The Heart's Stronghold

by Amanda Barratt

  The question made him pause and think. While he wasn’t getting any younger, he hadn’t imagined doing anything else. “I enjoy it. But I also would like to make a greater impact for the Lord. I fear I have wasted much of my time already, but your father was reading to us from the book of John, and it inspired me to do more.”

  “John is one of my favorite books. Especially since it’s by a fisherman. The everyday man and yet the disciple whom Jesus loved.”

  “Has there been any scripture that has been especially significant since you’ve been here?” He leaned in, wanting to hear her every word.

  “First Peter has been the book that I turn to most.” A smile lifted the corners of her mouth. “Although, the weeks I was by myself in the cabin, I read through the entire Word in less than a fortnight.”

  He laughed along with her. “You must have been very lonely. But that is a noble undertaking.”

  She shrugged. “I was. And I must apologize for turning you away. I thought at the time that it was best.”

  “I missed you.” Once again, his words were out before he even realized it. Watching her, he saw a bevy of emotions cross her face.

  She tucked her chin and looked down at her hands. “I must admit, I missed you too.” She cleared her throat. “But I kept returning to First Peter. Memorized the whole first chapter.”

  “Truly? That’s a good deal of memorization. Why the first chapter?”

  Lifting her chin, her eyes danced with delight. “Because I needed to remind myself constantly that I was supposed to be rejoicing. No matter the circumstance. Verse six actually makes me chuckle.”

  Curious. He furrowed his brow. “Why is that?”

  “Because it says, ‘Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations.’ I felt like Peter was writing that directly to me—though now for a season, if need be. As if he’s saying that for a little while now, you—Esther—might need to go through this because you need to learn to be content and joyful. No matter what.”

  “Was that truly a struggle for you?”

  “Indeed. Especially as the time alone increased and I was convinced that you would be swayed by what the men were saying. That thought was almost more than I could bear.”

  Leaning forward, he wanted to touch her, take her hand in his. But he couldn’t. Not here. “That could never happen, Esther. Your faith and beauty shine. No rumors of a curse could ever change how I feel about you.”

  Chapter 11

  As the days faded one into another, Esther found herself longing to see Christopher every moment. But they had both been busy. As she’d been thinking about her feelings, her studies of ancient Roman poetry had come to mind. What had it said? “Always toward absent lovers love’s tide stronger flows.”

  Warmth flooded her cheeks as she thought about it. But it was true. When they weren’t together, she wanted nothing more than to see him again.

  A large fire crackled in the stone fireplace Sam had built in the middle of what everyone called the gathering room. The chimney was at least two stories tall and made for quite an impressive sight. Pride filled Esther’s chest. Her father and brother had done an excellent job. There was still much work to be done for the whole fort to be complete, but the winter wouldn’t be so long with a place to assemble like this.

  Soldiers were gathered, conversing, building chairs, or napping between watches. Since it was the only part of the building with a roof and a place for a fire, most of the men even slept the nights here. She couldn’t blame them. At least they were dry and warm.

  The past few weeks had been full. Learning to prepare enough food for each meal had been quite interesting. She hated to be wasteful but couldn’t bear the thought of not having enough either. It had taken time, but she finally felt comfortable with the job.

  Snowstorm after snowstorm had come through the bay. More snow than Esther had seen in her entire life. Half the men had been tasked with shoveling snow each day, while the other half continued the slow and steady work on the walls of the fort. Not a ship had been seen for weeks. That was a good thing, for whenever a ship came into the area, everyone was nervous until the passengers’ motives were clear.

  That was the job of Castle Island after all—to protect the city of Boston. But even though they all understood that, it was still unsettling. Even a bit scary.

  Her feet ached tonight. It was probably time for a new pair of shoes, but she hadn’t even thought of that before coming to the island. She’d just have to make do with these through the winter.

  Christopher normally came and sat with her each night after supper. Their conversations had started out light and friendly, but after he’d asked her why she wasn’t betrothed, things had gone deeper between them. In an exciting way—at least for her. The past couple of nights they’d talked about his family, and she’d told him more about her mother. It had been nice to share with someone from her heart, for that was something she hadn’t been able to do for a long time.

  But tonight he hadn’t come to supper, and he wasn’t in the gathering room. Could something have happened to him?

  Scanning the room, she checked all the faces. Granted, there were a few men out on watch, but she’d gotten pretty good at recognizing them all. Other than Christopher, there seemed to be several other men absent.

  Maybe he had some special training mission for them?

  “How’s my little sister doing?” The sound of Sam’s voice instantly brought a smile to her face.

  “Other than my feet hurting, I’m doing quite well. Thank you for asking. How about you? I can’t believe how much work you’ve accomplished on the walls in the midst of all the snow!”

  “Every bone in my body seems to ache. But I see Papa continuing on without complaint, so I know that I should as well.”

  “You don’t think he’s working too hard, do you?” Their father had always seemed invincible in her mind, but he’d seemed to age after Mother’s passing.

  “I know he’s working too hard. But we all are.” Sam shrugged. “Where’s the captain? I’ve noticed he normally talks with you in the evenings.”

  “I’m not sure where he is tonight.” Recently she’d begun to think that perhaps she cared for Christopher as more than just a friend. She longed to share that with Sam, but would he approve? What if he teased her? He’d been known to tease her mercilessly when they were younger. Especially when it came to boys. Best to change the subject. “Do you know where Papa is?”

  “He’s over there with a few of the men. He’s been meeting with them for a few nights, talking about scripture and God.”

  “You don’t sound too excited about it.” She lowered her brows.

  “Some of these men are pretty superstitious. The things they’ve been taught are a bit scary.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’ve heard some of them talk about sacrificing animals and chanting incantations. Or visiting witches.” Sam looked at her wide-eyed. “I’m sorry, Esther. I never should have mentioned that to you.”

  She swallowed back her discomfort. “That’s all right. I shouldn’t have asked.” No wonder the men had gotten so caught up in the superstition of the curse.

  Christopher’s red coat caught her attention from across the room. A smile filled his face. “I have good news.” He bowed as he approached. “A skiff made it through this afternoon. We have some supplies, and they took word back to Boston that we need another cook.” He sat on the floor by the fire and swiped the snow off his coat. “They won’t be trying to return here anytime soon though. Not with the weather the way it’s been. The poor fellows couldn’t unload fast enough so they could row back while it was still light.”

  “I can imagine.” Sam leaned forward. “Was there any news?”

  “None of import.” Christopher looked back to her. “But there were ten crates full of supplies. It took us many trips to haul it up here—the skiff could only make it out to about a hundred
yards off the point, so we had to be cautious of thin ice. And the crates are heavy.”

  “Can we go see them now?” Excitement filled her stomach.

  “Now?” Christopher blinked at her.

  “Is that too much trouble?”

  “Not at all.” A smile made lines at the corners of his eyes appear. “What’s a little more snow?”

  Christopher pried open another crate and watched Esther “ooh” and “aah” over everything. She acted like each item, from potatoes to sacks of grain, was the greatest of gifts.

  She held up a large sack of potatoes and examined it.

  “What exactly are you looking for?”

  “Nothing. I just had an idea.” Her brows knit together.

  Christopher crossed his arms over his chest. “An idea about potatoes?” It made him chuckle. “Of course, if the idea is as good as your potato soup, then I shouldn’t tease.”

  “Thank you, kind sir.” She analyzed the sack again and then put it back. “If only we had some goose feathers.”

  Now he was really puzzled. “Goose feathers?” What could she make that would be edible out of goose feathers and potatoes?

  “Yes.” She looked at his face and started to laugh. “Not to eat, Captain Latham.” Shaking her head, she waved a hand at him. “Honestly.” She looked at all the crates and pointed to each bag. “There’s at least one hundred sacks here. Potatoes and grains.”

  “Is that not enough to get us through the winter?”

  Tilting her head back and forth, she mumbled for a moment. “I’m not sure. These supplies added to what we have will take us a long way. But I’m not thinking about that. I’m thinking about cushions.”

  “Cushions.” From potatoes to cushions. Now he was really confused.

  “Yes. You know, the kind you sit on?”

  He raised his eyebrows.

  “These sacks?” She pointed. “I was looking for a way to do something nice for the men. I can make cushions out of them. That’s why I said it would be nice to have goose feathers.” She placed her hands on her hips and twisted her mouth to the side. “But maybe I can stuff them with grass or something else. It will still make a comfortable cushion, wouldn’t you agree?”

  “A flock of geese is on the island right now, Miss Howland.”

  Her eyes widened. “Don’t tease.”

  “I’m serious, Esther. They flew in today. Probably starting their journey south a bit late, or perhaps they got caught in one of the storms and it blew them east. But they’re here. I saw them when we were bringing the crates up.”

  “Roasted goose would be awfully tasty, wouldn’t you agree?” Her sly grin tugged at his heart.

  At that moment he would have agreed to do just about anything to keep a smile on her face.

  Including hunting geese.

  Chapter 12

  There’s got to be a way to catch them without scaring them all off with the blast of a gun.” Christopher lay on his stomach in the snow and looked to John, his lieutenant. “Even if we were to hit one, a single bird isn’t going to feed all the men.”

  “You’re right. But what other choice do we have? I’ve never heard of setting traps for geese.” John laughed at his own joke.

  But it made Christopher think. “You’ve given me a great idea.”

  “Oh? Do tell.”

  “A fishing net. We have lots of those. What if we were to spread one out. But we need more hands. Then if we move real slow, we can sneak up on them and throw the net over them.”

  John shook his head. “Well, it’s worth a try. But we’d better get moving while they are still asleep. The sun will be up soon enough.”

  In less than twenty minutes, they were back and ready to ambush the flock. The temperatures had dipped so low that the geese were tucked all together. Might even be a bit frozen? He prayed it would slow the birds down. With the net spread wide, it appeared that it would cover all the makeshift nests. That is, if they could get it over them without the geese knowing. That would be the trick.

  Christopher held up one finger. Then two. Then three. They rushed as quietly as they could and spread the net over the sleeping geese.

  A few not quite under the net honked and flew away. But Christopher was surprised. They had almost an entire flock of geese within a fishing net. The cold temperatures had definitely helped, but as soon as the birds realized they were trapped, the commotion grew. Flapping of wings. Honking and screeching. Several birds tried to take off.

  “What now?” John shouted as the eight men held down corners of the net.

  “I have no idea.”

  Two hours later, they carried a net full of unmoving geese back to the fort. Several of the soldiers gave them odd looks, but no one said a word.

  One look at John and the rest of the men told Christopher that he probably looked just as bad if not worse. His lieutenant was covered in mud and feathers, and his periwig was askew. Their little adventure hunting geese had turned out prosperous but not pretty.

  Somewhere in the snow, Christopher had lost his own periwig. His hair was probably a matted mess, but he didn’t care. He’d send out one of the men to fetch it later, but at the moment all he wanted was to deliver the geese to Esther and then go take a long nap.

  Their arrival caused quite a bit of commotion, because every soldier stopped what he was doing to watch them pass.

  By the time they reached the large gathering room, Esther had come out to greet them, her white apron looking crisp and clean in the sunlight, her eyes wide as saucers.

  “Your geese, milady.” Christopher bowed deeply. “Just as you requested.”

  Her jaw dropped as they deposited the large net at her feet. Then she started to laugh a light, bell-like laugh that made him want to join in.

  Too exhausted from the battle with the birds to appreciate the moment, Christopher bowed again and waved his hand. “I’m looking forward to roast goose for dinner.”

  It took the entire day for Esther and her helpers to pluck and clean all the geese. They’d brought her more than seventy-five! How they managed to kill that many baffled her, but she refused to ask. Especially after the way Christopher had deposited them this morning. The look on his face told it all. He’d gotten in over his head but still accomplished the request.

  But what she’d enjoyed the most was seeing him without his wig on. His dark hair was matted and poked up in different directions, but it made him look so much younger. And more handsome—if that was even possible.

  The fact that he’d gone to hunt the geese because of her made her heart pound. After all these weeks together at the fort, she had to admit that she admired him very much. But what if he didn’t care for her in the same way?

  Perhaps he only treated her with care because she was the only woman around.

  It was all too much to think about. Especially without Mother to guide her. Esther didn’t have any experience with relationships.

  Maybe she just needed to wait and see what he did next. Their friendship had grown as they’d talked with each other in the evenings. There was no need to rush anything, but her heart wanted nothing more than to give itself away to one Captain Christopher Latham.

  She shook her head and focused on the task at hand. At this rate, she’d be roasting the geese for the next few days. But the men would surely enjoy the change of fare.

  And wouldn’t they be surprised when she gave them the cushions? She could hardly wait to get started. But first she had to find a place to store all the grain and potatoes. Then she actually had to make the cushions. She’d dragged the goose feathers by the potato sackful back to the cabin, filling every inch of wall space they had. She’d have to clean them and trim them before they could be stuffed into the cushions, but it would take her awhile to sew the sacks into covers anyway. She had plenty to keep her busy in the evenings for the next few weeks. Surely Papa and Sam could manage with a cabin filled with feathers and cushions for a bit. They were hardly there except to sleep anyway. An
d perhaps it would help keep the cabin warmer. With a shrug, she debated about when to give the men their gifts. Perhaps for the new year? That would be a nice surprise. But she’d have to get Papa and Sam to keep her secret. Sam in particular was horrible at keeping surprises a secret for very long.

  She tapped a finger to her chin and surveyed the room. If she worked on one a night, she wouldn’t make it by the New Year. Could she manage two?

  Could it be true? December was upon them?

  That thought made her smile even more. Winter was such a wonderful season. Her favorite. But here on the island it had been a bit dreadful. Especially with all the storms they’d had, the snow mounding up, and the men not being able to leave and see family. Surely there was something they could do to make it special for the men since they would be separated from the mainland for the duration of winter. What if she planned a special meal to celebrate the new year and gave them all their cushions as a gift? That might be just the trick to boost spirits.

  With new determination and delight putting a spring in her step, she set back out to check on the meal. When the last of the first dozen geese was roasted, she rang the bell for supper. Men scurried in from every corner.

  “We’ve been smelling it all afternoon, Miss Howland.” Peter looked at her with a big grin. “I can’t wait to taste it.” He licked his lips.

  Every man that came through the line commented on the delicious smells and thanked her for all her hard work to bring them tasty meals. The more compliments they gave, the more her heart soared. Maybe she’d won them over after all.

  Even Sergeant Jones, who never had a kind word or expression for her, mumbled a brief thank-you for the first time ever as he came through the serving line.

  His acknowledgment almost made her fall over.

  Papa, Sam, and Christopher brought up the rear of the line.

  “It smells absolutely divine, Daughter.” Papa winked at her. “I heard it was quite an adventure acquiring the geese.” He looked back at the captain.