Loving You (Remembrance Series, Book 2)

by Cynthia P. O'Neill

  “Aaron, you have been shot! Let me take a look at your wound.” I tore at the hole in the fabric on his arm. Thankfully, the wound was not deep and could easily be treated. I reached up and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you for saving my life. Now let us get you to my father so he can tend to your injury.”

  He stood and went for the gun. “After your father tends to me, I need to show my father what Lucinda has done and make certain that she will no longer bother you.”

  Suddenly, I had a brief flash of memory of her being sent to a hospital for being mentally unstable and father apologizing over and over for her behavior. As a result of our scare, our marriage was postponed a fortnight.

  We both came back to the present, amazed at what we saw. I glanced down at my watch and saw that only a minute or two had passed since we had asked about the gun.

  Lawrence/Ray motioned us over to where there were several pieces of furniture and what looked like some jewelry boxes. One of the smaller boxes had some kind of decorative carving in the top of the lid, along with initials. Lorraine was about to join us, when Ray diverted her attention to another area of the room, asking her to help date a few items he had added earlier in the day.

  Gregory picked up the box and turned it over in his hands. “I remember making this for you, or rather, for Hannah. I spent days trying to get just the right pattern carved into the top of this jewelry box for you. I wanted it to be a pattern you would adore, to present to you at the Wedding. These initials, inside the heart, at the center of the box, are ours; showing the uniting of two people, but sharing one love and one heart for an eternity.”

  I laid my hand atop of his and saw everything he was remembering. My eyes grew wide as I realized our suspicions were correct about our middle names. He was Aaron Anthony Williams and I was Hannah Olivia Clark.

  We continued on into the next room, which housed contained documents and various versions of our American flag. There were framed pictures, along the walls, of the famous buildings where historic government writings were created as well as the museums where the originals currently reside as along with hand copied authenticated copies of the documents, themselves. I was instantly drawn to the picture of one building, next to the copy of the Declaration of Independence. I had only envisioned the first floor and ornate entryway in my dreams, never fully seeing the full building, until today. It was Independence Hall in my dreams! This must mean that our history resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the first capital of the United States.

  Gregory leaned in behind me, resting his head on my shoulder. “Did you find something that interests you?”

  I pointed to the picture. “This is the building in my dreams; Independence Hall. We were in Philadelphia.” We both realized at that moment that we had family ties that link back to Philly. After some more research, we would definitely need to take a trip there.

  Lorraine spoke up. “Jordan, have you seen the amazing journals that have been kept wonderfully preserved over the years? I’ve been dying to take a look through a few pages to see what life was like back then. Care to join me?”

  “Yes, ma’am; I would love that.”

  Gregory continued to check out all the historic buildings. I could see, through his facial expressions that his memories were starting to return.

  I walked over toward Lorraine and began looking through the various journals, not really knowing what I was looking for. Nothing felt familiar, until I reached a tattered blue one. The feeling I got from it was inviting, so I opened it to discover my own penmanship staring back at me from the pages.

  Ray looked over my shoulder. “That journal is one of the most fascinating in the lot. Would you like me to point out my favorite entry?”

  I looked up into his serene smile. “Yes, please and thank you.”

  He turned toward the three-quarter mark, where a few more entries were written before abruptly ending in August 1775. The entries read:

  The entries end after that, with no word on what happened. My guess is that something must’ve taken place to leave the saga of Hannah and Aaron at that point; but what? I could only hope that our research and dreams would put together the final pieces.

  I looked back at Ray and watched as he smiled warmly and then faded away, leaving Lawrence in his place. “That concludes our tour for tonight. I’m sorry I can’t extend it longer, but I must be getting home to my family.”

  Lorraine spoke for us. “We completely understand, Lawrence. We must get going, too. We have dinner reservations in ten minutes and need to head out, as well.” We all thanked him for his time and extending us the courtesy of a private tour.

  We each took our respective cars and followed Gregory’s mom to our eating destination which, thankfully, was only a few blocks away at one of the finer hotels, in the downtown district.

  It turned out that Lorraine and Gregory had my mom drive down to join us for the weekend. We ended up sampling food from another chef. This one’s specialty was Italian cuisine. The food was amazing, but I wasn’t too sure about having Italian food at an Engagement/Wedding Party. I didn’t mind dishes involving beef, chicken or fish. My main concern was with the pasta and sauces, since they could be messy. The food was delicious, but we were still not ready to make a decision about a caterer, yet.

  We were thankful when Lorraine and Douglas stated they didn’t need a decision right away. However, it meant we still had two or three more chefs to try out. Since when did planning a wedding get so cumbersome? Whatever happened to just buying the dress, picking out flowers and showing up? Everything felt rushed, rushed, rushed!

  I was so sick of work, wedding details, and dealing with Pamela and Angela that I was elated to have my mom around. I missed spending time with her. Granted, we talked on the phone every day, and sometimes two or three times a day. She was always happy to impart some motherly advice when I asked. But, I missed just hanging out with her and hoped that she wasn’t too lonely with Dad gone and now me not staying there.

  Lorraine and I were quickly becoming good friends—to the point I almost called her “Mom,” a couple of times. But, I really needed my own mother to help me feel more secure about what was happening in my life.

  The weekend was relaxing. Mom and I had several talks about my work, the angst in the office and how I still couldn’t find a dress or decide on food that we liked for the party.

  “You don’t need to rush everything at once, Jordan. You still have plenty of time to decide on things. I know Lorraine is anxious and the caterer needs to be booked, but it will all work out in the end. When you get some of these things behind you, the party/wedding planning issues will slow down and you two can just enjoy your time together.”

  “I hope you’re right, Mom. I don’t know how much more of this “party” planning I can take. I feel like we almost need to get away for a weekend and leave everything else behind us, just to get some sort of sanity back.”

  To my surprise, Gregory felt just as overwhelmed by things as I did. “You’re not alone in feeling that way, Jordan. Every time I turn around, my mom is having my dad ask me all sorts of questions. Maybe we do need a few days away, just to be able to breathe, again.”

  Mom headed back, to Deland, early Sunday. I offered to go with her. “Honey, I miss having you there and I would welcome the company; however, you are still weak and I don’t want the extra drive to wear you out. You have a lot that you’re contending with at work and with Lorraine. When things let up a bit, why don’t you and Gregory come up and spend a couple of weeks with me.

  “In the meantime, I got a call from your aunt Melinda. She and Tom want to come up and spend this week at my house. They want to go antiquing, drop by the beach for the day, and just have some fun together.”

  I understood mom’s reasoning. I did get worn-out easily with the amount of work I was having to handle, plus the stress of everything going on between the workplace drama, our dreams, Angela and Lorraine’s demands. It was about to get to me.

&
nbsp; After mom left for Deland, Gregory asked, “Do you want to rest today or would you like to try and do some research?”

  I knew he was concerned for my well-being, but I really wanted to get to the bottom of what happened to us as Hannah and Aaron. “How about a little of both?” I replied.

  He picked up our laptops and we laid out a plan. He would search the library systems genealogy department, while I searched online for the names.

  We were not surprised to encounter some of the information as “not found.” The statistics of people were not well kept back in those days. Unless you were of major importance in the Colonial Army or of some significance to the town, the news just didn’t get printed or the information kept.

  I was able to find an announcement in the Pennsylvania Gazette. It read:

  The honorable barrister, Joseph Anderson Williams, and his wife, Catherine, are pleased to announce the marriage of their son, Aaron Anthony Williams, to Hannah Olivia Clark, the daughter of Doctor Joseph Daniel Clark and his wife, Emily. Their marriage is to take place on 27 August 1775.

  There was a link below the article without any real title, just a hyperlink of “more.” I thought it was odd, since most hyperlinks stated what they were for. Instantly, I wondered if the witch’s dark shadowy minions had already beaten us to the punch and wiped away any traces of research.

  Apparently, Gregory had found some information, because I heard the printer kick in and items being printed up. I decided to send what I had found to the printer, too, in case I came back and found the article wiped out from the system.

  I clicked on the hyperlink and was not shocked to see the next article from the paper:

  MISSING – Barrister Williams and Doctor Clark’s youngest children were to be married on 27 August 1775. In a turn of events, neither has been seen since the day before they were to be wed. Several of the colonists have formed search parties, trying to locate the missing couple. One member of the Williams’ family felt the two had run off with each other, citing tension amongst the families. In an effort to locate the pair, the Williams’ son, Nicholas, and daughter in-law, Rebecca, went missing two days, later. If anyone has any clues to what happened, please contact the Williams or Clark households. A reward is being offered for their safe return.

  It was odd that both went missing the night before their wedding, again. What were the odds? Plus, I thought it strange that the daughter in-law and her husband, Aaron’s eldest brother, went missing two days later. I noted another hyperlink below the article and clicked on it, after printing out the latest information.

  The new hyperlink was yet another article:

  Nicholas Williams has been found and returned to his family. He states that he, and his wife, Rebecca, were in search of his younger brother, when they were attacked by red coats. They were held hostage and tortured for information regarding the colonists. Rebecca died while he barely escaped with his life. He claims to have overheard the British talking of killing another young couple, who he feels certain was his brother and soon to be sister in-law. Doctor Clark tended his wounds and feels he will make a full recovery. Both families are currently mourning the loss of their loved ones.

  I took in a startled breath, as I read and re-read the statement. I was shocked to learn we might have been tortured and killed by the British; but, something felt off about that scenario. Why would Rebecca have sent a note to Hannah, requesting her presence the night before the wedding to give her a gift? Did she make it to the location? Why was Aaron there, or was he?

  None of this made any sense. Plus, in my dreams I kept waking up feeling that I was drowning. Was this a residual effect of my life as Angeline or did we perish by water, again?

  I printed out this information, too. “Did you find anything, Gregory?”

  He looked up with a sullen face and shook his head. “I haven’t found much. I printed what I could, but there is so little to go on. I’ve managed to trace back both of our ancestries to Philly, but the record keeping back then wasn’t the greatest. The trail seems to dead end before I can reach Aaron and Hannah.”

  “Maybe I can help. I found their parent’s names in an article from the Pennsylvania Gazette. Why don’t you try looking up John Anderson and Catherine Williams? I’ll try Joseph Daniel Clark and his wife Emily.”

  We both began searching the genealogy listings and found some hits. We were able to trace our families all the way back, but discovered that both Aaron and Hannah’s names had somehow been omitted. Had someone attempted to purposefully wipe them out of history or was it an oversight since they supposedly perished? What was odd was that Rebecca’s name was still visible in the lineage, though.

  Gregory looked up at me. “Feel like taking a trip to the library? I think they are open for another couple of hours.”

  I was beyond tired, but knew we needed to get this part of the mystery solved. “Let me get my purse and the information we have managed to gather so far.”

  We were in luck. The woman from the genealogy department, who had helped me before, was still there. We told her of our latest search, wanting to extend our family trees back to Revolutionary times, but had been hitting some resistance.

  She looked up a few things and found some of the same articles we’d discovered on the Internet. Then she tried a different program and found a few books in the library. She printed out the Dewey Decimal Classifications for us.

  To our surprise, the books were all available and no pages had been ripped or missing. We found some similar information, but also learned that “Nicholas Williams was thought to have been suffering from a massive fever upon his return. He was full of delirium spouting off about evil having been near all of them and that witches did exist. He later recovered and could not remember any of his ramblings.”

  The words “evil” and “witch” made me feel a bit faint. Gregory held me as I started to sway. “I think we’ve had enough mental exertion for today. It’s time I get you home so you can rest.”

  I was able to walk out of the library, but he had to carry me the rest of the way to the car, because suddenly I was unable to move forward without fear of falling to the ground. He reclined the car seat so I could lie back, hoping it would help with the dizziness. It did help, but I still felt a wave of nausea rolling through me. My mind kept going back to what Nicholas had supposedly said and wondering if it was all true, that evil had been all around them and was it all around us, now? If so, how would we know?

  My brain kept pouring over everything we had discovered and dreamed of, trying to make sense of it all. I knew we were still missing pieces of the puzzle– primarily the events that happened the eve of their wedding; but when and where could we find them?

  Gregory pulled up to his townhome and helped me inside. I was about to decline his help, when everything went black. All I could hear was, “Jordan, no!”

  Darkness surrounded me and uneasiness overtook my body. “Look everyone, there is one of the traitors, seize her!” I was disoriented by the sound of the voice, because it sounded just like mine.

  I felt hands close in around me and my wrists being tied behind my back. “Here comes the other traitor, capture him!” It was Aaron’s voice, or so I thought, until the scene lightened and I saw the image of Nicholas in front of me. He was the spitting image of Aaron, except that his hair was much darker.

  I looked back to see the traitor they had identified. Oh, no, it was Aaron. The men were roughing him up and had his wrists tied tightly behind his back.

  He spoke, “What craziness is this? I was told by my sister in-law to meet my beloved here, because she had a surprise for me.”

  Several townspeople were present and irate over the words coming out of Aaron’s mouth. I looked up and noted Rebecca was smiling a salacious grin. “Watch your ears. These traitorous demons are speaking in an evil tongue.”

  Before I could say anything to defend us, I found myself being pulled close to the river and strapped upright into a chair. I looked over
and saw that Aaron was already strapped in. We both looked at each other in puzzlement. “What do you make of this, my love?” He asked with questioning all about his face.

  I shook my head, not knowing what to say. I realized that no matter what we said, apparently the people heard only what Rebecca wanted them to. When I looked at her again, I saw a familiar glow coming from under her clothes. Where had I seen the glow before?

  Everyone seemed irate and the men moved to grab the large handles attached to the chairs and swung us out over the river. Nicholas came toward us, “Do you have anything to say for your crimes?”

  We both asked, in unison, “What crimes are we accused of?”

  “They obviously do not want to speak, so I say let us make them confess.”

  I hovered over the river and saw a reflection that was not my own. Somehow I looked like Rebecca. She walked over and asked, “Are you ready to confess?” I saw her reflection as mine and realized there had been some sort of evil at work creating false images for everyone.

  When I didn’t respond, I found myself thrust into the river without warning. I managed to close my mouth in time, so I didn’t take on lungs full of water. When we were pulled up, I looked over to Aaron, who was no more than a foot away. “Why are they doing this to us?”

  He yelled, “Hold your breath, my love,” right as they dunked us, again.

  I felt myself take on water. It was hard to breath. I wanted to reach for the surface, but there was no way out. I tried yelling out, and I felt a pair of arms surround me. “Wake up, Jordan.”

  I was upright in bed, struggling to breath. Gregory had his arms around me and a stranger was taking my blood pressure. I managed to squeak out, “Who?”