At the close of the service, he stayed behind to help cover the grave. As Lily walked down the hill with Matt and Luke, she thanked the Lord for another small blessing. Jackson Dunlap had not attended the gathering. After the noon meal, he and his dismal expression had ridden to Palmyra to fetch his brother Frank home. He would not be back until the morrow.
Reaching the bottom of the hill, Lily paused to let other families pass by. She tugged Luke’s coat tighter about his neck against a sporadic, light mist that threatened rain. “I see your top button is missing.”
“I got it here in my pocket.”
“Splendid. I’ll sew it on, then.” She gave a light chuckle. “If I can find a needle.” She paused, serious now. “Luke, will you be staying here with the men or leaving with me?”
He glanced beyond her, past the trees to the blackened rubble. “Wouldn’t be right to leave.” He smirked. “But when I look at the mess we gotta clean up, it sure is a temptin’ thought.”
“That it is.” She tilted her head. “I’d gladly stay and help.”
“You would?” His sky-blue eyes brightened.
Matt scowled. Always the more somber one of the two, his tone sounded almost angry when he spoke. “There’s no place for you to stay. There’ll barely be room in the carpentry shop for us men.”
At the lad calling himself a man, Lily could hardly contain the smile tickling the corners of her mouth. But as the words settled in, so did a grievous sadness. She would be leaving the only family she’d known for the past four years, leaving Pennsylvania for Alexandria, Virginia. She’d sorely missed her sisters when they’d been torn apart on the Baltimore wharf back then, but that nearly forgotten pain wouldn’t begin to compare with the parting facing her now. This one would be forever. And she wouldn’t even get to say good-bye to Emma and Davy, her precious babies.
Her gaze drifted over her half-grown boys. “You’re going to be such handsome men one day.”
“Aren’t we, though.” Grinning, Luke hiked his chin and puffed out his chest.
Matt’s expression, however, crumbled. He understood.
The moment needed lightening. “Tell you what, my fine lads. Let’s go on a scavenger hunt. With this damp weather settling upon us, the embers should be dying out. Maybe I’ll find my needles. I remember the exact spot where I left them.”
Luke turned and took off, but not Matt. Almost as tall as Lily, he entwined his strong fingers in hers and looked up at her with sad azure eyes that were heart-melting replicas of his father’s. “I’ll never forget you, Lily. Never.”
Lily cast a despondent look down at her hands and day gown. She was black with soot. While John and the other men went to the MacBrides’ to build rafts, she’d been sorting through the rubble, salvaging whatever she could for the boys before the time came to leave.
Once again she thanked God that two of the families staying at the blockhouse had a supply of lye soap and a few other necessities. Ruth and Nancy had even offered clean clothes to Lily and the other women for their trip back to civilization. More of the Lord’s tender mercies.
The scent of biscuits baking in the cast-iron dutch ovens drifted her way as she walked toward the well. The overcast sky was darkening as this longest of days drew to a close. Scouring the black from her hands, she noticed that two of the wagons had been rigged with canvas tents to keep out the rain. The men would have to sleep out in the cold until the women and little ones left. Small wonder they were in such haste to build those rafts. Toby voiced the opinion that if they didn’t waste time, the conveyances would be finished as early as tomorrow afternoon.
La, how she dreaded leaving here.
Returning the piece of soap to a nearby log round, she picked up the drying rag and wiped her hands before joining Nancy and Agnes at the cookfires. “I’m going down to the cellar. Is there anything you need from there?”
“No, lass.” Looking every bit as spent as Lily felt, Nancy brushed a strand of light blond hair out of her eyes.
Lily put fire to a piece of kindling to light her way in the dark cellar. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Along the way, she snagged the shovel she’d been using earlier to sort through the ashes. The sooty handle dirtied her hands again, but she sighed and took it with her anyway. She should have completed this chore before washing up.
Down in the shadowy cavern, she lit the lantern hanging from the beam and began to dig. She’d saved twenty-four pounds of the monies sent her over the years. Twenty-four pounds. Rose had needed only four more pounds to satisfy Papa’s creditors when she’d indentured herself to that unscrupulous sea captain. Lily could still remember the shock and sorrow she and the family had felt upon learning of Rose’s actions. She also recalled not being able to bear the thought of her older sister sailing off to some faraway land alone, and so had done the same herself—as had Mariah, but for her own reasons.
The thought made Lily chuckle. Beautiful, headstrong Mariah eventually married her dream, a rich plantation owner—but not until the Lord taught her a few hard lessons.
With the ding of metal on metal, the shovel hit the small pewter container. Wedging it up with the lip of the tool, Lily reached down to get her buried treasure. Four pounds would be more than sufficient to see her safely to Mariah’s. The remainder she’d leave for John. So much was needed here now.
Footfalls descended the steps. Lily swung around, and her heartbeat quickened.
John! Coming down here, in this secluded place!
He wore a peculiar expression. “Nancy said you were here.”
“Yes.” His nearness ignited a spark of awareness of her very smudged self, even though John’s clothing was far blacker than hers. Collecting her thoughts, she held out the small round container. “I came for the money.”
“The money,” he said absently without looking at it. Regarding her without blinking, he inhaled. “I have something to say to you, and this is likely the only privacy we’ll get.”
“Quite true.” The root cellar, with its abundant piles of sacks and baskets of food suddenly felt closed in. Airless. And John, scarcely two yards away, seemed to fill it with his presence. “I have something to say as well.” She somehow managed to speak past her tight throat.
“You do?” He took a step forward.
“Yes. And I’ll not accept your refusal.”
He frowned, as if puzzled over her comment.
She cleared her throat. “ ’Tis the money. I shall take only enough for my trip. The rest I’ll leave with you. There are so many things that need to be purchased.”
He took another step closer. “Lily…”
She waited a heartbeat. “Yes?”
“You’ve always been…a fine, honest—” He rolled his eyes. “That’s not what I came to tell you.”
Baffled, Lily wondered why he was fumbling so. He’d always been so sure of himself. She took a step toward him.
Be honest with him.
“Oh, but I couldn’t.”
“What?” John took her hand, the tenderness in his eyes stealing her breath.
Lily’s cheeks flamed. She’d actually said the words out loud! “I…that is, the Lord—at least, I think it’s the Lord—wants me to tell you something.”
He tucked his chin in disbelief.
She put her free hand over her throbbing heart. “ ’Tis not the first time I’ve heard from the Lord today, actually.” She nibbled her lip, then filled her lungs and let the words pour out like water over a fall. “Considering everything, you’ll probably think I’m horrid for saying it…but I cannot leave here with it unsaid. I love you, John. I do. With my whole heart. This love for you has been growing inside me for months, and no matter how I try, I cannot stop—”
In an instant she was in his arms, his lips on hers, his heart pounding against her own with the same wonder, the same incredible joy that radiated through her. When at last the kiss ended, her head was spinning and her knees weak.
What had just happ
ened?
John’s penetrating eyes glistened with moisture as he cupped her face in his palms. “Ian told me not to worry about what anyone else might think. He says it’s a good thing—a gift from God—that we’ve grown to love one another. He doesn’t believe anyone will condemn us, because it’s right and good.”
Lily was struggling to process John’s words. Had he just told her he loved her?
Then suddenly, he eased her away. “No. It isn’t right. It isn’t right at all.”
She felt as if her whole being started to cave in. “ ’Tis Susan, is it not?”
“No.” He shook his head. “Maybe it should be, but it’s not. I’m being far too selfish. You deserve much more than I can offer you. You’ll be going off to Mariah’s tomorrow, and while you’re there, I want you to remember what life was like before you came to the cove. I want you to see what life could be like for you again, in a place where every day isn’t a struggle. I want—”
Lily pressed her fingers to his mouth to stop him. “And if I promise to do all of that, should I want to come back here afterward, will you stop me?”
He drew her hand away and kissed her palm, his gaze searching deep into her very soul. “If you still wish to return after you’ve spent at least three months with Mariah, I’ll not stop you. But keep in mind, my love, the danger here is far from past. The Indians could attack Beaver Cove again.”
“And you keep in mind this war cannot last forever.” She reached up and slipped her arms about his neck.
He pulled back slightly. “By the way, what did the Lord say to you, exactly?”
“Oh, that.” Her lips spread into a grin. “Not once, but twice today, He said it. The first time was when I spoke with Jackson. This time it was with you.”
A frown drew John’s brows together. “Surely He didn’t have you tell Dunlap you loved him, too.”
“No, silly.” She laughed lightly. “The Lord said, ‘Be honest.’ ”
“Honest, you say.” Smiling, John drew her close again. “Then I reckon I’ll have to be completely truthful with you. I absolutely love and adore you…sooty nose and all.” Tipping her chin up with the edge of his finger, he lowered his head and kissed her once more.
“Lily…” Luke reached out and caught her hand. “You are comin’ back, aren’t you?”
John tore his gaze from his son’s hopeful expression. All around him, men were bidding tearful farewells to their wives and children on the ferry dock as their families boarded the three rafts. But Lily was all that mattered to John.
She raised her silky lashes to look at John over the lad’s head, and those yearning gray eyes tore right through him.
One of them had to remain strong. He managed a curt nod.
She gave Luke a small smile. “Your papa made me promise not to make that decision until—”
“I know. Him an’ you already told us how your other family wants you, too. But you love us best. I know you do.”
The other promise John had exacted from her, not to tell his sons or the other people of the cove about the glorious confessions of love that had transpired between them in the cellar, pierced him to the core. He knew only too well that if the boys knew, they’d pressure Lily into making a commitment to return. If she did come back, he wanted it to be her decision, without regret.
He saw her lean close to Luke’s ear and whisper something. Please, Father, don’t let her make a promise she may not keep. Luke walked away with a disturbingly satisfied grin.
She then turned to Matt, who’d been waiting off to the side. Nearly as tall as Lily, he stood stiff as a ramrod, his expression beyond solemn.
Lily wrapped him in a hug. “My dear, dear Matt. You’ve been my rock for so long. I never could have gotten through these past two years without you. Thank you so very, very much.” Easing him away slightly, she looked at his face. “Thank you for being the wonderful person you are. I’m ever so proud of you.” Her gaze moved to his shaggy hair, and she ruffled it playfully with a smile. “My scissors are somewhere in the rubble. Find them. You still need a haircut.”
Matt bucked his head away and smoothed down his brown thatch as he became serious again. “Come back to us,” he said simply, his voice breaking. Turning, he bumped past John and bolted off.
John’s heart wrenched at the sight of his son’s shattered expression. He felt even worse when he looked back at Lily and saw her eyes brimming with tears. Stepping close, he took her hands in his. He couldn’t afford to embrace her—he’d never find the strength to let go—or to kiss away the tear tracing a glistening path down her angelic face. The weight of all the things he wanted to say to her but didn’t dare was like a chain about his heart. Mustering every ounce of fortitude he possessed, he cleared his throat. “Give my best regards to your sisters and Nate.”
“Oh, yes. Nate.” A delicate pink crested her cheeks. “That day when you found me, he saw us—well, you know.” She moistened her lips.
Centering on those soft rosy temptations, John swallowed. “He sure did. The man knew about us even before we did. But you have to remember you’ve been pretty isolated here. Away from the rest of the world. There’s so much more out—”
She rolled her eyes in frustration. “Will you stop? You needn’t tell me again. I shall do as you say and consider the rest of the world. Not that I want to, but because you’ve asked it of me.” She darted a quick glance around, then moved closer. “Take care of those boys. Especially Matt. He always tries too hard…and so do you. Take care, my love.”
Those last whispered words turned John to mush. “Take care,” he rasped, his voice husky. Then as Matt had done, he pivoted and hurried off the dock. Unable to watch her float away, possibly out of his life forever, he kept going.
Chapter 37
When Lily had escorted Emma and Davy to their grandparents’ home in Philadelphia, she’d been amazed at how untouched by war the red brick city had been. But as she rode atop a wagon seat along the Potomac River toward Mariah’s home, the expansive fields of the plantations and the opulence of the manors she passed left her awe-stricken. These aristocratic Virginia planters were far wealthier than she remembered. Even more breathtaking in this bare-tree month of November, a rainbow assortment of autumn leaves drifted placidly on the breeze as she and the driver passed beneath interlocking branches that created one glorious archway after another.
It seemed not even a whisper of the war had reached this place.
Lily knew that was not quite true. Mariah’s husband, Colin, had been blinded in the first months of conflict, a full year and a half before Beaver Cove and the other settlements west of Reading ever suspected they were destined to be attacked in such vicious, wolf pack-like raids.
“Miss.” The driver removed a hand from the reins and pointed. “We’re coming up on the Barclay’s Bay cutoff.”
Lily glanced ahead to the oak-lined lane leading to the elegant manor house. She’d been here only once before—for Mariah’s wedding—but the grand entrance was unmistakable. At least a dozen majestic trees graced either side of the driveway that circled a lovely fountain sitting like a diamond in the center of the expanse fronting the home.
“ ’Twas such a blessing, Mr. Harris, meeting you at the Potomac ferry crossing. Otherwise I should have had to take the stage the rest of the way into Alexandria and arrange transport from there. You saved me hours, if not an entire day. I do thank you for your kindness.”
The pleasant-faced gentleman guided the team onto Mariah’s lane. “Nonsense, lass. For a spell now, you’ve provided me with the company of a lovely young miss, and it didn’t put me out one whit.” A jovial smile tweaked his bushy salt-and-pepper mustache.
Lily knew that as the proprietor of a general store in a small settlement farther west, above the falls, he had spoken truly. “Nevertheless, I deem it a pure blessing.” She glanced ahead at the great white columns that graced the front porch and supported the balcony above. Mariah, daughter of a mere tradesman, lived in t
his house of splendor.
Mr. Harris reined his team to a halt and set the brake lever.
Lily’s anticipation mounted.
Before the merchant had time to climb down and assist her, the front door opened, and a butler stepped out. Neatly attired in black and white, the tall African came to meet them. “If y’all’s makin’ a delivery, take yo’ wagon on aroun’ back. I’ll fetch some boys to he’p y’all unload.”
Mr. Harris chuckled. “The onliest thing I got to unload is this gal. Says she’s kin to the mistress of the house.”
The butler took a closer look at Lily.
She could tell he didn’t recognize her. But then, she was still dressed in Nancy’s homespun. “I’m Lily Harwood, Mariah’s sister. I realize I’m not very presentable—”
The sudden patter of footsteps on the porch brought golden-haired Amy Barclay bounding down the steps. Taller now, and quite the lovely young maiden, she had obviously retained her youthful spirit. “Did I hear correctly? Is that you, Lily?” She turned to the butler. “Help her down, Benjamin.” Then, whirling around in a rustle of buttercream flounces, she ran back up the steps and hollered into the door. “Mariah! It’s your sister! She’s here!”
Lily’s heartbeat took up a staccato pace as Benjamin handed her down to the pebble drive. At any second, Mariah would emerge.
She’d barely circumvented the wagon when her beautiful sister came to the door, attired in a violet taffeta gown fit for a queen. But the smile she’d worn vanished as she halted where she stood. “Amy, I thought you said—Lily? Is that you?” With a most unladylike squeal, she grasped handfuls of her skirts and charged down the steps.
At her sister’s enthusiastic welcome, emotion clogged Lily’s throat. She could only manage a nod.
“Lily, Lily.” Mariah drew her into a brief hug, then thrust her an arm’s distance from herself and looked her up and down. “What on earth are you wearing? And your hands…” She picked one of them up. “They’re rough and chapped. And your hair. Your complexion—why, you haven’t even got a bonnet on for protection from the sun and the wind.”
Daughters of Harwood House Trilogy : Three Romances Tell the Saga of Sisters Sold into Indentured Service (9781630586140) Page 92
