by Jerri Hines
* * * *
“Jane,” a tender, soft voice called to her. “Jane.” She heard it once more. She tried to open her eyes. “No, child, come back to me. I need for you to drink this water and hold it within you.”
Jane choked on the drink. The woman’s hand held her head up. “Drink again.”
“I can’t,” she uttered in a weak voice.
The persistent woman wouldn’t relent. “You have no choice, Jane. Your husband sits behind that door waiting for you. I know you want to see him, have him hold you. For that to happen, you need to drink.”
Jane tried. She took a small sip. The whole of her body ached. The woman pressed a cool, wet cloth upon her forehead. It felt good. Opening her eyes wider, she stared at the woman.
The woman wasn’t young, Jane surmised, but younger than she appeared. Her eyes were sad but kind, her face compassionate.
“Sumner?” Jane asked, taking another sip. She held her stomach when she swallowed. “Can he not be with me?” About to cry, she choked back the tears. “I mean, I need him…”
“Of course you do, child. I want to see how sick you are,” she answered. Her hand rubbed Jane’s hand, forehead. “My name is Molly. I’ve been a friend of Sumner’s for a long time,” she said. “You have no fever, but you have the look of one that does.”
The woman sat back. “Child,” she asked thoughtfully. “How long has it been since your time?”
Jane took another sip of water. She shook her head. “I don’t remember. It has been a while, I think. I haven’t kept up with such, not with everything that has happened.”
“Child,” Molly said, “do you not know to keep up with such things when you are married?”
“Why?” Jane asked in all innocence.
* * * *
Molly opened the door only wide enough to ease out.
Sumner almost leaped off his seat. “Is she better?”
Molly nodded, but placed her finger upon her lips.
“Let’s walk.”
The two walked toward the barn. Molly began, “She is sick, Sumner, and needs time to regain her strength. She has been treated horribly…that is without a doubt. I don’t think she needs to be moved at least for a day maybe two.”
“We haven’t the time. We need—”
“No, now you will care for your wife. She needs to recover,” Molly said simply. “But she needs your strength. Sumner,” she paused, “I’m not certain, Sumner, but I suspect one of the reasons she is so sick is she is with child. I don’t know if she will keep the babe.”
* * * *
Sumner lay beside Jane, holding her tightly in his arms. He talked to her and soothed her. She didn’t say much, but her eyes bothered him greatly. She had eaten, but hadn’t kept it down. Then, Molly fixed her broth, light and simple, which Jane hadn’t thrown up. By the morning light, color had returned to her cheeks.
She tried to sit up. He pulled her back. “Oh, no, my love. Rest for now. You need to take it easy.”
“I heard them talk. We need to leave. I don’t want….” Her voice quivered; her body trembled.
“I promise you no one is going to harm you,” he said emphatically. “I don’t know how I will do so, but I’m sending Caleb and you to England. There is no discussion about it. My sister…she will care for you.”
“I don’t want to leave you, Sumner. I need you so.” Tears began to fall again.
“As I do you.” He wiped the tears from her cheeks. “But it isn’t safe. More so now than ever…in your condition. You hadn’t even suspected?”
“I hadn’t contemplated it.” She grimaced. “I need to sit up.” Her stomach churned. The next moment she was throwing up again.
He worried. What they were going to do, he hadn’t a clue. They needed to leave, that was without question, but he feared for her health if they did. What did it matter if they fled and he lived, if Jane died? There wasn’t a choice. They would stay.
* * * *
From the east, the sun rose higher across the line of trees. Morning broke and Sumner was no closer to deciding his course. He leaned against the railing of the porch and sighed.
“Someone is riding along the river bank,” Joseph said, rounding the corner of the house. He had the look of one who had had no sleep. “My lookout says it is only one man. He may be yours. If he comes toward us, he might be your man. If he cuts back, I said to take him out, assuming he is scouting.”
Sumner rubbed the back of his neck. He cast a look over his shoulder behind Joseph. The tall woods loomed black in silhouette, shielding the river’s view. The shadows slowly dissipated, but a chill hung in the November air.
“Is he whistling the most annoying of tunes?” Sumner asked, walking down the few steps to the ground.
Joseph eyed him in the emerging morning light. “I believe Seth mentioned the fact. I imagine now it is your sign of his arrival?”
Sumner nodded briefly. His eyes fixed on the dark thick oaks. A few minutes passed before his ears heard the noise his friend called music. Elijah emerged shortly from the shelter of the woods, his face alight with a wide smile at sighting Sumner.
Lather streaked the flanks of his horse. Discounting Elijah’s gingerly approach, Sumner realized he had pushed the horse hard during the night.
“All is well?” Elijah asked with a sheepish grin toward Sumner, barely containing his excitement. He reined in beside Sumner, dismounting quickly.
“She is safe within the cabin. Molly is looking after her at the moment.” Sumner tried to keep his voice low. He didn’t want his voice to carry. “She needs to regain her strength.”
“But you saved her!” Elijah exclaimed in an undertone. “By jove! Sumner. I never believed it could be pulled off. The colonel is going to be jubilant. He thought for sure you would be the next news spreading rapidly around us. Hanged for sure. It would have been a blow for all of us.” He slapped Sumner on the back.
Elijah turned to Joseph. “And you must be, Major Williamson. I have a letter from Colonel Shelby for you and your men which he is forwarding on to headquarters. He didn’t know if it would be for naught, but if you pulled off such a perilous venture, we are indeed fortunate to welcome you.”
Sumner suppressed a smile. It wasn’t the words Elijah used only a few days before. Ranting, raving about how one couldn’t trust Joseph.
You are walking into a trap, my friend. Do you know the blow that will be felled? They will use your capture to deflate the cause, Elijah had pleaded. Wait. They dare not do as you suppose.
It is either try or turn myself in, Sumner acknowledged. I can’t leave her as it is now.
Elijah couldn’t argue the terrible logic of Sumner’s proclamation. What am I fighting for if I lose the one that is most dear to me, Elijah?
With reluctance, Elijah had taken Rebekah back by himself. Sumner had seen in Elijah’s eyes that his friend thought he would never lay eyes on Sumner again, but knew Sumner well enough to realize he would never change his mind. He was going to attempt to save his wife.
So Elijah had done the unthinkable in his own mind—he left Sumner…alone…with the enemy. But Jane’s plight was a cause that drew them all together, one in which all could rally around, trying desperately to revive a semblance of humanity.
Breathing in deeply, Elijah said, “I smell someone cooking.”
“Come, Molly must have known you were descending upon us.” Sumner clasped his friend’s back. “We will discuss everything after you eat.”
* * * *
“Ain’t nobody’s cooking like yours, Miss Molly,” Elijah uttered between bites. “Wish someone could come teach Bud how to. He’s upped and taken the notion he can and it ain’t good.”
“Not much of a compliment, Elijah,” Molly bantered back with him. “Comparing me to Bud!”
Elijah opened his mouth to pile in another ungodly amount. He bit his biscuit afterwards. “Well, in truth, even his food would have tasted good after the ride I’ve been on!”
&nb
sp; “We don’t have much time before we need to head out once more,” Joseph offered. “We have been here too long as it is.”
Sumner eyed the food upon Joseph’s plate. The man had not eaten. Sumner caught Elijah’s eye as he glanced up from the plate. Elijah grabbed hold of the glass in front of him and drank it down in one gulp.
“It is why I’m here, my friend,” he said, swallowing once more.
“I don’t believe anyone is in disagreement, Joseph, upon the fact that we need to move out,” Sumner said.
He glanced over to the closed door. He could hear Jane coughing. Molly moved toward the door without a word. She must be throwing up again. He pushed back his chair. Molly’s hand came down upon his shoulder.
“Sit. Decide upon your next move,” she said firmly. “I’ll see to her.”
“She is sick?” Elijah asked.
Sumner hesitated. “It is what the concern is at the moment. It may be better if Joseph goes with you. I will stay until she recovers sufficiently. I know the way.”
Elijah studied Sumner. “Colonel Shelby will take the Tory unit under his wing,” Elijah said, gone was any wittiness in his tone. “I am to take them forthwith, but Sumner, how sick is she?”
Joseph stared at Sumner. Sumner hadn’t even told Joseph what they suspected. He wasn’t going to.
“She hasn’t a fever, but is unable to keep food down. Her nerves are played upon greatly. But Molly is hoping in a few days…”
“We haven’t a few days!” Joseph pushed aside his food and said brusquely, “It isn’t only General Durham, Sumner! Don’t you believe Benny will not be upon the trail? It is his opportunity. I know of no other who can track as well, especially with the connection you hold here. People don’t hold back on him when he asks! Do you not foresee he will find out? It will be safer also to take the woman and the lad with us.”
“Do you not believe I don’t know that?” Sumner asked. “I know it well. I ask for no one else to stay. I will keep to her. Take Molly and Hugh. It is pointless to argue with me about the matter. She can’t be pushed at the moment, in a day at the most.”
Joseph caught Sumner’s eyes. “I’m not going to leave her unguarded.”
Elijah sighed heavily. “You are telling me to ride back once more. Then, my friends, if we anticipate the fact you will be discovered, we need to make plans. Colonel Shelby is a day’s ride from here.”
Sumner nodded.
Elijah shook his head. “Oh, my friend, a ride once more! I need no sleep for I can sleep when I am dead.”
Sumner insisted that Elijah take a short nap before he departed. Sumner gave him a fresh horse, ready to ride. He had tried to talk Molly into leaving with Elijah, but she steadfastly refused.
“I would only slow him down,” she answered. “Hugh and I…this is our home. We will stay.”
Sumner watched while Elijah rode away. Glancing over his shoulder at the cabin, he couldn’t shake the ominous feeling that chilled his bones. Joseph was right. They were sitting ducks.
Chapter 18
“Wretched deceiving miscreant!”
The words echoed out the open French doors onto the veranda. Katy cringed. She had thought she would escape the gloom that had descended upon Charles Town by coming to Elm Bluff, but it seemed there was no escape.
She longed for a simpler time. There had been such a time, hadn’t there, before this calamitous war? Thank goodness Rebekah had found haven…she hoped. She worried so about her friend. Today, though, it was Jane Meador whom she couldn’t get out of her mind.
The poor woman! She seemed so angelic and shy. To endure the wrath of the British! Accusing her of treason?
It made no sense, except General Durham wanted her husband, badly. So badly, he was willing to sacrifice an innocent to accomplish his objective. Katy had tried to help, having gone to Henry Peterson, who was beside himself.
“I have objected in the strongest way I know how, Katy,” he said. “I have requested a delay so that I can represent her. It takes time to communicate with London and Philadelphia. Durham told me to do what I wanted, but the trial would go on without deferment. He has refused for me to see her.”
“There is nothing you can do?” Katy cried. “William is set to testify against her. Lies! Mr. Peterson.”
“You are young, Katy,” he answered, tears in his eyes. “It is evident that this is only a mock trial, my dear. Only to give show that it was legal later when questioned.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because the verdict isn’t in question. It wasn’t from the moment they arrested her. The British are frustrated over their defeat at King’s Mountain. They are beginning to feel the South slipping away from them. They had been confident that the South would be their saving grace. Now, they are clamping down.”
“But this will only serve to alienate everyone further.”
“They see it as discipline. That we are disobedient children who need only to be taken behind the shed and whipped soundly.”
Katy left Charles Town immediately after and rode to Elm Bluff. She didn’t care what anyone thought. What was with this world? Where was God? How could He allow such an atrocity to happen?
She rode to find Bruce. She wasn’t certain how she felt about him, but she had the need to see him…she hadn’t since the morning after they made love. There had been no promises or words of love, but she set in motion for Bruce to meet with Sumner. At least, she believed she had.
When she rode up the path to Elm Bluff, Bruce had been there. She hadn’t even dismounted when he was by her side. She cried and he gave her comfort. With her appearance at Elm Bluff, Bruce hadn’t even attempted to hide they were lovers. He had announced to the house servant that another would be there for dinner and would be staying.
“Colonel, don’t know where to put her.”
Leckie eyed Katy. “Then place her in mine.”
She knew she should have objected. At least fended outrage for the insinuation, but she said nothing. She was grasping for a semblance of protection from the outside world, which was crumbling around her.
Another curse resonated from within the house. Katy wanted nothing more than to run from the blaring voice, but she couldn’t. She recognized it too well. General Marcus Durham was at Elm Bluff.
Something in his voice made her afraid. Not for herself, but he called for Bruce. She dared not leave. She eased toward the open door.
Not daring to call attention to herself, Katy watched in silence the lone general in his misery. She saw Durham standing by the desk. Suddenly, he pounded his fist so hard against it that the lamp rattled and tumbled off onto the floor, shattering it in a million pieces.
Muttering private curses, the aggrieved man covered his eyes with both hands. He whipped around when Leckie entered.
“Shut the door, Colonel!”
“As you wish.” In a calm manner, Leckie closed the door and turned slowly back to Durham.
Livid, Durham snapped, “Do you have any idea of what went down this afternoon, Colonel?”
“I heard that Mrs. Meador has escaped with her husband. Is there more that I need to know?”
Katy’s heart sang! Jane escaped. Thank God!
Durham’s face contorted; his voice rose. “More? You ask if there’s more? What would you think when Sumner Meador saunters into the courtroom without detection and simply picks up his wife in the middle of the trial…walks out the front door…gets on his damn horse, and rides out of town! What do you think?”
“I wasn’t there. I wouldn’t know,” Leckie returned in a cool, effortless voice.
Silence ensued for a moment.
“I find it of interest that it was your men protecting the trial. Why was that, Colonel? Why were they not here?”
Leckie replied promptly, “I thought you might have need of them, General. You expected Sumner to appear, did you not?”
General Durham colored before he exploded. “The men did nothing but act as if they were protect
ing him! As if they were helping in the escape! By God! Joseph Williamson’s whole unit defected to the Americans! They stood in the damn courtroom holding the whole of our unit at bay! Not one movement from my men…not one shot fired!”
Leckie took his time before he resumed. “Is there a point to this, General? Are you accusing the men…accusing me of something? Pray, don’t mince words!”
General Durham moved up in Leckie’s face. He sneered. “You are God damn right I am. You consorted with the enemy, Colonel!”
“Pray, remove yourself from my person. I have done nothing to betray my country. I can assure you, General! Are you placing me under arrest? You really do want the gallows used this day!”
General Durham stood to full height. His commanding voice shook. “Don’t be insubordinate with me, Colonel! You know as well as I do if I had any proof, you would have already been hanging outside! Do you have any idea what has happened? A wanton criminal has just been allowed to walk out from our hands. Why? Because of misplaced sympathy!”
“Misplaced sympathy, General? Or perhaps you pick and choose whom we punish?”
“For Christ’s sake, what do you mean?”
“Rebekah Corbett! You ordered me to make sure she was allowed to leave. Does one have to sleep with you to inflect sympathy into your heart?” Leckie thundered.
Katy’s eyes widened. Rebekah with General Durham! Never! Oh, no, Bruce was wrong. Rebekah loved Jonathan more than her own life.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about!”
“No? Back in Charles Town, I saw her leave your room early one morning, General. What was I to think?”
From the veranda, Katy couldn’t take her eyes off the two. Both were so full of fury. She was afraid one would hit the other. Durham forced a smile and backed away slowly.
“You are mistaken, Colonel, very mistaken.”
“I know that Jane Meador has done nothing. I was asked to keep her safe. Do you think Sumner would have openly sent her here to spy? Are you mad? The girl survived a massacre. Joseph said she saw her family cut into ribbons.
“To spy, would she not have wanted to be within Charles Town? She was shy and wanted only to be here, taking care of the little boy. The men knew her. Now, Rebekah, what do you think…”
