“It’s so sudden.” Katie’s voice was unsteady.
“It is,” the doctor agreed. “But we need to leave soon and the sooner we go the sooner we’ll return, God willing.”
“And ye leave at the end of the month?” Like the others Kieran was also shocked by the suddenness of the decision.
The doctor nodded. “We do. It will mean a busy few weeks for there’s much to do and we won’t leave until everything is settled for those staying behind but I’m confident that we’ll manage it.” Again he glanced at the face of each individual in the room. Some looked on the verge of tears, some looked angry, some unsure, and he knew that what he was telling them was probably the hardest thing he’d ever had to tell any person in his life – and as a doctor there had been many hard things he’d had to say. “I know it’s not going to be easy. Not for any of us. If there was any way I could manage the affairs from here I would do so, but it’s too complicated for that. I want you all to know, though, that I’d rather be here and I’ll be doing everything possible to return as soon as possible. But before we go, we’re planning a celebration.”
“Like a farewell, ye mean?”
“Well no, not exactly. We were thinking more for Katie’s birthday.”
“For me?” Katie looked stunned.
Esther smiled. “Yes, for you. It’s your birthday and we thought we’d invite all our neighbours and have a picnic down by the river.”
“But why for me?”
Rhiannon gave a forced laughed. “Because it’s your birthday, silly. Haven’t you ever had a birthday party before?”
Katie looked at her brothers and sisters one by one, then shook her head. “I don’t think any of us have had a party before.”
“Well, now’s a good time to start.”
“Will there be cake?” It was the first time that Emily had spoken.
“I’ll ask Lola to make the biggest cake she can. Do you think that will do?”
Brennan jumped up and clapped his hands together. “I love cake. Cake, cake, cake. I love cake,” he sung as the others laughed at his antics and the doctor breathed a sigh of relief that the family meeting had concluded with less tears and less angry words than he had expected.
Rhiannon’s Journal
March 12, 1831
There was a time when I would have welcomed the opportunity to leave these shores. I didn’t appreciate the beauty of this distant land when we first came and it certainly didn’t feel like home. But now it does and I can’t imagine living any place else. I’ve even come to love the diverseness of this land and to think it beautiful.
And now we’re leaving and I don’t want to go. When once I couldn’t wait to leave, now I can’t wait until we return. I want to stay – but I know I have to go. And I’ll have to leave behind Katie and Seamus and others that I have come to love. And it’s going to be so hard.
I thought my heart would break when Grandfather forced us to leave England but now I know that what I experienced then is nothing to what I’ll experience this time.
My tears are smearing the words on this page. Perhaps it’s just as well. Some things are better left unsaid – unwritten – and unread.
Samuel watched as Katie spread the picnic rug on the ground and spread out the food she had prepared with the help of the Sanford housekeeper. It was her eighteenth birthday and the Sanford family had invited their neighbours to share a picnic with them to celebrate the occasion. She seemed embarrassed by all the attention and he wondered how long it had been since she had celebrated her birthday. She certainly hadn’t had a lot of cause for celebration in the previous four years.
It was a beautiful day with barely a hint of the change of season taking place. The sun was hot but under the shade of the trees it was cool enough for all the guests. On the banks of the river, Katie’s younger siblings splashed happily in the shallow water as it flowed lazily beneath overhanging trees. Nearby Kieran, with a limp that was only noticeable to the most discerning observer and which was proof of his determination to walk and be independent, pushed Rhiannon’s chair until he seemed satisfied with the place he had found for her. Rhiannon had finally overcome her aversion to the chair and was happy to be seen out in public in it. Samuel suspected that this was due in no small part to Kieran’s influence. He was certainly very gentle and tender with her and Samuel believed he understood a little of what was in the younger man’s heart. Already seated in chairs in the shade, Rhiannon’s parents, one holding Seamus, the other Moses, watched over all with contented smiles.
Katie’s gaze rested on her siblings. “I worry about them.”
“Your brothers and sisters?”
Katie nodded. Samuel turned and looked her full in the face. “I wanted to talk to you about them.”
“To me? About me brothers and sisters? Why? Has Brennan misbehaved in school?”
“No. He’s doing well in school. That’s not what I want to talk to you about. No, it’s the doctor and his wife. I’ve heard that they’re planning to return to England.”
“Yes. To see his father. They should be gone for a year – not that the doctor wants to leave his patients that long but it can’t be helped. He thinks they should go.”
“And he’s taking Rhiannon and Moses?”
Katie’s face clouded. “I’m going to miss them so much.”
“And Kieran? Has he decided?”
Katie shook her head and looked down at the tablecloth that she had spread over the rug. “Not yet. The doctor wants him to go with them so that he can continue his studies. He thinks Kieran shows a natural aptitude for learning and wants him to have every opportunity. It will be good for Kieran.”
Samuel nodded. “I did offer to tutor Kieran in the evenings but the doctor declined. I suspect he jealousy guards Kieran’s continuing education.”
“He believes that the colony doesn’t offer the opportunities that Kieran could have in England.”
“I agree. But Kieran doesn’t want to leave you.” It was more a statement than a question.
“He feels torn. He wants to go but he wants to stay. There’s his pride – he doesn’t want to accept charity but he wants to learn. And then of course there’s the matter of setting foot on a ship again – even though the doctor has assured him that it will be different in a first class cabin. Imagine Kieran travelling first class!” and Katie laughed.
Samuel also laughed. “And why not? However I think I can understand his aversion to sailing. It’s not something I’d willingly endure unnecessarily.” He sobered. “Have you made any plans for yourself and the other children?”
“Ye know that the doctor wants to adopt them?” At Samuel’s nod she continued, “I can’t leave the colony yet so I’ll stay and care for them – I’ve done it before. And this time will be easier. We’ll stay in the Sanford home. They’ve been so kind … the doctor and Esther …” and her voice trailed off.
“Let me do something to help.”
“Ye? What can ye do?”
Samuel took Katie’s hand and gently pulled her to her feet and led her to the edge of the grassy area that had been chosen for their picnic site. Not until they were out of earshot of everyone did he speak.
“I could marry you and make them my responsibility too.”
Katie’s face clouded. “Ye don’t know what ye’re saying.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.”
“Ye need time to think on this.”
“I’ve been thinking of this for a long time. Truth is, I should never have let you refuse me the first time.”
“Are ye asking me out of obligation again?”
“It was never out of obligation, Katie.”
Katie shot him a disbelieving look but didn’t put her thoughts into words. Instead she asked, “But me brothers and sisters?”
“I want to look after them too.”
“It would be a big responsibility.”
“I’m not afraid of that.” His face showed his earnestness and something
besides … something that she had never seen before. Could it be that Samuel who had always appeared so sure and confident was now uncertain and anxious? He appeared to be waiting … but for what she wasn’t sure.
She leaned her head against the trunk of the tree. “I don’t know if I can let ye do it. It’s too much to ask ye to take on.”
“You’re not asking. I am.”
“But all of them?”
Samuel put a finger to Katie’s chin and made her look at him. “Let me prove my love.”
“I … ” Katie tried to look away but Samuel held her gaze. She felt the warmth as slowly a blush coloured her cheeks and she closed her eyes in confusion. She could hear the sounds of laughter and of voices as if at a distance and close by Samuel’s breathing as he waited for her to reply.
A shout behind them alerted Samuel to his responsibilities. “I need to say a blessing on the food so that we can start eating. Do I have your answer?”
Katie opened her eyes and looked into his, which were serious and questioning. “Perhaps.”
“Perhaps I have your answer or perhaps you’ll marry me?”
Katie looked beyond him to where his congregation – their friends and neighbours – gathered in readiness of the food spread before them. She could see Kieran watching her and beside him Rhiannon and her parents. They were all smiling. Then she focused on Samuel’s face and realised what she had never before admitted.
She gave him a brilliant smile that caused him to catch his breath. “Say grace and then I’ll tell ye.”
Author’s Note
With our immunisation programmes and medical technology we are quick to forget that there was a time when even the most common illness had serious consequences beyond any we can imagine. Many children – and adults – nowadays have no firsthand knowledge of the damaging effects of a disease such as polio – the illness that almost claimed Rhiannon’s life and took away her ability to walk.
Polio was first identified as a disease in 1840 although it had caused paralysis and death long before that time. The use of hot and cold compresses was a form of treatment developed by an Australian nurse, Elizabeth Kenny, in the early part of the twentieth century. Prior to this, prolonged bed rest and splinting of the limbs was the major treatment and her approach was for many years considered unorthodox. It’s not outside the realms of possibility that a forward-thinking man such as Doctor Sanford could have stumbled upon such a form of treatment in an effort to cure his beloved daughter.
Although Newcastle ceased being a secondary punishment colony in 1823 a number of convicts remained in the area to work on the breakwater, which had to be rebuilt several times due to poor construction.
The Government Town near Wallis Plains would later become East Maitland; Green Hills, later renamed Morpeth, was an important river port up until the 1920s when motor transport replaced shipping; and Wallis Plains is the modern day Maitland. All three towns today are rich in history and beauty.
Just as Rhiannon had to learn to depend on the Lord and let Him be her strength, there comes a time in all our lives when we must make the same choice: put our faith and trust in the Lord or go it on our own. My prayer is that like Rhiannon you will learn to wait on Him.
But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:31, KJV
Julianne Jones
About the Author
Julianne Jones is a Christian author passionate about sharing God’s love via the written word. A wife, mother of five, grandmother, and early childhood teacher, Julianne divides her time between family, writing, and teaching. Born and raised in the beautiful Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Julianne and her husband now make their home in New Zealand.
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