Secret Way to the Heart

by Camille Regholec

  “Well, it is my turn to introduce.” Jayne smiled at she looked at the other elderly couple sitting beside their daughter Mary, who had silently entered the room and sat down. Jayne thought nothing of how her words would be received. “Clara, this is Hannah and George Freeman and their daughter Mary. They are—”

  “Are-are you speaking in jest?” Clara sputtered as she looked at the three people sitting quietly before her. “Who did you say they are?”

  Jayne’s smile wavered as she sensed the tension rising up in the woman standing beside her but not understanding the reason for it. “They are the Freemans,” Jayne replied. “They are—”

  “Hannah and George, you say? They are black!” Clara interjected, spinning on her heels to look her husband in the eye, her voice rising. “Is she telling me . . . is she telling me . . . These are the people you told me about? The ones you call your ‘aunt’ and ‘uncle?’”

  “Oh, troubles comin’,” George mumbled loudly. “I believe Lil’ Jim told a big lie!”

  “Hush now.” Hannah lightly swatted his leg. “The only trouble is your mumblin’.”

  “No it ain’t.” George smiled down at his wife. “No it ain’t. You wait and see.”

  “Hush.”

  “He is right,” Clara shouted, red spots appearing on her cheeks. “How dare you not tell me? How dare you keep such a secret?”

  “It has never been a secret, Clara.” Jim reached out his hand to try to soothe her, but she snatched her arm away. Jim sighed. “I just never told you that some of the people I loved were people of color.”

  “You mean these really are members of your family, and you did not tell me?” Clara’s fair features paled as she looked between her husband and the elderly black couple. She physically shook in what appeared to be horror as her words tripped over each other. “Are you telling me you have black blood? Do you realize what this would do to our name in Charleston society? How disgraced my family would be to even associate with us? How could I possibly face them married to a mulatto?”

  “You would be so lucky,” Mary interjected as she stood up and placed herself between Clara and her adoptive parents.

  “Do not speak to me with that tone of voice!” Clara snapped, her eyes full of contempt as she looked over the black woman before her. “I’ll take a whip to you, you—”

  “Enough!” Jim’s voice was menacing as he turned his wife around and looked her in the eyes. “The Freemans are not related by blood but by heart. I have called them aunt and uncle since I was small. The first time I mentioned them to you I called them as I used to, and rather than getting into a heated conversation, I never bothered to explain it to you . . . Hannah raised Marc while she was a slave, and then after Marc freed her and George, they basically adopted my mother, myself, and Mary. We were all blessed to be in their hearts.”

  “I think I got a part of that heart of hers, too.” George smiled, patting his wife’s knee with his huge hand.

  “Me, too!” Jayne interjected.

  “Oh hush now.” Hannah smiled up at both Jayne and her husband, placing her hand over his.

  “So, Clara,” Jim continued, his gaze never swerving from his wife’s. “You will respect those who have made me who I am today. And I expect you to offer an apology for your rudeness.”

  “You cannot expect me to lower myself to apologize to them,” Clara sputtered, her voice cracking in disbelief.

  “I do, and you will.” Jim’s tone was like ice. “Now, Clara!”

  “Lil’ Jim, let the child alone for now,” Hannah said. “She’s tired from her trip. Take her to your room and let her freshen up for some tea. And I must say your surprise to her was far greater than any I’ve ever seen! I know you love us, but you probably should have told her about us before she came in the door. Lord knows, I do not know how I would be acting finding out I had white kinfolk!”

  After Jim quickly escorted his wife from the room, there was a collective release of breath.

  “Well, I think Jim has told more than one lie over the past few years to his wife.” Jayne's father shook his head sadly. “Clara’s reaction clearly shows she has had no knowledge of Jim’s activities helping others.”

  “Without a doubt,” Mary said between gritted teeth. “How could he marry someone like that and do what he has been doing?”

  “Those were two distinct and separate questions, my dear.” With her voice shaking, Jayne's mother’s eyes filled as she tried to control the sorrow she was clearly feeling.

  “How can someone so beautiful be so . . . so . . .” Jayne struggled for a word. “So ugly?”

  “Let us not judge her,” Hannah replied, surprising Jayne once again. “She is who she is, and Jim adores her. Possibly she will come to be loveable at a later time.” The silence that followed that statement clearly showed the lack of faith everyone had in those words.

  Later, when the tea was ready, Jayne went to Jim’s room to tell them. She noticed the door was ajar, and she could hear them talking. Even though she knew it was wrong to do so, she could not resist peeking in and listening.

  “Oh, Jim.” Clara pouted as she ran her dainty fingers up her husband’s shirtsleeve. “Must we truly stay in the wilds of New York to be with your family?”

  “Yes, my dear,” Jim laughed, wrapping his arms around her dainty waist and planting a deep kiss upon Clara’s full lips. Jayne blushed as she turned to leave but stopped when the conversation resumed.

  “Don’t you think it is about time you became acquainted with my family?” Jim asked.

  “Well, I already know those from down South, as well as your charming cousin from the North,” Clara stated, her words clearly enticing, and Jayne wondered if Jim could resist the full effect of Clara’s large, blue eyes. “If we must truly stay, can we not all be in Manhattan at your cousin Joel’s house?”

  “Joel is having difficulties with what is left of the family business and would not have time for entertaining. Besides, it would be much too far for Hannah and George to travel. I have told you, they are in their nineties. My father is in poor health as well.” Jim’s tone was clearly one of frustration but also something else.

  Jayne could not understand why he was not chastising his wife for her previous behavior. Instead, Jayne could hear patience in his voice. Couldn’t Jim see Clara was spoiled? Wasn’t he accustomed to her ploys to get what she wanted?

  “Besides,” Jim chuckled. “I would not be surprised to find out that the barge we caught to get here was the last before the canal closes. Ice was being broken to get us here. The boatmen need to get the barges out before it freezes solid.”

  All was silent for a moment before Jim spoke again, his response clearly showing he loved the beautiful Clara, but he was not going to let her have her way. “No, we will stay in the ‘wilds of New York,’ as you call it, to spend time with my family. But do not worry, my sweet. I believe you will be pleasantly surprised at how unwild it is here in Mamakating.”

  “It was such a long, tedious trip, and in the winter besides! Don’t you care my little feet may freeze?”

  “I will keep you warm, never fear,” Jim growled. “Your toes, your cute little ears, as well as . . .” He lowered his voice and whispered something Jayne could not hear.

  “Jim! Stop that now!” Clara giggled, pushing free of his embrace. “Your father may enter the room.”

  “I will take the precaution to lock the door.” Jim laughed, recapturing her. He pressed his lips to her long neck. “I am sure my father will understand.”

  “Well, in that case,” Clara murmured, giving up the fight. Jayne turned and rushed away from the door, her cheeks flaming.

  Chapter 5

  The homecoming party was filling the stone barn to almost bursting as it appeared that all of the town of Mamakating had shown up. Jayne’s eyes
grew wide in surprise at how many town officials had gathered together in her parents’ barn for the event. All appeared united in friendship, and any differences seemed to be set aside, for now, as they welcomed back a member of their community and greeted his new wife.

  Jayne watched in amazement as the usually solemn Methodist pastor laughed heartily at something the local Catholic priest had just said. The town supervisor, instead of his usual campaigning, was happily eyeing the groaning table. The massive selection of food seemed never-ending, especially as every visitor came carrying a bowl of vegetables, a platter of meat, or various pies or cakes. If that wasn’t enough, the spit outside was slowly turning, roasting the pig donated by William, the grandson of neighbor Cindy Jahns. No one would be leaving hungry.

  Even though it was December, no one appeared to be cold except for Clara. She was swathed in a fur wrap and daintily stamped her feet as she walked around with Jim. The barn’s stone walls retained the heat from the forge in the blacksmith shop, and the older folks gathered around it, reminiscing while the younger generation got reacquainted, their voices rising in laughter or in song as a fiddler played his violin.

  Jayne tried not to be obvious as she kept an eye on the huge mound of hay in the stall to the left of her. No one questioned the full stall as she laughed and talked to Clara and one of her old school friends, Suzy. Jayne continually scanned the people who stood around. In her opinion, they all were a little too close to the secret room that lay just beyond the hay. Finding out there was a summer hiding place for runaways in the barn had Jayne speculating on how many other secret places were on the property. Should I look under my bed? A brief smile crossed her lips, and she tucked a loose strand of hair back into its unaccustomed bun. Jayne almost wished she hadn’t found out about the room or its purpose before this event, but there was nothing she could do now but pray it wasn’t accidentally discovered. There would be too much explaining to be done if it was.

  There were very few people present that Jayne did not recognize, so when the tall, muscular man with strong handsome features entered the barn, Jayne’s eyes immediately focused on him. Though barely two weeks had passed since she’d spoken to him for the first time, seeing the Reverend Jeremiah Bronson again caused a strange flutter in her stomach. The mass of curls on his head made her fingers twitch to run through them, and Jayne silently admitted that she desired to look again into his mesmerizing eyes with their golden-hazel color. Though she still doubted his true identity, she wanted to meet him. Tempted to walk over, Jayne hesitated, almost hearing her mother’s voice in her head. “A lady waits to be introduced. It would not be proper to walk over and expect to be introduced.”

  The stranger was standing alongside her pastor, and Jayne watched as her brother Jim walked over and clapped the man on his back before heartily shaking his hand. This unknown pastor was quite a few years younger than Jim, but they were clearly acquainted. However, before she succumbed to the temptation to walk over, someone called Jayne for help at the tables. The next time she looked, Jim had stepped away, and with a sigh, Jayne turned back to her chore. She had lost the opportunity to quench her curiosity.

  “Can I be of any assistance, my dear Jayne?” William’s soft voice interrupted her melancholy thoughts.

  Shaking her head, she laughed up at the man she had known almost her entire life. Jayne was astonished at how good-looking William Jahns had become since his return from Manhattan. Tall and lanky at one time, his frame had filled out quite nicely. His gray eyes always appeared to be twinkling, and his trimmed, brown beard gave him a very debonair appearance. Because he was both manning the cooking and the fiddling, he was dressed in a fancy suit and fine-looking boots. It was no surprise all the local females vied for his attention. Jayne had to admit she was flattered at the attention he seemed to be giving her this afternoon. But flattered or not, to her heart, this was just William, the boy from next door.

  Her father had financed this young man’s start in education in Manhattan before money had gotten hard to come by. Rather than leave college, William had worked as a stable hand for her cousin early in the mornings and late at night to finish paying for his schooling. His return to town after so many years had surprised everyone, but he was set up as an assistant to the Wurtsboro’s lawyer and was doing very well for himself. In fact, at one time when over for tea, his grandmother Cindy had hinted that William had a good chance of taking over for old Esquire Smythe.

  “That pig outside needs your looking after,” Jayne commented as her slender fingers kept busy folding extra linen napkins. “I believe that boar will burn to a crisp if you don’t stop flirting with all the young ladies.”

  “Never fear, fair lady, I only have eyes for you.”

  “Well, take them off of me and watch our dinner instead,” Jayne retorted laughingly, giving him a gentle shove.

  “Alas, my heart is breaking.” He sighed softly, a wide grin flashing across his handsome face as he watched her blush.

  “Oh, stop, and get outside before my father hears you talking like that! He may decide to tie you to that spit.”

  Jayne was still laughing when she realized she was being watched. Her cheeks flamed as her eyes locked for a second with Jeremiah Bronson’s before she turned away and headed back to her mother’s side. She was not sure what message his eyes had contained, but knowing he had observed her interaction with William made her worried. She hoped he did not think she and William meant anything more to each other than being friends. But should it matter to me if he does?

  “I guess the party is a success,” Clara mumbled as she pulled her fur wrap tighter around her. “I hope it doesn’t last too long. I am frozen.”

  Clara had seemed to be in a good mood while the introductions were being made and the men were around. But once the men moved away, Jayne watched the shift in Clara’s responses. She was always polite but distant to the kind, elderly women of the community, but to Jayne’s perfect hearing, Clara’s tone sounded closer to being condescending rather than friendly. Jayne sadly noted how quickly the smile slipped away when Clara found herself in the company of only women or the Freemans. And if Clara acknowledged the Freemans at all, her words were short, sharp, and bitter. Jayne prayed that her new sister-in-law would one day come to grips with the deep, long friendship that existed between the two families.

  “Why don’t you go sit at the table not far from the forge? That way you can get warm as you eat,” Jayne suggested, seeing her mother beckoning to her. “I will bring you a plate in a few minutes after the pastor says a blessing.”

  Though with much to do as she helped her mother as hostess, Jayne could not help herself from stealing looks at the attractive young pastor. Her own pastor gave Jeremiah the honor to bless the meal, and his smooth drawl captivated Jayne so much she had to ask God’s forgiveness for not really listening to the prayer.

  After she brought over a heaping plate for Clara, Jayne returned with a plate of her own and sat down to eat between Clara and her own friend Suzy. Jayne could no longer conceal her curiosity about the man.

  Jayne lifted her napkin so her lips were hidden from view as she asked her friend the question that seemed to consume her. “Who invited that preacher standing beside our pastor?”

  Clara, staring down at her plate, was deep in thought and didn't respond. Suzy, who was not as subtle, also gave the stranger a sideways glance, taking her time looking the man over.

  “I don’t know,” Suzy slowly responded and lowered her eyes so no one but Jayne could see the mischievous light in them. “But I plan on finding out!”

  “Suzy!” Jayne gasped in astonishment and whispered quickly, “You can’t just go over there and ask him.”

  “Why not?” Suzy asked as she stood up and began to move toward the two men. She glanced back at Jayne. “It’s 1860, not the Middle Ages! Besides, he’s with the pastor, who will introd
uce him out of social politeness. So I win!”

  “Win what?” Jayne asked her friend, but all she received as a reply was a grin and a giggle.

  Both fascinated and horrified at the girl’s boldness, Jayne watched as Suzy approached the two men. The conversation was too low for Jayne to hear, but something Suzy said caused the pastor to laugh, and he clapped his hand on the younger man’s shoulder, saying something in return. From the expression on Reverend Bronson’s face and the dusting of red upon his high cheekbones, it was clear the man did not feel any amusement at whatever Suzy or the pastor had said.

  Suddenly, Jayne found herself caught in the gaze of the angry stranger. His irritated expression caused his hazel eyes to harden, and for a moment, they seemed to bore into her soul. Her heart raced as his glance then slowly scanned over her, and Jayne wished she could break the visual contact, but could not. Her breath seemed locked in her throat until he turned away.

  Her stomach twisted, and her cheeks burned, but she didn’t know why. The stranger then said a few words, and the pastor smiled and shook his head as Suzy looked shocked. With a tip of his head and a last scathing look in Jayne’s direction, the man walked out the big doors and into the night. The pastor spoke a few more words to Suzy before someone called and they parted ways.

  For a moment, Suzy looked as if she was going to walk away, but she shrugged as she returned to the table.

  “What happened?” Jayne asked. “Why did he stare at me that way?”

  “Oh, it’s nothing.” Suzy picked up her empty plate and headed toward the cleanup area. Jayne picked up her own dish and quickly followed as Suzy continued speaking. “When I saw he wasn’t too happy about my interrupting their conversation, I just told him that you had sent me over to find out who invited him. The pastor laughed and said something about the reverend being the most eligible bachelor in town.”