hoped he had not been the one to find it. As for Kit, she hoped on that night he got away from her uncle as quickly as possible.

  Eliza knew she could not take much with her. After what she learned in the first letter from her grandmother she received, she suspected all along she might have to sneak away to go back home. Since then, she had prepared, including hiding in her room a dark sack to carry food and some clothes when she left. In it she folded and stuffed a summer gown and some unmentionables to wear on the train. She already loaded it with a quarter loaf of bread, some cheese and a peach up from the kitchen to get her by for her first day.

  Eliza froze at the sound of footsteps outside her door. She heard the key enter the lock—the one her aunt had kept locked at night ever since her uncle found her with Kit. Aunt Phoebe entered quickly and locked the door behind her.

  Eliza felt her aunt study her as she approached.

  “You’re wearing a heavy gown?”

  “Please, Aunt Phoebe, I…”

  Phoebe stepped closer and placed her hand on Eliza’s forearm. “Hold your voice down, Eliza. You must go.”

  “You want me to go?”

  “Yes. My husband told me what he said to you the night he found you. He needs the money from your estate for his partnership with Daniel Irwin. He plans to visit his attorney and arrange to file papers in court declaring you his daughter in an effort to convince the Ohio courts to grant him guardianship.”

  A soft cry of dismay escaped Eliza’s lips. She squeezed her eyes shut and slumped until her head rested on Phoebe’s shoulder. “Oh, Aunt Phoebe, why would he claim something like that? It can’t be true.”

  Eliza felt Phoebe rest her hand on her back. “It is true, Eliza. Joseph Wells did sire you. Your father, Benjamin, was unable to father children. Once he discovered his wife carried you, he chose to stand by her. He accepted you and loved you as a true father. At the time of your birth, he worked along with the rest of your family to put down all the rumors that questioned your paternity. He is your father in all respects but one.”

  Tears filling her eyes, Eliza leaned back and studied her aunt’s stoic expression. “Oh, Aunt Phoebe. That is so hard for me to accept.” She sucked in a breath as she stared at her aunt with realization. “I’m sorry. This must be hard for you, too.”

  Phoebe dipped her head. “I’ve had years to get used to what happened Eliza.”

  “But that means you aren’t really my aunt. You’re my…”

  Phoebe cut her off. “No! I’m your aunt, and I don’t want you to think of me in any other way.”

  Eliza watched as Phoebe studied her face.

  “I do love you and want what is best for you, Eliza. I’m sorry I treated you in such an unwelcoming manner when you first came. It was easier for me to accept the product of my husband’s infidelity as long as you lived far away. It became harder for me when he brought you here. I have stood with my husband and followed his lead through all this, even when I didn’t agree with him. This latest thing he wishes to do, that I cannot support. My children don’t know yet, unless you told them.”

  Eliza quickly shook her head. “No. I don’t want it to be real, let alone talk about it.”

  “I don’t want them to know.” Phoebe grabbed Eliza’s shoulder and pushed her arm’s length away. “Listen to me; this is important. No matter what anyone says, your parents were Benjamin and Rachael Wells. You are grateful your Uncle Joseph loves you like a father. You have enjoyed your stay in California with your cousins, but now wish to return to your grandmother in Ohio. The relationships in this family must stay what they have always been.”

  “That’s what I want, Aunt Phoebe.”

  “Eliza, what were your plans before I entered? My guess is you plan to meet that man again, the one I saw fishing by the river.”

  “You saw him?”

  “Yes. I recognized him from the mill. That red neckerchief was hard to miss. For your sake, and the sake of my children, you must go away tonight, but I don’t know him. I don’t know if you can trust him. I’d rather you avoid him.”

  “I can trust Kit, Aunt Phoebe. Grandmother sent him out here to bring me a letter from her and help me go home. He probably brought another letter that has my train ticket in it.”

  Eliza bit her lip in consternation as she watched her aunt study her. She hoped the woman would not change her mind about helping her.

  “I see.” Phoebe reached into her pocket. “I brought enough money for a ticket and some food. I want you to take it, just in case. I asked around, and the train leaves tomorrow morning. You need to be on it. Once your uncle realized you’re gone, he’ll come looking for you rather than meet with his lawyers. You must be beyond his reach. Do you understand me? It is my hope once he learns you returned to Ohio, he will give up on declaring you as his daughter.”

  “Do you think that will work? I hate leaving without saying good-by, but I see I must. I did plan to write once I’m back in Ohio.”

  “Write to your cousins. They’ll worry about you until they hear from you, and I don’t dare say anything about this. As for this man, promise me you won’t go on the hill to meet him. I put a bit of a sleeping draught in what was left of your uncle’s whiskey, but I can’t be sure it will keep him asleep for long. If he wakes and discovers you gone, that is the first place he’ll check.”

  Eliza hesitated before she answered. Hopefully, Kit would realize the same thing. “I promise.”

  Phoebe paused, then walked to Eliza’s bed and threw back her quilt. She ripped the top sheet off and tore it in half. “Knot this together, Eliza. We’ll tie one end to your bedpost and toss the rest out the window.” Phoebe continued her instructions as she tore the bottom sheet into four strips. “Take these with you to the barn. After you saddle Joey’s horse, wrap them around the hooves and tie them. The fabric will help muffle the sound as you cross the bridge. Once you’re on the other side, you can take them off, but you must take them with you and get rid of them far away from here. Do you understand me?”

  “Yes.”

  “I know you know where the livery and the train station are once you get in Oak Hill. Leave Joeys’ horse at the livery and tell whoever you turn the horse over to my husband will come for her later. Then walk to the depot, buy your tickets, and stay out of sight until you can board the train.”

  “I will.” Impulsively, Eliza hugged her aunt. “I love you, Aunt Phoebe, and thank you. I just hope this doesn’t create trouble for you with Uncle Joseph.”

  “I’ll be fine, Eliza. I’ll lock the bedroom door when I leave so he won’t know the role I played in helping you get away. Just take care to stay safe as you travel back to Ohio.”

  ~o0o~

  Kit kept to the shadow of a pair of oaks on the same side of the house as Eliza’s window which remained lit by a gas lamp. The almost full moon was due to set within the hour, but at the moment it gave off enough light neither he nor Eliza could move outdoors without being seen by anyone looking. He knew she had seen his signal. Before it meant for her to meet him on the bluff above the mill office. Since Joseph knew about their meeting place, he needed to catch Eliza before she started up the hill. Kit waited for the lamp to extinguish, for that would be the signal she left her room.

  Movement caught Kit’s attention. He heard no sound of the door slamming, but a woman dressed in a dark gown ran towards the barn. A dark-colored bonnet covered her hair. She appeared to have a dark cloth bag slung over one shoulder and clutched a bundle of something white to her chest.

  After the woman disappeared into the barn, Kit jerked his gaze back to Eliza’s window
. The lantern remained lit. Thinking Eliza must have accidentally left it burning, he almost stepped from the safety of his cover when a woman’s form appeared at the open double-sashed window. She stood just inside the glass and stared out at the yard.

  Kit froze his movements and minimized the breaths he took. Even though he wore his usual dark clothing for clandestine night work, he feared the light of the full moon might reveal any movement, especially since he had not blackened his face.

  The woman turned her head and studied the barn. Kit realized she knew the other had gone there. Was the woman who entered the barn Eliza? Was the woman in the window keeping watch? Was she friend or foe?

  The barn door opened with a faint creak and the woman led out a saddled horse on which she had draped the bag she brought from the house. The hooves, all four wrapped in stark white, glowed like beacons in the moonlight.

  Immediately Kit reasoned she did not intend to ride the road past the mill that would take her to the town of Kerr’s Ferry. She intended to ride across the bridge, probably to take the road west to Oak Hill.

  Kit snapped his gaze back to Eliza’s bedroom window. The woman still stood next to the glass and watched the other woman dressed in dark clothing mount the horse. Next she bent towards the floor and all Kit saw was her back. She stood, and a thick white rope knotted in the middle fell from the window and dangled above the ground.

  Kit could not keep from smiling. He immediately recognized the purpose of the rope. More than once he had used just that means to escape an upper-level room too high off the ground to jump from without risking broken limbs. Only, no one climbed down this cloth rope made of bedsheets. Instead, the figure from the window disappeared. The light in the window went out, leaving Eliza’s room in darkness.

  Kit turned his attention to the woman on the horse now nearing the Kerr’s Ferry Bridge. It must be Eliza. Instead of leaving the house and finding someplace to wait for him to find her, she had gone off on her own. Perhaps she had been persuaded to leave on her own by the woman he had seen in her bedroom window.