Lilly nodded in agreement. ‘‘I’m glad you’ve told me. I thought this matter was resolved a couple of years ago. It appears that Mr. Arnold may have returned to his old habits.’’
‘‘Do you think there’s some other possibility? Perhaps I’ve jumped to conclusions because of Virginia’s comment, but I certainly would never forgive myself if something happened to Mrs. Arnold or that sweet little girl,’’ Bella said, her words tumbling forth in a flurry.
Lilly took Bella’s hand and patted it. ‘‘Don’t give this matter another thought, Bella. You’ve done the proper thing by telling me. I’ll take care of it, and Mr. Arnold will be none the wiser as to how I’ve once again unearthed his despicable behavior.’’ She gave Bella a sleepy-eyed gaze. ‘‘Even after hearing this unsavory news, I can’t seem to keep my eyes open. I’m sorry, Bella, but I fear I must take a nap.’’
Bella nodded her head and rose from the side of the bed, hoping she’d done the proper thing. She then headed for the door. ‘‘I think I’ll take a walk while you sleep,’’ she offered. ‘‘I won’t go far, so don’t worry.’’
Lilly yawned and nodded. ‘‘I’m too tired to worry.’’
Bella slipped from the room and headed for the stairs just as Taylor came from his room.
‘‘Running away, Bella?’’ he asked with a smile.
‘‘I wasn’t tired—at least not tired in the sense of wanting a nap. I’m a bit sore and road weary, so I thought a walk would do me good.’’
‘‘May I join you?’’
This was a different side of Taylor Manning. Asking instead of demanding. Bella shrugged. ‘‘If you must.’’ Besides, having Taylor’s company would keep her from dwelling on her conversation with Lilly Cheever.
He laughed and followed her down the stairs. ‘‘We haven’t really had a chance to talk since coming on this journey. I suppose you were surprised to see me in Mr. Cheever’s stead.’’
‘‘Yes, I suppose I was.’’
‘‘I was secretly glad Mr. Cheever couldn’t accompany you,’’ Taylor said, taking hold of her elbow as they exited the inn. ‘‘I’m glad for any extra time I can have to convince you of my sincerity.’’
Bella considered his words for a moment, then paused under a large chestnut tree. ‘‘Taylor, you mentioned not having much to do with God because He would get in the way of your lifestyle. Has that changed?’’
Taylor let go of his hold on her and paced back and forth alongside her. With his hands clasped behind his back, Bella thought he looked more like a great orator about to speak than a young man making confessions of faith.
‘‘I have to say that certain things Miss Addie shared have profoundly affected my soul. She told me every man and woman would be called to reckon for his actions. I remember my mother saying the same thing when I was a boy. I didn’t take it very seriously,’’ he said, pausing to meet her gaze, ‘‘but now I do.’’
‘‘Because of what Miss Addie said?’’ Bella questioned softly. She was suddenly humbled by his declaration. Miss Addie had shared the Gospel with Taylor and had called him to account. Bella had only argued with Taylor. She hadn’t concerned herself at all with the condition of his soul.
‘‘Partly because of Miss Addie, but also because of you.’’
‘‘Me? Why me?’’
Taylor straightened and unclasped his hands. ‘‘You are unlike other girls. You didn’t pursue me—you would scarcely even talk to me.’’ He grinned. ‘‘I saw in you a gentle spirit yet a bold and courageous one. Miss Addie told me of your deep religious convictions shortly after I first met you. She told me about the Shakers and their strict beliefs.’’
‘‘But I don’t believe as they believe,’’ Bella replied. ‘‘That’s part of the reason I wish I weren’t making this journey.’’ She was astounded by the open manner in which she’d just spoken. Even so, it felt so very right.
‘‘Are you afraid they’ll hurt you—demand you return? I won’t let anyone harm you—you must believe that.’’
‘‘They can’t hurt me physically,’’ Bella replied, ‘‘but there are worse pains than those delivered by physical blows.’’
Taylor came to her and took hold of her gloved hands. ‘‘Bella, I promise you, they won’t harm you. I won’t let them.’’
Bella smiled at his sincerity. Maybe God had begun a good work in Taylor’s heart. Yet it was so hard to trust—to believe. Not only that, but Taylor had no idea of the manner in which the Shakers could heap on guilt and punishment without ever raising a hand. This trip was going to test everything she’d come to understand. There was no hope that Taylor could comprehend that. ‘‘Thank you,’’ she finally said, pulling her hands away from his. ‘‘I’m sure you’ll do your best.’’
By the time they reached Concord, Bella’s stomach was churning. She gave a fleeting thought of a brief stop at her Aunt Ida’s, but Lilly was anxious to reach their destination, so she withheld the suggestion. Besides, Aunt Ida would most likely be embarrassed to entertain unknown guests in the dilapidated rented rooms on Franklin Street.
‘‘The closer we get, the more excited I become. I hope there will be no problems and we can bring the boy home with us. You said the Shakers named him David?’’
Bella nodded.
‘‘I wonder what his mother and Lewis named him,’’ Lilly commented.
‘‘I don’t remember, but it is common practice for names to be changed when children are left at the Village. The Sisters pick a name they think more suitable.’’
Lilly’s brows furrowed. ‘‘Really? It seems that would be confusing to children, especially when they’ve already been placed in unfamiliar surroundings without their parents. Was your name changed, Bella?’’
‘‘No, but both my parents remained at the Village with me. My mother wouldn’t permit a name change.’’
Bella gave Taylor directions as the coach rolled onto the road leading to the Trustees’ Building. ‘‘We’ll stop at the large stone building on your right, Taylor,’’ she said, the words tumbling out as her stomach continued churning. She wondered if she might faint.
Taylor held out his hand to assist her down from the coach. She stared at him, willing herself to move, yet she could not. Her body remained frozen in the seat.
‘‘Bella?’’
She heard him say her name. His voice seemed to echo in the distance; then she felt his arms lifting her out of the carriage and her feet touching the ground—ground that belonged to the Believers. She shivered and heard Taylor’s voice asking if she was ill. She looked up into his sapphire blue eyes and saw his apprehension.
‘‘I’ll be fine. It’s just this place—seeing the people, knowing they’ll be judging me, and knowing I must listen to their recriminating words. I can’t explain how difficult it is for me to be here,’’ she whispered. ‘‘I told Mr. Cheever I didn’t want to come back, but he wouldn’t listen,’’ she said, her voice cracking with emotion.
Taylor lifted her chin with one finger, forcing her to look into his eyes. ‘‘Remember what I said. I’ll not let anything happen to you, Bella. If they speak ill of you, they’ll suffer my wrath.
You’ve done nothing wrong, and you have nothing to fear. We’ll go in there, make our inquiries, hopefully gain control of the little boy, and be on our way home. Do you believe me?’’
She nodded her head. ‘‘Yes,’’ she whispered.
Taylor left her side momentarily and assisted Lilly down from the carriage. Bella held her breath as the three of them walked through the front door of the Trustees’ Building. Brother Justice was situated behind the curved wooden counter where business was conducted and visitors received.
He glanced up from his paper work. ‘‘Sister Bella? Is that really you, or do my eyes deceive me?’’ he inquired as he rose to his feet.
Returning his smile, Bella approached the counter. ‘‘It’s me, Brother Justice. It’s good to see you.’’ The tall, broad-shouldered Brother leaned on the cou
nter, his shock of white hair neatly combed and his familiar smile a welcome sight. ‘‘I’m guessing Brother Jesse is not with you,’’ he said, his pale blue eyes gazing expectantly toward the door.
‘‘No,’’ she softly replied. ‘‘I’ve come with two friends, Brother Justice. Mr. Taylor Manning and Mrs. Matthew Cheever. Mrs. Cheever has reason to believe the little boy known as David is her brother’s child. She wishes to see him.’’
The smile on Brother Justice’s face was now erased. ‘‘I can’t assist you with that request, Sister Bella. You must talk to one of the elders. Eldress Phoebe is in the upstairs office. I’ll fetch her.’’
Bella’s heart dropped. Seeing Brother Justice had been one matter. But Eldress Phoebe was quite another. Bella quickly explained to Lilly and Taylor that a meeting with the Elders would be required. Neither appeared concerned or intimidated at such a proposal. She, on the other hand, was once again feeling light-headed at the prospect of such a confrontation.
The muted sound of voices could be heard from upstairs, and soon Brother Justice descended the staircase. ‘‘Eldress Phoebe will meet with you. I know I shouldn’t ask, but is Jesse well?’’
‘‘I haven’t seen him in some time, Brother Justice, but I’m sure he’s fine. He’s living in Concord, working for a cooper. The last I heard he was to be married to the granddaughter of his employer,’’ she told him.
Brother Justice nodded. ‘‘He was the most talented young man that ever apprenticed with me in the woodworking shop. It broke my heart when he left. We all thought the two of you . . .’’ He looked at her with a questioning look in his eyes.
‘‘Marriage was not my reason for leaving this place,’’ Bella replied.
‘‘And how is Sister Daughtie?’’
‘‘Daughtie is fine. She’s living in Lowell with me—at a boardinghouse. We work at one of the mills,’’ she hastily replied.
‘‘It’s good to know you are both well. I’m sure Brother Franklin is going to be pleased to see you.’’
‘‘I have no plans to see him, Brother Justice. We’d best go upstairs. I don’t want to keep Eldress Phoebe waiting.’’
‘‘Yes, of course. You remember where the office is?’’
She smiled and nodded. ‘‘I haven’t been gone so long that I would forget.’’
‘‘No, I suppose you haven’t. It just seems a long time since I’ve had Jesse working alongside me in the shop.’’
There was a pang of sorrow in his voice that saddened Bella, but she realized there was nothing she could say to ease his pain. Jesse’s absence created a void in the life of Brother Justice that only his return would fill. Regretfully, she doubted whether her own father missed her nearly so much.
She turned to Lilly and said, ‘‘This way,’’ and then led them up the wide staircase to Eldress Phoebe’s formidable office.
She hesitantly knocked on the closed door and waited until Eldress Phoebe’s familiar voice bid them come in. After casting a worried look in Taylor’s direction, she turned the knob and entered the room with Taylor and Lilly following close behind. The Eldress turned her attention away from the papers on the birch fall-front desk and peered over her spectacles. She gazed at them as though they were some form of foreign creature that had inadvertently entered her domain.
‘‘I believe my eyes must be playing tricks on me,’’ she said, her dark eyes riveted on Bella. ‘‘Could this girl in her shameful clothing and unadorned head be Shakeress Arabella Newberry? Surely she would not dress herself in the gaiety of Babylon and come back among her former people. Such blasphemy!’’ she proclaimed, rising from the low-backed birch chair.
Already things were going worse than even Bella had imagined. She silently censured herself for not wearing her Shaker gown but quickly changed her thoughts. To have done so would have been hypocrisy, she decided. Eldress Phoebe’s disapproving eyes seared her very soul, and now she was glaring at Lilly and Taylor, obviously prepared to vilify them, too.
‘‘And who are these invaders of my sanctuary?’’
Taylor stepped forward. ‘‘We’ve not invaded you nor your office. The gentleman downstairs announced our presence and informed us we were to come to this room.’’
‘‘Taylor, please,’’ Bella whispered. ‘‘Let me talk.’’
He gave her a feeble smile and stepped back. ‘‘Mr. Manning is our escort, and this,’’ she said, pulling Lilly forward, ‘‘is Mrs. Matthew Cheever.’’
Eldress Phoebe leveled a look of disdain in Lilly’s direction. ‘‘Brother Justice tells me you’ve come asking questions on Mrs. Cheever’s behalf—about David.’’
‘‘Yes. Mrs. Cheever believes David may be her nephew. The son of her deceased brother,’’ Bella explained.
‘‘Lewis Armbruster,’’ Lilly added.
Eldress Phoebe ignored Lilly and kept her eyes focused on Bella. ‘‘And what did you expect? That I was going to summon David here and permit you to take him off to the world, where he will be condemned to hell?’’
‘‘We came because Mrs. Cheever wanted to examine the ledgers to see if the child’s mother or father were listed.’’
Without a word, Eldress Phoebe returned to the desk, pulled open the upper drawer, and removed a ledger. She opened the book and began tracing her bony finger down the pages. ‘‘Here it is,’’ she said, tapping her finger on the page. ‘‘Cullan O’Hanrahan—an obviously unacceptable name for the child,’’ she mused before turning her attention to Lilly. ‘‘You don’t look or sound Irish, and your name certainly is not O’Hanrahan,’’ she accused.
‘‘No. I believe the mother was Irish, but my brother—the father—was not. My brother is now deceased,’’ she replied. Lilly was obviously no longer able to remain silent. She moved a few steps closer, eyed a chair, and asked, ‘‘May I sit down?’’
‘‘Yes, sit down,’’ Eldress Phoebe replied. ‘‘All of you,’’ she begrudgingly offered.
Lilly seated herself and immediately besieged Eldress Phoebe with the story of Lewis’s untimely death and his dying declaration regarding the little boy. ‘‘The combination of facts—the birthmark, the Irish heritage, and the age of the child—makes me believe this boy is my nephew.’’
‘‘The father is listed as unknown, the mother is listed as deceased, and I have a signed contract waiving all rights to the child,’’ Eldress Phoebe proudly announced.
‘‘Who signed the contract?’’ Lilly inquired. ‘‘May I see the paper?’’
Eldress Phoebe appeared either offended or angry—Bella wasn’t sure which. But she pulled the contract from a wooden file drawer and handed it to Lilly.
‘‘Noreen Gallagher. She lists her address as Lowell, Massachusetts. This is the child’s aunt?’’
‘‘That’s what she told me. There was no reason to doubt her word, and we will not consider releasing the child to your custody,’’ Eldress Phoebe responded forcefully. She placed the paper back in the drawer, pulled a set of keys from her pocket, and locked both the file drawer and her desk. ‘‘If there’s nothing else, our meeting is concluded,’’ she announced.
‘‘May I at least see the boy?’’
‘‘Absolutely not!’’
‘‘But Eldress Phoebe, if she sees the child and there’s no resemblance to her family, it could mean the end of this matter. Otherwise, I’m sure Mrs. Cheever will return with a lawyer or papers from a judge to support her request to inspect the child.’’
‘‘It’s obvious you’ve quickly become one of them—quick to use threats and the law to win your way,’’ Eldress Phoebe charged. She pointed a bony finger at Taylor. ‘‘Go downstairs and tell Brother Justice I wish to see him.’’
A short time later, an uncomfortable silence filled the room. Brother Justice had been ordered off to retrieve the child while the three of them sat waiting in the office.
‘‘What’s become of Daughtie and Jesse?’’ Eldress Phoebe asked, breaking the silence.
‘‘Dau
ghtie is in Lowell. We work at the mills and live in a boardinghouse. Jesse is living in Concord, and I believe he has now married the granddaughter of the cooper he works for.’’
Her lips curled in disdain and she shook her finger at Bella. ‘‘You were always a willful girl. I told your father years ago you’d come to no good end.’’
‘‘Don’t you talk to her like that,’’ Taylor warned.
Bella turned and gave him a feeble smile. ‘‘Don’t bother, Taylor. This is her world, and she is speaking her opinion. How- ever, it counts for nothing anymore.’’
‘‘Well, I never! Brother Franklin is going to be devastated to see what a turn you’ve taken.’’
‘‘Brother Franklin? My father? Why would he be devastated? He didn’t care about me when I lived among you. Why would he care now that I’m gone? Talk of my father will not cause me to turn back to the Shaker ways, Eldress Phoebe, nor will your caustic words.’’
‘‘Sister Bella!’’ David cried as he raced across the room and flung himself into her arms.
‘‘Hello, David. You’ve grown,’’ she said, giving him a bright smile. ‘‘I’ve brought some people to meet you. This is Mr. Manning and this is Mrs. Cheever,’’ she said, turning him to face Lilly.
‘‘Hello, David,’’ Lilly said. ‘‘You’re quite a fine young man.’’
David nodded his head in agreement.
‘‘I’ll wager you have big muscles. Could you roll up your sleeve and show me?’’ Taylor asked.
David nodded in agreement as Bella helped him roll up his shirtsleeves. Lilly gave a small gasp as the birthmark came into view. David turned and smiled at her. ‘‘You’re surprised my muscles are so big, aren’t you?’’
‘‘Exactly,’’ Lilly replied. ‘‘I don’t know if I’ve ever seen such fine muscles on a little boy. You must work very hard.’’
‘‘I do, don’t I, Brother Justice?’’
‘‘Indeed you do. Will that be all, Eldress Phoebe?’’ Brother Justice inquired.
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