Luke stared. “What did you say?”
“I know some pretty good spots. I’ll bet since you came here you haven’t really had a chance to do things like fishing.”
“No. I don’t do anything but this.” Luke acknowledged the lanterns he held. “I used to fish a lot back at the old place. We had to find our food or grow it. Here, everything is given to you. Somehow I think I miss it. Farming the land. Going hunting for game. Feeling like I’m accomplishing something.”
“If you miss farming, I’ve got a lot of that to do. I’m working two farms right now. I could use some help.”
The idea seemed to spark life within the man. “I never thought I would say it, but plowing up the ground sounds like something I might enjoy right about now.”
“We’ll talk more,” Jared promised when he saw a door open and the graceful Susanna appear. Her smile, with her cheeks all aglow, captivated him like nothing else.
“We’re ready,” she said. “Please come in, Mr. Edwards.”
“Why so formal?” he murmured, following her through the familiar hallway and past the window lights he had seen once before. She said nothing but gestured him into a formal sitting room. Dr. Croghan and Susanna’s father were seated inside. And to his disbelief, Uncle Dwight and George Higgins.
“Welcome, Mr. Edwards,” the doctor said with a smile. “I found these two men wandering about, and they claimed to have made your acquaintance in the past.”
Jared hastened to give his uncle a warm embrace. Higgins pounded him on the back. “Am I glad to see you,” he told the two men. Then to the doctor, he said, “Thank you so much.”
“I have it in confidence from these men that they will cause no further trouble with my cave,” Dr. Croghan said. “So it didn’t make much sense to keep them under lock and key. So long as they behave themselves.”
Higgins offered a wave, his face a wide grin. “We’ll be good and harmless as kittens,” he promised.
“I’ll leave you to reunite,” the doctor said, followed by Susanna’s father. “But I want you all to know, I’ve decided to close the sick area of the cave. There will be no more invalids housed there. I thought you would like to know.” Dr. Croghan nodded and left.
Jared looked to see the reaction of his uncle to the doctor’s announcement. He only found a dejected figure, his chin resting in his hand. When Jared came to him, he glanced up with sadness in his eyes. “It was terrible, Jared,” Uncle Dwight confessed. “What would Mattie think if she knew I was locked up in some jail? She’d never forgive me.”
Jared knelt before his uncle and took the man’s feeble hand in his. “Uncle, I have something important to tell you. I think it might help. I was able to talk to an invalid who knew Aunt Mattie in the cave. He told me how happy she was to be there and the great victuals she cooked for them all. She said the people there were like her, that they all shared in the same illness. And she knew it was better for her to be in that place.”
“She said that?”
Jared nodded. “She was happy, Uncle. I know we thought she might get well, but I think deep in her heart, Aunt Mattie knew she wouldn’t live. And she didn’t want to make you sad by her passing. It was all right for her to be in the cave with others like herself.”
“But I wanted her with me.”
“Uncle, Aunt Mattie is always here with us. Everything she taught us. Everything she did. But she’s in a better place. A place of peace, with no pain and sickness. And she’s running and laughing, breathing in the good air God made in heaven, free as a bird.”
Uncle Dwight began to weep. “I’m so tired, Jared.”
“It will be all right now, Uncle. The Lord is with us. He loves us more than we could know.”
“I–I’ve seen it,” his uncle said feebly. “I remember what you once told me about the Lord and all. And He did take care of me.”
“He sets the prisoners free, Uncle. He can set us all free if we put our trust in Him.” Jared patted his uncle’s hand. “You know I’m no preacher or schooled in theology, but I do know if we ask the Lord Jesus to forgive our sins, He’ll do just that and come to live in our hearts. Whenever you’re ready to pray such a prayer, I’d be honored to help you with the words.”
His uncle looked at him through tear-filled eyes. “I’m much obliged, nephew. Let me think on it awhile longer. I’ll let you know when the time’s right.”
Jared could see for the first time a heart of flesh replacing the stony manner of his uncle. He prayed that the words he’d uttered both long ago and at this moment would aid in accomplishing the Lord’s work in his uncle’s life. He gave his uncle’s hand one final pat and came to his feet. He turned to see Susanna gazing at him. Her blue eyes were warm, her lips parted, nodding her head ever so slightly.
“You look tired, too,” she murmured. “How about something to eat?”
“I’d rather take a walk, if that’s all right.” He looked to Higgins who nodded.
“I’ll look after Dwight,” Higgins said. “You two go on now.”
Jared and Susanna found a side door, and together they walked the path they’d trod in other, more serious meetings. Once again everything had changed, but this time it was for the better. The burdens had been cast aside. He felt freedom from the guilt, the pain, and could enjoy this time with the woman he loved. They strolled along, listening to the birds, looking at the colorful flowers that brought the wooded glade to life. Soon they found themselves heading toward the cave entrance. Streaming from the rocks above, a gentle cascade of water serenaded them.
“I can’t believe the doctor is closing the sick cave,” Jared said.
“There will still be the tours,” Susanna said. “But the cave doesn’t seem so dark and foreboding now, does it?”
“Darkness and light are alike to God,” Jared said. “I think we saw both in there.”
“Sometimes I wish things hadn’t happened the way they did,” she confessed. “If you had been but a simple suitor on his black horse, it would have been so easy to find myself swept away. Instead, we had to struggle until we finally came to an understanding.”
“We had to go through it this way,” he said, squeezing her hand gently. “Maybe we wouldn’t have found out enough about each other to know that we can make it through the hard times as well as the good.” He paused then. Yes, he did want to spend the rest of this hard life with Susanna. But she was used to the pleasantries of the hotel. The fine surroundings. She had wanted to flee hardship even though her brother claimed she was never truly content. Would she be content to go back to an existence that reminded her of the past?
“Yes, life can be hard,” she agreed, “no matter where one is. I thought having money, a nice dress, even a large dining table would bring me happiness. But it didn’t. There was something missing. In the cave we had nothing, not even light. But in God and each other, I found out I had everything I needed and more.”
Jared drew in his breath in anticipation as the door opened before him. He dare not shut that door now, not when God had done a miracle in their midst. He turned then, gripping each of her hands in his. “Susanna, I know my cabin isn’t a hotel. My table is small. I could buy you a pretty dress after the harvest is in. There will always be surprises for us from on high. I’m sure of it. So, would you consider marrying me?”
“Would I consider? Jared, how I prayed you would ask me!”
He took her in his arms; their kiss confirming what was in his heart—and hers, too. That love and God’s mercy can be found even in the deepest parts of the earth.
Epilogue
“So is this the surprise you once told me about?”
He raised an eyebrow. She’d listened to every word he had spoken, every detail, even going so far as to accepting him in marriage. Now it was coming to pass. “There are many surprises from on high, like I said,” he told her.
“Many?” Her small hand tugged at his, childlike innocence dancing in her eyes. “What other surprises? Tell me! Oh, yo
u can’t leave me like this, Jared.”
“You know I will never leave you.”
She nodded. “I know. How I know. Even when we were trapped in the cave, even with everything happening to us, you were there. Always.”
He inhaled a sigh. “I wanted to know if this surprise is all right with you. To see if you really would like to have our wedding in the cave. It did change both of us and brought us together. Dr. Croghan has agreed to it. And Stephen said he found a perfect place, too, with some grand columns, he called them. I thought with everything that has happened the cave would be the perfect place.”
She grasped his hand in hers, settling any doubts. He had doubted so many times, but there was no need. Susanna did trust him. And he trusted what God had been showing them both—how a cave, though dark and dreary, can bring forth a wondrous light in people’s hearts. And he desperately wanted the light of their wedding to take place there. To make their families and everyone see that this truly was a grand place wrought by God and able to bring about blessings untold.
“It sounds wonderful,” she whispered, her warm breath fanning his face.
❧
And their wedding was wonderful indeed, beyond all expectation. The glow of so many oil lanterns, the very lanterns that had been their light in a dark place, bathing the chamber in a soft golden glow. The beauty of Susanna in a new dress, which she had first discovered in the Godey’s Lady’s book, complete with rose trim that fell gracefully from her shoulders. The moment they exchanged vows of marital love before a minister framed by three columns of rock. The wonder of seeing both Uncle Dwight and Dr. Croghan in the same place beneath the earth, standing side by side as witnesses. All the product of God’s hand.
Dr. Croghan offered his hand in congratulations. “I believe we have found a new name for this part of the cave,” he said with a smile. “The Bride’s Chamber will do nicely.”
Everyone laughed. When the ceremony was over, Jared was quick to scoop up a lantern in one hand and Susanna’s hand in the other. “Where are we going?” she wondered. “Not another tour!”
“To see my other surprise,” he told her. “Remember?”
Her eyes widened to reflect the glow of the lantern. She put on the cloak he gave her and followed him through the passage until they came to the chamber Stephen once showed them on their ill-fated trip. Jared lit a torch. The light gleamed off the stone that bore the blackened marks and signatures of those who had gone before them. The young and the old, men and women, each with hopes and dreams, each with a life story all their own. And now he was determined to have their story remembered as well.
“Can you see it, Susanna? A surprise from on high.” He chuckled. “Or at least high up.”
She stared hard and began to laugh. “Jared, it’s wonderful!”
Etched out in black on the smooth surface of the rocky ceiling was a large heart and charred words preserved for all time.
Jared and Susanna Edwards.
1843.
A cave of love.
About the Author
Lauralee Bliss, a former nurse, is a prolific writer of inspirational fiction, as well as a home educator. She resides with her family near Charlottesville, Virginia, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains—a place of inspiration for many of her contemporary and historical novels. Lauralee Bliss writes inspirational fiction to provide readers with entertaining stories, intertwined with Christian principles to assist them in their day-to-day walk with the Lord. Aside from writing, she enjoys gardening, cross-stitching, reading, roaming yard sales, and traveling. Lauralee invites you to visit her Web site at www.lauraleebliss.com.
Dedication
To Tracie who believed in my historical writing. Thank you for your support.
My heartfelt thanks to park rangers Vickie Carson and Joy Lyons of Mammoth Cave National Park for all their help and insight.
Special thanks to my husband, Steve, who tirelessly spent days making phone calls and arranging for a special cave tour and information.
A note from the Author:
I love to hear from my readers! You may correspond with me by writing:
Lauralee Bliss
Author Relations
PO Box 721
Uhrichsville, OH 44683
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