From This Day Forward

by Margaret Daley

  Sarah poured the tea and gave Rachel a cup. “That is Nathan. I have tried everything to get him to be available when I go into labor, but he refuses, no matter how much I plead. After last time, I wanted a doctor in attendance rather than a midwife, but I don’t care for Dr. Ellsworth.” She fluttered her hand in the air. “Enough about that. What brings you to Liberty Hall?”

  “We have a thief stealing food at the farm. I came to see if you all would loan me the use of a dog. Nathan told me you have one that is quite protective and lives in your stable.”

  “He is a most excellent watchdog. Sean loves him. I would be glad to lend him to you. You cannot have a thief. He will get bolder and bolder as he gets away with his stealing.”

  “I asked Nathan to teach me to shoot. I don’t know if he will, but this thief has made it clear I need to know how.”

  “If he will not, I will show you what little I know from watching John.”

  After sipping her tea, Rachel placed the cup and saucer on the table and leaned back, cradling Faith, who was enthralled with her new environment. “I suggested seeing if Mr. Baker would teach me, which did not set well with your brother.”

  Sarah chuckled. “Men. They think we are so incapable of taking care of ourselves. During the war John was gone for several years, with infrequent trips home. I managed running the plantation and our affairs in Charleston quite well. Even John said so. Perhaps I need to remind my brother of that.”

  “I appreciate the offer, but I will convince him.” Rachel picked up Faith and laid her against her shoulder and patted her. “I also brought the morning gown I made for you to try on. I want to make sure it fits, since I shall be working on the ball gown next.”

  “That would be wonderful. The one I would have worn will not do, since I am with child. I hope you will come to the ball in May. It will be here at Liberty Hall this year, and you can stay overnight with us. Some of our other guests will.”

  Thinking of the fine fabric and the dress she would make for Sarah, Rachel considered her limited wardrobe. She had sold her ball gowns before leaving England. If what Tom said had been true, she could have replenished her clothing when she reached America according to what needs she had. “I probably shouldn’t—”

  “I will not allow you to decline my invitation. We have become friends, and I want my friends to be at the festivities. I have a half-mourning gown I think would fit you perfectly. ’Tis lavender.”

  Rachel hadn’t been to a ball in over a year. She loved to dance and had missed doing it. “If you are sure.”

  “Most definitely. Then it is settled. Besides, I have an ulterior motive for asking you. If you come, I am counting on Nathan coming too.”

  Rachel smiled. “I like how you think.”

  Knee-deep in water, Nathan spied a flash of blue to his left and plunged deeper into the swamp. He was sure whoever was watching him was the thief. If he caught him, perhaps Rachel would give up the notion of learning to shoot.

  He sloshed up onto higher ground where his boots only sank a few inches into the muddy bog. Cypress trees closed in around him with vegetation thickening, making progress slow. But broken twigs and smashed-down greenery indicated he was on the right trail. A faint murmur of voices drifted to him. He halted and listened. To the left. He changed his direction and went through the thicket that clawed at his clothing and skin.

  The voices grew louder. There were two thieves. This was Rachel’s land, and no one would be here unless they were up to no good. What if it was the man who had attacked her in Charleston? Nathan’s fingers clutched his flintlock while he peered down at his sheath that bore his knife. Well-armed, he would see this through and perhaps finally have some peace concerning Rachel.

  A stick snapped behind him. He pivoted toward the sound, but halfway around, something hard crushed into his skull. Blackness fell over him.

  Ten

  Her visit with Sarah had been what Rachel needed to see Nathan in a calmer light. The past few years had not been easy for him with the war, his difficulties with his grandfather, and his mother’s abandonment. Now that she was a mother, Rachel did not understand the woman’s change of heart. From what Sarah had said, both her parents had loved their children and they had been a close family. What happened to change that?

  Perhaps his mother didn’t know what heartache her actions had cost her son. What if she wrote to her and let Nathan’s mother know what her silence had caused her children? Perhaps she could help mend this family she had come to care about. She and Nathan would be going into Charleston when the planting was finished at the end of the week. She could post it then.

  The laundry spread out on the bushes near the house as well as the line that Nathan had put up was the first thing Rachel saw when she came into view of her place in the early afternoon, the sun indicating it was perhaps two o’clock. Her servant was becoming indispensable to her. The sight of what Maddy had accomplished spread a smile across Rachel’s face.

  Until Maddy bolted from the house, running straight toward her, alarm on her pert face. Her mobcap sat on her head askew, and mud caked the hem of her dress.

  Breathless, she met Rachel a hundred feet from the front door. “Dr. Stuart is missing. I saw him going into the swamp earlier. He has not come back. I started to go search for him. I got stuck in the mud, and I screamed and screamed for him to come help. He never did, ma’am. Something is terribly wrong.”

  “How did you get out of the mud?” Rachel stopped the horse and twisted around to pick up Faith, who had fallen asleep.

  The McNeal’s dog stood up in the cart, staring at Maddy and growling low in his throat.

  “Jasper, it is all right.”

  Maddy, wide-eyed, backed away. “What’s that thing?”

  “A dog.”

  “I never saw one like that. ’Tis huge.”

  “All the better to catch our thief. He is an Irish wolfhound, according to Sarah.”

  “Perhaps it has a horse somewhere in its lineage.”

  “He is really quite lovable. And big.” Rachel motioned for Maddy to come closer and when she hesitantly did, Rachel passed Faith to her. After hopping down to the ground, she took her daughter again and started for the house, saying, “Jasper, come.”

  “He is!” Maddy’s gaze grew even larger.

  “You faced down Mr. Baker. Surely Jasper, who is smaller, is not a threat to you. Now who helped you out of the mud?”

  “Mr. Baker. He heard me screaming and came and plucked me right out. You should have seen it. You would think I weighed no more than a feather.”

  Entering her house, Rachel looked around. “Where is Mr. Baker?”

  “Searching for Dr. Stuart. He has been gone almost since you drove away. He left the field only partially planted. I know he was determined to finish that one today, so I don’t know why he went into the swamp.” Maddy wrapped her arms about herself.

  “Help me strap Faith on and then you and I can continue planting until Mr. Baker comes back. It is probably nothing.” She didn’t really believe her words, but Maddy’s agitation began to encompass Rachel with a sense of panic she dare not give into.

  “Mr. Baker has been gone at least an hour. I turned the sandglass over and the top is empty.” Maddy pointed at the timekeeper, her hand trembling. “I am worried about…” She bit her teeth into her bottom lip.

  I am worried too. But she would not voice that to Maddy. Rachel found the scraps of cloth she used to bind her daughter against her when she needed to work with her hands free. She gave them to Maddy and held Faith clasped to her chest while her servant crisscrossed the pieces of material and tied them in back, securing her child safely. Now if only Nathan is safe. Please, Lord, bring him back here.

  She and Maddy walked out to the field, the one nearest to the house, where Nathan’s sack of seed and a hoe lay on the plowed earth. She worked on one row while Maddy worked on another. Rachel’s gaze kept straying toward the swamp. Although the temperature was seasonably w
arm, a chill encased her in fear.

  What if Nathan is gone? Never returns? Is dead—like Tom?

  Her fear mushroomed until she fumbled the seeds and a handful ended up in a hole. She returned the excess corn to the bag. Why couldn’t she do it right? The way Nathan had shown her the other day. No wonder he was frustrated with her. No wonder he was worried about teaching her to shoot.

  Finally, too upset with herself to continue, she knelt in the dirt and prayed for Nathan. If she had not wrecked on the road, he would right now be blissfully alone at his cabin, not feeling responsible for her.

  Father, I need Your strength. I need Your guidance. Perhaps she could work something out with Mr. Baker—if he returned—and accept Mrs. Bridges’ offer of a job at her dress shop.

  “Ma’am, ’tis them. Mr. Baker is carrying Dr. Stuart.”

  Rachel swiveled around toward the swamp and saw Mr. Baker carrying Nathan over his shoulder, struggling in the calf-high water at the edge of the raised field. She leaped to her feet and raced toward the men with Maddy right behind her. The sudden motion awakened Faith, who began to fuss at the jarring pace.

  “Shh, honey. I need to help Nathan.” She circled her arms around her daughter as she ran.

  Mr. Baker trudged to high ground as Rachel reached his side. “About halfway to my land, I found him wanderin’ around. We started back toward your place and he passed out. He has a lump on his head.”

  Rachel positioned herself so she could see Nathan’s pale face, his hair matted with blood, the nasty wound. “Did he say anything?”

  “ ’Twas only babblin’.” Mr. Baker continued his steady pace toward the house.

  Inside, Rachel directed her neighbor to take Nathan into her bedchamber and lay him on her bed, wishing her straw mattress had his feather tick—soft, comfortable—on top. “Maddy, help me unwrap Faith and take care of her while I see to Nathan. I shall need you to bring me water and clean rags.”

  Mr. Baker removed Nathan’s wet, muddy boots then stood back while Rachel examined the injury. “Is there anything ya want me to do?”

  “Yes, please get a shirt and trousers. He stays in the barn. We need to get him out of these dirty clothes.”

  Mr. Baker nodded then left the room. Kneeling next to the bed, Rachel probed Nathan’s scalp to see if there were any other lumps. “What happened to you?” she whispered. When her fingertips grazed his wound, he jerked, his eyes flying open then sliding closed.

  At least there was only one bump. Did he get it falling and hitting his head? Or did someone do this to him? The thief plaguing them?

  Maddy rushed into the room with a bowl of water and some pieces of cloth. “I washed them this morning, so they are clean. What else can I do?”

  “Make willow bark tea. When I had a head injury it helped me some.” Inadequacy drenched her in a cold sweat. This was Nathan’s expertise, not hers. All she could think of was to clean the wound and make him comfortable. And pray.

  As gently as she could she cleansed the injury and the scalp around it, praying the whole time that he would wake soon and continue his argument with her. Then she would know he was going to be all right. Her plea to the Lord calmed some of her fears, but a little voice kept whispering in her mind, “What will you do if he dies?”

  Mr. Baker came back into the bedchamber with Nathan’s garments as she finished doing what little she could. She dropped the bloody cloth into the bloody water, her gaze riveted on them. Her body quaked. Nathan was hurt because he was helping her.

  She pushed herself to her feet and turned toward Mr. Baker. “We need to get him out of those dirty, wet clothes and into some dry ones.”

  “Not we, ma’am. Me. I will take care of him.”

  “The bed linen needs to be changed too. All I have until it is washed is a blanket for him to lie on.”

  “Git me the blanket. I will do it. Not a job for you.”

  The expression on Mr. Baker’s face shouted that he would not be persuaded to do anything but what he said. Since he was twice her size, she decided not to argue with him. “Very well.” She strode to the trunk along the wall and withdrew a blanket then put it at the bottom of the bed and left the room, closing the door.

  “What happened to Dr. Stuart?” Maddy held Faith and paced in front of the fireplace, worry tingeing every feature.

  “I don’t know, but we need to find out. It cannot happen again.”

  “Send for the constable?”

  “I will need to go into Charleston in a few days to deliver my work to Mrs. Bridges. I can report this to the constable then.”

  “Alone?”

  “If I have to. Because if Nathan is not better by then, a doctor needs to see him.”

  Loud voices sounded from her bedchamber. One angry. One appeasing. The door flew open and Mr. Baker came out into the main room. “I’m thinkin’ he will be all right. He ordered me out. Told me he was capable of dressin’ hisself.”

  Through the entrance into the bedchamber Rachel glimpsed Nathan, bare-chested as he shrugged on a muslin shirt then tried to stand. He collapsed back on the bed, wincing, a moan escaping his lips.

  Rachel scurried into the room and planted herself in front of him with her hand on her hip. “What do you think you are doing?”

  His gaze remained downcast. “Going back to work. There is still a lot to do.”

  “Not for you.”

  His attention fastened onto her face, intense, heated, and pain filled. “If the seeds are not planted, then there is no crop. Which means no money.”

  “Maddy and I will finish the field.”

  He snorted and tried to rise again. He swayed and nearly toppled into her.

  She caught him and helped him back onto the bed. “You are staying right here if I have to get Mr. Baker to tie you down. I doubt you are in any condition to fight him.”

  His eyes slid closed, and he sighed. “Fine. I will rest for a little bit then go out and complete the field. Will that satisfy you?”

  “Yes. What happened to you?”

  “Someone hit me over the head.”

  “Who? The thieves?”

  “I don’t know.” He moved his head and winced.

  “I will get you a cup of willow bark tea. That should help you.”

  He didn’t say anything. Rachel walked from the room and went to the kettle in the fireplace, poured hot water into a cup, retrieved some willow bark to steep in the liquid, and took it to him.

  When she returned to the main room, Maddy frowned. “You are going to let him go back and work? He can barely stand.”

  “No.” Rachel lowered her voice so only her servant and Mr. Baker heard. “I’m going to shut the door to let him rest. Then, Maddy, you and I shall go out in the field and plant the rest of the seed. Mr. Baker, will you stay and keep him from getting up?”

  “How do I do that?”

  “Any way you can. It is for his own good.”

  “All right. I can do that. Thank goodness he is not known to be a violent man.” Mr. Baker marched toward the door. “I saw somethin’ in the barn I can use. Be back.”

  Maddy peered at Rachel. “What?”

  “Don’t know. Don’t care so long as it keeps him from doing too much.” Rachel picked up the strips of cloth she had used earlier to strap her daughter to her chest. “I cannot ask a bachelor like Mr. Baker to watch over Faith while we are in the field.”

  After Maddy secured Faith to Rachel again, Mr. Baker returned to the house with a fist full of rope. Rachel chuckled. “I don’t think I want to know what you are going to do with that.”

  “Only what is necessary. I hope that Dr. Stuart is a forgivin’ man.” He eased the bedchamber door open and peeked inside the room and then back at Rachel. “He is asleep. I think I will take the opportunity to tie him up. Then I can go nose around that area where I found him. I will feel a lot better knowin’ what’s goin’ on out there.”

  “So will I. Thank you for your help, Mr. Baker. I hope you will come to
dinner next Sunday.”

  He beamed. “I ain’t goin’ t’ turn down a home-cooked meal I don’t have to cook, ma’am.”

  “ ’Tis getting dark, Mrs. Gordon.”

  Rachel put a couple of seeds in the last hole of the last row. “There. Finished. Only one more field to be planted, then everything is in the Lord’s hands.” Rising, she stretched and arched her back to ease her tight muscles. “Let’s go check on Dr. Stuart. Perhaps we can get the ropes off him before he wakes up.” So far Nathan had not awakened when Maddy or she had gone back to check on him through the rest of the afternoon. She would just as soon not have to deal with an angry, trapped Nathan.

  Maddy helped take the strips of cloth off Rachel then took Faith. “She’s such a sweet baby.”

  Rachel started for the house, allowing Maddy to hold her daughter. The young woman was becoming more attached to Faith each day. She was becoming more attached to Faith. Having her changed everything in Rachel’s life. She pictured what her child would look like when she was four. Or eighteen, when the beaus would come around.

  Ferocious barking coming from the barn blasted the air. Rachel dropped the sack and hoe and without thinking raced across the short distance, swinging open the double doors at the same moment a four-foot-tall girl plowed right into her with a small basket in her hand, knocking Rachel to the ground with the child on top of her. Before the young girl could hop up, Rachel locked her arms about her and pinned the little thief against her.

  “Let me go!” The child rocked back and forth.

  But Rachel gripped her hands together to reinforce her hold. “You are not going anywhere. What were you doing in there? Stealing my eggs?”

  The wild-looking girl, her brown hair tangled, her face dirty, drilled her stare into Rachel as though it could harm her. The child pressed her mouth together so tightly her lips disappeared into a hard, thin line. With her arms plastered to her sides, she tried one more time to wrestle herself free by kicking her legs.