To Colin’s amazement, Washington calmly took the offering and met the chief’s eyes as he spoke. “This is a great honor that the great warrior chief of the Seneca gives me. You and your people will always be welcome in our camp, and we will help you in whatever way we can. This scalp that you have given to me I now give back into your care and ask that it now be carried to the Delawares who, I am told, have begun to cling to the French. Tell them this will soon be the fate of all Frenchmen in this territory.”
The chief gladly accepted the return of the trophy.
Colin realized as never before why George Washington had been chosen to lead this expedition. Not only did he know the landscape and the customs of the local tribes, but with his straight posture and imposing height, the quiet young officer naturally commanded respect. He unquestionably had earned Colin’s.
Indeed, Washington had grown into a true leader. And having survived this first bloody battle under the commander, Colin vowed he’d gladly follow Colonel Washington anywhere the man led.
Chapter 25
Mariah opened the window of the mansion’s second-floor classroom to take advantage of the breeze, then turned to her students. “During this hour, girls, you may write invitations to as many of your friends as you wish to invite. However,” she hurried to add in the face of the young ladies’ excitement, “only those that have been scribed with the best of penmanship will you be allowed to hand out at church on the Sabbath.”
Seated at her writing desk, Amy crossed her arms and stuck out her bottom lip. “That’s not fair. I can’t write as good as those two.” She darted glances at both of her older sisters.
Mariah moved to the young girl’s side and placed a reassuring hand on her thin shoulder. “I’ll be judging each of you according to your age, and that is fair.”
“Well, I think planning a quoits tournament is stupid and sounds medieval.” With a disapproving wrinkle of her nose, Heather dipped her quill into her inkwell. “Especially if we’re going to have other games as well, like graces and shuttlecock.”
Victoria paused in her writing. “Really, Heather. The lads consider graces to be a silly girls’ game and a shuttlecock tournament simply doesn’t have a dignified ring to it. We have to include quoits.”
Recalling similar foolish tiffs she and her own sisters had endured back in England, Mariah slowly shook her head. “Whatever you write, just make your strokes graceful and—”
A voice from the doorway interrupted her. “Missy Harwood.”
Mariah turned to the downstairs maid. “Yes, Pansy. What is it?”
“Y’all has visitahs down in de parlor. Mist’ess Barclay says fo’ y’all to come right quick.”
Visitors! Mariah startled. Who would possibly be calling on her? Had Colin returned at long last? Glad that she’d donned her lavender muslin day gown rather than drab gray this morning, she reached up to see that the combs adorning the sides of her hair remained in place. “Who is it, pray?”
But her words failed to reach Pansy, who had already left for the servants’ staircase.
All three girls laid aside their quills and sprang from their desks, curiosity lighting their expressions.
Tori started toward the doorway. “Mayhap Colin and Tuck are back!”
“Or someone’s brought the viola Papa ordered,” Heather suggested brightly.
“Well, whoever it is, I’m gonna be first to find out.” With that, Amy bolted past them all.
“Wait! Stop!” Mariah almost had to holler to slow them down.
Thankfully, they complied seconds before they reached the grand staircase.
Mariah elevated a brow as she joined them. “We shall proceed to the parlor in a ladylike manner, as our guests—and your mother—would expect.”
She had to remind them again halfway down. “Slowly, girls. Slowly.” Finally, maintaining a calm appearance, they all strolled into the room.
A tall, magnificent-looking stranger turned toward them as they entered. He held a towheaded girl-child propped on his arm, and stepping from behind him, Rose—blessed Rose!—flew to Mariah, her arms outstretched.
Rendered momentarily speechless, Mariah barely managed a gasp as she grabbed hold of her sister and held on tight. Unexpected tears flooded her eyes.
After a long, hard hug, Rose eased back. “Let me have a look at you, dearest.”
Not quite ready to relinquish the sister she’d missed more than she realized, Mariah dabbed at the moisture blurring her vision with one hand while clutching Rose’s with the other.
Rose smiled and angled her head in assessment. “I must say, you’re looking quite well. The Lord has truly answered my prayers. And Mistress Barclay tells me you’ve done wonders with her daughters.”
Mistress Barclay! Peering past her sister, Mariah noticed the lady of the house, dressed to perfection as always, in emerald-striped dimity. She sat before a tea service, waiting for them all to join her. Mariah latched on to her manners and turned to the girls. “Rose, I’d like you to meet my charges. Victoria, Heather, and Amanda.” She indicated each with a nod of her head.
The girls curtsied, bright smiles accenting their appealing charm.
“Can we stay?” Amy nibbled her lower lip, her eyes wide with hope.
“Yes, my dears.” Her mother gestured toward chairs dotted about the spacious room. “If you sit quietly.”
Mariah watched after them, then returned her attention to the tall, muscular man holding the toddler. The embroidered brocade frock coat he wore looked oddly out of place on his manly frame. A strip of leather held his dark, wavy hair in a queue.
“Mercy.” Rose laughed lightly. “I was so thrilled to see you, my manners took flight. Mariah, dear, this is my handsome husband, Nathaniel Kinyon and our sweet baby, Jenny Ann.”
“Your baby?” Mariah’s mouth gaped for a second. “Oh. Your husband is a widower, then.”
“Not at all.” Rose bestowed a loving glance and gentle smile on her dear ones. “Jenny is our adopted child. Her parents died rather tragically, and her grandparents were ill prepared to care for her. They blessed Nate and me with that honor. We praise the Dear Lord for His goodness.”
“She’s very pretty, isn’t she?” Having spoken her thoughts aloud, Victoria blushed.
Amy took advantage of the moment. “And her hair is so curly. It’s almost white. Like an angel’s halo.”
Mistress Barclay sent them a remember-to-be-quiet look. “My sentiments exactly. But be mindful of your manners.”
“Yes, Mama,” they chorused.
Amy quickly scooted back in her chair and folded her hands like the little lady her mother wished she would become.
Still drinking in the sight of honey-haired Rose in her fashionable day gown of copper taffeta, Mariah barely caught Mistress Barclay’s movement on the edge of her vision as the older woman reached across the small table.
“Mr. Kinyon, from whence do you hail?” The mistress handed him a cup and saucer.
He met her gaze and spoke, his voice low and somewhat commanding. “I’d say as the crow flies, madam, about eighty miles from here. Comin’ downriver as we did, though, you could purt’ near double that.”
“Yes. Thank you.” Rose accepted her proffered tea. “Even in one of those swift canoes we spent three days on the water—except, of course, whenever we had to portage around some rapids. But all in all, we had a safe, pleasant trip. And then to be greeted so graciously here by the lady of the manor…” She favored Mistress Barclay with a sweet smile.
“I could do no less for our Mariah. She’s been an invaluable help to us.” The woman paused. “You must stay with us a few days. We’ve plenty of room.”
“Oh yes, Rose. Please do.” Mariah searched her sister’s blue-gray eyes. “ ’Tis so marvelous to see you, and you must tell me everything. This is your final destination, I hope, or must you travel on?”
Rose tilted her head. “Actually, we had planned to travel up the Susquehanna River to visit Lily after
we leave here. But we heard a bit of news in Georgetown last eve and…” She turned sad eyes to her husband.
He cleared his throat. “I’d planned on waitin’ to join up with the militia till after Rose had a chance to visit both her sisters. But I hear tell things is startin’ to get hot again betwixt us an’ them Frenchies. So, soon as I take my li’l family back home, me an’ my partner’ll be headin’ out to join up with the other boys.”
“What do you mean, exactly, by ‘getting hot’?” Mariah clenched her hands together in her lap. “Colin and Tuck are with Colonel Washington even as we speak.”
“Colin is my son,” the mistress explained. “Dennis Tucker is his friend from a neighboring plantation. Do tell us what it is you’ve heard.”
Gently bouncing Jenny on his knee, Mr. Kinyon eased back against the Queen Anne chair that looked far too inadequate for his large frame. He’d drained the tea in one gulp, and the delicate china cup he held all but disappeared within his calloused hands as he set it on the lamp table beside him. “Well, it seems Washington an’ some of his boys surprised a party of Frenchies a few days ago. What they didn’t kill, they took prisoner. It’s only natural that the French’ll retaliate first chance they get.”
“What about our men?” Mariah swallowed her angst. “Were any of them killed?”
“From what I hear, only one of our boys passed on to glory. A couple others got a scrape here an’ there.”
“The name,” Mariah choked out. “Do you know the name of the deceased?”
He shrugged a massive shoulder. “Don’t say as I rightly recall. But he was from up along the Shenandoah, I know that. You folks prob’ly wouldn’t know him.”
Mariah added her relieved sigh to that of the mistress and the girls.
The older woman leaned forward. “Nonetheless, we shall add his grieving family to our daily prayers. And I thank the Lord my son is safe. For now, at least.” She paused again, then continued. “Mr. Kinyon, Mariah informs me you are an experienced frontiersman. I’d be most grateful if you would keep a watchful eye on my son when you join the militia. I fear he can be a touch reckless at times.”
“My brother Colin’s the bravest—” Amy slapped a hand over her mouth and cut a worried glance in her mother’s direction.
Rose’s husband shot the child a quirky grin, then looked back at the hostess. “I’d be glad to, ma’am. Colin Barclay. I’ll look him up.”
“Thank you. Lieutenant Colin Barclay.” She gave him a grateful smile.
He tipped his head politely. “Me an’ my wife want to thank you for takin’ such good, watchful care of our Mariah. I know Rose’ll sleep a whole lot easier now that she’s met you.”
Having spent a good deal of the visit looking from him to Rose and back, Mariah had to admit that for such a commoner, the frontiersman was incredibly charming and handsome. Still, she had a difficult time reconciling the thought of marriage between him and her sister. They seemed so at odds, so different, from totally different worlds. How on earth had prim and proper Rose ever attracted a rover like him?
As Mistress Barclay passed around plates of tea cakes, Mariah swept a reassessing look at Rose. Her older sister’s experience in the wilds of this fledgling country had softened and polished her like a priceless gem and brought out an inner beauty that glowed from her eyes. Hair the color of warm honey and fastened in a cluster of long, silky curls secured at the crown, sparkled in the filtered light streaming through the tall windows. And her fine, copper day gown complemented her coloring and adorned her willowy frame perfectly. At long last, Rose had blossomed.
Amy, sitting straight and holding her cup just so, directed a question to her mother in a quiet voice. “Mama, may I say something?”
No one could refuse the sweet voice. “Yes, darling. You may.”
“I think Mr. Kinyon is gonna get as bored as me sitting here with all the women talking. May I please take him to the stables and show him our beautiful horses?”
“I’d be glad to hold the baby,” Victoria offered.
“Sounds good to me.” He smiled at the girls. “Hear tell you got a fine-lookin’ string.” He relinquished Jenny to Tori’s willing attention and took Amy’s hand.
“Thank you, child,” Mistress Barclay said, then met his jovial hazel eyes. “My husband, Eldon, should be home in an hour or so, and I know he’ll enjoy getting to know you. In the meantime, however, I am absolutely dying to learn how a gentlewoman such as your lovely wife survived so beautifully the adventure of being taken deep into Indian country.”
“I’ll leave the tellin’ of that to her.” Chuckling, he escorted his little guide outside.
“Yes. Do tell us about it.” Heather’s eyes sparkled as she leaned forward in eager anticipation.
Mariah was equally interested in hearing about her sister’s new life. After the frontiersman left the room, she also knew Rose would be able to talk more openly about what sort of husband she had married.
Then her heart jolted. Out in the stables Mr. Kinyon would meet Geoffrey Scott. Of course, with Mr. Scott’s consuming interest in the Bible, he could easily bring up the fact that Mariah had taken quite an interest in things spiritual. In turn, Mr. Kinyon might share with the trainer all kinds of tidbits Rose had told him about her proud, now spiritual and headstrong sister. And heaven forbid, if Geoffrey Scott should mention all the time she’d spent trying to endear herself to him on the off chance that Colin didn’t return. That would be dreadful. Dreadful indeed, since the frontiersman would be joining her betrothed soon.
“Mariah.” Rose touched her arm and peered closely at her. “Is something amiss?”
Trying to slough off her fears, Mariah propped up a smile. “Of course not. Do tell us your experiences since we parted in Baltimore—and how it was you came to acquire that darling little girl.”
For the next half hour, it seemed Rose spared no details as she regaled the Barclay ladies with a lightly humorous version of her wilderness experiences. Mariah’s respect for her older sister rose several notches as she slowly shook her head in admiration. “Well, that husband of yours should return from the stables shortly. While we wait, I should like to show you our lovely gardens.”
Rose smiled. “Why, that would be marvelous.”
“May I go along?” Heather asked, her eyes on Tori, who gently steered the toddler clear of any mischief in a room full of “pretties.”
Mistress Barclay intervened. “I think the two sisters would like a moment alone, dear. They’ve much to catch up on, I’m sure.”
Surprised at the older woman’s thoughtfulness, Mariah stood to her feet. “Then if you will excuse us…” She gestured to Rose, and the two took their leave.
Outside, Rose linked elbows with Mariah as they strolled amid the lush display of flowers and trimmed hedges in the waning afternoon sun. “I believe I’ve done quite enough talking this day. I’d like to hear how the Lord has taken such wondrous care of you, and how you have fared in this new land. You seem to have a rather comfortable relationship with these plantation owners.”
Mariah hardly knew where to begin. “It wasn’t always so, I must confess.” Beginning with her arrival and the initial cool reception, she condensed the past months as best she could as she brought Rose up to date. “And now they treat me as one of the family, almost.”
Rose searched her face. “Is there any hope of your actually becoming one of the family? I remember you made some rather reckless statements in your letters.”
It was no use trying to hide anything from that astute gaze. Mariah reached into her lace tucker and drew out the amethyst ring. “Colin has asked me to marry him, but we feel it’s best to keep it a secret for now. He assures me the family will come around, in time. First he must return from serving in the militia. I pray he comes to no harm.” She tucked the ring back out of sight.
Rose nodded. “Little sister, surely you’re aware that secrets have a way of coming home to roost. Nevertheless, I shall join my prayers wi
th yours, dearest. If the two of you truly love each other, I’m sure the Lord will work out His perfect will for you both.”
Approaching footsteps drifted to their ears, and they looked up to see Nate and Amy coming hand in hand.
A proud smile lit Amy’s eyes. “He loves the horses. We’re hungry now. I think it’s time to go inside and ask when supper’ll be ready.”
Mariah smiled and fell into step with the others, but a persistent concern plagued her mind. Had Geoffrey Scott and Mr. Kinyon been too forthcoming with one another?
Chapter 26
As Colin and Tuck led their horses on the second return trek to Great Meadows in the last three weeks, Tuck emitted a labored rush of breath. “This June has to be the worst month of my life, bar none.”
“Quite.” Too weary to laugh, Colin raised an arm and wiped sweat from his brow on his grimy shirtsleeve. “We’d have to go a far stretch to come up with a worse one.”
Tuck grimaced. “Unfortunately, next month will probably be a match, if we survive, what with every Frenchman in the territory and every Indian from up north on their way to kill us.”
“It’s gonna get interestin’, that’s for sure. If nothin’ else, I hope it at least stays dry.” Colin couldn’t help wondering if the Indians accompanying the militia would stick with them or disappear into the night, the way the Delawares had a week ago. Fortunately, Chief Monakaduto had remained loyal. He and a Seneca squaw chief, Queen Alequippa, had added forty warriors to the ranks—far fewer than Washington had expected to join after the resounding victory over the French the militia had experienced in May. But as beneficial as it was to have additional warriors, the fact that they brought their families with them rapidly exhausted the food supplies. For the past several days, this motley army had nothing but fresh beef to eat.
The horses were in even worse shape. Without a daily ration of grain, the mountain grass was not sufficient to sustain them, and they were deteriorating by the day. That necessitated leaving the supply wagons behind at the Ohio Company’s Redstone Storehouse—empty though it was. With the animals too weak to bear any sort of burden, the militiamen were forced to haul the remainder of the equipment on their backs. Watching them struggle against the weight of the swivel cannons and their trunk-thick posts, Colin couldn’t help but feel sorry for them—especially since the regular soldiers Captain McKay had brought up from South Carolina were exempted from that duty.
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