Home by Morning

by Kaki Warner

  “How?”

  He was silent for so long she thought he wouldn’t answer. “I have been thinking on that, Prudence. And I have decided that the best way to help him is to show him what lies beyond this canyon.”

  She straightened to look over her shoulder at him. “You mean leave Heartbreak Creek?”

  “Not for a while, and never for long.” He pulled her back against his chest. “There was a letter inside the box with my books. The man in England who printed my story wants me to write more stories. He also wants me to travel to other places to talk about them. If you came with me, you could talk to schools and churches about teaching black people to read and write, and our son could see that the world is more than these mountains, and will not be afraid to seek his purpose there.”

  She sat for a moment, letting the idea take hold. The world could be a cruel place. But would cosseting their son here in this canyon prepare him for the life he might want?

  “Tell me what you see, Prudence.”

  Tipping her head back against his shoulder, she looked out at the dark silhouette of the distant mountains. “More stars than I ever knew were there. Even the Milky Way is brighter.”

  “Now close your eyes and tell me what you hear and feel.”

  At first, nothing. Then, as her breathing slowed, little sounds stood out. “I feel your heartbeat against my back. I hear wind moving over the tufts of grass. An owl far off to the right.”

  “Those things will always be with you, Eho’nehevehohtse. They are part of you now, whether you are here on this mountaintop or in another place far away. All that you see and feel and hear—every animal and bird and blade of grass—is connected back to you. Accept that. Put away your fear, and harmony and peace will come into your heart. The child within you will feel that, too, and grow strong and unafraid.”

  With Thomas beside her, it might be possible. “I’ll try.”

  “That is my hope.”

  His lips brushed against her temple. “Look, heme’oone.” He pointed up at the sky. “The spirits have come to dance for us.”

  Arrows of light shot up from behind the mountains to the north, then faded, only to rise in another place. Then suddenly they streaked high overhead and burst into ribbons of color. It was magical, otherworldly, a soul-lifting display.

  “Oh, Thomas. Isn’t it beautiful?”

  His lips brushed against her temple again. “The spirits are happy tonight. Their dance is a blessing upon our son.”

  The lights began to pulse with slow, undulating movements, as if mirroring the heartbeat of heaven itself. Blues, greens, streaks of red—fading, then growing brighter, moving to the music of the universe.

  Pru watched in silent awe, unable to find words to express the wonder of it, but knowing that this moment, with the lights dancing overhead, and Thomas’s arms strong around her, would be a memory she would hold in her heart forever.

  Twenty-five

  Maddie and Ash Wallace and baby Donnan arrived on the following Thursday, bringing with them an entourage befitting a Scottish earl and his countess and the Kirkwell heir. In addition to Donnan’s nursemaid and Maddie’s personal maid, there was also a tall, skinny young man named Roger, who supervised the unloading of Maddie’s photography equipment, and Pringle, who was dragged off the train by Ash’s huge wolfhound, Tricks. Apparently, he was glad to be home again—the dog, not Pringle.

  Since Tait had been keeping track of the Wallaces’ progress through his myriad railroad contacts and had alerted the town about their arrival, a large crowd had gathered on the station platform to welcome them home.

  Thomas hung back with Lillie while Prudence rushed forward, tears streaming. Soon a knot of women formed around Maddie and baby Donnan, while men clustered around Ash, congratulating him with claps on his back.

  The baby earl was a beautiful baby, and although his eyes were blue now, Pru hoped they would turn green to match his father’s. He was quite large, too, and with a fierce intensity in his expression that marked him a child to reckon with. Pru hoped her own son would have as strong a friendship with Donnan as Thomas had with Ash Wallace.

  When the big Scot saw Thomas standing with Lillie, he stepped over to greet them. Prudence and Maddie followed. “So this is the wee bairn, Lillie,” he said in his musical brogue. “’Tis nice to meet you, lass. I’ve heard much about you, so I have.” Bending, he stuck out his hand.

  At Thomas’s prompting, Lillie did, too. But she missed her mark, and instead of putting her small hand in the Scotsman’s large one, her fingers brushed his leg.

  Pru tensed for her reaction, and was surprised when the girl giggled and began to pat Ash’s shin. “This Tricks?”

  “Ah, no.” Ash exchanged a look with Thomas. “’Tis my leg.”

  She yanked her hand back. “Your leg? You nekkid?”

  “I told you, Katse’e,” Thomas said before Ash answered. “He wears a skirt.”

  The Scot stiffened. “’Tis no’ a skirt, ye bluidy heathen. ’Tis a kilt.”

  “Why is Daddy bleeding? And what’s a kilt?”

  “A skirt,” Thomas promptly answered.

  “Oh, dear.” Pru took Lillie’s hand in hers, hoping to stop further discussions of the Scotsman’s attire, or lack of it.

  But Lillie seemed more concerned about the dog. “If your dog is daddy to my dog, then you’re my stepdaddy, right?”

  Maddie stifled a giggle while Pru explained to the confused Scotsman that Lillie’s dog was the offspring of Tricks.

  “Bitsy is the best dog in the whole world,” Lillie added with a big grin.

  “He? Ye named the lad Bitsy?”

  “As is fitting,” Thomas said with a smirk. “Since the owner of the pup’s sire wears a skirt.”

  Luckily Lucinda stepped in. “I know you’re anxious to get out to the new house,” she said, urging the newcomers toward the wagons being loaded with the Wallaces’ luggage. “The Jessups will take you in my carriage. Ethan is anxious to give you the full tour, and I know Rafe wants to show Ash how well the horses are doing. We’ll give you a couple of hours to settle in, then we’ll descend.”

  Ash’s green eyes widened. “Descend?”

  “Henny and Josie and Winnie have planned a lovely supper to welcome you home, so be sure to rest. And Maddie, as our birthday gift to Donnan, the ladies have furnished the nursery, since your last letter said you haven’t had time to order anything yet. I hope it suits.”

  “I’m sure it will be perfect.”

  Once the nanny was settled in the carriage, Maddie passed in her sleeping son. “I doubt Donnan well have any problem adjusting to his new quarters. He’s quite a sound sleeper.”

  Lucinda gave her a disgruntled look. “Aren’t you the lucky one.”

  “I hope there’s room in the nursery for the lad’s wee sword,” Ash said.

  Thomas perked up. “A sword? How big?”

  “Thankfully, it’s wooden.” Maddie allowed her husband to hand her into the carriage. “But the child-sized bagpipes are fully functional.”

  “Aye,” Ash said, proudly. “I’ll teach the lad myself, when the time is right.”

  Pru exchanged a look with Thomas. “Too bad Lillie won’t be able to accompany him on her flute.”

  Lillie patted Pru’s arm. “It’s okay, Mama. Daddy’s sorry he stepped on it. He says he’ll make me a new one. I hope it’s ready in time for the weddin’.”

  Maddie poked her head out of the carriage window. “Wedding?”

  Ash rounded on Thomas. “Yours?”

  Thomas grinned.

  “Aboot time.”

  Maddie clapped her hands. “Oh, how wonderful!”

  Pru lowered her voice so the Rylanders, who were supervising the loading of the other wagons, couldn’t hear. “We haven’t told anyone else yet. We hope to announce it soon.”
/>   “A wedding! Oh, Pru, I’m so happy you waited for us!”

  “You will say nothing about this.” Thomas scowled at Jessup in the driver’s box. “Drive on.”

  “Yes, sir.” A flick of the reins and the coach rolled forward.

  The crowd began to disperse.

  With Lillie holding their hands between them, Pru and Thomas headed back toward town. When the people walking nearby moved on around them, leaving the three of them alone on the path, Pru looked at Thomas. She wanted to tell Lillie about the baby before they told anyone else.

  With a nod, he stopped and hunkered down in front of their daughter so their faces were on the same level. “Katse’e, we have other news. You will have a brother soon.”

  Her face lit up. “For true? When is he comin’? Is he from the school like me? I hope it’s not that mean Bubba Harris. He always pulled my hair.”

  “No, it is not Bubba Harris. Or anyone you have ever met. When he comes to us next fall, he will be new to the world.”

  Lillie’s eyes widened. “You mean he ain’t—isn’t—even borned yet? It’s gonna be a baby?”

  “Yes. Our baby.” Lifting her small hand, Thomas pressed it to Pru’s stomach. “He is here, inside your mother, growing strong.”

  “How’d he get in there?”

  “I put him there, and your mother will keep him safe until he is ready to come into the world.”

  “So you’ll be his daddy, too?”

  “Yes. And you will be his big sister.”

  For a moment, Lillie stared past Thomas’s shoulder. Then, grinning, she put her mouth close to Pru’s stomach and shouted, “Hey, you in there! It me! Lillie Redstone. You one lucky baby, ’cause you gonna have the best big sister in the whole world!”

  Pru wiped a tear from her cheek.

  Thomas rose, his own eyes suspiciously bright.

  Lillie gave Pru a pat. “And don’t you worry none, Mama. Eve’ythin’ be jist fine. I helped birth lots of puppies and kitties, and I know jist what to do.”

  “I’ll alert Doctor Boyce.”

  * * *

  That evening over the wonderful supper Josie and Henny and Winnie had prepared, Pru reluctantly divulged the plans for her second wedding to Thomas. She hadn’t intended to make any announcements yet, not wanting to take away from the celebration of the Wallaces’ return, but in her usual impulsive way, Lillie had broken the news.

  “Guess what, ev’rybody!” she had shouted, banging on the table with her fork. “Mama and Daddy gettin’ married jist like regular folk. And I get to sing!” Then, before that tidbit was digested, she added, “And Mama growin’ a baby in her belly, too. Daddy put it there and he says it my baby brother!”

  Chaos erupted. Mostly from Pru’s sister, who burst into tears and sent her chair toppling to the floor in her rush to give Pru a hug. “Just like me!” she cried, laughing and crying and hiccupping at the same time.

  Pru pulled back from her strangling embrace. “You’re in a family way, too?”

  “Heavens, no! But I was when Declan and I married the second time. Don’t you remember how awful I looked in that beautiful dress y’all made for me? And now you get to wear it! It’s destiny! Oh, Maddie, thank heavens you’re here. You have such an eye for style!”

  “Have you set a date?” Audra asked, digging in her reticule for her pad and pencil. “I want to announce it as soon as you do. And where will it be held? At the church?”

  “Of course not.” Lucinda pushed Edwina aside to give Pru a hug. “Thomas is deathly afraid of the church.”

  “I am not afraid,” Thomas said.

  “You should be.” Tait gave his friend a slap on the back, and in a lower voice added, “Don’t fight it. The ladies always win.”

  “We’ll have it outside,” Lucinda went on, her lovely eyes bright with plans. “Declan, you’re an excellent carpenter. We’ll need an arch. Something we can weave flowers through. And an altar. Maddie, do you still have that lace cloth we used at Audra and Ethan’s wedding?”

  “Oh!” Edwina cried, waving her hands in excitement. “I have the most marvelous idea! Let’s have a double ceremony! Josie and Rafe need to marry again, too, since their first wedding was on board a ship and that doesn’t really count. A double wedding! Wouldn’t that be grand!”

  “It definitely counted.” Rafe winked at his wife. “I made sure of that.”

  Josie pressed a hand to her cheek, as if that might stop the rush of color into her face. “Actually, it was a lovely ceremony. We certainly don’t need another.”

  “If we hold the ceremony outside,” Ash broke in over Edwina’s attempts to talk Josie and Rafe into another wedding, “I can play my pipes. For some reason, Pastor Rickman doesna allow them in the church.”

  A prolonged pause, then Maddie stepped into the silence with a strained smile. “An excellent idea, dearest. We’ll have Ethan play his fiddle, too.”

  “And I’ll sing!” Lillie shouted.

  “Henny and I will cook up a fabulous meal,” Winnie offered. “How many you inviting?”

  “Why, the whole town,” Lucinda said grandly. “Tait and I will supply the meat, and the rest will be a potluck picnic.”

  Pru looked at Thomas, wondering when everything had slipped beyond their control.

  “Perfect!” Henny smiled broadly at Josie, the woman she had once served as a maid, but now counted as a friend. “And as a special treat, I’ll whip up some of that lemon syllabub you enjoy so much.”

  “And I’ll bring a big pot of cullen skink,” Maddie offered, with a smile to her husband. “Although we’ll probably have to use trout instead of haddock.”

  “No haggis?”

  Her smile faded. “No, dear. But I’m sure your friends would enjoy a wee dram of Northbridge’s fine Scottish nectar.”

  Vigorous nods from the men. Narrow-eyed warnings from the women.

  Edwina gave Pru another choking hug. “It’ll be just like last year’s Spring Social. Except it’ll be your wedding instead. I’m so happy I could cry.”

  “You already are, dear. And making me cry, too.”

  “As am I.” Maddie wiped at her eyes. “Thank heavens I brought all my photography equipment. I want to make certain this wonderful day is captured forever. With it being outside, the lighting will be so much more dramatic.”

  And just like that, plans for her wedding were taken out of Pru’s hands. She glanced over at Thomas, wondering if he felt as overwhelmed as she.

  He was surrounded by his smiling friends, accepting their ribbing and congratulations with hardly a change in expression. Then, as if feeling her gaze on him, he turned his head and looked directly into her eyes.

  For a moment, the world stilled around them. Then a slow smile spread across his somber features, growing until it crinkled the corners of his deep-set eyes, showing his strong teeth and that elusive dimple in his cheek.

  And she knew that he was happy, too, and only joy awaited them.

  * * *

  Luckily God wasn’t angry about having the ceremony outside and gifted them with a perfect, windless, cloudless day.

  At Lucinda’s urging, Pastor Rickman kept the fire and brimstone to a minimum and maintained a serenity not often seen during his church sermons.

  Being out in the open also helped to dissipate the more pitchy notes from Ash’s bagpipe rendition of the Robert Burns song “Scots Wha Hae,” which sounded less like wedding music than a marching song, yet seemed to fit the occasion.

  But when Lillie stood before them to sing “All Creatures of Our God and King,” tears came to Pru’s eyes. Neither she nor Thomas had known what she had chosen to perform, but the Francis of Assisi hymn was the perfect choice. When her beautiful and powerful voice rose on the words, “Be praised, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars; in the heavens You have made them bright, precio
us and beautiful,” Pru saw in Thomas’s tear-sheened eyes the memory of that mystical night when the spirits danced for them across the sky.

  After the ceremony, Maddie took over, having her assistant, Roger, position the bride and groom for their wedding portrait while she studied the images through the lens of her camera. Pru had been worried that Thomas might not want to participate, but he seemed not to have the aversion many other Indians had toward having their photographs taken.

  “Stand closer,” Maddie directed, waving them in. “You look so beautiful framed by the flowered arch. Lillie, you, too. Squeeze in there in front of your parents.”

  After completing the wedding portrait, she backed up her tripod to get all her Heartbreak Creek friends, children included, in one panoramic shot. “I want one of these to hang at Northbridge, and another to grace the new lodge Tait and Ethan are building. Joe Bill, no fidgeting.” Only after taking several provisional exposures did she release the children.

  As they ran toward the food-laden tables in the shade beside the creek, she moved about, taking a variety of other photographs while the light was still good. She had Rafe pose with his stallion, Pembroke’s Pride, then took another of him with Josie and their son, Jamie. She even managed to corral all the Brodies together in one place for a family portrait, and found the perfect spot to photograph Tait and Lucinda Rylander with their new baby, Rosaleen. Then she took one of Tait Rylander and Ethan Hardesty, the builders of the soon-to-be-constructed Grand Heartbreak Creek Lodge, and another of Ethan with his wife, Audra, marking the announcement they had made earlier of the child on the way. She hoped the lens was able to capture the glow of happiness in Audra’s beaming smile. And finally, she asked Roger to take a family portrait of her and Donnan and Ash, her husband standing proudly in his clan regalia with his bagpipes tucked under his arm.

  After the wedding feast, the tables were carried away to make room for dancing, and Ethan got out his fiddle. A man with a mouth harp joined him, and another, who beat an empty kettle like a drum. But before the music started, people gathered around for a wedding toast. After the cups were filled with lemonade for the women and a splash of Ash’s Scotch whisky for the men, Rafe Jessup stepped forward.