“The Jenkins family, with whom I visited this summer, are all great scholars and subscribe to a bookstore in Baltimore that ensures they receive copies of the important books as soon as they are available. We read Alice in Wonderland aloud each evening. More to the point, how did a woman in Green River, Kansas, obtain a copy?”
“Father Francis has a sister back east who sent him a copy, saying it would suit his whimsies,” she replied. “But explaining my answer to the satisfaction of the questions in your eyes would require more time than we have before the dinner gong.”
Which then rang out, as if on cue.
Offering his arm, Barnabas escorted Dorothy to the house. Suddenly his life had become much more interesting, and the touch of her arm in his made him feel as if he could conquer the world. He’d have to think about what had happened later, though. Right now it was enough to have her at his side.
CHAPTER 10 – Dinner
Dinner was delightful and Barnabas was surprised how comfortable and at home he felt almost at once. There was a casual acceptance from these people, as if he'd always lived here.
An older woman who, Barnabas later discovered, was Tom's mother, Mrs. Emilene Kenner, had hustled everyone into the dining room where they circled around the table joining hands in roughly a boy girl seating order. Tom had nudged him between Suzanne, whom he had also not yet met, and Dorothy.
Everyone bowed heads and Barnabas was touched to see that Charles and Mary had laid their clasped hands upon an infant laying between them on the table. Tom led them in a simple prayer, blessing the company and the food, and thanking the Lord for providing a safe journey for their new friend Barnabas, whose arrival they were celebrating.
After a chorus of amens, the children took off for a separate table and Mary tucked the baby into a cradle not too far from where the children were sitting. She made quick eye contact with the girls who both nodded and smiled, before returning to the table and her place next to Charles.
Barnabas could not remember later what he had eaten, only that it was plentiful and delicious. Mostly he was just aware of a feeling of contentment such as he had not enjoyed since before he'd gone off to war.
Once everyone had been served, Mrs. Kenner introduced herself to Barnabas by saying, “Since there are two of us with the title, we avoid confusion by letting Suzanne be Mrs. Kenner, and I go by Ma Kenner or Ms Emilene. I know you've met the youngsters at the next table and most of the gentleman present, and apologize that last minute preparations kept a few of us in the kitchen instead of meeting you properly earlier. But we figured that like most men, you'd rather have a good meal than proper introductions. You’ll just have to kiss our hands later.”
This quip was greeted with a general approbation and a great deal of laughter.
“Come to think of it, I think Suzanne and I are the only two that didn't run out to say hello!” Ma Kenner continued. Turning toward the children's table, she called over, “Hurry up and grow up, you two gals, so you can take over the kitchen and your aunt and I can go play when folks come to visit.”
At this the children all doubled up in laughter.
“Now y'all just enjoy your dinner. We'll have plenty of time to catch up. By the looks of you, you'll be sticking around a bit, I think, son. Welcome to Green River.” She cocked to her head, making direct eye contact for a moment, then added, “Welcome home!”
Trying to swallow down the huge lump which had formed in his throat, Barnabas half rose in his seat and bowed to Ma. “Thanks to your warm welcome, I feel at home.”
As he resumed his seat, he reached for Suzanne’s hand and loudly bussed it, grinning at Tom with a wink, as he did so, to more general laughter.
After a brief round of “happy you’re here with us,” general conversation resumed.
“Will you be joining us for Sunday Services tomorrow?” asked Suzanne.
Sliding a glance over toward Dorothy, he mentally shrugged. That probably meant the priest, but most towns did not have the luxury of more than one holy man. In fact most were served by itinerant preachers. And he had learned to accept God wherever he could find Him.
“I would be honored to join you,” he replied.
As if reading his mind, Dorothy touched the back of his hand and murmured, “We will be visiting with Reverend Joe, at Green River Church, not Father Francis at St. Mary’s on the Hill. And yes, we are a two church town, despite our size. Green River is conveniently located.”
Barnabas laughed. “I’ve found a wide variety of folk sharing the Word of God over the years. The preacher I grew up with loved to sing and our singing shook the church. The Jenkins’ pastor is a real hellfire and brimstone man, and keeps you in your seat for hours. Many of the parsons on the battlefield were exceedingly brief and represented every persuasion and variety of belief. But I have found that when you strip away the trappings, God is the one that is important, and His message, not the color of the door or other trappings.”
Realizing several people had heard him and were following his words, he glanced around and said apologetically, “I don't mean to cause any controversy here. I know for some people that door, or whatever they believe distinguishes their search for God, is important, and I honor them in their belief. But for me, God's presence is amply evident in the air I breathe, the vistas that greet my eyes, the bird song, and even the occasional squeaky tenor in a church choir,” and glancing down at his nearly empty plate, “and most certainly in the wonderful meal I have been enjoying!”
Ms Emilene laughed with the others and applauded his sentiments.
“Oh, yes,” she said, “we're going to get along just fine!” She beamed at him.
“Ms Emilene, knowing you had a hand in this meal, if I were five years older I would be coming a-courtin’.”
“Oh, pshaw, you're making me blush.”
~~~
As seats were pushed back from the table, Barnabas reached for his plate and silverware, preparing to bring them into the kitchen, as he had been reared. Suzanne recognized the motions from her own childhood and put her hand on his.
“This is the children's chore and we like to keep them on a strict regimen. They are really good children, but we would like to keep it that way.” Her smile took any possible sting from her words, and he moved his hands away from the plate, smiling and without argument. He stood and moved to help her up, but her husband, Tom, was ahead of him there, so he turned quickly to assist Dorothy.
He was somewhat in awe that he still seemed to be functioning normally, because this beautiful woman had his every sense on high alert. The perfume wafting from her skin entranced him, a combination of soap and her essential being. He breathed her in as he helped pull back her chair and offered his elbow. She excused herself to help in the kitchen and he strolled over toward the other two men, smiling broadly.
Knowing the routine, the table was cleared in record time, and before he could cross the room, the children swarmed their new acquaintance.
“Oh, not another one,” declaimed Tom in mock disgust.
“Another what?” queried Charles.
“Another Pied Piper. Look at him, he's as bad as you are.”
Charles guffawed. “As if they don't react exactly the same way when you walk into the room.”
He then glanced over at Barnabas, and back to Tom, raising his eyebrows slightly. “So, what do you think?”
“He has salt,” replied Tom.
“You knew that from his reputation.”
“Not all men can rise to their reputations.”
“Dorothy?”
“I’d love to see her truly happy again.”
The two men nodded, in full agreement with one another, and headed over to where Suzanne and Mary were setting out some cookies and coffee fixings.
“How may we be of assistance to you two lovely ladies?”
“I’m so glad you asked,” responded Suzanne. “That coffee pot’s heavy when it’s this full.”
Bending down to gi
ve her a quick peck on the cheek, Tom said, “I’m on the job, my sweet!”
~~~
“How is it,” Barnabas asked Charles, “that the Sevenoaks girls are so different?”
Charles looked at him thoughtfully. “It takes a stranger to see something that I never even noticed until I came back from the war. I made the comment that Mary still hadn't grown any bigger than a sprite whereas Dorothy is tall and willowy. Dorothy informed me she’d had a different mother. It seems she lost her own mother to birth fever and her father remarried when she was still an infant. She didn't learn until her wedding day that the one who had reared her was not her natural mother, but because of the difference in looks she didn't want Dorothy expecting petite infants.”
~~~
As they were getting ready to leave, Ms. Emilene came up to Barnabas and said, flirtatiously, “Where’s that kiss you promised me?”
Acting the courtly gallant, he swept a noble bow, grasping her fingers and offering a gentleman’s kiss, this time the proper inch above the glove (which was there in imagination only), and then as he rose from his bow he tugged her forward and kissed her on each cheek.
“You just knew I had these cookies for you,” she laughed, blushing furiously as she brought her other hand from behind her back.
“For a packet of your cookies, I may have to forsake propriety altogether and kiss you on the lips!”
“Where’s my fan when I need one to rap you on the knuckles!”
Behind them they heard a pair of twin gasps.
“Zeus is kissing Grandma!”
CHAPTER 11 – Thunderbolt
Billy had ridden over to visit with his friend Sam while the family party was ongoing at the main house. When Charles and Barnabas came out to the paddock to retrieve their horses, they found Billy saddling the mounts.
“Would you gentlemen mind if I rode back with you?”
“You know I am always pleased to have your company,” replied Charles.
They started out in silence, enjoying the cool night air and the nearly full moon lighting their way.
“Nights are getting longer,” commented Charles.
Murmurs of assent were his only response, but he’d expected no more.
And then Billy asked, “That horse found you, didn't he, Major Zeus? He has a look in his eyes that says you are his and his eyes follow you around whenever you are near.”
Barnabas stopped in his tracks, arrested by Billy's observation. Turning to Charles he said, “I never told you how I happen to acquire Thunderbolt, did I?”
He resumed his pace and the three men rode abreast, Barnabas in the middle. The clear night air carried his voice to the other two.
“We were in Virginia and had regrouped after a skirmish. We had been marching all night and everyone was exhausted so we pretty much just dropped where we were and fell asleep under the trees, barely setting sentinels, and those needed to change out every half hour. I had found a comfortable spot between two roots under a lovely, leafy elm, and was soundly in the arms of Morpheus when I felt something quite wet on my cheek. I sort of shook my head the way you might if a fly were buzzing, but the tickling persisted, finally wakening me enough that I opened my eyes.
“Inches from my face was a massive black head belonging to the horse we all know as Thunderbolt. To this day I don't know why I didn't run off screaming in fright, but his eyes seemed to be talking to me. He backed off enough for me to sit up and then nodded, tossed his head, and started to turn away, but looking over his shoulder at me. I got the distinct impression he wanted me to follow him, so I did.
“I managed to alert the sentry that I was going into the woods and we arranged the password for my return. The horse had paused for me and then continued moving forward. We hadn't traveled that far, perhaps no more than half a mile, when we came upon the supine figure of a fallen rider. He was not in uniform, and at the distance it was difficult to tell if he were asleep, injured, or dead. Having gotten me to the figure, the horse stood aside.
“The gentleman, for so I presumed he was from his clothes, was alive, with a knot on his head and a broken arm. I suspect he felt pain when I examined his arm, as he roused from his stupor and started mumbling, ‘Where's that horse. I think I've got to kill that horse.’
“He finally became aware of me and asked me who in the blazes I thought I was sneaking up on him that way. Knowing the man had injured his head, I did not chastise him for his manner, but merely pointed to his horse and suggested the animal had brought me to him.
“At this the man's eyes widened and he finally became enough aware to recognize my uniform. I could see he was somewhat panicked to think I might be capturing him to hold for ransom or something. We had discovered that the Virginians did not hold the Union Army in high regard and expected dastardly deeds from us at every turn. I fear some of the troops going through may, in fact, have caused these concerns, but I assured him that the men under my command did not behave in that manner.
“He finally explained he was trying to train this stallion he had recently acquired, and that the animal had basically run away with him, heading toward the sound of gunfire.
“He shook his head. ‘You know,’ he said, ‘most horses don't like loud noises.’
“I laughed and agreed with him, saying, ‘I’ve had some that didn't even care for thunderstorms. But you're saying he was running toward the sound?’
“‘Yes,’ he replied, ‘and I must have hit my head on that low-hanging branch as we cleared the creek.’
“I had been examining the ground around the man and realized the horse had stayed with him for some time, pacing back and forth, and based on some of the marks, nudging the man to try to wake him up. Meanwhile, I had found what I was looking for, a couple of straight branches lying in the deadfall that I could use to splint his arm until he could see a doctor to have it set.
“With his good arm, the man removed his cravat and handed it to me and I used it to tie his arm flat. He became a bit dizzy when he first started to sit up but gradually was doing better.
“‘Do you know how far you are from your house?’ I asked.
“‘Probably about two miles back that way,’ he replied, pointing with his chin.
“‘I don't think it's a good idea for you to try to get back in the saddle, but we are only about a half mile from my own encampment and I have medical staff that might be able to assist,’ I suggested.
“I see your eyebrows go up at the mention of medicine. In fact, one of our newer soldiers turned out to have been in medical school prior to enlisting. It was a great boon to our unit to have him with us and he was heavily mourned when he was killed, but I digress.
“The horse had remained nearby, grazing quietly while we palavered. Now he just followed us back to my camp, such as it was, although neither of us had his reins.
“I had been gone long enough that the sentry had become concerned and several of the men were getting ready to send out a search party when I walked back into camp with my strange party. As the doctor took care of setting the broken arm which, fortunately, seemed to be a clean break, I asked the man if he would consider selling the horse to me.
“‘I will happily give him to you,’ he replied. “I fear he has brought me nothing but ill-luck since I acquired him.’
“‘While I probably could not afford his value, I would rather pay a price and receive a contract of sale. We have seen that our soldiers are held in ill enough repute in your fair state that I would want no questions to arise regarding ownership.’
“Once he had rested, I followed him back to his estate, with several men for escort, and we signed a contract for sale. Then he handed me Thunderbolt’s breeding papers.
“‘Are you sure you want to conclude this sale? This is a very valuable animal.’
“‘He has no value to me if I cannot control him and he responds to you as if you reared him,’ he replied, and we shook hands and the deed was done.
“We remain in cor
respondence.
“The men with me, in deference to my nickname of Zeus, had already dubbed the horse Thunderbolt. Officially, it turns out, he is named Thor.”
Billy nodded his head gravely.
“Yes, he sought you out and found you.”
CHAPTER 12 – The Pageant
Although it was Suzanne who had invited him, Barnabas and Charles joined the Sevenoaks sister in their pew. Barnabas found himself sandwiched between Melody and Harmony, with Dorothy Cooper beyond, on his right, and Mary Rogers on his left and Charles on the outside edge. Chrissy was asleep in a basket on the floor near Charles’ feet. Barnabas looked over Melody’s head and gave a sheepish grin to Dorothy, whose eyes twinkled back at him.
Reverend Joe was a good orator, giving a fine sermon without dragging in demons and threats. He had a powerful voice and good cadence which invited you into his words. But he also did a fine job of building suspense and changing rhythm to jolt the nodders back into listening. And the man was as personable and welcoming as his voice intimated. Barnabas was greeted warmly in the reception line leaving the church.
“Glad to have you here. You look to have a good set of shoulders on you. May I count on you to help out with preparations for the Christmas pageant?”
“But that’s months from now!” Barnabas blurted.
“Never too soon to start planning,” stated the pastor firmly. “The children are back in school and Mrs. Henderson is already on the warpath, adjusting the script to accommodate the children.”
“I was an angel last year!” piped up Melody.
“And a very angelic job you did, young lady,” responded the pastor, putting his hand lightly atop Melody’s head and offering her a blessing.
“I picked that up from Father Francis,” he told Dorothy. “Seems to keep them quiet a bit longer,” he added sotto voce.
“Why are we whispering?” asked Melody in a very loud whisper.
“Little pitchers,” responded Dorothy, laughing. “I’ll explain about the pageant to Major Schuyler for you. I’m sure he’ll volunteer to join Charles and Tom.”
Rescuing Barnabas Page 5
