A British Governess in America

by Becky Lower

  Patterson’s hands unclenched and he headed toward the small circle of his children, all gathered around Eleanor. She straightened up and smiled at him.

  The major couldn’t be more wrong in his assessment. Patterson merely hoped to keep Eleanor from any entanglements until she got back on a ship bound for her homeland. He didn’t wish to dip into her.

  But he did agree with the major’s assessment of Eleanor’s posterior. And he had gobbled up the breakfast she made this morning.

  He’d take Adam with him in the afternoon, hunting. Even if the boy was still too small to hold a rifle and shoot it, he could be taught how to load it and how to line it up as if to hit a target. If Eleanor planned to be cooking every day, and if he were to enjoy her meal preparations, he needed to stock the larder. If they could bag a deer, that would give them meat for a month, If all they found were pheasants or wild turkeys, he’d take that, too, although it wouldn’t be as ample a supply as he would need. Winter would come soon enough, and it wasn’t only the Continental Army who ran low on supplies. He’d best take care of his home’s goods as well as the army’s, if he were to keep Eleanor alive until she set sail back to England. He’d always achieved a sense of pride at being able to provide for his family. And until she left these shores, Eleanor was a part of his family, whether he cared for it or not.

  • ♥ •

  Eleanor breathed a sigh of relief when Patterson took Adam with him for the afternoon. She understood little boys, and she recognized Adam behaved toward her as he did because he missed his mother fiercely. When he was in the house, the other children followed his lead and treated her with an element of disdain. Daniel and Elizabeth had no memories of their mother, since Daniel had been only a toddler and Elizabeth’s birth had caused her death. Caleb was distraught, since the few memories he had of her were fading. Ben was an obedient child, but he followed Adam’s lead, treating her not so much as an interloper but as an intruder in their lives.

  So, Eleanor could enjoy the afternoon without fear of flying biscuits or hurtful language. She decided to brave the bake oven in the fireplace rather than use the wood stove. The remaining apples were becoming mushy, and while Cook tried to teach her how to make a pie, she could never master the dough for the shell. So, Cook showed her how to make an apple crumble instead, from all her failed dough.

  “Ben, can you fetch the rest of the apples? I’ll show you how to peel them.” She gathered the ingredients she needed from the pantry. Brown sugar, cinnamon, flour and butter. On a shelf, she spied a half full jar of walnuts. Even though Cook had never added nuts to her crumble, Eleanor decided to take a chance.

  Ben deposited five apples on the table. “This isn’t enough for one for each of us.”

  “No, but if we cut them up and I add a crumble on top, we will have a good, sweet, dish to serve after our nightly meal.” Eleanor took two knives from the drawer. “Let me show you how to peel them.”

  Her peel came off in a single long string. She laid it out on the tabletop. “See if you can do better.” She had noticed a bit of a competitive streak in the boy.

  Ben’s first attempts were not successful, but he kept at it. By the time he got to the second apple, he was getting the idea and managed to remove most of the peel in one piece. He laid it beside Eleanor’s. “Whoop! I did it!”

  Eleanor grinned. “Yes, you did. Very nice, Ben.”

  “What comes next?” He wielded his knife as if it were a bayonet in front of the bare apples.

  “We need to remove the core, and then slice them evenly. Let me show you how small the slices need to be.” Eleanor made quick work of slicing up the first one. “Can you manage do the same thing with the next?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Ben took hold of the second apple and cut it apart with surgical precision. Eleanor worked on the dough while she kept an eye on Ben’s work.

  She buttered the pan before adding in the apple slices and sprinkling them with cinnamon. Elizabeth crawled into her lap to see what was going on and Eleanor chopped the walnuts into little pieces, adding them to the apple mixture before spreading the crumble on top. “It’s ready for the oven. Now all we need to do is cross our fingers and hope the oven works.” She slid the pan into the enclosure encased in the fireplace and closed the door. The interior of the little domed space had become hot to the touch, so Eleanor had high hopes it would cook the mixture so they could have a little something sweet to end Sunday’s dinner.

  When she spun back around, Ben and Elizabeth were still seated at the table, the fingers on both hands crossed. Eleanor laughed. “We can relax now, while the oven does its magic.” She sat at the table again, next to Elizabeth. “Why don’t you read to us, Ben, while we wait?”

  “Nah, we’ve read everything there is, so much I could read it with my eyes closed.” Ben shut his eyes to demonstrate.

  Eleanor stood. “I’ll bet you haven’t read my favorite tale. Let me get it.”

  She returned to the table with a dogeared book. “This book happened to be beloved by one the boys I used to care for in England. It’s called The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe of York. I’ll start it, and then you can take over.”

  As she read the opening scene, Caleb and Daniel quit playing with the blocks and joined Ben and Elizabeth at the table, as she had hoped. “I was born in the year 1632, in the city of York…”

  When she got to the part where the orator talked about his order in the family, having two older brothers, Caleb smiled. “Just like me.”

  “And his father was a wise and grave man, as is yours.” Eleanor was pleased when all the children nodded their heads. She handed the book to Ben. “Continue on with the story while I check on our crumble.” The children sat in rapt attention while Ben read the tale of adventure. The words from the familiar book soothed her spirits as she checked on the crumble, which was actually cooking in the oven and beginning to smell heavenly. She started preparing a meal for their dinner. Now that she had an appreciation for the seldom seen cooks and housekeepers in the English estates, who toiled in relative silence to keep the occupants of the house comfortable, would she ever be comfortable again? She’d been in America now for three weeks. Spring was still a long way off.

  Chapter Eight

  A fter a full day at the commissary, Patterson sat in the room where the local Sons of Liberty were meeting. The room was dark, with just a few candles providing a dim light. Patterson closed his eyes and ran a hand down his face. He could easily fall asleep here, but the meeting was too important to sleep through. He had to give it his full attention.

  “Men, General Morgan needs all of us in South Carolina. If we can gather enough men, we can take back that territory, and possibly rout the Brits.” Patterson listened to William Lloyd, a lieutenant under General Morgan, and charged with amassing the Continental Army, who had pretty much dispersed for the winter, attempted to rally the troops. “The redcoats assume we have no army in place, so it’s a perfect time to prove them wrong.”

  Patterson had fought under Morgan before, as a sharpshooter. By his calculation, if the men from Groton were to participate, they’d have to leave by no later than the first of December. He had only a few days to make his plans. He rubbed his eyes. He needed to stock his larder first. And he had to trust Eleanor to take care of his children while he was gone for several months. She was gaining skills in the kitchen, and with the exception of Adam, the children were willing to accept her, but could she handle everything on her own?

  He had no choice in the matter. Perhaps he could convince Mrs. Goodhouse to check on her once a week or so. He was tired of being tugged in so many different directions. What he wished for was to be able to work at a place of his own choosing, go home at night and put his feet up, surrounded by his children, who were safe, warm, and comfortable. When this conflict finally ended, he might consider finding another woman to share his life with, although he had no wish to ever get another woman with child. There were ways to plea
sure each other without spilling his seed inside a woman, but that approach was never as satisfying. He rubbed his chest over his heart. Those thoughts were best set aside until later. He had a war to fight.

  He listened carefully as Lloyd laid out the plan. He’d join the troops and head to the Carolinas. With any luck, he’d be back by spring, at which time Eleanor would be able to board a ship back to England.

  It wasn’t a good plan, but it was the best he could come up with. He’d make sure there was enough food, he’d plead with Mrs. Goodhouse, and he’d convince Adam to act as the man of the house in his absence, and not run off to fight. Patterson took a deep breath and stood as the meeting ended. He had less than one week to get everything squared away.

  The candle in the window of his house welcomed him, and he smiled. The simple act of lighting his way warmed him. He opened the door quietly and removed his shoes, so as not to make a sound. It was quite late, and he hoped everyone was asleep. He wandered into the kitchen and found a meal placed atop the wood stove. The stove had been banked for the evening, but was still warm, and as he lifted the towel from the trencher, the scent of lightly seasoned deer meat made his mouth water. He took the food to the table and repositioned the candle from the window to the table as well. He plopped into his chair and gobbled up the food, mildly disappointed he had no apple crumble on his plate. It had been a very good dessert, and it should be no surprise there was none left. But still…

  His body unwound from its coil in this familiar setting as the food filled his empty belly. Polishing off the last bite, he sat back in his chair, loathe to get up and head to bed. He had too much to plan.

  Eleanor’s bedroom door cracked open and she nodded at him. Patterson followed her movements as she disappeared into the root cellar and returned with a bowl, which she sat in front of him.

  “I hid the last piece of apple crumble from the children.” She took a seat next to him.

  Patterson’s gaze met hers and he grinned. “I hate to deprive my children, but this is mighty tasty.” He lifted a forkful to his mouth, savoring the buttery taste. “Thank you.”

  “You are very late tonight.”

  “Yes, and I’m glad you waited up for me. We need to discuss what’s about to happen.” Patterson polished off the apple crumble in a few bites and placed the dirty dish on top of the trencher.

  “Why? What is about to happen?” Eleanor’s hands fisted on top of the table. Noticing her tight fists, Patterson placed his hand on top of hers.

  “There’s a battle about to take place in South Carolina, which is over a month’s march from here, to the south.” Patterson ran his thumbs over her balled hands. “I must go and fight.”

  Eleanor’s eyes grew large as she absorbed what he said. She yanked her hands away from him. “You’re to leave me alone with the children for two months? No, you can’t do this!”

  Even though she spoke quietly, Patterson could hear the panic in her voice.

  “I’ll leave you with enough food to get by, and I’ll have Mrs. Goodhouse check on you. This is a very important battle, so I have to go. Otherwise, all our sacrifice over the past years will have been for naught.”

  She remained seating but backed away from him. “I care not about the sacrifices you’ve made. I am a captive here until spring, caring for children who are not my own, keeping a house together when I have no knowledge of how to do so. The only thing that is keeping me from throwing myself into the harbor is the thought I could depend on you to straighten out anything I messed up. Now, I won’t even have that.”

  Patterson brushed a hand over his eyes again. He had expected this to be a difficult situation for her, but he had not expected panic. Had not expected her to admit she depended on him. The idea terrified him as much as her situation undoubtedly terrified her.

  “If you consider it this way, perhaps it will be easier. The moment I return, I’ll put you on a ship bound for your beloved England, with a letter of reference. By then, you’ll be an expert cook and housekeeper, so I can add those qualities to your already proven expertise with the children. You’ll be able to get a well-paying job anywhere in London.” Patterson drew in a breath. “Right now, though, I need to count on you to care for my children while I take care of our county. And, we both must get some sleep. Good night, Eleanor.”

  Dismissed, she rose without another word and retreated to her bedroom. Patterson continued to sit at the table until the candle burned out. Once she returned to London, he’d be back in the same situation he’d been in before his uncle sent her. There were no easy answers, and the battle for freedom continued to wage. But Eleanor’s freedom was greater than any inconvenience he might have. She considered herself a captive. The whole reason for the American conflict was to end oppression. He had to allow her to return to her homeland, even though she’d be a good American. He brushed a hand down his chest. In his heart, he knew it was the right thing to do. He lowered his hand to his stomach. His heart may be accepting of the fact, but his stomach would miss her apple crumble.

  • ♥ •

  Patterson’s gaze narrowed as his son worked through the practiced motions of loading the rifle. “You’re becoming quite accomplished with the gun, Adam. Now, if you can pack some meat on your bones, you’ll become strong enough to pick the rifle up and aim at something.”

  Adam struggled to lift the long gun to his shoulder. “I’m almost ready.”

  Patterson took the gun from his son and strode into the forest. “It’s getting late. We need to find a deer quickly, and head for home.”

  “Or at least some wild turkeys.” Adam positioned his bow and arrows as he marched alongside his father. “They aren’t nearly so hard to lug home.”

  “And they don’t last nearly as long as a deer.” Patterson spoke quietly as their footsteps made no sound. They melted into the woods, searching for signs of deer. Adam had been with his father enough times on expeditions for game to be aware silence was a virtue. When Adam bagged a big turkey with a single arrow, he quietly retrieved it with no victorious sounds. Patterson placed a hand on his son’s shoulder in congratulations. They continued on, until Patterson pointed to fresh scat on the deer trail and nodded. They crouched and slowly ambled forward.

  The doe was grazing, just ahead of them, so Patterson lifted the loaded rifle to his shoulder, aimed and fired. His body jolted back from the shot, and his ears rang from the noise, but his aim had been true. He and Adam quickly gutted the deer and the turkey. They sat for a few minutes before undertaking the strenuous task of hauling their catch home.

  “Son, I need your help.”

  Adam grinned at his father. “Are you admitting you’re too old to haul this back by yourself?”

  Patterson punched Adam in the arm. “I will gladly let you shoulder some of the burden of our catch, but that’s not what I meant. I need you to act as the man of the house for the next few months.”

  He studied his son’s face and measured his excitement. “Are you going to fight? Take me with you.”

  “I need you here. Eleanor isn’t yet familiar with the city, and she’s going to need your help with keeping the house going and keeping your brothers and sister safe. She doesn’t yet comprehend that here in America the British are not her friends.” Patterson placed his hand on Adam’s small shoulder. “You need to be the head of the house while I’m gone. It’s a huge burden for you, but I wouldn’t ask if it weren’t absolutely necessary.”

  “That’s no fun, Papa. I don’t care for her. Let me go with you into battle.” Adam pouted.

  “I wish your mother was here, too, instead of Eleanor, because she had a lot of practice keeping the home together while I’m away.” Patterson rubbed Adam’s shoulder. “But your mother is gone, and like it or not, we’re left with Eleanor, who has her good points. She makes a fine apple crumble. Keep bringing apples to her, and you’ll do just fine.”

  “How long will you be gone?” Adam blinked back the tears that had formed at the mention
of his mother.

  “It will take several months. Use the money in the drawer if you need some, and even though there should be enough meat to get by, if you need to go find another turkey or other bird, be careful and don’t stay away all day. Go with Eleanor any time she leaves the house. Then, when I get back, her wish is to head back to England, so you’ll be rid of her.” Patterson tugged his son close and wrapped an arm around him. “I’m putting my trust in you, Adam.”

  “I won’t let you down, Papa. Although I’d much rather be with you on the battlefield. This war will be over with by the time I’m old enough to join in.” Adam laid his head on Patterson’s shoulder for a moment.

  “I hope you are right about that, Adam.” Patterson squeezed his son gently. They rarely had time for shows of affection, and Adam was as uncomfortable as Patterson. He jumped out of his father’s grasp.

  “Let’s go.” He stood, strapped the turkey to a strip of rawhide around his waist, and grabbed a leg of the deer. Patterson tossed the spent rifle over his shoulder and took hold of the other leg. It was a lot to ask of a twelve-year-old boy, but there was no choice. If they survived the war, Adam would play a major role in the country’s growth. The welfare of his children was the only reason Patterson left them to do battle with England. Adam was growing up much faster than he should be, but a young country demanded much of its young people.

  Now, he just had to break the news to Eleanor that her only protection for the next few months would be a twelve-year-old boy.

  Chapter Nine

  I n the few days since their talk, Patterson noted Adam had fully embraced the role of family protector his father had forced upon his narrow shoulders. He had stepped into his position, helping Eleanor around the house, and keeping tabs on his siblings. Patterson still got a knot in his gut at the thought of leaving his children and a defenseless woman for a few months, but at least he had some small measure of relief Adam would not run off at the first opportunity and join the fight.